John Mateer

I was lucky and able to retired at age 60 after 38 years in the railroad industry, and realized that I had a desire to be creative. I have found warm glass to be my medium of expression and the perfect way to use my imagination and creativity to combine color and texture into distinctive fused glass art. I have reinvented myself by pursuing the other half of my life! For the last 5 plus years, having loved art glass all my adult life, it seemed only natural to begin working with glass. I have studied different techniques in glass fusing and found my niche. I attended a fused jewelry class here on the Island taught by Cecilia Davis and was hooked. After that I acquired a glass kiln started experimenting with new glass, shapes, styles, and fusing techniques. Now, it seems like Christmas morning when I get up and hurry into the studio opening the kiln to see what I have made (since the kiln has to cool overnight). I have been to at least three formal week long glass schools, and studied hundreds of on-line video class and tips learning different fused glass techniques. I have been to the Bulls eye Glass School in Santa Fe, John Campbell Folk School in North Carolina, and Petra Keyser’s “Fun-in-the-Sun” School in Cape Coral. All of my pieces are original designs, and no two are exactly alike; and I make artful, functional glass art. I make fun and affordable fused glass for lovers of handmade art and have been exhibiting and selling my glass at Arts and Crafts shows for the last several, where my work has been very well received. In February 2014 I entered three pieces of Fused Glass in the annual Jekyll Island Arts Association Festival, Goodyear Cottage, in Georgia; and was awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize in the fused glass category. I also entered Bullseye Glass Company’s annual kiln formed glass competition in 2012 and 2013.