Deborah Ballog
I was born and raised in Ohio, a great place for a glass lover to grow up. Ohio is the home of Belmont, Imperial, and Heisley Glass Companies. When I was a child my Aunt purchased demitasse sets from Imperial for my pretend tea parties. My love of crystal, of anything glass started when I was very young. I grew up and moved to Florida and my passion for glass took a back seat to everyday life. While serving on the steering committee of Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Largo, Florida I became reacquainted with art, and particularly glass art. There was no instruction in kiln formed glass in the area, so I spent a couple years blowing glass at Phoenix Glass Studio in Tampa, Florida. That experience gave me the confidence to purchase a kiln and begin teaching myself glass fusing.
After several hundred experiments, some successful and some not, I taught myself the basics of kiln formed glass. To continue my glass education I found some excellent fusing classes in Portland, Oregon and Corning, New York. Every year I try to attend class at one of these glass centers. With each class came a new technique, and each technique inspired fresh ideas and creativity.
“Color and Motion” have always been my inspiration. While the glass is molten, my first instinct is to open the kiln lid and comb the glass creating spontaneous swirls of color.
I have been teaching glass fusing classes at all levels on a wide variety of techniques since 2001. I love being around other glass enthusiasts. In early 2010 Dixon-Ballog Glass Gallery and teaching studio opened in the Riverchase area of Pelham, Alabama. We're a Bullseye Resource Center and I now teach full time.
My glass art has won numerous awards from Ohio to Florida and is displayed in several galleries in the Midwest and North. Locally my art can be found at Dixon-Ballog Glass Gallery in Pelham and Artists Incorporated in Vestavia Hills.
