ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — Sam Cornman is an internationally recognized artist who has been working with molten hot glass and creating sculpture for more than 10 years. He has also been operating his own glass studio, Jazzalactic Glass (formerly Blue Sky Glass), since 2002 in which he creates unique glass sculptures and elegantly designed objects for the home and commercial decor.

Believing glass has a vast potential beyond the making of a vessel, Cornman passionately enjoys sharing the process of transforming molten hot glass into creations frozen in the moment of time.

He grew up in the small town of Allegany in the foothills of the Alleghany Mountains located in upstate New York. Spending much of his time outdoors observing nature gave birth to his inspiration to create, while not far away was the Corning Museum of Glass.

This was where he first fell in love with glass, while visiting the museum with his grandparents as a child.

Cornman went on to study at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of American Crafts, earning a bachelor’s degree of fine art in glass art in 2004.  He has also studied at the Corning Museum of Glass Studio and the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina.

Upon graduating from the School of American Crafts, Cornman moved south to Birmingham to continue the pursuit of his passion for creating with hot glass. Since moving to Alabama, he has been creating and showcasing his unique glass art, sculptures and installations both nationally and locally while inspiring people within the community by demonstrating and teaching his art form.

In Birmingham, Cornman labored as a production glass blower and hot glass caster for five years at Bear Creek Glass, the nation’s No. 1 producer of hand-blown glass sink vessels.

At Bear Creek, he oversaw the production of the unique glass art sinks as the head gaffer and hot shop studio coordinator while also teaching classes.

In the winter of 2008, Cornman helped the University of Montevallo to set up a hot glass studio, and was a visiting artist there that spring giving many of the students their first ever experience with molten glass.

In the fall of 2008, Cornman was asked to be the resident glass artist at the University of Montevallo, where he continued to help out the young glass studio, teach the students, and inspire the local community through the end of 2009.

At the university, Cornman even once blew glass out of a traditional Japanese wood fired anagama kiln on a very rare day that it snowed in Alabama.

In the winter of 2009 he was invited to be a visiting artist at Samford University, where he conducted a hot glass workshop for the students and shared his art in an exhibition showcasing his glass, sculptures, and an instillation project in the university’s art gallery.

Also in 2009, Cornman was also invited to participate with other internationally renown glass artists in an Exhibition entitled the “Color & Light” at the Eastern Shore Arts Center in Fairhope, displayed his worked in an solo exhibition at the Kentucky Museum of Art and showcased his glass art creations in a solo exhibition, “The Movement of Now Frozen in Time” at St. Bonaventure University in upstate New York in conjunction with the 2009 International Glass Art Society Conference in Corning.

During 2009, Cornman was commissioned to create the Lifetime Achievement Award for the International Interior Designers Association, participated as grant review panelist for the Alabama State Art Council and presided over the Alabama Designer Craftsmen as their president.

Recently, Cornman has joined forces with Bear Creek Glass again at their new location in Orange Beach.

He has also taken a position as the director of The Hot Shop at the Orange Beach Art Center. It opened in August 2009 as Alabama’s only public access hot glass studio.

This promises to be another eventful year for Cornman as he looks forward to growing and building The Hot Shop into a regional and national presence in both the glass and craft art communities and will continue to share his work in upcoming exhibitions be including this spring with the Mississippi Library Commission.

Cornman also has his artwork in collections from the Gulf Coast to Germany to New York City to Japan and continues to demonstrate, teach workshops and classes, and educates the public about the medium of hot glass.

“Molten hot glass mimics the rhythmic flow of life as one must continually listen to the past, foresee the future, and transform in the movement of now,” he said.

There will be live glass-blowing demonstrations by Cornman and Joe Hobbs and Sam Cornman on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 6-9 p.m., at The Hot Shop, 26389 Canal Road in Orange Beach.

Valentine-themed, hand-blown or sculpted glass from The Hot Shop will be for sale.

For a $20 donation, you will receive a hand-blown drinking glass for the cold drinks of your choice (beer or wine) and will be entered in a drawing for a free hand-sculpted flower.

The drawing will take place between 7:30 and 8.

Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages will be available.

For more information, visit www.orangebeachartcenter.com.