Henry Summa Designer Glass

Welcome...Henry Summa Designer Glass

Henry Summa began working in glass in 1972. His early training in the glass arts was based on apprenticeship, with emphasis on production of traditional, functional vessel forms. This period of learning was at the Glory Hole Glassworks in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His first glass studio was in New York State near Woodstock. After two years in New York he moved back to New Mexico with an established relationship with Galleries and shops around the United States. His present studio is in Santa Fe.

Summa's Windowed sculptures and paperweights contain layers of clear and colored glass in intricate patterns on the inside. The outside is fumed with a translucent, iridescent film that partially obscures the inside of the piece. A window is them cut and polished that reveals clearly the inner life of the piece. This evolved into the cutting windows that acted at mirrors when viewed at certain angles giving repeated images to the viewer's eye. These are called Reflectors and are truly an optic feast!

Dragon Vases get their name from the dragon like ribbon that wraps around their surface. It is created by interweaving silver, ruby and clear glasses, then melting them into the surface of the vase. The resulting "dragon" seems 3 dimensional and alive. The vases vary from opaque to transparent in a variety of bold colors and graceful shapes.