| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Jim Norton created stunning monochromatic and colour-saturated glasswork. Born and raised in Calgary, he studied art and glassblowing at the Alberta College of Art and Design and the Pilchuk Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. He later taught at the Alberta College of Art + Design (1986 – 2014) and at Red Deer College summer workshops (1986 – 2005); in Calgary, he helped develop Skookum Art Glass (1980s), and co-founded and -operated Double Struggle Glass Studio (1985).
Norton mounted several solo exhibitions including at the Front Gallery in Edmonton, the Thomas Gallery in Winnipeg, the Terra Cotta Gallery in Vancouver, Vitreous Contemplations at the Sebastion Yoon Gallery in Calgary, and Light Show at Starfish Glassworks in Victoria, BC. He also participated in scores of group shows, including the juried tour Earth-Fire-Light, Edmonton’s The Works Art and Design festival, Goblet Show at the Kittrell Riffkind Gallery in Dallas, TX and the British Columbia Glass Art Association Cross-Pollination Exhibition in Vancouver. He received an Award of Merit and a Design Award from the
British Columbia Glass Arts Association, and another Design Award from the Glass Art Association of Canada.
Norton’s works raised money for several charities, including the Calgary Kidney Foundation, the Calgary Opera Society, Regina’s Multiple Sclerosis Charity Walk-A-Thon, and AIDS Awareness Calgary. A range of private and corporate collections preserve Norton’s art, including those of Petro Canada and McDougall House in Calgary, Esso Resources Canada, and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. The City of Calgary gave works by Norton to Governor General of Canada Ray Hnatyshyn and to Queen Elizabeth II.
Norton died unexpectedly in 2016 at age 58. |