About

I have been making Glass since 1971, albeit quite a struggle in those days just to melt glass. Having studied under Clayton Bailey at Cal-State Hayward, We opened a Gallery in Los Gatos that was called Fat City Ceramics. This was a partnership with good friends Ron Nelson, Brian Dennen, and myself, David Camner. We made low-fire 'Funk' Ceramics and Sculpture. We lived in our Studio in the old Moore Buick warehouse. We built a glass furnace there at Old Town, Los Gatos and started making blown glass. It was something we had dabbled with back in college. We sold the Glass we made, as well as Ceramics. I moved to Quebec in '72 and built what is historically known as the first "studio glass" shop in Canada, 2 hours west of Montreal in Lac des Seize Ille, (16 Island Lake), along with Alfie Lukian. It just happened to be one of the longest and coldest winters in quite a while, and I moved back to California settling in Santa Cruz. I built a series of studios, five to be exact, and was making glass as a studio artist in and around Santa Cruz.  I met my lovely wife Peaches in 1978 and raised my three boys there in Santa Cruz. I decided to get my MFA from RISD in 1985. I taught beginning glass at RISD as a grad student. When I returned in 1988, my landlord had sold my studio out from underneath me. It took years to recover.

In 1990 I taught Sculpture and Ceramics at Santa Clara University for my friend Sam Hernandez during his sabbatical that year. In 1993 I started my secondary ed. teaching career at Lincoln High and Hoover Middle school, teaching Ceramics/ Sculpture. I was pouring Bronze and doing Ceramic Sculpture with those kids. Great fun. In 1998 I moved over to Palo Alto High School, and took over a dying Sculpture program.

In 2000, I built Paly's first Glass Furnace and we started making Glass as an integral component of my Sculpture Program. At the time we were one of three such programs in the country, and perhaps the only Public School with a Glass Program. My program become acknowledged nationally. We had Visiting Artists, Exhibitions, Glass Sales and Workshops for the Public, to support the Program.
I retired from teaching at Paly in 2012, however, I am still involved with the Glass Program there teaching workshops, advising, and I help keep the facility up and running.  Teaching and running the program at Paly made it difficult to really absorb myself in my own work, as you may imagine. My work became my Fiery Arts Program. I am proud of that time, and would not give back a minute. It is extremely rewarding to pass down Craftsmanship and the Art of Making. I have been able to work with so many wonderful people...... Teaching Art is Art

My retirement has given me the time to make things for myself again on a deeper level. I have my Barn where I do Ceramics, Design current projects, assemble my Lighting, and play around. I like to surf a lot, and hang out with my grand-kids as well.

This website reflects my new work.

David Camner