Mary Ann Zynsky, better known as Toots Zynsky, (born 1951) is an American glass artist.

Toots Zynsky
Born
Mary Ann Zynsky

1951 (age 72–73)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materRhode Island School of Design
Styleglass art
Bird of Paradise, 1987, in the Speed Art Museum

Early life

edit

A native of Boston, Zynsky was known as "Toots" almost from the time she was born. She studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, receiving her BFA before traveling to Seattle to work at the Pilchuck Glass School under Dale Chihuly; she has continued to return there as an instructor.[1] In 1970, She spent six months in the 1980s in Ghana researching the local music.

Career

edit

Zynsky's work is known for featuring the filet-de-verre technique, which she pioneered, in which fine threads are pulled from glass canes.[1][2] Zynsky has shown her work at exhibitions worldwide. In 1988 she was awarded the Rakow Commission for work added to The Corning Museum of Glass.[3] She designed the torch, in the shape of a prosthetic limb, for the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games.[2] She was a resident artist at the Corning Museum of Glass in 2016.[4] In 2008 she was named to the American Craft Council College of Fellows.[5]

Her work is included in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum[6][7] and the Seattle Art Museum.[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Wright, Diane C. (2011). "New Glass at the Yale University Art Gallery". Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin: 33. ISSN 0084-3539. JSTOR 41421506.
  2. ^ a b "Toots Zynsky". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Rakow Commission Awarded". Journal of Glass Studies. 30: 122–123. 1988. ISSN 0075-4250. JSTOR 24190813.
  4. ^ "Toots Zynsky". Corning Museum of Glass. 2016. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Toots Zynsky". American Craft Council. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Toots Zynsky, Hot Chaos IV, 1996". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Toots Zynsky, Tiger FM, ca. 1992". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Artists - Mary Ann 'Toots' Zynsky". Seattle Art Museum. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.