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Sonja Blomdahl | |
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| Born | 1952 Waltham, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | BFA, Massachusetts College of Art (Boston) |
| Known for | glass vessels, incalmo technique |
| Website | https://www.sonjablomdahl.com |
Sonja Blomdahl (born 1952 in Waltham, Massachusetts) is an American blown glass artist.
Blomdahl began glassmaking as an undergraduate student during the 1970s. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics from Massachusetts College of Art (Boston) in 1974. [1] [2] [3] There she studied with glass sculptor Dan Dailey. [1] In 1976 she spent six months studying at the Orrefors glassworks in Sweden, and her work is sometimes associated with Scandinavian design. [2] [4] Venetian glass master Checco Ongaro taught Blomdahl the method of double-bubble blowing (or incalmo), for which her work is well known. [4] [5]
In 1978, Blomdahl served as a teaching assistant at the Pilchuck Glass School (Stanwood, Washington) for Dan Dailey, where she first watched Checco Ongaro demonstrate the incalmo technique. [3] She has held teaching positions at the Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle; Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine; and the Appalachian Center in Smithville, Tennessee. [2] Blumdahl's first solo exhibition was at the Traver Sutton Gallery in Seattle in 1981. [3] She opened her own studio in Seattle in 1983, [3] which remained open until 2009. [4] Since the late 2000s, she has moved beyond the symmetrical glass vessels she is known for and worked increasingly with architectural forms. [4] [6]
2001 U.S. State Dept. Gift, presented by President Bush to the Prime Minister of Sweden
1987 Artists' Trust Fellowship Grant, Washington State
1986 NEA Visual Arts Fellowship Grant
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