08/24/2026
Visit us this week in the Cone for a very exciting Visiting Artist Hot Shop Residency from Lonnie Holley! Holley joins us from August 26–30 in collaboration with Pilchuck Glass School for our Summer Series.
Lonnie Holley was born in Birmingham, Alabama. From the age of five, Holley worked various jobs: picking up trash at a drive-in movie theatre, washing dishes, and cooking. He lived in a whiskey house, on the state fairgrounds, and in several foster homes. His early life was chaotic and Holley was never afforded the pleasure of a real childhood.
Holley’s sculptures are constructed from found materials in the oldest tradition of African American sculpture. Objects, already imbued with cultural and artistic metaphor, are combined into narrative sculptures that commemorate places, people, and events.
After his residency in our Hot Shop, Holley will travel to Stanwood, WA, to be an Artist-in-Residence at Pilchuck Glass School, immersing himself in glass and expanding on his experiences at Museum of Glass. This collaboration creates the unique and extended opportunity for select artists of other mediums to explore glass, with support from some of the best glass makers and artists in the country and across several state-of-the-art facilities in our region.
Photos courtesy of the artist.
