Steve Smith has always been an artist, it just took him about 50 years to realize it! Several bumps in the road, twists and turns of fate, and he decided it was to make a living using his creative talents. A friend moved, sold us her kiln and he began experimenting with whatever he could find to melt. Since there were always a few wine bottles around, he began melting those. With Steve’s love of  nature and a hope to leave this world a better place for those that come after us, re-configuring bottles otherwise bound for a landfill seemed a good path to follow…so began Art From Empties…

Steve loves working at home and sharing his techniques with students at John C. Campbell Folk School. From wearable pieces to wall mosaics, whether left in a natural state or sand polished, the pieces invite your touch. All the glass is recycled bottle glass that has been heated to over 1400 degrees and is tougher than you might think the chimes “play well together” but don’t like hard ground, baseball bats or walls and posts!