Robert Mickelsen is a glass artist born in 1951 in Virginia and raised in Hawaii. After apprenticing with a lampworker and selling his own designs at craft fairs for 10 years, he began focusing exclusively on galleries in 1989. His work is now shown in prominent galleries and museums across the country. He believes in expressing his unique vision through non-traditional forms and techniques in glass that are controversial but fulfill his need for creativity and self-discovery through the creative process.

1. Robert
Mickelsen
Glass
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2. Brief Biography
Born in 1951 in Fort Belvoir , Virginia and raised in Honolulu ,
Hawaii , Robert's formal education ended after one year of college. He
apprenticed with a professional lampworker for two years in the mid-
seventies and then sold his own designs at outdoor craft fairs for ten
years. In 1987 he took a class from Paul Stankard that opened his eyes
to the possibilities of his medium. In 1989, he stopped doing craft shows
and began marketing his work exclusively through galleries. Since then,
his career has taken off. He shows his work in some of the finest
galleries in the country and participates in prominent exhibitions each
year. His work is exhibited in many prominent collections including the
Renwick Gallery of American Crafts at the Smithsonian Institution, the
Corning Museum of Glass, The Toledo Museum of Art, The Carnegie
Museum of Art, The Mint Museum, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The
Museum of American Glass at Wheaton Village .
He has taught extensively at the major glass schools including the
Pilchuck Glass School , Penland School of Crafts, The Studio at the
Corning Museum of Glass, and The Eugene Glass School. He has filmed
and produced two videos on his flameworking process, and he has
designed and maintains an elaborate web page dedicated to his own
work and the galleries that represent him (www.mickelsenstudios.com
). He has published numerous technical and historical articles on
flameworked glass. He served for six years on the board of directors of
the Glass Art Society and was their treasurer and vice-president.

39. Artist's Statement
"I am primarily interested in the personal expression of ideas
and feelings and how the resulting sculptures fit into the
environment of our lives. I believe strongly in the uniqueness
of my own vision and strive to express it in the purest and
most honest way possible. This often means stepping
completely away from the traditional forms that have always
been associated with my chosen medium (glass) and embracing
forms, materials, and techniques that are not only non-
traditional, but even controversial. I believe in breaking rules
to achieve what I want and revel in the disapproval this
approach often generates. I identify myself less and less with
the material and technique of glass and more and more simply
with living the life of an artist, making work that fulfills my
need to be creative.
The objects I create are narratives… personal vignettes that
reveal the secrets of my innermost thoughts. These are often
mysteries even to me until the creative process reveals them
and so the work becomes a form of self-discovery. The work
provides me with a path to understanding things that I
otherwise would not be aware of and sharing them with others

40. End