Grant Garmezy

Grant Garmezy grew up on a working farm outside of Nashville, Tennessee. As long as he can remember, he’s been fascinated with the arts and working with his hands to create things. His artistic career began when he was very young, taking drawing classes with a local illustrator. He became serious while in his teens, and spent multiple summers at intensive arts programs for high school students. His passion to pursue a career in the arts led Grant to Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond. He originally intended to focus on jewelry and small-scale metals, but once he wandered into the glass studio, he discovered a love for the molten material. Grant has never been attracted to making functional glass items; instead he has always been drawn to its sculptural qualities. Unlike other materials, glass cannot be sculpted with your hands – artists must use special tools, timing, and gravity to manipulation the two thousand degree material, which is constantly moving while hot. Grant is drawn to depicting animal imagery and natural forms when sculpting. When he first started, he found passion in the challenge to capture the physical features of animals, but he now strives to capture expression and movement in the work in order to elevate the work from a sculpture to a story. Grant has taught and demonstrated in Brussels, Belgium; Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; Edinburgh and Lybster, Scotland; Istanbul, Turkey, and throughout the US. He was awarded the 10 Under 10 Award from Virginia Commonwealth University, honoring the 10 most successful graduates of the last decade, and the Royal Scottish Academy’s Benno Schotz Award for Most Promising Young Sculptor. His work has been featured on the cover of Glass Art Magazine. Grant is slated to teach a summer intensive at Pilchuck Glass School in 2018.