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

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.

Tower, 1989. Blown glass and steel. H: 138 in, W: 40 in, D: 4 in. Image courtesy of Paul DeSomma.

Paul DeSomma talks about working at Pilchuck.

Playing01:07 Transcript
Paul DeSomma

Paul DeSomma talks about working at Pilchuck. Oral history interview with Paul DeSomma by Barb Elam, conducted via telephone, October 29, 2020, Bard Graduate Center. Clip length: 01:07.

Paul DeSomma: I was there from ‘86—and ‘86 to ‘91 and then sporadically after that but I was responsible for running the hot glass shop. The hot shop coordinator was my title and I was also a gaffer sometimes. Ben Moore was the educational coordinator when I got there, and, as I said, I was invited by Bill [Morris] to join his team, but he also got me a job working at Pilchuck during the summers. Now, right off the bat I was not the Hot Shop Coordinator, I was Gaffer’s Assistant, and then I was on hot shop staff, and then over the next year or so I ended up being the Hot Shop Coordinator. So Benny was there—Ben [Benjamin] Moore was there as the—I guess that was his title, Educational Coordinator, so we’re the first couple years and then he resigned from that position and I think it was Pike Powers who stepped in right after him. No, wait, Norman Courtney was in there in that position for a summer, I think Norman was there one summer before they hired Pike Powers.

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Paul DeSomma talks about Kate Elliott.

Playing00:40 Transcript
Paul DeSomma

Paul DeSomma talks about Kate Elliott. Oral history interview with Paul DeSomma by Barb Elam, conducted via telephone, October 29, 2020, Bard Graduate Center. Clip length: 00:41.

Paul DeSomma: I believe in the early seventies Kate [Elliott] and Dale [Chihuly] were quite close, she worked on his teams—I think in Rhode Island. I’m not sure when she came west so, again, she was already on the team when I showed up. And Kate was an interim director of Pilchuck while I was there, and Kate also had a very important gallery in Seattle for quite a number of years. She was very close friends with Flora Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick, who I mentioned earlier that I spent a lot of years working with, so I got to know Kate through them as well.

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