Ben Tullman is one of the founders of Ignite Glass Studios and is currently our Creative Director and Studio Manager. He first encountered glass at the age of 12 making glass beads. Over the past 18 years, Ben has honed his skillset studying with master glass artists such as Davide Salvadore, Karen Willenbrink-Johnson, and Martin Janecky. The focus of his artwork is taking traditional techniques, pushing the limits of scale and developing new techniques through experimentation.

"I love the inherent unpredictability and mystery of glass. You have to be adaptiveand flexible to work with it because it has a life of its own. Every time you work with glass it challenges you and gives you opportunities to learn and grow."

Joshua DeWall - Bio not available

Charlie Matz (BA Photojournalism ‘16, Columbia College Chicago) is a glass artist and photographer born and raised in Chicago’s South Loop. Nearly 10 years of experience in both Flameworking and furnace formed glass has given Charlie the ability to create finely detailed sculptural and functional art. A natural affinity for various crafts like metal smithing, photography and drawing since age 10 have allowed for the successful combination of multiple mediums with his glass art.

Charlie’s recent work has been mainly focused on hollow sculpted organisms that are filled with neon and other research grade noble gases under vacuum and lit via electric or electromagnetic means.

Eleanor Victoria Harvey joined the Ignite Glass Studios team in 2019. She received her Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts with a minor in Anthropology in 2018 from Illinois State University . While her main focus is glass blowing, she also enjoys painting and drawing. Eleanor’s work is inspired by color, pattern, organic shapes/symbols from nature, and influenced by culture, and society - most often displayed through figural forms. She is a maker of functional objects, as well as aesthetic and conceptual art. Eleanor enjoys learning new techniques, collaborating with other artists and sharing her love for glass through teaching classes.

Joe Waropay joined the Ignite team in 2013 and is a resident artist and instructor at the studio. He is also the lead youth instructors for Ignite's nonprofit partner, Ignition Community Glass, developing and implementing glassblowing programs for under-resourced youth in Chicago.In addition to his glassblowing skills, his capacity in sculpture and printmaking have brought a new dynamic to Ignite. His artwork reflects themes of Growth and Development and Memories into glass and mixed media conceptual sculpture.

Joe was born and raised in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois where we was active in sports throughout his youth. He attended Western Illinois University and the University of South Carolin-Beaufort as a Division-1 baseball plater while also majoring in art and developed his passion for glass under John Miller at Illinois State University.

Joe is an innovative instructors and youth mentor who strives to introduce a fresh approach to the traditional craft of glass while sharing his passion for glass blowing with these students.

Connor O'Brien is a Chicago-based artist trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He first discovered glass at the age of 14 in high school, and by the end of his high school career, he had fallen in love with the material. Since then, he has been studying glass blowing and has also been a teaching assistant at Ox-Bow School of Art in Michigan.

Connor has been a part of the Ignite team for the past 4 years and has proven to be an invaluable member. He has expanded his horizons in sculpture creation through the study of bronze casting and neon bending. He is looking to bring his glass background to the practice of metal casting by making traditional glass vessel forms out of bronze and implementing glass carrying techniques

Ignite hosts several visiting and guests artists each year through various residencies, collaborations, events, and fundraisers. Our gallery currently displays pieces from Davide Salvadore, Nancy Callan, Martin Janecky, Grant Garmezy, Robin & Julia Rogers, Jaime Guerrero, and more. Click below to view the current visiting works we have for sale.