There’s something almost alchemical about how glass captures light; it bends, refracts, scatters and glows. In the hands of a master, though, this medium becomes transcendental. Handblown glass can be seen as a volatile dance of breath, fire, gravity and vision—and Randi Solin of Randi Solin Glass wields it with intensity, precision and emotional force.
Through her signature style of layering bold color, texture and form, Solin strives to redefine what it means to create with molten glass. Her work echoes the raw, expressive energy of an abstract expressionist painter. For over three decades, she has pushed the boundaries of a medium traditionally ruled by functionality and technique.
Solin’s unique journey
Solin’s journey didn’t begin with a dream of galleries. She wanted to change the world through politics. As a teenager, she was a passionate political activist, imagining herself, one day, in the Senate.
Fate intervened, however. While mingling with art students by a river, she had an experience that would become mythic in her narrative. A chance encounter led her into a darkened art building where molten glass poured, glowing from a ladle in the shadows.
“It was like watching liquid light fall to the earth. The sheer power and poetry of it captivated me,” Solin recalls. She returned home and declared to her skeptical father that she would be going to art school instead. Although Solin had no formal training, art teacher or portfolio, her academic excellence and the originality of her personal story opened the doors to one of the most competitive art schools in the country. Once there, she found herself among students who had been drawing and painting for years, but she wasn’t deterred.
“Glass was an extension of my love for photography,” Solin shares. “When I was a teenager, I converted my bedroom closet into a darkroom because I was just so mesmerized by how light could be captured and transformed into an image.” For Solin, photography and glass were two sides of the same coin; both media were ways to shape and manipulate light.
Still, Solin’s early path as an artist wasn’t straightforward. After graduation, she encountered a void. Her prestigious education had not prepared her for the realities of sustaining an artistic life. “No one taught me how to build a business, manage clients, or sell a piece of art,” she says. Though unsure, Solin didn’t quit. She juggled multiple jobs, apprenticed with established artists, and slowly honed her skills.
Building a name: Solin’s first glass studio
In 1995, Solin established her first glass studio. It was modest, but it signified a turning point. She began participating in art shows, building a name and shaping the aesthetic that would become her trademark. Still, life was far from stable. A turbulent first marriage led to frequent moves, and with each relocation, she had to reconstruct her studio from the ground up.
Eventually, Solin settled in Vermont in 1998, putting down roots in Brattleboro. There, she would later co-found an 11,000-square-foot arts complex in a repurposed chocolate factory. It took seven years of setbacks and grit to realize that dream, but the result is a creative destination that showcases and nurtures artistic excellence.
Overcoming challenges and achieving accolades
Solin has faced many challenges in her career. One of them is navigating a male-dominated field. She shares that glassblowing has been perceived as the domain of men because of its physical demands and industrial tools. “Strangers would physically grab me to assess if I actually have the strength to make my own work,” she says. At art shows, customers would assume her young son or husband was the artist.
Not easily intimidated, Solin used the experiences as fuel. Her glass is intentionally bold, dense and massive, defying the stereotype of delicate femininity. Through it, she asserts her presence, power and identity.
Solin’s breakthrough moments came through persistence and mastery. She was featured in a multi-page spread for American Craft Magazine—an immense honor in the field. She has also presented new collections at Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA) in Chicago, one of the most prestigious art and design shows in the country.
As a highlight of her career, the Metropolitan Museum of Art invited her to showcase her work in the Met Store Mezzanine Gallery Her vibrant vessels, homages to Kandinsky, Miró and Pollock, gleamed beneath the vaulted ceilings of one of the world’s most revered art institutions. “Walking up the steps of the Met and seeing my work on display felt like a Cinderella moment,” Solin remarks. Indeed, decades of labor and vision crystallized in a single, soaring triumph.<
A commitment to giving back
Solin further stands out for her commitment to others. She has always wanted to be a pillar of the community, and in Brattleboro, she is recognized as exactly that. As a member of the Vermont Glass Guild, she advocates for artists across the state, fosters collaboration and promotes education in the arts. Her studio doubles as a space for immersive learning, where visitors can witness the magic of live glassblowing or participate in classes and retreats that aim to inspire personal transformation. Her work with local youth reflects her belief that art can change lives, just as it changed hers.
Solin also leads retreats like Girls Who Play with Fire, inviting women into the world of glass art and using the medium as a catalyst for empowerment and healing. These programs are about finding one’s voice and resilience, and they’re a reflection of Solin herself.
Envisioning the future
Randi Solin looks forward to continuing to create, aiming to remain artistically relevant while scaling back the grueling travel schedule of art fairs. One dream she holds dear is to blow glass on a larger scale in Italy, surrounded by a team and immersed in the centuries-old traditions of Venetian glassblowing. She envisions expanding her retreats internationally as well, bringing the magic of fire and glass to new audiences globally.
