Stephen Dee Edwards: Studio Glass Pioneer, Glass Caster, Educator
Stephen Dee Edwards is particularly interested in using glass to capture a moment in time and considers its color, optical and fluid qualities ideal for communicating impressions of life. Born in Santa Monica, California, in 1954, he was a Pre-med student in college where he learned how to do in-depth research. He then switched to ceramics, but quickly recognized the infinite possibilities of hot glass after seeing it for the first time.
Edwards earned a BA from San Jose State University in 1978 and an MFA from Illinois State University in 1980. He married his wife Pat, and the two moved to Penland School in North Carolina to participate in the school’s Artist in Residence Program. In 1982, they moved to Green Mountain, North Carolina, where the artist built his first private glass studio and raised two children with Pat. Selling his first piece to the Corning Museum of Glass and selling out his first solo exhibition at Heller Gallery in NYC were career defining moments.
In 1988, Edwards began teaching at Alfred University where he co-founded The National Casting Center. He taught at Alfred for 22 years, built one of the largest educational hot glass programs in the world, and traveled the globe teaching workshops, attending conferences and symposiums on glass art. Upon retiring from teaching in 2010, he worked full time in his studio in Alfred Station, New York. Four years after retiring from full-time teaching, Edwards moved to the Ojai Valley in Southern California.
Having received two National Endowment for the Arts Grants, Edwards’ work can be found in over 30 public collections worldwide including the National Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan, the Frankfurt Museum of Art, Germany, and the Corning Museum of Glass, New York. With a long exhibition history in galleries internationally, Edwards was also President of the Glass Art Society.
Five years ago, Edwards was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, another chapter in his story of resilience. Turning to music as a new way to express creatively, he has mastered a couple of acoustic instruments and loves playing music with others.
Says Edwards: “My father had Parkinson’s. What does the future hold for me? I struggled for six months trying to get a grip on my diagnosis. I was having problems with balance, brain fog and tremors. I went to a Neurological Boxing Program at a local gym. I loved it. I met other Parkinson’s patients there and got out my frustrations. I decided to fight Parkinson’s and not give into it. It has been the fight of my life. The doctors said I would be dead in three years. That was five years ago, and I am still here. You can’t stop Parkinson’s but you can slow down the progression with exercise. I am still working in my studio and playing bluegrass music with friends.”
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