Accent Art Glass Presents: About the Artist
Fire Island Hot Glass Studio was founded in Austin Texas in 1981 by Matthew
LaBarbera and is the oldest glassblowing studio in the state. Matthew and his wife,
Teresa Ueltschey, work together as a team creating each piece one at a time by hand in
the best of the centuries-old glassblowing tradition. Fire Island glass is carried in
fine craft galleries across the United States, has been exhibited in Hong Kong, Japan,
France, Canada and Switzerland and is included in the permanent collection of Christmas
ornaments at the White House.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Our process is usually a collaborative one in design and creation. Matthew sees shape and
dimension: I see color and detail (though just as likely to be the other way around). We
both love the challenge of working in a medium that allows us to play with transparency
and opacity, form and texture, solidity and delicacy oftentimes within a single object.
We share a love for the pleasure of the process. Blowing glass is incredibly difficult to
do and incredibly rewarding when we get it right. It is an intensely physical activity
requiring the elegant coordination of our hands, eyes and bodies and our absolute
attention for the duration of the creation process. It is immediate and intense.
We each have individual influences ranging from an appreciation of the color sensibilities of Amish quilters to the mysteries of the universe reflected in the nighttime sky. We each have a deep appreciation for the wonder of the world around us. We believe that beauty matters and that living everyday with well-made, well designed beautiful objects can feed, nourish and enrich our souls. We feel so fortunate to be able to walk this path in our lives.
- Teresa Ueltschey and Matthew LaBarbera
