"Since the first day he melted glass into a clear marble, Sean Donlon has been drawn to the challenges of glass manipulation. Donlon earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Craft and Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012. He has traveled all over the United States and internationally to Lauscha, Germany and Murano, Italy to study lost techniques in glass, and to work with other glass artists. Among his distinguished honors, Donlon was the recipient of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts fellowship, was awarded Best in Show at Craft + Design, was featured in American Craft Magazine, Home & Design Magazine, and recently received the Smithsonian’s New Direction – Excellence in Design, of the Future award. Donlon's work has been exhibited in the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, the Chrysler Museum, and several galleries throughout the United States. He is currently living and working in Richmond, Virginia. We are surrounded daily by functional objects, beauty everywhere is easily overlooked when it is hidden in plain view. Becoming obsessed with this practical object turned into an opportunity to make sense of the world. The teapot became a symbol in my eyes, one that could be recognized by all people. Throughout history teapots have been used as a canvas for expression through its maker or utilizer. This makes the teapot a greater symbol - one that can connect everyone on the principle of taking a moment to wind down, interact, tell stories, or internally reflect. I use flameworking, a glassblowing technique, to create these teapots. Within the manipulation of glass and fire a unique vessel is born. This inanimate object becomes vibrant and alive when juxtaposed in a foreign environment; every teapot manifests its own personality in these installations. Reflecting light off of each other and playing with their environment, these teapots, in every viewing angle become their own story. "