David Lewin

GLASS ARTIST DAVID LEWIN

To create his paperweights and other solid forms, Lewin works with molten glass which is kept at 2000 degrees F in a furnace. He begins each piece with a gather of glass on the end of a five foot long metal blowpipe, then builds layer upon layer of color and clear crystal, working from the inside outward. 

He shapes the molten glass using various metal tools and specially carved cherry wood "blocks". He achieves color through his creative use of glass powders, chips and rods, which are composed of various formulations of metallic oxides. Building each piece from the inside out, he adds layers of clear crystal over the colored layers for added brilliance and sparkle.  

David Lewin continues to heat and shape the glass until the form and size are correct. When a piece is finished, he places it into an annealing oven where it gradually cools down over a set period of time.

Lewin's experience includes two stints teaching as an Artist in Residence in Tokyo, Japan. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants. In 1995 he received a Mid Atlantic NEA regional grant and has twice received grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. He holds a BA in Painting from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute.

He has served as an instructor at Cumberland County College and Glassboro State College, both in New Jersey, and at the DeYoung Museum Art School, San Francisco.

David Lewin's work has been published in American Craft Magazine, the Corning Museum's New Glass Review 6 (where he was one of only 100 artists selected from among thousands of international applicants), and leading newspapers and television shows in Japan.

Lewin has worked as a glass artist since the late 70s. He maintains his own glass studio, David Lewin Glass Design, in Philadelphia. David also has a line of corporate items which is produced under the name FTM Glass Studio. His work has been shown at major galleries, museums and juried exhibitions throughout the world.