We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Julie Conway a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Julie , appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I had been majoring in art history, my Mom was an art gallerist and art consultant, and I studied abroad in France with an Art Focus at the University of Avignon. I discovered that I loved metal, loved 3D construction, and fire. I also had watched glassmaking in Italy, but the dedication to glass as an art career had not turned on yet. Until…. one day I was cornered in the yogurt section of the local organic market in Taos, New Mexico and asked to help a glassmaker with an order.

Rewind a bit, I had returned from Europe with my French boyfriend and we were living in Taos, New Mexico. I found myself a job working at a local jewelry studio learning and producing silver jewelry. An innocent evening of grocery shopping changed my life forever. When approached from a glass pipe maker, he demanded my assistance because his orders were coming in and he could not keep up. Although we did not know each other well, his assumption was that I already worked with jewelry torches and my skills could be adapted to glass. Little did I know the impact of that first minute at the torch. Melting glass in one’s own hand is a rush! And for me– it opened the door to a lifelong journey of exploration, apprenticeship, travel, exhibition, learning, and growing a business from this magical material of glass.
I was soon learning from glass Maestri on the island of Murano in Venice, Italy, I was an assistant to a Czech master in Turkey, I did demonstrations in France and Spain. My glass career took me all over the world and allowed me to work with amazing teachers. Based in New Mexico, I founded a lighting company Illuminata Art Glass Design.

Fast forward to 2023, after 26 years of glass studio practice, I am a known artisan lighting producer, I have a series of recycled glass lighting and decor products, I have exhibited in museums, and my work has been included in several collections, I have earned several international design awards, and I continue to learn and explore the alchemical journey of melting sand and forming it with our breath.

Julie , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

With intent to bring the ‘WOW’ to a space, I utilize glass to refract and reflect light, to create a transcendent moment and spark a sense of wonder. As the founder of Seattle-based studio Illuminata Art Glass Design, myself and my team can work with you to create the extraordinary lighting experience for any space, including luxury hotels, airports, hospitals, bars, restaurants, award-winning homes and museum exhibitions.

My studio practice of 26+ years has yielded a collection of bespoke lighting elements and site-specific installation and received several international awards and recognitions. Modern design, custom interiors, public spaces, high ceilings, are all part of my process. I am also OMWBE + ACDBE Certified.

Illuminata, an intentional design fabrication studio merging elegant blown glass forms and industrial elements produce patterns of light and shadow that is unique to my artistic expression. Art installation becomes functional design. The goal is transformation of space with light.

Please feel free to contact me as your partner for large-scale projects worldwide. My expertise in glass, lighting and suspension alongside her international languages and design awards make me the perfect asset to have on your team for international design lighting installations.
My conception and process for all site-specific original designs, includes the fabrication in the hotshop with my glass team. My engineers craft the
bespoke suspension systems and blueprints for armatures, and integrates the technical electrical components seamlessly. I organize and communicate with teams of electricians, installers, architects, designers and clients to realize her artistic vision to my specifications.

Selected acknowledgements: The A’ Design Award 2023, LIT Awards (Light in Theory) 2018 & 2020, Gray Magazine Editor’s Pick 2020, Corning Museum of Glass GlassFest 2018, Glass Biennial Bellevue Arts Museum 2018, Venice Biennale 2018 exhibitor, Women in Lighting/ Light Collective arts nominee, 2022.

Select clients: Four Seasons Seattle, SeaTac International Airport/ Seattle Made Store, Google, Hilton, Marriott, Living Computers Museum, Embassy Suites, Din Tai Fung.

What sets me apart is how my journey allows me to create bespoke illuminated glass for anyone. I love the collaboration and I love to layer light and glass with design elements. My artistic path includes all the inspiration from the spaces I illuminate and the clients I meet along the way.

I am most proud of my international connections and working in glass in many languages in many traditions, and learning from and employing people in many different countries. I also am very proud to be a leader in the industry for eco-efficient glassmaking and education. I have built homes off the grid, and currently live in a green-built home in the city of Seattle. My recycled glass collection is a true green design product line in glass. I am a co-founder of BioGlass.org an education site of energy efficient glass.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The best thing society can do is start thinking about US Made and locally made items of any sort. This includes art, and farmer’s markets, and other goods & services. Building a local economy is how wealth in communities exponentially grows. Currently the citizens of US (and elsewhere) are so addicted to cheap goods that the average person is willing to overlook how the price is so low. Generally, cheap goods from overseas have been made in horrific working conditions, with abysmal standards, no insurance, and often with child employment and bad environmental standards. Often the cheaper goods are knock-offs of established designers from the US and around the world. Here in the US, manufacturers must have insurance, safety standards, a living wage, and they produce things of quality, and originality. As a maker, I will guarantee my work, deliver on quality and have relationships with my clients. They feel good and the projects come out amazing, and therefore leave everyone feeling fulfilled and the space will have a high vibration of energy from well-made products.
For example, when clients purchase glass lighting from me, they support my studio, as well as the families of all my glassmakers, my welders, my fabricators, and local companies and suppliers, and electricians, and shippers, etc. All of these people’s lives are improved through my projects. This is the biggest joy for me and it shows in the work we deliver. Who doesn’t think that is the most important thing we can do? I often will suggest to clients to purchase less space-filling things and spend wisely on less items, but make sure they are quality giving off the best energy for the space.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I don’t think there are “non-creatives”. I know there are creative industries, such as makers and designers and artists, but there is a creative approach to every type of career. But the one thing I think is most important is tenacity. Not giving up, creating through the low days even when I don’t feel like it. People don’t understand artists because it is removed from everything in school and we are regarded as being lazy and weird. Artists work so hard and we never stop and we are not interested in retirement. The journey of exploration is what drives us. But it is not for the faint of heart. I daydream concepts that I want to explore, and I need to find clients, create a website, do exhibitions, apply for shows, apply for public art opportunities, and network and send out invitations and post cards and do promotional work. Then the actual project begins and it is a journey into the unknown as things are always turning up to solve and to balance budgets, materials with delivery deadlines and client satisfaction. I love the ride, but it is a nail biter!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://illuminataglass.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/illuminataglass
• Facebook: facebook.com/illuminataglass.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@illuminataglass9889
• Other: lumidesigncollection.com instagram.com/lumidesigncollection bioglass.org

Image Credits
Luke Pallet, photo 1