Bio

 

Eric received his Masters of Fine Arts with a concentration in glass and sculpture from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is a winer of a  2018 Stanislav Libensky Award and has received scholarships from Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Craft, the Joan Mitchell Foundation and received a Visionary Scholarship from the Art Alliance for Contemporary Art. He has studied under Gene Koss, Mitchell Gaudet Aesa Bjork, Ben Wright, Justin Ginsberg, Dave Walters, to name a few. He completed an artist-in-residency with the Washington School of Glass and assisted glass artist Tim Tate. His work has shown in exhibitions at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia, New Orleans Museum of Art, Nave Museum and at various exhibitions in New Orleans, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and Philadelphia. Eric taught Sculpture and Sand Casting Glass at the University of Texas at Arlington. He has been invited to complete an artist-in-residency with glass artist Sylvia Levenson in Italy. Eric has curated the “Texas Contemporary Glass” exhibition at the Nave Museum in Victoria, Texas and at Artspace in Shreveport, Louisiana in and curated several exhibitions throughout the gulf south. 

 

Eric spent the early part of his life in New Orleans, Louisiana. The elegance and decadence of the city has had a profound effect on him and his artwork. Initially, he worked in mixed media and painting and discovered glass and sculpture through his friendship with local artists. During his years in the city he developed artwork and was included in several exhibitions. He received degrees in Broadcast Journalist and Marketing from Loyola University. Eric’s early years were spent working as a writer for WVUE News, as the Executive Director of Delta Festival Ballet and as the owner of his own advertising agency, Hess Marketing, for twenty years. Twelve years ago he sold his company and he began training with glass artist Mitchell Gaudet and then continued his education with two years of glass related coursework at Tulane University under Gene Koss, Jeffrey Stembom and Weston Lambert. In 2012 he received a scholarship to the MFA program at the University of Texas at Arlington and graduated with honors. He is presently the Board President and Co-Director of Sanctuary Arts School and Studio in Shreveport, Louisiana.