THE GLASS

Breathtaking beauty encased in crystal

First came the failures. Months of experimenting on nights and weekends in a small utility room; a man on a mission, who had left a stable scientific profession, determined to develop a visual language to express the intricacies of his beloved nature in the secretive medium of flameworked glass.

Slowly but surely, he began to achieve his vision. In the beginning the illusions were deceptively simple; a single daisy suspended in a clear dollop of fragile soda lime glass; a spiderwort, delicately dancing in a disc resembling a dewdrop. Then the artist’s ecosystem grew denser, more complex, fertilized by the words of Whitman, pollinated by the growing interest of art dealers, galleries, and collectors who saw something totally unique in his innovations.

After years of dedication, Paul J. Stankard elevated his craft to a fine art. Hs intricate designs eclipsed the boundaries of the traditional paperweight genre and became something else entirely. His forms evolved in style, structure, and substance, revealing exquisite detail of the referential landscapes he created and tended, and the physical and metaphysical beings that inhabit them.  

Today, Paul’s masterpieces can be found in museums, galleries, and private collections around the world, appreciated by thousands who consider his work to be unparalleled in its scope and style.