Our History
1997:
artbyfire was founded in 1997 by Renée Robbins Pound and Lenoard Whitfield. Renee and Lenoard sought to create a gallery and studio conducive for students and artists to be able to create and sell their work. Art by Fire was originally located in Ballard but after several years, Art by Fire moved to Issaquah.
Ballard
Issaquah
2004: Glass Floats Honor 9/11 Victims -
In 2004 Art by Fire set out to create a memorial that recognized and celebrated the bravery and courage of those lost on September 11th, without dwelling on the brutality of the acts of that day. With the help and support of fellow glassblowers and Seattle-area students we created over 1000 floats, each as unique as the souls that were lost on that tragic day. The softball-sized floats were created in an array of colors and stamped with the words "Never forget 9-11." They were then hidden on two Seattle beaches for people to discover the morning of September 11, 2004.
2007: Art by Fire moves to Issaquah's Front Street
2015: The ultimate goal of any artist, is to see their vision come to fruition. After 17 years of making Art by Fire great, Renee and Lenoard decided to "retire" and pursue their artistic endeavours full-time. They passed Art by Fire on to their students Sharon and Art Freas.
Sharon and Art started blowing glass after Sharon got Art lessons for a 25th anniversary present. The bucket list item got completely out of hand when they both got hooked!