Website: www.menziesdesign.com/bio.htm
CSGA Wall of Fame Page:
Wil Menzies - CSGA Wall of Fame

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William Menzies came to be a craftsman quite honestly. His parents, William Sr. and Martha, were both full-time artisans, crafting hand-made western boots in Central Texas. They saw fit to have the young explorer begin his families craft at age 13. Menzies continued to work with leather until his late teens, when he decided he knew everything and the whole world simply didn't get it. To his parents dismay, this trend continued through many years and many adventures. Glass found Menzies in 1998, after a brief stint searching for his future mentor, Bob Snodgrass in Eugene, OR. The next eighteen months were spent moving between Eugene and Seattle, honing technique while working as a production flameworker, before moving back to Texas.

Due in large part to his mentor, Bob Snodgrass, Menzies found expression and fascination in the art of the marble. The optical & magnification qualities of borosilicate glass demands great attention to detail. In the lampworking tradition, Menzies uses a fiery torch and a combination of wood and carbon tools to create orbs up to 4"containing vast stretches of space and time. The constant development of the borosilicate color pallet, using precious and heavy metals, further enables artistic expression. Menzies recent works incorporate blown glass elements with sculpture in an exploration of the ancient and pre-historic nature of man. "I use the encalmo technique of merging separate blown vessels in conjunction with powders and graal, to produce a surreal and archaic landscape. These vessels remind me that, as humans, we have been searching and exploring a long time."

After years as a production worker, Menzies and his wife started a quarterly publication for flameworkers called The Flow. In the past 2 years, they worked with such notable artists as Milon Townsend, Hans Godo-Frabel, Cesare Toffolo, Emilio Santini and Loren Stump. Today, The Flow stands out as a premier artistic glassblowing publication with over 2,000 readers. Menzies has work in the permanent collections of Dale Chihuly and The National Marble Museum. His corporate clients include Pepsi and Wal-Mart.

Menzies has taught flameworking workshops throughout Texas. His family are current members of G.A.S., I.S.G.B. and The Glass Art Fellowship. His works are currently exhibited at Vetro Art Glass Gallery and Kittrell- Riffkind Gallery. He, his wife Jennifer and two children currently reside in rural NorthEast Texas.