For the past 20 years, Sourlis Glass Studio has focused on glass fusing and has pioneered in the area of "thin fusing". The thin fusing techniques allow for the creation of featherweight pieces without the loss of depth or detail. "Thin Fusing" was first shown at the Milwaukee Art Museum show featuring furniture designs of Charles Rohlfs and SGS which ran from June - September 2009. Since then, our process has been continually refined and taught by Tom Sourlis in classes throughout the Midwest including for the Retailers Association of Glass Studios (RAGS) and at Ed Hoy’s in Warrenville, IL.
Sourlis Glass was commissioned to produce a table lamp for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Emil Bach House in Chicago as a permanent installation.
BIOGRAPHIES
Tom Sourlis
Born in 1947 in Gary, Indiana, Tom Sourlis has pursued a lifelong interest in arts and crafts through weaving, painting, and flat glasswork. He studied architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology for four years, quitting school to go into VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America).
In 1974, he began making stained glass windows and lampshades which led to a 50-year fascination with glass lamps beginning with Tiffany style and moving into more contemporary, sculptural forms; all of his work being driven by his enduring, reverential connection to nature.
In the past, working in concert at Uroboros Glass in Portland, Oregon, with fellow glass luminary Eric Lovell, Tom experimented with and created unique varieties of sheet glass. He continues his experimentation and visionary search to discover new ways to produce beautiful glass objects. In 2023, Tom showed work as part of the “Sets, Series, and Ensembles” show at the Chicago Mosaic School.
Twyla Butler
Twyla Butler’s fascination with glass started in 1993 in her hometown of Hobart Indiana. Mastering the copper foil and lead techniques, she quickly moved on to mosaic and fused glass. This led to instructing employee art classes for major corporations in the region and at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City, Indiana.
Twyla’s other artwork includes sterling silver jewelry, mixed metal jewelry and photography.