Chris Ahalt is a flameworker with 19 years experience. In 2005, he apprenticed under master flameworker, Cesare Toffolo, in Murano, Italy. There he learned many of the Venetian techniques for cups and vessels that have given him the building blocks to create glass of the highest quality. Ahalt has become known for his series of sculptures centered on endangered animals that are strung up as balloons.

A graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2000 with a BFA in Sculpture/Furniture Design, Ahalt currently works as a self-employed artist in Minneapolis, Minn.