Jo Ann Syron Works

Jo Ann received her degree in Art Education from University of Oregon in 1985. For the next 18 years she taught at McKenzie and then Elmira High School, in Lane County Oregon. During her life she has worked in a variety of mediums including oils, acrylics, watercolors, printmaking, wood and ceramics. She brings to glass all of her various medium backgrounds with a strong emphasis on design.

Jo Ann has devoted herself to the fusing and draping of glass because of the challenge of a medium that constantly produces unique outcomes. Being self-taught in class, Jo Ann is, at times, unaware of what can and cannot be done with glass and is therefore not limited in her creativity. Jo Ann, while using only heat, time and gravity, is constantly exploring new venues and is always wondering “what if”. She likes to take a material that people normally consider hard, flat and cold and turn it into smooth, sensual and/or soft looking curves for her pieces. In her free flowing style of sculptures and vases no two pieces are ever exactly alike and the opening of the kiln is much like opening a present on Christmas morning.

In addition to sculptural work Jo Ann has developed her own style of painting with glass. Being inspired by the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, she creates impressionistic landscapes/seascapes using only glass and glass frit. With these elements Jo Ann creates a depth of field that puts the viewer into the scene. These pieces also have both visual and at times tactile texture. Currently her largest project in this style is a nine panel commissioned piece of specific scenes of Oregon.