After seeing glassblowing at the Oldway Art Center in Sperryville, Virginia, Erin Garmezy became enamored with glass as an artistic medium. At 17, she bargained with Oldway owner Eric Kvarnes, trading shop work for studio lessons, and she spent every moment she could in the studio. During high school, she worked as an assistant for Parker Stafford, who helped her create a portfolio for admission to Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts. Garmezy studied glassblowing at VCUarts, earning both a BFA in Craft/Material Studies and a BFA in Art Education in 2007. She now works both on the torch and in the hotshop, creating realistic and delicate lifeforms made of glass, and frequently collaborates with her husband Grant Garmezy. She has taught glass workshops at the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Glass Furnace in Turkey, Aya Glass Studio in Japan, and Pilchuck Glass School. Her work was featured on the cover of Glass Art Magazine.