JEN VIOLETTE

Combining pieces of my rural Vermont surroundings, I create limited edition and one of a kind sculptures which incorporate hand blown glass, stainless steel and mahogany. Living in an old farmhouse with connected barns for my studio greatly inspires my daily thoughts and sketches. My husband and I moved to our home in southern Vermont 10 years ago, and I immediately took it upon myself to create numerous gardens on our old farmland. In my gardens I grow vegetables, berries, perennial and annual flowers and fruit trees. I love to see the constant daily changes that emerge before me. In the long fall and winter months I am inspired by forms of leafless trees against the winter sky, the stillness of freshly fallen snow and birds foraging for winter food. My passion for creating art began in early childhood. I learned basic drawing and woodworking skills from my father and sewing from my mother. My paternal grandparents earned their living as studio artists at their home in Maine and I was always inspired by their work and lifestyle. After graduating from high school in 1990 I decided to study art at Alfred University and received my BFA in glass and metal sculpture with honors from Alfred in 1994. I have studied at Rhode Island School of Design, Pilchuck Glass School, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass and Penland School of Crafts. My teachers include Lino Tagliapietra, William Morris, Dante Marioni, Richard Marquis, Pino Signoretto, Randy Walker and Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen.