Hot Spot: Holdman Glass Studios

Well, it has been wild past few weeks! With all the commotion of the Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, I've been with and without power over the past two weeks (mostly without), and just trying to get back to some sort of normalcy! When Ed sent me this little gem, an amazing video demonstrating the glass blowing skills of Treavor Holdman of Holdman Studios, I watched it over and over again, and sent the link to family and friends. The process he uses to create beautiful hand-blown glass platters is mesmerizing. As I watch it again during these hectic weeks, the ending results remind me of the shape of a hurricane itself, with swirls of colored glass rotating around a central "eye" (OK, so it might be a stretch but you'll see what I'm talking about!)

Holdman Studios is located in Lehi, Utah in the art village at Thanksgiving Point. Not only does he create beautiful hand-blown glass platters, but has a great team which designs and constructs beautiful stained glass installations, such as this collraborative project with BYU. The studio has a live webcamset up in their studio, allowing you to watch them work at anytime. The way the artists work together really captures the essence of teamwork, its almost like watching a dance!

Holdman Studios sell their glass works on ebay, also where you can find Treavor's biography and learn about the concepts and ideas behind his works. I especially enjoy his desire to "let the glass speak for itself" as he manipulates the pieces to "let the glass sing the song it was destined to sing." This is evident as he works as you can really see his passion for his profession.

"Treavor Holdman is an artist with a passion for glass. He grew up in a family of artists and teamed up with his brother Tom to become part of Holdman Studios at the age of 15. Since then Treavor has been one of the key artists for many large art glass installations. Several of the pieces he has been heavily involved with have been priced at over a half million. His work is seen by literally thousands everyday in many public spaces including churches, universities, and city centers all over the globe. Treavor has the unique ability to let the glass sing the song it was destined to sing. In his own words, "I let the glass speak for itself. As the fire and flame take hold of it, I feel what direction the glass would like to go to shine, and I take it on that journey. Then, in the end, the glass will do a much better job of taking your breath away then I ever could." Treavor has truly found his life's journey and invites us all to come along."

Take some time to visit the site and check out his eBay store here. If any of you are lucky enough to own one of these beautiful pieces of art, send us pics of how you display them, and we'll post them on our blog!

-Genevieve at Swank