Fred 'Sonny' Cresswell

In Memoriam

December 29, 1941 - October 19, 2011

Fred 'Sonny' Cresswell had an artistic career which spanned fifty years of continual evolution; from painting and metal sculpture in the late fifties, to bronze and stained glass in the sixties and seventies, and finally, to hot glass.

An inventor and alchemist as well, Sonny designed and built state-of-the-art electric glass melting furnaces which melted his own formulas of crystal and colored glasses.

As the result of influences from renown turn of the century glass artists Louis Tiffany, René Lalique and Frederick Carder, to name a few, his one-of-a-kind works range from classic lamp and vase shapes with abstract hot glass decoration to sculptural forms.

This varied background led Sonny to become a sought after mentor in the world of hot glass. He was a seeker of knowledge himself, forever exploring different reaches of the hemispheres to experience glass from other cultural perspectives, and to pass on this mysterious art form to others.

Fred 'Sonny' Cresswell was the founder of Seaview Art Glass and created his glass in a private studio on the Sonoma Coast among the Redwoods with Leslie Moody.

Visit Fred's online gallery.