"California Poppy Heartbeat Paperweight"

Robert Held

"I strive to create pieces that provide both tactile and visual pleasure. This is how I share my passion for glass with the world."

Robert Held is still captivated by glass after 30 years of working with the material. The fluidity of the glass, the roar of the furnaces, the heat and the element of danger were all influential in his attraction to the medium. "It allows me to explore painterly concerns and my fascination with surface decoration," says Held, "I love the physicality of the forms and the vividness of the colors."

Held creates solid and blown glass forms using time-honored glass-making techniques and contemporary innovations. He decorates the glass with layers of color and texture using glass shards, threads, frit and murrine, making his pieces aesthetically rich and technically masterful.

After graduating from the University of Southern California with a Masters Degree in Fine Arts, Robert Held discovered glassblowing at Penland School of Crafts in 1968. He then launched Canada's first college-level glass program at Sheridan College. Robert opened his own studio in 1978, and has been focused on creating his glass art ever since. He is known as a pioneer of art glass in Canada.