‘As an artist my focus has been with the vessel. In the vessel, I find the form to be of primary importance. It holds the space. In a sense, the vessel is a "history of my breath": It contains the volume within. If I have done things correctly, the profile of the piece is a continuous curve; the shape is full, and the opening confident. Color is often the "joy" in making a piece. I want the colors to glow and react with each other. The clear band between the colors acts as an optic lens; it moves the color around and allows you to see into the piece. For me there is still much to explore. The relationship between form, color, proportion, and process still intrigues me. “

Sonja Blomdahl has worked as an independent artist since 1983 when she built her own hot glass studio in Seattle, Washington. She is most interested in the relationship between form, color, proportion, and process, and has consistently explored the vessel shape in her work. Working in the incalmo technique (the joining together of multiple bubbles of glass), Blomdahl sees vessels as symbols of wholeness and balance. Each vessel's   profile is a continuous curve while the colors glow and react with each other. In the 80’s, Sonja received the Artist’s Trust Fellowship Grand and an National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant. Her work was presented to the Prime Minister of Sweden in 2001. Blomdahl has taught at Pilchuck Glass School in Washington and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, and recently held a residency at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma.

EDUCATION 
1976              Orrefors Glass Skolan, Orrefors, Sweden
1974              BFA, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2008-09        Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA

2008              Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI

2007              Sonja Blomdahl: Encalmo, Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, Montgomery, AL

2005              Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID 

1999              Twenty Years, Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2008-09        Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA

2008              Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI

2007              Sonja Blomdahl: Encalmo, Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, Montgomery, AL

1999              Twenty Years, Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA

PERMANENT INSTALLATIONS AND COLLECTIONS
American Craft Museum, New York, NY Bank of America, Portland, OR Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL Boeing Corporation, Seattle, WA  Brunnier Gallery and Museum, Iowa State University, Ames, IA Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, Little Rock, AR Collection of Modern Glass, Museum of Decorative Art, Prague, Czech Republic Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY Everett Public Library, Everett, WA Fine Arts Museum of the South at Mobile, Mobile, AL Harborview Medical Center, Cultural Heritage Artwork Collection, Seattle, WA Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL IBM Corporation, New York, NY Kitazawa Contemporary Glass Museum, Kitazawa, Japan Mathew's Collection, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ MCI Communications Corporation, World Headquarters, Washington, D.C. Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, Montgomery, AL Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, New York, NY Museum of Decorative Art, Prague, Czech Republic Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI Oregon Public Arts Commission (Salem Public Service Building), Salem, OR Port of Seattle, Seattle, WA Prescott Collection of Pilchuck Glass, Pacific First Centre, Seattle, WA Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, D.C. Safeco Corporation, Seattle, WA Seattle Arts Commission Portable Works Collection, Seattle, WA Sheraton Hotel, Seattle, WA Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA The White House Collection of American Craft, Washington, D.C. United Parcel Service Headquarters, Atlanta, GA Washington Mutual Savings Bank, Seattle, WA Washington State Arts Commission (Art in Public Places), Olympia, WA Westin Hotel, Seattle, WA