Instructors

James Blake
James Blake recently graduated from Boston College with a major in studio art and a minor in education with a focus in drawing, painting, and ceramics. Through the rugby program, he volunteered at St. Columnkil School working with middle school aged youth. James Blake has exhibited work at the McMullen Museum, Boston, MA. He is the newly appointed kilnforming instructor at GlassRoots.

Kate Dowd
Ms. Dowd graduated with University Honors from Carnegie Mellon University School of Art in June 2005 with a major in Art. She is a sculptor with expertise in sculpture-casting, welding, blacksmithing, and metal work. Ms. Dowd has completed advanced coursework in installation art, sculpture, and metalsmithing as well as introductory courses in printmaking, ceramics, woodworking, and video. She has exhibited at the Warhol Museum, Seeing Double:10 Encounters with Warhol; The Frame Gallery, Friends Can Listen to Endless Love in the Dark, and Downtown Pittsburgh, Populate the Unpopulated. Ms. Dowd has completed an intensive glass annealing course at Urban Glass in Brooklyn, N.Y

Kate Haigney
After attending the University of New Hampshire, Kate Haigney has been pursuing glass since 2007. She has completed intensive workshops in glassblowing at Scanlan Studio in Brooklyn, NY, and DuckBill Studio in Atlanta, GA. Ms. Haigney also volunteered at Maho Bay hotshop in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Kate is a new addition to the GlassRoots staff as assistant glass blowing instructor.

Jason Minami
Jason was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He received his Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. While attending school he assisted at the glass program at Punahou Schools and assisted professional artists in Hawaii. He continued his education’ studying at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington and The Corning Museum Glass Studio in New York. He received his Master of Fine Art at Alfred University in New York and taught there as an Adjunct Professor in the Glass Department. He has recently been appointed as the Studio Technician at GlassRoots.