ABOUT THE ARTIST

20 years ago Sheryl Ellinwood learned to blow glass on a dare! Today her work is represented in galleries, as well as both public and private collections throughout the US.

Sheryl holds a Masters degree in both glass and sculpture from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and her work has won various awards including the Glass Art Society's Award for Excellence. (see complete resume) 

Sheryl has a passion for books and travel. Every few years she travels to another part of the globe to bring new ideas and inspiration to her work. You'll see the influence of trips to Africa and Southeast Asia reflected in several of her pieces.  Her sculptural work is based on interests as diverse as  metaphysics and anthropology. Guaranteed, she is always at work on some new idea!

ABOUT THE BUSINESS

ellinwood studios was "officially" established in 1994, primarily focusing on creating works in blown glass. Since then, ideas that could not be expressed in blown glass took shape in fused glass and sculptures that incorporate glass with metal. In 2005 a jewelry line was also introduced under the name ES2 and has steadily grown in popularity. So, in January 2007, choosing to focus more on these other forms of working with glass, as well as the expanding jewelry line, Sheryl decided to sell the glassblowing division of the business.

One thing that will never change at ellinwood studios is our commitment to creating DISTINCTIVE high QUALITY pieces in glass. We are NOT a huge production shop. Each piece is made by hand...one-at-a-time, and therefore, truly a work of art!

ABOUT THE WORK

FUSED GLASS
Fused glass pieces first require the hand-cutting of intricate glass designs from large sheets of glass. Once the glass designs are cut, they must be fired in electric kilns to temperatures around 1400 degrees. Most fused glass is fired to a smooth flat surface, however, fused glass from ELLINWOOD STUDIOS IS UNIQUE in that a special firing process is used to create a more TACTILE SURFACE, similar to a relief sculpture.

Fused glass pieces made using TRANSPARENT colored glass are best used in a window or other area that gets plenty of bright light because this glass allows the light to pass through it. For example, Mobiles, Wind Chimes and the Color-Scape series are made with transparent colored glass.

Fused glass pieces made with OPAQUE colored glass are beautiful on a wall or other area where no light passes through them. Pieces made with opaque colored glass, such as the Wall Tiles, Storyboards, Sticks and the Glass Canvas series are mounted on wood.

JEWELRY
Sheryl created her first piece of jewelry in 2005; a simple ELEMENTS necklace. Since then more necklace designs have been introduced along with bracelets, earrings and rings. All are made with glass and sterling silver findings and many pieces incorporate Dichroic glass.

GLASS & METAL
The stunning LUMINA Series falls under this category. This series of wall pieces combines metal, gold and silver leaf and dichroic glass in a unique way that makes the pieces appear to be illuminated.

SCULPTURE
Sheryl also creates one-of-a-kind sculptures using glass, metal and other materials (often found and natural objects).

COMMISSIONS
ellinwood studios has been commissioned by many private, public and corporate clients to create CUSTOM pieces. Some examples of commissioned pieces are shown on this website.