Artist: Wes Valdez

Year: 2019

Materials: Cast, coldworked, and flameworked glass, neon, wood, mixed media

Dimensions: 32" H x 28" W x 9" D

About the Artist: Wes Valdez is an artist, designer, and educator living just outside of Philadelphia with his partner and two adorable canines, Eos and Clem. He holds two degrees in glass, a BFA from Southern Illinois University of Carbondale and MFA from Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University. He currently runs a small business called Blob Blob Studio and teaches in the Art Glass Program at Salem Community College's Glass Education Center in Alloway, New Jersey.

Wes's current work utilizes a playful approach to form and function. He founded Blob Blob Studio to focus on sculptural designs that do both. By intuitively collaging media and process, he exaggerates each material's beauty. Using bold color, the optical properties of glass, light, and texture, he creates impactful sculptural forms that demand further investigation.

His work has been featured in New Glass Review, published by the Corning Museum of Glass and he has received multiple awards, including a Windgate Fellowship, the Rickert-Ziebold Trust Award, and an AACG Visionary Scholarship.