Description
Ross started working with glass at the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1991. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art with a major in Glass and a minor in Small Metals (jewelry). He has studied and taught at many prestigeous glass schools across the country including the Penland School of Craft and the Pilchuck Glass School. In 1997 Ross began working as an apprentice to William Morris becoming a member of his team in 1999, working alongside Bill until his retirement in 2007. Ross has had residencies at the Tacoma Museum of Glass, Toledo Glass Museum and Corning Glass Museum in the last few years, and is in the slow proces of building his own hot glass studio. Ross’ pieces are typically narrative, working mainly with figurative elements and symbolic objects. His work currently shows at a number of galleries across the country and he has taught in the US and Canada.
All of Ross’s work is blown and hot sculpted, meaning that nothing is cast or mold blown, all pieces are made by hand while hot on the pipe in the glass shop. First, he establishes the main shape of the piece, then he allows the glass to cool, working on it in a colder state so that he has more “solid core” to work from. If the piece is too hot, the shape, will distort as the details are brought out. Ross uses a small oxygen-propane torch for all the detailed work which allows him a greater variety of flame shapes and sizes to work with. Heads are arms are typically solid, whereas all the bodies are blown and hollow, All colors are applied in layers of glass powders and the final piece is sandblasted and coated with a lacquer to give a satin finish.
