For Holly Wallace, art is life. Her love for nature is the inspiration for all her glasswork. Her color palettes are inspired by the lush colors and patterns of natural beauty. Before discovering glass, Wallace worked in metal and stone, trying (with great difficulty, she confides) to create the fluid forms inherent to glass.
With design in mind, Holly Wallace invites and encourages the glass to be an expressive participant in her creative process. Working with temperatures of more than 2100 degrees Fahrenheit, she allows the molten glass to develop into gracefully fluid and amorphous forms. Then, she explores that delicate balance between mastery and inspiration, giving herself over to the power of imagination. Her goal in this fiery dance is to create an art form that is both expressive and functional.
Wallace received her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Indiana State University in 1969, where her focus was in design and sculpture. In 1973, she studied glass at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, CA, and also at Pilchuck Glass School in Washington state.
In 2000, Holly opened Ruby Glass Works in Berkeley, CA. In a field that is artistically and physically demanding, Holly is one of the few women who run their own studios. The choice of the name for her studio is a subtle cue for those who enter to be ready for the unexpected influence of the feminine touch in the hot world of glassblowing.
