About the Artist

Tami King has been blowing glass for over 20 years. Originally from the Pittsburgh area, Tami obtained an associate’s degree in graphic arts and design. In 1997, transferred to the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and received her BFA in 2000. She attended Salem County Community College in the Scientific Glass Technology program and the Glass Arts program. She met Anna Boothe and worked for her for about 10 years, grinding and polishing casted sculptures. Tami volunteered at  Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center in NJ for over 15 years. She gained so much education and experience from working with all the different Fellows that would need assistance. She has worked with over 100 artists during her time at Wheaton. Her main responsibilities there were to assist a variety of Fellows, Joe Mattson, Skitch Marron, and Hank Adams. Mostly helping with demonstrations, events, shows, and doing production work for the Wheaton Galleries. During the 15 years at Wheaton, she was able to develop a unique technique utilizing copper encased within the glass. Tami has taught casting, glass blowing, and flameworking at a variety of places including; Wheaton Arts, Banana Factory, Salem CCC, and Cape May Gallery. 

 Her work consists of glass and copper materials. She took a scientific approach with her art and studied the chemical reactions between the metals in the glass colors and the copper. She uses a variety of different copper forms within one piece, usually, and the copper can all react differently within one piece. Sometimes the copper is treated with a variety of methods that produce a mix of unmatchable uniqueness. Most of the vessels have a varying approach to freely applying the copper to them. The forms are organic, lumpy, and bumpy-looking. Most of the time, the copper tells her what form it wants to take, and then just goes with the flow. It has taken years to develop this technique because the way she likes the copper reaction to look makes the copper very difficult to work with inside the glass. She's not aiming to make a perfect-looking vessel, and she's achieved being able to make one-of-a-kind pieces of glass art. Tami, nor anyone else, can ever replicate any piece exactly, and so every piece is 100% unique. It is a beautiful, mesmerizing dance of time and temperature. 

 The Dance of Copper and Glass in the Cosmic Perspective

In the grand tapestry of the universe, matter and energy intertwine in endless, intricate ways. My work explores one small, exquisite corner of that cosmic dance—a collaboration between glass and copper, two humble materials that, under the right conditions, transcend their origins to create forms of extraordinary beauty and complexity.

I approach my art as a scientist might, with curiosity and reverence for the natural forces at play. The glass and copper are not inert tools but active participants in a process shaped by time, temperature, and chemistry. Within each piece, copper reacts unpredictably with the glass, creating vibrant patterns and hues that cannot be duplicated. Even the slightest variation—an angle here, a moment of heat there—yields something wholly unique.

The copper takes on forms as varied as the stars themselves: free-flowing, organic, lumpy, and bumpy, each shape a testament to the serendipity of its creation. At times, the copper whispers its intentions, and I listen, allowing it to guide me in shaping its final form. There is a dialogue here—a balance between intention and surrender, between control and chaos.

This technique has taken years to refine, and its challenges are part of its allure. The reactions I seek—those mesmerizing, unrepeatable patterns—push the boundaries of what copper can endure within glass. The process is both precise and untamed, a meeting of opposites that mirrors the complexity of nature itself.

Each vessel I create is a singular artifact of this alchemical dance, a fleeting moment captured in solid form. They are imperfect, and in their imperfection, they are alive. No two will ever be alike, as no moment in time can ever be replicated.

When I work, I am reminded of the delicate interplay of forces that govern our world, from the smallest atom to the vast expanse of the cosmos. To hold one of these pieces is to glimpse the awe-inspiring beauty of those forces—a moment of stardust transformed, fleeting and eternal, all at once.  

In addition to vessels, my work ventures into the realm of sculpture, where copper again becomes my co-creator, finding new expression within the intricate language of glass. Through the hot-casting process and the technique of Pâte de Verre, I explore how copper’s character transforms, revealing new dimensions of its interplay with glass.

In these sculptures, copper is more than an accent—it is a catalyst for complexity, its reactions forming patterns and textures as unique as the fingerprints of the universe itself. The heat of the furnace and the fragile chemistry of molten glass become the crucible in which copper’s innate beauty emerges. Each sculpture is a crystallization of a moment when time, temperature, and materials converge.

These pieces do not merely stand alone; they are harmonized with a variety of mixed media in their display and mounting. The juxtaposition of copper-infused glass with other materials—wood, metal, or stone—offers a dialogue between the organic and the engineered, the earthly and the transcendent. The interplay of textures and forms extends the story of creation within the sculpture, evoking the interconnectedness of all matter.

As with my vessels, no two sculptures can ever be the same. They are artifacts of their making, shaped by forces that are both intentional and uncontrollable. Each one reflects a fleeting, unrepeatable moment—an echo of the same cosmic principles that forged the stars.

These sculptures invite the viewer to step closer, to marvel at the subtleties of copper’s transformation within glass, and to consider how materials once thought ordinary can evoke something extraordinary. Together, they remind us that even in the most minute processes of the natural world, there is wonder to be found—a testament to the infinite creativity of the universe.

   Education:

01/05- Salem County Community College, NJ

12/06 Glass Art and Scientific Glass Technologies 

08/97- Tyler School of Art / Temple University

05/00 BFA

05/95- Butler County Community College, PA

06/97 Associates in Graphic Arts

Work Experience:

05/06- Studio Assistant for Joe Mattson, NJ 

2017 Glassblowing, gathering, punties, foots, wraps, bits, flashing, finish sprays, and cold working. 

06/05- Volunteer. Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center, NJ

2017 Glassblowing, sand casting, mold forming, kiln casting, and fusing. Assist the fellows and the resident masters.

06/06- Studio Assistant for Anna Boothe, PA

2014 Cold-working, grinding, mold-making, lost wax molds, kiln casting, and pate de verre.

07/07- Teaching Assistant for Hank Adams, NJ

2014 Sand Casting class at Wheaton Arts for the Biannual Glass Weekends. Sand prep, mold prep, ladling glass, and cold-working.

02/08- Teacher, Banana Factory, PA

2009 Teaching flame working with copper, bead making, and hot glass with copper 

03/05- TK Painting, PA, NJ, NY

2008 High-end detailed painting, mural, and special finishes. Carpentry, drywall, spackling, tiling, and light construction.

Selected Exhibitions:

2007 Juried Erotic Art Show, The Kinsey Institute, Bloomington, Indiana

2007 Female Flame-Off, Philadelphia Glass Works, Philadelphia, PA

2007  Gallery 908, Philadelphia Glass Works, Philadelphia, PA 

2008 10th Annual Goblet Show, The Snyderman – Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2008 Liberty Museum Glass Auction, Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2008 Holiday Annual Show, Gallery 50, Bridgeton, NJ

2008 Christkindlmarkt, Banana Factory Gallery, Bethlehem, PA

2009 Flameworking Conference Show, Salem, NJ

2009 Glass Weekend, Wheaton Arts, Millville, NJ 

2009 Noche De Artes Gala, The Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, NJ 

Women of Glass 2009, Flow Magazine, Nov 2009 

2010 Kink: The Seduction of Art, Koplin Del Rio Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2010 Liberty Museum Glass Auction, Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2011 Glass Weekend, Wheaton Arts, Millville, NJ

2011 Liberty Museum Glass Auction, Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2012 Reflections: 50 years of a Modern Movement, Riverfront 

2012 Renaissance Center for the Arts, Millville, NJ

2012 Beyond the windows: Everything Glass, Artworks, Chestertown, MD

2012 Liberty Museum Glass Auction, Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2013 Glass Weekend, Wheaton Arts, Millville, NJ

2013 Liberty Museum Glass Auction, Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2014 Liberty Museum Glass Auction, Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2015 Glass Weekend, Wheaton Arts, Millville, NJ

2015 Liberty Museum Glass Auction, Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2016 Liberty Museum Glass Auction, Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA

Solo Exhibitions:

2008 Erogenous Glass, The Aphrodite Gallery, Philadelphia, PA  

Galleries and Stores:

Wheaton Arts, Millville, NJ

Accent Studio, Haddonfield, NJ

The Noyes, Oceanville, NJ

Bannana Factory, Bethlahem, PA

Glass Growers Gallery, Erie, PA

Zephyr Gallery,Tropicana Casino, AC, NJ

Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA

Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts, Millville, NJ 

Current Galleries:

Wheaton Arts, Millville, NJ

Collections:

Barbara and Alan Boroff, Philadelphia, PA

Anne Marie and Irvin Richter, Cherry Hill, NJ

Ileen Joseph, Media, PA

Monika Flemming and Peter Pommerencke, Germany