Fritz Dreisbach
Fritz Dreisbach, always a significant presence on the Seattle glass scene, now lives on Whidbey Island, working in his new glass studio in Freeland, Washington. Pilchuck Glass School presented their 2015 Brychtová/Libenský Award to Dreisbach, “acknowledging his extraordinary talent and high achievement in the world of contemporary glass. The jury considers an artist’s standing in the field of contemporary glass, artistic achievement, educational leadership, as well as the teaching and ambassadorial contributions made to Pilchuck.” Fritz is celebrating both his artistic and pedagogic careers.
As an independent artist, Dreisbach is developing a series of wheel-carved and cameo-cut glasses, in addition to his singular show pieces: playful goblets, trick glasses, toy vehicles, and “Mongos.” Combining his two loves of glass and travel, Fritz continues to make art, consult for glass factories, teach workshops, and present lectures around the world.
Dreisbach has been invited by numerous schools to be an artist-in-residence, including Neusole Glassworks, Tacoma Glass Museum, Pratt Fine Arts in Seattle, and Pilchuck Glass School. The Toledo Museum of Art chose him to help celebrate the opening of their new Glass Pavilion in August 2006, and awarded him their first “Guest Artist Pavilion Project” position. He returned in 2015 for another GAPP residency.
In 2002, Amsterdam, the Glass Art Society presented Dreisbach its highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award, for his “unique and significant contributions to the world of glass." Earlier, he was awarded The Corning Glass Museum’s Rakow Commission and was elected a Fellow of the American Crafts Council.
Coined the “Johnny Appleseed of Glass” by his peers, Fritz has presented hundreds of lectures and demonstrations in over 180 individual institutions in over 50 years in North America, Europe and Asia. His glass is represented in numerous global public and private collections, including Corning, Hsinchu, Kamenicky Senov, Rotterdam, Smithsonian, Toledo, “…all the usual suspects!”
SOURCE: http://www.fritzdreisbach.com/
