Doug Randall

Douglas Randall began his glass career in 1973. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University, he interned for three years with a California-based glass design and production company. He has worked and studied at Bullseye Glass and the Pilchuck Glass School. Randall maintains his studio in Portland, Oregon, where he holds workshops, and designs and produces one-of-a-kind glass sculptures. I conduct workshops and lecture nationally several times annually at various schools.

Randall’s fused glass pieces are created by cutting and arranging colored glass into patterns and fusing them together in a kiln. After it cools, the now formed glass sheet is placed over a mold and put back in the kiln, where gravity allows the glass to slump into the shaped mold. After it cools again, it is cut, wheel-ground, edged, beveled, sandblasted, and finally polished, all this by hand, before going back into the kiln for a final firing. Randall's creations are spiritual in nature. His childhood fascination with the stained-glass windows of European cathedrals is especially evident in this body of work, which presents monochromatic expanses punctured by "windows" into highly textured, multi-colored mosaic inlays. According to the artist, the pieces that make up the inlays represent the many cultures, religions, races, and individuals he has experienced on his many journeys. The "windows" provide a framework or point of view from which the beautiful, harmonious patterns of life can be considered and appreciated.

His sculptural vessel series "Offerings," is inspired by spiritual imagery from Randall's travels. The shrines he found hidden on the walls of buildings in the back alleys of Murano, Italy were composed of beautiful mosaics depicting a subject matter from roosters to glassblowers, but they all included a small dish-like font where one could make an offering. Initially inspired by these shrines, Randall has taken the idea a step further, by purposely setting his vessels off level to emulate the gesture of giving.

His vessel series, “A Fine Balance” and his new series “Gondolas” speak metaphorically of one’s travel and our lifelong journeys. His luminous kiln formed glass pieces combine vibrant color with classic and reverent form. They speak of a point from which the harmonious balances of life should be considered and appreciated.

Randall has completed several independent commissions and has shown and collected internationally and has been featured at the SOFA shows, Art Palm beach, Wheaton Village and can be seen at many fine art galleries in North America, South America, and Europe

When not working in the studio, Randall operates a greenhouse and gardens where I mentor folks in organic gardening, building sustainable systems, preparing, and preserving healthy food.