About Us
Here at the Glass Studio, LLC in Birmingham, Alabama, we make glass. We fuse it. We cast it. We melt it. We bend it.
My name is Amy Soverow and I am the owner of the studio and its lead artist.
Even though I have been making glass for 25 years, I feel like I have just begun to explore the possibilities. Glass is an amazing material - solid at room temperature, forms to a bend at about 1150 degrees, takes the shape of any mold at 1500 degrees and is molten at 1700 degrees. The possibilities seem endless to me and I hope to spend the next 25 years continuing to refine my glass art capabilities. Here at The Glass Studio, LLC, we have taken on many projects and learned many techniques that keep growing us as artists. Through our co-founder, the late Cam Langley, we are part of the American Glass Studio movement and via our pate de verre and casting teacher, Sayaka Suzuki, we use the techniques of the Japanese glass masters, The Higuchis. Now, my son Caelum and I work together to create unique glass objects that we plan to share widely with many individuals.
Image: At The Glass Studio, 2017
(Photo Credit: Charity Ponter)
For many years, we focused exclusively on large-scale sculptural installations for institutions, residences and businesses and some of these works are truly impressive. However, our life journey has inspired us to add a new mission: Glass that Shines in the Dark. One of the most unique attributes of glass is how it interacts with light. It both transmits and reflects light, allowing color to be communicated in ways not really possible with other materials. Here at The Glass Studio, LLC, we have added a third light equation to glass - we make art objects that literally glow in the dark. We have created glowing glass installations and glowing glass objects and in the process have become committed to making and sharing these small, affordable glass objects.
Image: Bare Hands Gallery Dia de Muertos, 2017
(Photo Credit: Figen Basdogan)
Our lives, like those of everyone, are made up of both light and dark times. When my late husband, Caelum’s father, was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, we entered a dark period that literally lasted for 6 years and challenged us on every imagineable level. Even though we sometimes thought we wouldn’t survive this difficult period, we did and we are still here making glass. In fact, we made glass through the entire period we call the “dark years”. I ran the studio and managed the large-scale installations, and Caelum focused on finishing his art degree, making glass art for school whenever possible. The first glass project we did together was creating hundreds of glass discs with a smiling sun on one side and the words “Light and Love” on the other which we gave away free to family, friends and strangers.
Image: The Glass Sorceress from "The Ground Beneath My Feet", by Charity Ponter, 2018
(Photo Credit: Charity Ponter)
Once we realized that we were going to survive this incredibly challenging time, we decided to create glass objects for individuals that are specifically designed to shine in the dark, because there are times when everyone will need a reminder that even in the darkest of times, the Light will return. And it does.
(Both Amy and Caelum hold Bachelor’s degrees in Studio Art from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.)