James Whitehurst Glass

James Whitehurst Glass is a glassblowing studio located in Dunnellon, Florida that specializes in the use of uranium glass and intricate sand carved art glass vases. It's founder, James Whitehurst has 37 years of glassblowing experience, having started as an apprentice at Ybor Glass and Ironworks, in Tampa, FL in 1989. Whitehurst is also the founder of JW Glass School Project, a nonprofit organization with a mission to educate young adults in the glass arts, by offering tuition free glassblowing, flameworking, casting and sand carving classes. Working primarily in uranium glass, James Whitehurst explores the relationship between light, surface, and narrative within the language of blown form. His practice bridges traditional glassblowing techniques with intricate sand-carved imagery, transforming vessels into sites of visual and conceptual depth. Each piece begins as a fluid, heat-shaped form—resolved through breath, gravity, and motion. Once cooled, the surface is re-engaged through a subtractive process of carving, where imagery is cut into the glass rather than applied. This dual process—forming and eroding—creates a tension between volume and surface, object and image. The use of uranium glass introduces a shifting visual condition. In ambient light, the work appears restrained and material; under ultraviolet light, it becomes luminous, revealing a second presence embedded within the form. This transformation is central to the work, positioning light not only as illumination, but as an active participant in perception. Whitehurst’s carved surfaces draw from botanical forms, symbolic markings, and gestural linework, often suggesting narrative without resolving into fixed meaning. The vessel becomes both container and image—an object that holds space physically while simultaneously carrying visual information across its surface. Rooted in decades of material practice, his work reflects a sustained investigation into how glass can function beyond utility or decoration—as a medium capable of holding memory, light, and mark within a single form.