Robert Carlson was introduced to glass by his good friend Tom Philabaum in 1980. He has been working on Bainbridge Island, Washington since 1987, where he lives with his wife Mary Fontaine-Carlson. A teacher of many workshops, he has taught at the Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Crafts, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Bild-Werk and The Glass Furnace among other glass programs. He has been a visiting artist at California College of Arts and Crafts, California State University at Fullerton, Kent State University, University of Illinois, Hastings College, University of Miami and others.  His work is represented in the collections of the Corning Museum of Glass, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, Tampa Museum of Art, The Glass Museum, Glasmuseum Frauenau and others. Among his awards are a Lifetime Membership Award from the Glass Art Society, John Hauberg Fellowship at the Pilchuck School, National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1990, a Visual Artists Residency at the Centrum Foundation in 1992 and many others.