Harry Tompkin

Harry is primarily self taught in glass arts. Pate de verre, lost wax casting, vitreous glass painting, etching, stained glass lampshade production, restoration, beveling and color theory are some of the techniques he has learned through various instructors during this time. Working solely as a commissioned artist since 1981, his commissions can be found in homes and institutions in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Ohio, Washington, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, D.C, North Carolina, Illinois, Georgia, Alabama, New York and Florida. His design portfolio is diverse, and shows that although Harry is proficient in all design styles, the Contemporary style influenced by the Prairie School, landscapes and Native American craft are his favorite source of joy and inspiration. The bowl shape currently holds a spiritual and aesthetic fascination for Harry. Texture will always be a part of his work and many of his recent installations include kiln formed elements and fire polished etching as major influences in the design. One of the paths he has pursued lately is “painting with glass” in which the glass is made
from various glasses fused together with heat and then cut apart and artistically placed before being fused again for the final creation.

Harry lives and works in Lincoln, Nebraska. A sometime fisherman and “Dad” to two active dogs, Harry enjoys the outdoors with his wife, Lisa, who is equally creative. The emergence of the contemporary German glass designers in the Seventies and Eighties fueled his interest in the use of American and European Antique glasses in architectural settings. His father was an architect so construction and art as a career appealed to Harry. The American glass artists, LaFarge, Tiffany, Frank Lloyd Wright and many of the artists from the Studio Glass Movement in the same time period have inspired him to design windows that are beautiful, unique and structurally sound.

The glass is the key, whether it is beveled, etched, painted, fused or shaped. It is the main element in any design. He values most his repeat customers, who continue to bring him new challenges. Harry continues to design, build and rejuvenate stained glass. His most recent public art project utilized thousands of pieces of preformed glass rods fused as “brushstrokes” in a kiln formed light sculpture influenced by Van Gogh. Other interests include hiking, cooking, reading, films and garden design. Spending time with his wife, Lisa, and their dogs is his favorite way to relax.