Delicate Glass Sea Life Sculptures by Emily Williams

Glass Seaweed, 2014, Flameworked borosilicate glass, 20″ x 20″ x 20″

American artist Emily Williams draws inspiration from the sea and other aspects of organic life for the creation of her fragile glass sculptures that mimic seaweed, jellyfish, and coral. Each piece begins with a selection of perfectly straight borosilicate glass rods in various diameters which she carefully melts with a glass torch to form patterns similar to veins and branches.

As a child, Williams’ grandmother was a docent at the Smithsonian leading to many artistic and scientific discoveries at a very young age that would deeply influence her decision to pursue an artistic career. She went on to receive her MFA in sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis and a BFA in sculpture from V.C.U. in Richmond. She is currently working on an impressive glass coral piece shown in the video below (and discussed in this blog post), and you can see more views of her work both on Facebook and in her portfolio.

Glass Seaweed, detail

Glass Coral Skeleton, 2013, Flameworked borosilicate glass, 20″ x 22″ x 10″

Coral Skeleton, detail

Glass Nest, 2013, Flameworked borosilicate glass, 15″ x 20″ x 20″

Glass Jellyfish, 2013, Flameworked borosilicate glass, 15″ x 14″ x 14″

Glass Petal, 2013, Flameworked borosilicate glass, 15″ x 12″ x 4″

Petal, detail

Burst, 2013, Flameworked borosilicate glass, 12″ x 10″ x 10″