Bernard Katz, a graduate of
Temple University’s Tyler school of Art, majored in
Fine Arts and specialized in glass blowing and sculpting.
His studies also included a semester at West Surrey College
of Art & Design in Farnham, England. After graduating,
Bernard began working in glass at the Sahej Glass Studio
under Leon Applebaum. He also worked with the Bayer Glass
Studio in Crawford, Colorado and David Garcia Glass Studio
in Amboy, Washington and Bloom Glass in Philadelphia, PA,
making functional glass and glass sculptures. Additional
artistic influences include a working seminar at Samuel
Yellin Metalworkers doing traditional ornamental
blacksmithing.
Bernard Katz creates distinctive engraved designs on his
hand-blown glass vases, bowls and sculptural works.
Katz’s engraved designs are original and usually
involve either botanical subjects or abstract geometric
patterns. He begins by blowing the glass vessel onto which
his engraved design will be created.
Some are blown in a single transparent color, which is
encased in clear crystal for added brilliance. He designs
and executes each piece himself, using glassblowing
techniques that date back to antiquity. His shapes are
created by freely manipulating the molten glass, without
use of molds, at temperatures in excess of 2000 degrees
Fahrenheit. For his famous Tree Series, he blows vessels in
a transparent color accented by a darker, contrasting
color. He then uses a sandblasting technique, which removes
part of the lighter colored glass exposing the darker color