Laura Donefer

Laura is an award winning artist who has been using glass as her primary medium for more than 34 years, often in combination with diverse materials.  Known for her innovative, colorful blown glass and flame worked “Amulet Baskets”, she also pushes the boundaries with work that explores ideas concerning memory, assault, bereavement, joy and madness. In demand as an exciting teacher helping her students to push the boundaries of glass as an art material, Laura has taught workshops and given lectures worldwide, including Japan, the United States, and Australia. Her work is many public and private collections, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, and the Museum of Fine Art in Montreal to name but a few. Laura has been honoured with many awards, among them the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Glass Art Association of Canada, the prestigious “Honorary Membership Award” from the Glass Art Society, for her dedication to the glass community at large, and the International Flameworking Award for “extraordinary contributions to the glass art world,” as well as being honored in 2016 with the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass honor award. Every few years Laura organizes one of her wacky, exuberant Glass Fashion Shows, a fantastical spectacle for the international glass community to enjoy. The last show was at the Corning Museum of Glass in June of 2016 and featured over 100 glass costumes.  Born in Ithaca, NY, Laura now lives in the wilds of Ontario, Canada, and in her spare time grows kale, hangs out with her husband and her dachshund, and kayaks the nearby waterways, loving and living her life to the fullest!

[Attending with support from Annette Cave}