Nathan Sheafor Works

“The intensities of my character motivate me to create the perfect form and expand my knowledge and skill in the medium of glass.”

My first contact with the medium of glass was in a vision of sorts while participating in a pottery workshop in the desert near Moab, UT. The instructor wanted the class to visualize a container to hold water from a beautiful stream. I saw the shape in clear crystal, not clay.  In 1980, surprise and disbelief were the feelings coursing through me as Vernon Brechja, Professor of Glass at the University of Kansas, said, “You look like a glassblower!”  After studying for 3 years under Vernon and then taking a 12-year vacation to pursue a career in competitive bicycling, a glassblower is what I am today.

Vernon’s influence comes from his demonstrations of elegant form within the fluidity of glass as well as history lessons.  Within these lessons, I caught a glimpse of wineglasses and goblets, which prompted the desire to make them.  An apprenticeship with Steven Smyers from 1993-95 gave me the skill to make these elegant goblets.

Following four months of intensive building, discussion, planning, and preparation, The Glass Forge Studio first lit its furnaces on Memorial Day of 1998. The studio became a reality through the vision of three men who first met in the spring of 1994 while working for various San Francisco Bay Area glass studios. Lee Wassink, Maurice Kreuzer, and Nathan Sheafor each bring unique skills and vision to The Glass Forge and contribute to a sum exceeding 30 years of "hot glass" experience.

The transparent quality coupled with the reflective aspect of glass influence my work.  Using three-dimensional shapes to enhance brilliant colors.  Mixing opaque with transparent to achieve different effects.  Utilizing light to heighten the effect glass has on the eye.  I have endless avenues of experimentation to explore.