Florida Glass

Rob Stern’s studio is in Wynwood, Miami and he has exhibited his work internationally during his 30-year career as a glass blower.  Rob is known particularly for his iconic Windstar sculptures, which are dedicated to his father, a consummate stargazer fascinated with cosmic phenomena. Rob was inspired also by his surname Stern which means star in German. Rob was born in Miami and grew up in Atlanta where he trained initially for a career in the performing arts. It was during his art studies at San Francisco State University that he discovered glass making. As he says, "When I started working with glass, I began to look at the world in a different way." Rob worked at an industrial glass casting facility for five years before attending the Pilchuck Glass School where he came under the spell of Dale Chihuly, Pino Signoretto and Lino Tagliapietra. Now a successful master gaffer, Rob has been invited to give demonstrations and workshops at Pilchuck and other famous glass institutions around the country as well as at international symposiums, notably in the Czech Republic.

Chelsea Rousso

Chelsea Rousso is a glass artist, fashion designer and writer, as well as a teacher at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. She specializes in kiln-formed fused glass and holds regular classes for aspiring glass artists at her studio and the Wiener Museum. Chelsea combines her love of fashion and glass into a unique form of wearable glass, including corsets and bikini tops, which have appeared on the catwalk at WMODA. Chelsea also creates unique sculptures with ribbons of glass woven and fused into beautiful silhouettes which are on display at the museum. Several of Chelsea’s students have shown their work at the Wiener Museum’s A Touch of Glass Show, notably Lori Brown and Anne Orvieto.

Hollywood Hot Glass

Just 10 minutes south of the museum is Hollywood Hot Glass where Brenna Baker demonstrates the art of glass blowing and holds classes for visitors. Brenna began her career as a glass artist in Corning, NY at the age of 14. She then spent a year working in Murano, Italy under the tutelage of Pino Signoretto, arguably the world’s finest glass sculptor. Brenna was the youngest Master Gaffer ever employed by Steuben Glass. She also traveled the world on Celebrity Solstice ships with the Hot Glass Show and now manages their on-board programs. She has organized special presentations for WMODA and a lamp-working demonstration by Rob Farnan. Brenna also accepts commissions for glass art installations and lighting and is working on several projects in South Florida.