Loy Allen is a South Dakota native who returned to the Black Hills after studying design at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (B.A., 1975).
After learning basic lampworking in South Dakota, Ms. Allen studied advanced glass techniques at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and at The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. She has been self-employed as a flameworker since 1979.
Shows and Invitations
My inspiration comes from the natural world, the hills and plains of Dakota. Stylistically, I am inspired by the art of the Art Nouveau Age. Like the artists of that time, I am interested in a depiction of plant and animal life in a pantheistic spirit. My natural forms are meant to be expressive without being strictly realistic. I hope my work evokes the mystery and power of nature in a feminine, celebratory voice.
Publications in which Loy Allen's work has appeared
"The Lampworked Glass of Loy Allen"; Murray Bloom
Glassline magazine, Feb., 2000
Contemporary Glass: Color, Light And Form; Leier, Peters and Wallace (Guild Publishing), p. 62
Contemporary Lampworking (Third Edition, Vol. 1); Bandhu Dunham, pps. 113, 147, 228
Formed of Fire: Contemporary Selections in Lampworked Glass; Bandhu Dunham
Flameworking: Creating Glass Beads, Sculptures and Functional Objects; Elizabeth Ryland Mears (Lark Books)
2007: Mint Museum of Craft and Design Auction
Charlotte NC
November 2007: Glassified; Group Glass Exhibition
Dahl Fine Arts Center, Rapid City SD
2006: Mint Museum of Craft and Design Benefit
Auction, Charlotte NC
2005: National Liberty Museum Auction
Philadelpha PA
January 2005: Goblets 2005 Invitational
Glasshouse Studio, Seattle WA
August 2004: Glass on the Wall Invitational
Kane Marie Fine Arts Gallery, Virginia Beach VA
August 2003, The Art of Fine Craft
University Place Art Center, Lincoln NE
June 2002, Glass Flower Event
Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge MA
April 2001, James Renwick Alliance Craft Auction
Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC
February 2000: Flameworked Glass Show
Art Elements Gallery, Mequon, WI
January - March 2000: The Artistry of Orchids
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
September 1999: Glass Invitational
Carlyn Gallerie, Dallas TX
July 1999: Invitational Goblet Show
The Works Gallery, Philadelphia PA
June 1999: Glass Invitational
Fanny Garver Gallery, Madison WI
April 1999: Cool Women, Hot Glass
Ariana Gallery, Royal Oak MI
July 1998: Clearly South Dakota; group glass show
Dahl Fine Arts Center, Rapid City SD
September, 1997: Juried Exhibition
Sioux City (IA) Art Center
June 1996: Group Show
Prairie Edge Gallery, Rapid City SD
1995-1999: American Craft Council Shows
Springfield MA, Atlanta GA, St. Paul MN
Awards
Rushmore Honors Award for Excellence in the Arts
Chamber of Commerce