Thal Glass Studio: Our Story

"My idea of beauty is not to make it complicated but to enhance the form and let the piece speak for itself. I've always liked simple beauty." —Laurie Thal

Laurie Thal

"I thrive on the dance of precise movements."

As an artist, glass is the most seductive and alluring material. At 17, I intended to embark on a career as a ceramic artist, having graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in Ceramics. When I tried blowing glass, however, I fell in love with the art form. The spontaneity, the heat, the passion, and the focus of hand blowing glass drew me to it immediately. It demands quick creative work, and that suits my temperament and fuels my passion.

I thrive on the dance of precise movements between the glass blowing furnace, at 2400 F, the workbench, and the marver table. Heat and timing are critical, movements must be efficient, and require total concentration.

Blowing glass reflects how I live my life, with passion and gusto. I live in a stunningly beautiful environment, so my work reflects the richness and vibrant colors found in Wyoming. When people tell me that owning my work, having it in their homes, viewing it every day, and using it gives them joy, I’m fulfilled. If I can add to the beauty of their lives, then I have achieved my goal as an artist.

For forty-five years, I have loved working with molten glass, fusing colorful sheets of glass, and casting liquid glass. Every day brings a new creative challenge, a new avenue of expression, and a new opportunity to bring beauty and joy into the lives of others.

Laurie Thal Custom Glass Artist | Jackson Hole Wyoming

Watch an interview with thal

Daniel Altwies

I've been involved in art design my entire adult life. For many of those years I worked in Lithography creating album covers, magazine design and corporate graphic art. Glass has been a focus in my life for many years starting with the design and creation of leaded & stained glass windows.

More recently, I have become passionate about Fused Glass. This combines my skills from leaded glass design to create many challenging and beautiful architectural commissions and custom glass sculptures.

Sandblasting glass vessels is the culmination of a lifetime of skills from drawing, cutting and carefully sandblasting glass. I love working with the rich colors of glass, revealed as I blast through several layers. Each piece is unique and presents a new challenge to combine my skills of drawing, now more demanding on a three-dimensional surface. This requires incredible focus to execute the art of sandblasting and carving the edge of delicate glass vessels.

I am honored to work with Laurie in her studio and look forward to the wonderful work we will create in the future.