Brenda Griffith is the owner of Siyeh Studio, author of The Beginner's Guide to Kiln-formed Glass (Lark Books, 2007), and a glass artist with over 22 years of experience in kilnforming with Bullseye glass. Her art appears in over eighty galleries across North America.
Lee Ritchie was one of the first students in Joel Philip Meyers’ glassblowing program at Illinois State University at Normal. He graduated in 1975 with a BS in art and went on to establish glassblowing studios in Tennessee, then Atlanta.
Brian Renoud — a glass sculptor & beadmaker — is a longtime member of the Atlanta Glass Artist Guild and of the Southern Flames, a local chapter of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers (ISGB).
Becky Sizemore is an artist, beadmaking teacher, and owner of B-Bird Designs. She is the current co-president of the Southern Flames, a local chapter of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers (ISGB).
Siyeh Glass routinely hooks up with nearby Oakhurst Community Gardens for kid-friendly activities. Adults are welcome whether or nor they've a young artist sponsoring them. Kids four thru nine need a grownup present; nine and older can be dropped off & picked up. Check out the calendar slatings on Nov 8 & 17 plus Dec 6 & 13!
Our Resource Center also hosts an Artist Open House several times a year. Drop by December 12 or 13 — Saturday & Sunday — and jump on your holiday shopping with fabulous work by local artists. You can also tour our working and teaching glass studio, and watch beadmaking and glass blowing demonstrations by Siyeh teaching staff. Wine and hors d'oeuvres reception plus other refreshments.
My first exposure to this liquid medium began in 1972, when, as an anonymous young art student, I transferred to Illinois State University. There, the budding Hot Glass program under the creative hand of Joel Phillip Meyers was in full bloom.
At this extremely early date in the American Art Glass movement we students were exposed to and involved with many of glass’s first generation heavy-hitters such as Fritz Dreisbach, Dale Chihuly, Henry Halem, David Hopper, Bob Ness, Gianni Toso, Bertil Vallein, Vernon Brejcha, Michael Taylor, Jack Schmidt, and Mick Meilahn.
Upon graduation in 1975 with an Art degree (concentration in Glassblowing) I moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where I set up a small studio with some stained glass workers I had met along the way. Three years operating an art/ production shop and selling at many and various craft fairs and local galleries was my proving ground.
In 1978, we (myself and my soon-to-be-wife, Annamay) moved to
Atlanta, Georgia. Here, my second one-man hot shop was soon in production, and a number of years as a poor, but happy independent artist followed. Finally, life’s course took the direction of starting a family and putting these “foolish” pursuits aside for a more regular and realistic income situation, and I took “several decades” off.
In the fall of 2007, I stumbled upon the Janke Studios, where the owners, Matt and his wife Kim, graciously let me return to my soul’s artform. Here, I contentedly assisted in the hot shop, taught classes, and polished my coldworking skills. I will always have a very a deep sense of gratitude to them for giving an “old school” guy like me a chance to return to my true music.
Now, my life has come full circle with meeting the remarkable glass artist, Brenda Griffith. Combining her zeal and energy with my glass blowing and teaching experience has spawned the obvious next step: a wonderful little hot shop in conjunction with her Siyeh Studio. Here, Brenda’s marvelous fused and slumped creations, the bead-making and lamp work, and now the ability to produce full-blown pieces is an environment of creative explosion. This cozy little shop is “just right”. Life is rich.