B I O G R A P H Y Christian Thirion has always been captivated by the art of glass blowing. Trained as a pastry chef in his native France, Christian traveled to Venice and Barcelona where he marveled at the sight of glass artists gathering, blowing and shaping colorful, glowing glass into masterful works of art. At this particular time, Christian worked primarily with chocolate, which as he explains, "starts as a liquid and is sculpted at specific temperatures before it becomes hard, working with glass is a similar process."Christian's mastery of pastry brought him to the United States in 1979 where he shared his expertise with ardent culinary students and pastry enthusiasts. Although he achieved the status of master French pastry chef, Christian found himself still inspired by the medium of glass blowing.Christian launched his glass pursuits with stained glass and in 1987 he enrolled in a glass blowing class at Santa Barbara City College. This would prove to be his turning point. Christian relinquished pastry to pursue glass blowing full-time and has been dedicated to his craft ever since. His unique, personal style; the fluidity of his shapes, innovative use of colors, attention to detail, and often whimsical themes are the components which make Christian Thirion a contemporary master.