Curtis earned his MFA in Sculpture from the University on Illinois. His work and approach to glass has been greatly influenced by working and teaching at the Pilchuck Glass School. There he worked with other established artists such as Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra, and Stanislav Libensky. This experience gave him a much broader understanding of glass from a worldwide perspective. He went on to become a professor at Tennessee Tech University and was the Head of glass program for 32 years. Curt’s deep commitment to teaching has always taken center stage in his life. But even while building one of the strongest glass programs in the country he continuously spent every evening and weekend devoted to the creation of his sculptures. He has built a wonderful career in teaching winning art educator of the year. While at the same time building a very impressive career as a glass artist with pieces of his work in over 25 museums around the world.