Instructor Bios
Deborah Ballog, Director of Education
I was born and raised in Ohio, a great place for a glass lover to grow up. Ohio is the home of the Belmont, Imperial and Heisley Glass Companies. When I was a child my Aunt purchased demitasse sets from the Imperial Glass Company for my pretend tea parties. My love of crystal, of anything glass, started when I was very young.
I grew up and moved to Florida, and my passion for glass took a back seat to everyday busy life. While serving on the steering committee of the Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Largo, Florida I became reacquainted with art, and particularly glass art. There was no instruction in kiln formed glass in the area, so I spent months blowing glass at the Phoenix Glass Studio in Tampa Florida. That experience gave me the confidence to purchase a kiln and begin teaching myself glass fusing.
After several hundred experiments, some successful and some not, I found some excellent fusing classes in Portland, Oregon and Corning, New York. Every year I attend class at one of these excellent glass centers. With each class came a new technique, and each technique inspired fresh ideas and creativity.
“Color and Motion” have always been my inspiration. While the glass is molten, my first instinct is to open the kiln lid and comb the glass creating spontaneous swirls of color.
I have been teaching glass classes at all levels on a wide variety of techniques since 2001. I love being around other glass enthusiasts. In 2008 I was invited to join as partner in Artists Incorporated Gallery, in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. I am a member of Pen Women, Birmingham Branch, and several art associations around the country.
My glass art can be found locally at Artists Incorporated in Vestavia Hills, Dixon Glass Gallery, Birmingham and several galleries in the Midwest and Northern states
Karen Dixon, PhD, Instructor
Trained as a scientist in biochemistry and molecular genetics, kiln-formed glass speaks to the scientist and the artist within. Every new design idea becomes an experiment in which the chemical properties of the glass, the creative concept and the reflection and absorption of light all uniquely combine to bring the project to life. Inspiration for my work comes from everything around me – nature, structures, design elements, and unique color combinations. The many techniques used in kiln-formed glass allow for endless ways in which to express creative inspiration – moving me to further exploration.
I have no formal art education but have been surrounded by the exceptional artwork of other family members and art enthusiasts all my life. My love for glass began early on with the cut glass and colored glass vessels my mother had collected. As an adult I began working with glass in the form of mosaics in the late 1990’s. I was self taught and those pieces I created were either for my own collection or given as gifts to family or friends.
With my first fused glass class with Deborah Ballog my obsession with the medium began. Since then I have taken intermediate and advanced classes in fusing and a kiln-cast glass class in Portland, OR at the Bullseye Glass Resource Center.
I have shown my work at the annual Alabama Designer/Craftsmen show in early November at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and at a 2 women show with artist Elenor Conn at What’s on Second in Birmingham, AL. One of my piece’s, Dichro Maze, was on display at the Reynolds Medical History Library at the UAB Lister Hill Library. I was awarded first place in the faculty category for this entry in the annual art exhibit for faculty, residents and students with the UAB School of Medicine.
In addition to art work, vessels and jewelry, I accept commissions and recently completed an installation of custom glass accent tile for a local family. Currently my work is on display in my glass gallery and working/teaching studio.