About John Soward...
A John Soward comes from a long line of anglers, and is a fisherman himself, so it should come as no surprise that he has dedicated his artistic skills to capturing the natural beauty and splendor of gamefish. John’s creative inclination led him to study art in college, where he experimented with a variety of media. However, it wasn’t until he discovered the elegance and nuances of glassblowing that he found his passion. After college, John worked with a master glassblower, from whom he received extensive training in glassblowing and the art of paperweight making. Once he became a skilled glass artist, John founded his own studio, John Soward Wildlife Glass.

The Process
The glass fish are individually handmade using no paints or molds throughout the entire process, therefore every fish is original. At his studio in Newburyport, Massachusetts, John uses a small torch, or a “bench burner,” along with numerous colored Italian glass canes to handcraft each fish. All parts, including the fins and eyes, are fashioned out of glass. Each fish can take up to fives hours to create, and because the glass must be kept under the continuous heat of the torch, John’s task is a painstaking one. Nonetheless, his hard work is rewarded by more than just a faithful rendering of a gamefish; each endeavor creates a unique and exquisite piece of art.

Each detailed miniature glass fish is between 3 to 4 inches and is sold framed. The frame is handmade out of the finest solid cherry wood with a single 1/8 inch inlay of maple located 1/2 inch from the inner edge of the frame. The fine woodwork of the frame is a collaboration of the artist and his father, John Sr., who is a skilled craftsman and talented artist in his own right.