Several times during the course of 1994 Darby visited Lotton Art Glass in Lansing, Il. meeting world renowned Glass Artisan Charles G. Lotton, and shared with him, his love and knowledge of glass. It was no surprise to his friends and family when they learned that Darby was hired as Charles personal bench assistant. In July of 1995, Darby moved to the Chicagoland area and began assisting Charles. Darby brought his sheer passion to the Studio and through his 8 year career at Lotton Art Glass he apprenticed in the art of blowing glass, learning many design techniques such as irridizing, creating various color combinations, and a wide array of shapes and forms.
In that decade with Lotton Darby was fortunate to travel to many big trade shows such as the Rosen Show in Philadelphia, PA and the A.C.C. (American Craft Council) Show in Baltimore, MD., opening the doors to gallery's nation wide, including Borshiems of Omaha, Topeo, Arlene Siegal Gallery in Santa Fe NM,.and Royal Cameo in New Orleans, among many others.
While vacationing in California in 2002, Darby visited the flamework studio of Helen Hosmer (Flame and Fusion) in Vista, Ca., where he was introduced to the art of bead making, and murrine cane pulling techniques. Shortly upon his return, he acquired a torch, and began learning the art of flameworking.
In August 2003, Darby attended the Penland School, North Carolina to experience a week-long seminar presented by Paul Stankard, renowned American glass artist and well known Italian artist, Lucio Bubacco.
After leaving Lotton in 2003, Darby took a short break from blown glass and began working in the stone business but was never far from his torch and deep love for glass. Today Darby resides in Chicago, IL and is a self-representing Glass Artisan.
In 2007 Darby began formulating 4 types of Glass, Nebula, Green Envey, Lght and dark Mountain Honey, and Blue Angel Lustre, through G.T. Glassworks, which can be found at various wholesalers.
In 2008 Darby opened a Glass Shop in Griffith, IN with his significant other and partner Janien Guntermann. Together they both work full time on teaching lampwork classes, creating one-of-a-kind lampwork jewelry, and exhibiting their work at regional Art fairs. Thier future plans are to expand the offerings at GlasHaus to include Blownware Classes and Glass Fusing.
If you would like to learn about upcoming shows and/or classes please contact Darby at darbeads@yahoo.com. Also check out our G;asHaus Studio page for more details on classes.
Drawn by the beauty and elegance of this ancient craft, glass is the medium that Darby Kingston Graham uses to present his creative talents. In the summer of 1990, he began to learn this art form through his association with Schlitz Studios in Milwaukee, WI. Darby assisted Jim Schlitz and learned the old-world tradition of hand rolling opalescent stained sheet glass and the crafting of replica Tiffany lamps. Schlitz hand-rolled glass was prized internationally by glass artists working in this medium for its beauty, cuttability and diverse palette of tight color mixes and textures. Through these endeavors, Darby gained a vast knowledge of the chemistry and formulation of a variety of different glasses.
