Mark Peiser

All Artists | Born 1938 | Chicago, Illinois

Mark Peiser was born in Chicago, and was initially trained in industrial design at the Illinois Institute of Technology—Chicago, graduating in 1961. He then studied music at DePaul University, but following a summer class in glass blowing at the Penland School of Crafts in South Carolina, he decided to focus on the art of glass. His background in industrial design led to experiments with the chemistry and technique of glass colors, leading to the invention of new processes and methods adapted for artists’ use in the studio.

In 1972 Peiser and Fritz Dreisbach co-organized the first Glass Art Society conference at the Penland School of Crafts as a way for artists working in different regions of the United States to share technical and philosophical approaches to glass art. He has received a series of honors and recognitions for his achievements: in 1988, Peiser was elected an Honorary Fellow of the American Craft Council; in 2001, he became an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Glass Art Society; and in 2004, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass.