Mortara, Michael

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Taming the fluid nature of glass with fire, balance and rhythm, Michael Mortara creates sculptures and vessels charged with bold color. Michael was born in Honolulu and earned a degree in architecture at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa where he minored in fine art, studying glass under Rick Mills. Michael has been blowing glass full-time since 1986. Prior to that, he was a teaching and technical assistant in the well-known glass-blowing program at Punahou School.

In late 1999, he designed and built a glass studio in Volcano where he produces glass pieces with his wife Misato. He collaborates often with other glass artists living on the Big Island.

“There is something both dramatic and dynamic about the manipulation of a molten mass of glass, such that the process has almost as much appeal for me as the product. Hot glass is a medium in constant motion where balance, timing, and rhythm are the essential tools in the process. Once you start, you can’t stop until it’s done. After more than 30 years in glass, I’ve conceded that it is the glass that is really in control however much I would like to think otherwise. There is no denying the inherent beauty of the material, and I have never made any attempt to direct glass away from what it does best. I consider a work successful if the people whose life it becomes a part of derive some satisfaction from beauty and a sense of mystery as to how it evolved.”

cabaf4ba037c4c0dbaba16b8b00b720d You can view work by Michael and Misato Mortara by visiting their page on our online store.

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