Accent Art Glass Presents: About the Artist
Kevin Fulton was born in 1954 in Albuquerque, NM. As a child, Kevin visited the glass
factory in Juarez, Mexico on a number of occasions and dreamed that someday he would be a
glassblower. That dream was able to be realized with the birth of the American Studio Glass Movement
in 1962. In 1973, after an inspirational trip to Europe, he decided to become an artist. From 1974
to 77 he attended the University of New Mexico art department, studying sculpture and jewelry under
Prof. Charles Maddox and Prof. Ralph Lewis. During the same period, he learned lampworking from
Clint Tuttle at New Mexico Tech.He then heard of a glassblowing program at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA so decided to move there with his wife, Belinda to learn to work at the furnace. Here he studied alongside William Morris and David Schwarz and graduated with a BFA in 1980. He continued his studies in glassblowing at the Pratt Art Institute in Seattle, WA where he worked under Walter Lieberman and Thermon Statom. Kevin conducted the first lampworking workshop there in 1981.
The Fultons decided to settle in Bend, OR and to build their own glassblowing studio which was completed in 1983. They started out selling his work at arts and crafts shows, including Pacific NW Arts Festival, Folklife Festival, University District Street Fair and Bumpershoot all in Seattle. In Oregon they attended Corvallis Fall Festival, Salem Art Fair and Oregon Country Fair. They've also participated in shows in Baltimore, MD, Dallas, TX, Park City, UT and Sun Valley, Idaho.
By 1990, they had established enough contacts that they were able to stop traveling to shows and sell his work strictly through galleries and fine gift stores. Kevin has created commissioned work for corporate gifts and sporting event awards. He has also placed a number of installations in private homes and has won mural commissions from Art in Public Places in Bend and from the Space Needle Corporation in Seattle. His work has been shown at the Pope Joy Museum in Albuqueruqe and the Portland Art Museum.
Always intrigued by the challenge of making sculpture from molten glass, he went to Pilchuck Glass School to study under maestro Pino Signoretto from Murano, Italy in 1996. "It was amazing to witness the skills of a true master sculptor of glass and the incredible facilities of Pilchuck."
Kevin has been making glass with the assistance of Belinda for over 20 years. They move together in a spontaneous, flowing dance dictated by the force of gravity and the temperature of the honey like molten glass. Timing is critical as Kevin blows the piece and applies and shapes the bits of hot glass which Belinda brings. As the piece nears completion, its thin walls cool faster between reheats, causing the pace to quicken and the excitement to heighten. With tap on the pontil rod the piece is placed into the annealing oven where it will cool down at a controlled rate. The end result is a beautiful glass sculpture.
Kevin feels glass surpasses all materials in its ability to transmit color, light and movement. Its unique characteristic of frozen motion lends itself beautifully to the aquatic life forms which comprise much of his work. He is also fascinated with the human face and uses this form as a vehicle in many of his sculptures to convey the emotions of color.