Dick Ditore manipulates glass into remarkable structures. His mastery ofglass is achieved through his primary use of a kiln, which gives him control over all aspects of the glass. He spends time in the studio going through multiple steps to perfect each and every process. “My passion is cold working the glass – cutting, carving, polishing – to see what secrets and beauty the glass holds inside for us all to see.” Ditore has become one of San Diego’s prominent contemporary glass artists. His passion to evolve and push his art forward was inspired by working with Klaus Moje, Fritz Dreisbach, Frantisek Janak. He has been TA and Cold Shop Coordinator at Pilchuck Glass School, and lectures locally. His work has been shown in museums, galleries, private collections, widely published, radio and news spots, and several glass books. His expertise is shared through consulting and design of Cold Working and Fusing Studios. This year brought him a contract to design and set up cold working and fusing studios in an Art Center in China, from where he recently returned.