John Soward comes from a long line of anglers, and is a fisherman himself, so it should come as no surprise that he has dedicated his artistic skills to capturing the natural beauty and splendor of gamefish.  John's creative inclination led him to study art in college, where he experimented with a variety of media.  However, it wasn’t until he discovered the elegance and nuances of glassworking that he found his passion.  After college, John worked with a master glassblower, from whom he received extensive training in glassblowing and the art of paperweight making.  Once he became a skilled glass artist, John founded his own studio, John Soward Wildlife Glass. 

          John’s first line of glass art portrayed freshwater fish including many species of trout, bass and anadromous salmon.  A fishing excursion to the Caribbean provided new inspiration to create a line of saltwater glass fish, expanding his portfolio to over 40 species.  John's repertoire is not only limited to the highly sought-after gamefish of the wild, but also reef fish, hobby fish and fish valued for their high food quality.

         The glass fish are individually handmade using no paints or molds throughout the entire process, therefore every fish is an original.  These beautifully detailed miniatures can be mounted in a variety of ways.   John's artwork is most often displayed in a cherry frame, but it is also available on the lid of a mahogany box or as double-sided statuettes atop a mahogany base.  All of the fine woodwork is a collaboration of the artist and his father, John Sr., who is a skilled craftsman and talented artist in his own right.

          At his studio in Newburyport, Massachusetts, John uses a small torch, or a “bench burner,” along with numerous colored Italian glass canes to handcraft each fish.  First, he heats the glass to temperatures reaching nearly 2000° F.  Then, with patience and precision, he carefully forms the head and body of the fish ensuring that its shape is true-to-life.  Next, he overlays the appropriate colors of glass to give the fish its distinctive markings.  The finishing touches, such as fins and eyes, are also fashioned out of glass.  Each fish can take up to five hours to create, and because the glass must be kept under the continuous heat of the torch, John’s task is a painstaking one.  Nonetheless, his hard work is rewarded by more than just a faithful rendering of a gamefish; each endeavor creates a unique and exquisite piece of art.

 Thank you!

John Soward Wildlife Glass, L.L.C.  © 2003