Meet Elizabeth “Lizz” Redd | Glassblower and Multimedia Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth “Lizz” Redd and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth “Lizz”, what principle do you value most?
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, let me tell you what it means to me. My upbringing was heavily influenced by the culture of my Italian grandparents. Just as stereotypically portrayed in movies, we take respect seriously. Nothing is more important to Italians than family; family is the first community we learn about and we take care of our community. When you respect a person, you respect their whole family. You go to funerals and cook dishes for people you don’t even know to show your respect to their family. This taught me you don’t need to know someone to show them respect. Just like we don’t need to know about other cultures, sexual identities or political theories to respect them. These principles I was taught young, I try to apply to everything in life. I respect myself, I respect my family, I respect my community and I respect the Earth that is our home. I honestly think we as humans can and should be able to do whatever we want in life, as long as we pay respect along the way.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Choosing to be an artist is to follow a philosophy where everyday you choose to pursue your passion. It is a road that is inconsistent, with extreme highs and lows. You don’t love everyday, but it’s a choice and I love my unique journey.

Curiosity drives my soul, and there is nothing I like more than learning. I was never discouraged from making art or pursuing a career in the arts, but I was encouraged to get a degree in something that might lead to a more stable career. Due to my love for nature and my involvement in organizations dedicated to protecting it, I majored in Environmental Studies at UCSB. It wasn’t until much later I decided to pursue the arts as a career. After I graduated, I felt obligation and schedule free for the first time in life, and all I wanted to do was travel. So for the better part of a decade I worked seasonal jobs and spent just as much time out of the country as in it. One of the ways I was able to travel for such long amounts of time was by participating in work trades, where I volunteered in exchange for lodging and often food as well.

I had my first personal interaction with hot glass when I did a work trade with a glass artist outside of Rome. I spent a month working for her doing all sorts of odd jobs, and in my free time I was in her studio learning the process of glass through observation. I had caught the glass bug and I wanted more. However, glass is a medium that requires a large amount of resources, making it rather inaccessible. Finding a studio to learn in is a challenge.

But as fate would have it, I went rock climbing and camping on a whim with a stranger that turned into a friend that happened to be a glassblower. I began apprenticing in the same studio as him and that’s where I learned my basics. For half a year I was a kayak guide by day and a glass apprentice by night; it was an exciting time in life. Once that season ended, I embarked on what would be the longest trip of my life. I spent four years in South America. After a year of traveling and work trading, I needed to find a paying job, or go home. Well shortly after I decided that, I was offered a job to blow glass in Brazil. I stayed in that studio for a year; it was the first time I was ever paid to blow glass and I was ecstatic.

Roughly a year into the pandemic, I came home. No one was working and I felt no societal pressure to get a job. That’s when I decided to go all in to become an independent artist. My first venue, where I still sell to this day, was the Claremont Farmers Market.

Everywhere I’ve worked and learned from was from cold calls gone right. I have no problem reaching out to artists or venues asking for an opportunity. The first place I blew glass in SoCal was at Knotts Berry Farm, where I got to volunteer seasonally. In search of more consistent access to glass I went to San Bernardino where I have been involved with SBVC, CSUSB and The Garcia Center for the Arts. This past year I was a teaching assistant to the glass classes at CSUSB in order to gain access to a studio. In the past 4 years, the inland empire has become my art home.

In this time craft schools have also had a big impact on my career. Pilchuck School of Glass being the one I have been most involved with. Four years ago, I was awarded a fellowship to Pilchuck and this opened a huge door to the glass world for me. Until this moment I could count how many glass blowers I knew on my fingers. Now I feel connected to a large international community of glassblowers. I have been back to Pilchuck as seasonal staff every summer since.

Pilchuck also introduced me to innumerable techniques and practices that were foreign. The most influential being Plasma, a subcategory of glass that is related to neon. The main difference being that what we refer to as plasma has a single electrode, and can create the effect of dancing lights inside of glass. This is a field I want to explore more and become recognized in.

Another field I want to work in is public art. My goal is to create permanent and interactive sculptures in public out of glass, metal, wood and found objects. About a year ago I created my largest piece to date for an exhibit at the Cheech Museum in Riverside. It was a 5’ x 7’ copper cage with nearly 100 pieces of glass suspended from it creating a rainbow micro-structure that people can enter. That is the direction I want to take my art practice.

My work explores material curiosity, interaction, and movement. My sculptures are known for their curvilinear forms, kinetic elements, and vibrant primary colors. I often incorporate light, distortion, and audience interaction—inviting viewers to engage with my work physically and perceptually. I see art as an open conversation and aim to create experiences that activate the same joy and curiosity I find in creating.

I consider myself an emerging artist and look forward to the day my art completely sustains me. Since I’ve started down this road I have had unforgettable opportunities and have seen so much self growth. I still encounter challenges constantly, I’m not sure it’s about overcoming them, but rather to keep going in spite of them. My successes are thanks to my persistence and a healthy dash of kismet. I think people see artists in articles like this and assume we have “made it.” But I found out the artists I have met that I think “made it”, are always hustling to keep their practice afloat. I hope people reading this are encouraged to support their local artists so we can keep this world creative. Cough cough I take commissions.

I want to end this segment with a little bit of gratitude. To everyone that has taught me, encouraged me, bought my art, shared my work, or supported me personally- Thank You! I am so happy to be living the life I have.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well California is the most diverse state ecologically and our weather is usually pretty good so I would spend a fair amount of time in nature; going to the beach, the chaparral, a riparian zone and the desert. Apart from nature, the first place that comes to mind is Rubel Castle. An eccentric spot in Glendora with bottles, old trinkets and even a motorcycle in the wall. An artist haven and a hidden gem. I would certainly take them to some of the urban green spaces in my neighborhood to show off the community. The top two on my list are Lopez Urban Farm and Sarvodaya Nursery. Lopez is full of art, year round fruit and vegetables for open harvest, a half pipe and goats! Sarvodaya has the best variety of plants in the area, bees and a pond! And both always have lots of events and workshops, so I’d line up a visit with one of those days. Finally I would take them to the Garcia Center of the Arts, the best spot in the IE. They have space for artists to work, a garden with native plants and free food, and fun events. They also offer a variety of workshops regularly. For bites to eat, well that’s hard for me because most of my meals are home cooked. LA is blessed to have delicious food from around the world and I I know I love me some good street food. Mi Mercadito in Pomona has my favorite chile relleno burrito, not to mention some delicious jugos. Out in Pomona I’d also recommend Borreguitas, a delicious Mexican food spot that also happens to be vegan and does a lot for the community.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My Family, duh. If you read the response to my last question, I’m sure that comes as no surprise. My mom always used to say things to emphasize the importance of family like “friends will come and go but family will always be there.” And she was right, my family has ALWAYS been there for me. I am so lucky to have been born into such a tight support system and that is my biggest privilege. I didn’t go to school for art but I had plenty of informal education at home. Growing up my Dad and Uncle were handymen, my Nonno was running his own Pizzeria, and my mom was always picking up a new craft. What I attribute most to me pursuing the arts, specifically 3D craft, is my handy family. At home when something is broken, we fix it and when we need something, we make it. I was comfortable with tools at a young age. Whether I was “helping” knead the pizza dough, “helping” put screws into a post or defacing freshly laid concrete, I was learning to love the process of creation. Shout out to My mom, my biggest inspiration and the one who gave me her problem solving, creativity and the confidence to do anything. Shout out to my dad who I joke is the head of my R+D department because he is always helping me figure out how to execute my ideas. Shout out to my sister for being my best friend and experimenting and creating with me my whole life. Shout out to my aunts for helping raise me and shape who I am. Shout out to my uncles for showing me there is nothing you can’t make from scratch, like a jeep. Shout out to showing my Nonno for teaching me how to do business while making me think I was working for him as a pizzaiola at age 5 and for being the biggest believer in me. Finally shout out to the one that is responsible for this big beautiful family in the first place, the one who taught us how to love each other, my Nonna.

Instagram: @lizz.redd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizzredd/

Image Credits
Elizabeth Redd, Daniel Redd, Ying-Chiun Lee, Bee Cisneros