CHRIS HAWTHORNE

Chris Hawthorne was born in 1953 in Detroit, Michigan. He met Dale Chihuly in 1978 and was encouraged to enroll in the Pilchuck Glass School, where he studied flat glass and then hot glass. In 1985 he built the shop that became known as Plum Tree Glass.

Chris Hawthorne creates massive, hand-blown glass vessels and sculptural pieces that convey the luminescent colors and shell-like forms of a mythical world. His original creations usually feature bold colors in a rainbow of hues with intricate decorative elements cased in clear crystal. The result is a dramatic, multi-layered effect that is further enhanced by the enormous size Hawthorne is able to achieve in hand-blown glass.
Most of his works involve sculptural variation of vessel forms, usually distorted for intense visual interest from all angles of view