Chris Hawthorne was born in 1953 in Detroit, Michigan. He began working with flat glass in his spare time while commercial fishing off the Oregon Coast in the mid 70's. He met Dale Chihuly in 1978 and was encouraged to enroll in the Pilchuck Glass School, where he studied flat glass and then hot glass. He continued his studies in glass at the world-renowned Pilchuck Glass School through 1984. In 1985 he built the shop that became known as Plum Tree Glass. Chris Hawthorne has studied under Loredano Rosin and Lino Tagliapietra, both masters of Murano, Italy. He has also been strongly influenced by Dale Chihuly, as Dale was the person who encouraged him to enroll in the Pilchuck Glass School. William Morris was another person who was influential through his painterly approach to surface design and masterly control of form. Chris Hawthorne creates massive, hand-blown glass vessels and sculptural pieces that convey the luminescent colors and shell-like forms of a mythical world. His original creations usually feature bold colors in a rainbow of hues with intricate decorative elements cased in clear crystal. The result is a dramatic, multi-layered effect that is further enhanced by the enormous size Hawthorne is able to achieve in hand-blown glass. Most of his works involve sculptural variation of vessel forms, usually distorted for intense visual interest from all angles of view. Chris designs and creates each piece using a combination of transparent and opaque colors with clear crystal. His works are included in numerous private and public collections and have been exhibited at major galleries and museums throughout the United States and Europe. A partial list of museums and collections are Museum of Fine Art, Boston, Muskegon Museum of Art, Coos Art Museum, Carolina Power and Light, Dow Chemical, Penta Hotels, Chrysler Corp. Collection, Renaissance Vineyards, Motorola Corporation, Peat Marwick and Gillette Corp. New River Gallery 914 East Las Olas Boulevard, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301 954-524-2100