Home > Artists > George Ponzini
George Ponzini is known for his architecture inspired bowls, paperweights, menorahs, shelves, goblets, perfume bottles, and candlesticks. George began working in stained glass in 1974. Through twenty years of experimenting, attending workshops, and having relationships with other artists, George has created a style of his own. Along side of his smaller works, George has designed and built a post and beam salt-box style house, a barn-like studio, a 4,000 square foot contemporary house-studio and is now working on renovating a 1926 Dutch Colonial house and converting the attached floral shop into his studio. His work can be found in galleries throughout the United States. George Ponzini¡¯s aesthetic started as a reaction to the stained glass box. He began to create containers inspired by Art Deco where he would use ultraviolet or silicone adhesives instead of lead to hold the glass pieces together. George now uses a variety of materials such as rods and bottles from Italy, textured glass from France and Argentina, Pyrex rods and tubes from Corning, wire safety glass, vaccine bottles, antique glass insulators, drinking glasses from West Virginia, and marbles. He cuts these materials to the desired shape using a saw or a carbide glass cutter. Then George grinds the pieces using a diamond studded grinding wheel or on discs of varying grit. Designs and patters are sometimes incorporated into the piece using a sandblasting technique. The elements are then assembled together using ultraviolet or silicone adhesives. George explains his work as, ¡°Architecture is one of my interests which has had a major influence on my work. Through I had at one time considered becoming an architect, I enjoy glass as a medium and have directed my architectural energies into my glass works.¡±