• Overview
• Staff
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Board of Directors:

Michael Nicholas, President

Michael Joplin, Vice President

Barry Kitay, Treasurer

Katherine Nesci, Secretary

Dino Chonis

Fritz Dreisbach

J.A. Meltzer

Pam Neal

Tom Philabaum

Clark Reeves

Lisa Reeves

Eve Rifkin

Larry Temkin

Dave Klein, Director

Our Distinguished Staff and Visiting Instructors:

Sarah Addis:

Sarah completed her undergraduate studies in fine art at the University of Arizona. She began studying furnace glass blowing classes here at SGAA with Tom Philabaum and Fritz Dreisbach when the school first opened. She developed an interest in free form and figurative sculpture. She was a quick study and soon was encourage to train as an assistant and later, a lead instructor.

Paul Anders-Stout:

Paul is a native Tucsonan and has worked with glass for 10 years. He has a B.F.A. in sculpture, which led him to his interest in furnace glass blowing for its 3-D potential. Paul traveled extensively to study with various glass artists before returning to Tucson and working with Philabaum. In addition to being an excellent instructor, Paul is also a Hot Shop Manager at SGAA. Click here to visit Paul's website .

Alex Berger:

Alex has been working at the SGAA as the Office Manager for over a year. Alex has been working with glass, both in the hot shop and flame shop, for 4 years. She is a self-taught lampworker, focusing mostly on pendants and small sculptural forms, and studied furnace glassblowing at Simon Pearce in Vermont. Check out her work at www.openmoutharts.com.

Laura Donefer:

Laura has been a passionate promoter of contemporary Canadian glass at home and abroad for 20 years. Her non-traditional approach to glass techniques has made her renowned as an educator worldwide. Laura is an incredibly popular instructor, suffusing her students with confidence and good energy, encouraging and pushing them every step of the way. In addition to teaching around the world, she is on the faculty at Montreal's Espace Verre. In 2006, Laura was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Glass Art Association of Canada and she won the Jurors Award of Excellence at the 34th Annual International Glass Invitational. You can learn more about her by visiting her website at www.lauradonefer.com.

Fritz Dreisbach:

Fritz Dreisbach has been an influential member of the contemporary glass movement for nearly forty years. He is a founder and former president of the Glass Art Society (established 1971) and was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Craft Council in 1988. He has been associated with Sonoran Glass Art Academy since its inception, where he teaches and serves on the board. He has taught over 300 courses in furnace glass blowing worldwide. In 2002, Dreisbach received the Glass Art Society's Life Time Achievement Award for his significant contribution to the world of glass art.

Bandhu Dunham:

Bandhu has been lampworking since 1975. He began his training as an undergraduate at Princeton, before completing his apprenticeship under American and European masters at Urban Glass, the Pilchuck Glass School, and the Penland School of Crafts. Bandhu is the owner of Salusa Glassworks in northern Arizona and the author of two significant books on lampworking and glass as a contemporary art form. www.salusaglassworks.com.

Shane Fero:

Shane creates figurative forms by way of manipulating glass rods in a torch flame. It is in the inventiveness of his work that his interest in anthropology, philosophy and mythology is revealed. Shane has won many awards during his 35 years as an educator and an artist. He has taught at every major glass school in the country and many others around the globe. His work can be found in private collections and public institutions worldwide. Shane is currently the President of the Glass Art Society. Learn more at: www.shanefero.net.

Bronwen Heilman:

Bronwen is an internationally acclaimed bead artist who specializes in glass painting with vitreous enamels. She has taught classes worldwide, written countless instructional articles, and has been featured on the cover of The Flow magazine. Don't miss out on the fun of working with one of Tucson's best. Check out her website at: www.ghostcow.com

Michael Joplin:

Michael started blowing glass in 1972. His one of a kind, large blown vessels with cameo style sandblasting of comics, punk Indian deco, and abstract formats of wild fun stuff have been exhibited internationally including in the Orient and Paris. He is in numerous collections and when he is not being as amazing instructor you can find him on one of Tucson's many excellent gold courses. Michael was recently elected Vice President of our board here at SGAA.

William Justiniano:

William is a Hot Shop Manager here at SGAA, in addition to being one of our finest instructors. He has been teaching for 8 years and worked with many great artists in Washington, including with Chihuly on his Chicago, Millennium Project. His work can be found in private collections around the country.

Ginger Kelly:

Ginger started working with glass while studying design at California State University 20 years ago. She has achieved commercial success with her furnace glass work, featuring lines of glassware and jewelry. Ginger relocated to Louisiana where she is represented in galleries in New Orleans and contributes to the local arts community. Visit www.gingerkelly.com

Dave Klein, Director:

Dave started blowing glass with Michael Joplin in 1980. He has numerous awards in judged competitions and many shows. He has worked internationally in glass at Hoglund Art Glass (New Zealand), Sunpu Studios (Japan), and now shows glass at Philabaum Glass Gallery (Tucson), VanGoes Ear (Prescott), and Raku Gallery (Jerome AZ). Dave works in hot glass, lampworking, slumping-fusing and casting. He has a BA in Industrial Education and has written glass curriculums for colleges, built many glass working facilities, and combustions systems. Dave is also a registered electrician in Arizona and New Zealand and is a commercial pilot.

Jason Jacob Marstall:

Jason started working with glass as a student here at the Academy. His creative style brought him to the attention of the staff and he was invited to study for a position as an assistant instructor. Jason has been accepted into the Pilchuck Glass School summer residency program. We are excited for him and can't wait to see what he brings back to SGAA.

Lee Martin:

Lee has been teaching furnace glass blowing for ten years. He is a popular instructor noted for his patience. Lee has expanded his knowledge and techniques to include many different styles and forms that he incorporates into the lessons he shares with his students.

Katherine Nesci:

Katherine Nesci studied metal work at the University of Arizona and loves combining metals with the vibrant color palette she uses in her glass pieces. Her floral bead and silver jewelry has been featured in Beadstyle magazine. Katherine's instruction focuses on the vast color palette of Moretti glass. See more at www.glassobsession.com.

Tom Philabaum:

Tom began working with glass in 1971 with Harvey Littleton. He built the first hot glass shop in Tucson in 1975. His work is shown internationally and in many collections worldwide. Tom is a former Board member of the Glass Art Society and the American Crafts Council. He and Dave Klein founded the Sonoran Glass Art Academy where he continues to serve on the Board. Tom is involved in curriculum development and is a drop-in guest instructor in our hot shop and soon in our warm shop studio. Tom is currently an adjunct faculty at the U of A and Pima College. Click here to visit Tom's website.

Loren Stump:

In 1993, Loren discovered his natural talents in using molten glass. Loren is a self-taught artist who travels internationally as both instructor and artist. Having developed many new techniques and tools, Loren is perhaps best known for his manipulations of two-dimensional murrine slices into three-dimensional forms. Loren's work is currently on display at the Corning Museum of Glass, the Ertz Israel Museum and the Kyokei Fujita Glass Museum. Visit www.stumpchuck.com.

Karl Taylor:

Karl Taylor began working with glass in 2001, at the age of 17. While Karl specializes in lampworking, using both borosilicate and soda-lime (soft) glass, he does experiment with furnace work and fusing, as well. He has enhanced his skills by working with fellow Sonoran Glass Art Academy instructors, as well as guest artists Tom Philabaum, Fritz Dreisbach, Shane Fero, Bandhu Dunham, and Loren Stump.

Milon Townsend:

Townsend uses modern technological innovations, traditional Italian techniques such as murrine and filigrana, and methods that he himself has developed to create the sculptures that appear in his mind. Townsend is the author of six books. They include technical instruction manuals for flameworking glass, marketing guidelines and insight for all artists, and contemplative philosophical volumes. He has taught at RIT's School of the American Craftsman, at Urban Glass in NYC, been a visiting artist at RISD, and is a regular teacher at The Studio at the Corning Museum. His artwork is in the permanent collections of the Carnegie Museum of Art, American Glass Museum, and the National Liberty Museum. He is a member of the National Sculpture Society, the Salmagundi Club, and is on the Board of Directors of the Arts Business Institute. Learn more at www.milontownsend.com.

Margaret Zinser:

Margaret lives in Tucson and has been working with glass since 2001. She travels nationwide to exhibit her work and teach intermediate and advanced level beadmaking classes. Margaret's glass beads and jewelry have been exhibited in galleries throughout the U.S., Canada, and Japan. www.mzglass.com.