![](https://exhibitions.bgc.bard.edu/studioglasshistory/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/BIO_PDeSomma_PT_1.jpeg)
Image courtesy of Paul DeSomma.
Paul DeSomma
Paul DeSomma (1959– ) received a BS from Cornell University in 1982 before discovering his passion for blowing glass. He took summer classes at New York Experimental Glass Workshop (later UrbanGlass) before studying glass at Ohio University in Athens under Jane Bruce. He then returned to New York City to work at Heller Gallery before being invited to join William Morris’s team in Seattle in the mid-1980s. DeSomma has worked at Pilchuck Glass School and acted as assistant to artists in addition to Morris, including Dale Chihuly, Flora Mace, and Joey Kirkpatrick. DeSomma has studied and completed residencies internationally, including in Murano, Italy. In 1991, DeSomma married fellow glass artist Marsha Blaker, whom he met at Pilchuck, and the pair now work both collaboratively and independently at their studio in Santa Cruz, California.
Works
![](https://exhibitions.bgc.bard.edu/studioglasshistory/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/BIO_PDeSomma_IM_WK_2.jpg)
Profilo, 2017. Blown glass, steel. W: 11 in, H: 18 in, D: 6 in. Mounting pedestal dimensions: D: 6 in, H: 42 in. Image courtesy of Paul DeSomma.
![](https://exhibitions.bgc.bard.edu/studioglasshistory/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/BIO_PDeSomma_IM_WK_1.jpg)
Tower, 1989. Blown glass and steel. H: 138 in, W: 40 in, D: 4 in. Image courtesy of Paul DeSomma.
![](https://exhibitions.bgc.bard.edu/studioglasshistory/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/DeSomma.png)