Preston Singletary

"Renowned sculptor Preston Singletary works in glass, merging glass art with Northwest Native Tlingit designs. Born in San Francisco, California, in 1963, he grew up in the Seattle area listening to stories told by his great-grandparents, who were both full Tlingit. Singletary learned the art of glass blowing by working with artists in the Seattle area including Benjamin Moore and Dante Marioni. As a student and assistant, he focused on mastering the techniques of the European tradition. He began his studies at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington in 1984. Preston had more than a decade of experience working on teams for various master glass artists before he began to make works that combined his own Tlingit heritage and traditional objects with blown glass. He has occupied a unique position as an Indigenous artist who trained solely in glass. In 1993 he traveled to Sweden and was immersed in the Scandinavian design community. Throughout his over thirty years of glass-blowing experience, he has also had opportunities to learn the secrets of the Venetian glass masters by working with Italian legends Lino Tagliapietra, Cecco Ongaro, and Pino Signoretto. In 2010, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from the University of Puget Sound. Now recognized internationally, Singletary’s artworks are included in museum collections such as The British Museum, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Seattle Art Museum, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Mint Museum of Art and Design, the Heard Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution. "