Jessica See: Sculpting Whimsy with Fire and Glass
We sat down with Jessica See, a glass artist whose work playfully blends the soft and the sculptural, with a touch of cartoon charm.
Jessica’s path to becoming a glass artist wasn’t a straight line, but every twist seems to have added to the magic of her work. Raised in a suburb outside of Chicago, Jessica grew up in a deeply creative household. Her parents encouraged artistic exploration from a very young age, and “family drawing time” was a regular event. She began taking formal art classes at the age of eight, and her passion only grew from there. Creativity ran in the family—her grandmother, a dedicated crafter, introduced her to making yarn voodoo dolls, which Jessica calls her “gateway to creating.” Her grandfather, a teacher, helped foster that curiosity and passion. As the youngest of four, Jessica found a space where her imagination could flourish.
Initially, though, she didn’t plan to pursue art professionally. Jessica entered college as a psychology major with ambitions of becoming a crime scene investigator. But a career assessment pointed her toward art therapy, and that recommendation planted a seed for later on in life. It wasn’t until she enrolled in a glassblowing course at Illinois State University—led by an unforgettable, wildly theatrical professor—that everything clicked. The course’s sculptural approach and the sheer whimsy of the medium drew her in completely. She ended up switching her focus, earning her degree in art with an emphasis in glass.
Jessica’s fascination with glass stems from its inherent contradictions. In its molten state, it’s fluid and alive; once cooled, it’s rigid and fragile. Her own work often plays with these tensions, blending soft sculptural forms with playful, even cartoony, elements. “There’s this alchemy to it,” she says. “You’re basically making suggestions. The glass will do what it wants.” She compares the process to magic—the unpredictable transformation that occurs between intent and final result. The more she works with the material, the more she learns to guide it, but the mystery never fully disappears.
After college, Jessica moved to North Carolina to deepen her practice, taking additional classes and interning at Starworks, a gallery and art incubator nestled in a rural town, as well as assisting glass artists at 4 Winds Studio. It was during this time that she began teaching at an at-risk youth program—a return to her professor recommended she would thrive as an art therapist. Eventually, she moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where she drove two hours to Tulsa to work in a public access glass studio, continuing to teach while also diving into the kitchen. Her first bakery job was at a macaron bakery in Fayetteville, and she immediately connected to the process. “There’s this weird thing about loving the heat,” she laughs. “Baking and glassblowing both require a kind of respect for timing, ingredients, and temperature. It’s all chemistry and intuition.”
Three years ago, a serendipitous series of conversations led Jessica to Waterfall Arts. A friend of hers happened to be talking to a glassblower in Detroit, who had just moved to Maine—and somehow, that chain of connections landed Jessica at a Friday demo day in our studio. “I was supposed to be here,” she says. “Carmi, David, and Brian were so welcoming. I always joke, ‘You guys can’t get rid of me.’” Since then, she’s found both inspiration and belonging in the WFA community. She speaks warmly of the environment’s natural beauty, the openness of her peers, and the way the studio space supports growth—not just in technical skill, but in confidence and creative risk-taking. “Every interaction here feels like part of something bigger. The community values what we do, and that means everything.”
Her current practice continues to evolve. Though her signature style is sculptural and whimsical, she’s been intentionally building up her technical skills, exploring more precise forms and advanced techniques. Teaching remains a core part of her life—not only as a way to share knowledge, but also as a method of refining her own process. Her five-year-old son often joins her in the studio or the kitchen. She’s taught him to bake, and even introduced him to glassblowing, noting with pride how his curious, scientific mind helps him understand the complexities of the craft. “I’m starting to see his own creativity spark, which makes me so happy. The world needs more artists.”
For Jessica, glassblowing is more than a practice—it’s a dialogue with fire, fragility, and form. Her work speaks in the language of “whimsical defiance,” challenging expectations of what glass can be. Whether she’s shaping molten material or baking a decadent Victorian cake, Jessica embraces the unknown, the transformation, and the joy of creating.
Thank you, Jessica, for sharing your story with us! #25YearsOfStories