Wes Hunting

After graduating from Kent State University in 1976, Wes studied glass at Penland School of Crafts and worked as an assistant to glass artist Richard Ritter for six months. He later traveled to Italy to take in the glass scene in Venice and Murano. Today, he works as a team with his son, Wesley, in his home studio in rural Wisconsin. Wes Hunting has been working with glass for over thirty years. He is known for his incredible skill with cane and murrini as well as remarkably intricate, abstract patterns drawn on hot glass. The vibrant colors and patterns are “drawn” onto the glass surface at temperatures exceeding 2000 degrees. Hunting combines various Italian techniques, such as millefiore and zanfirico, with decorative techniques that he has personally developed and refined. While the forms of his work have changed over the years, they have always remained simple, with the intention that they never distract from the increasing complexities of the surface decoration.