Charles Lotton
October 21st, 1935 - September 17th, 2021
Charles Lotton was born in a little town in Southern Illinois, after high school he joined the Air Force, working on bombing & navigational equipment. In 1961, Charles and his wife, Mary, began a successful hair salon which sparked his artistic endeavors. In May of 1970, Charles went to The Art Institute and spent the day there watching artists blow glass. He came home and told his wife that he was going to be a glass blower and began building a furnace in their backyard. In November of 1970 he started what would become a 51-year career in the world of glass blowing and would become a world renowned artist with examples of his work in all the major museums.
By January of 1972, Charles was introduced to the Tiffany Glass expert Lillian Nassau. Lillian bought all of Charles' glass for the first five years of his career, enabling him to transition from the hair salon into a full-time glass artist. Little did anyone else realize fifty years later, Charles would still be creating beautiful, one of a kind works of glass art. Throughout the years, Charles' glass continued to evolve from simple paperweights to Vases, Bowls, Flower Forms, Persian Water Sprinklers, Pendant Lighting, Lamps, and Chandeliers. His designs have also evolved, from molten blobs of melted pop bottles, to some of the most beautiful glass art creations in the world today. Charles was completely self-taught, down to his own formulas that create the colors in his glass.
Charles had a strong determination to succeed, yet had one of the most humble natures of anyone that you would ever meet. He was a true man of God and attributed his success to his strong faith. He always prayed that the Lord would continue to bless him and his family with making beautiful glass each day. Today, Charles is world-renowned for some of the most beautiful designs in art glass, like the 'Multi Flora' and 'Cypriot' styles. These trademark designs have put him into hundreds of major museums and private collections around the world.