Minnesota Artists Find Astonishing Ways to Bring New Life to Discarded Glass

Although it may take a million years for glass to biodegrade, local artists in Two Harbors are turning reclaimed glass windows and bottles into incredible works of art in significantly less time. Through a labor of love, Mike Tonder and his wife, Jody Freij-Tonder, of Blue Skies Glassworks bring the beauty of glass into their artwork and jewelry. However, these accomplished artists are not merely incorporating glass into their works. They are giving glass a second life with their glass is greener statement of recycling glass into dazzling sculpture and intricate jewelry shining with the renewed life of a reusable resource.

Currently working on a 16 foot glass sculpture comprised of 54 separate squares and rectangles of reclaimed plate glass for the Duluth Clinic First Street Building, Mike Tonder is completing both his largest and his most public sculpture. With a past clientele of private collectors, Tonder is especially pleased that this piece of work will hang in a public place. "Most of my commissioned works are in offices or private spaces," Tonder said this week. "This is the most public piece I’ve done and it’s exciting to think how many people will see it."

While working to convey the emotional attachments people feel to the beach, waves and Northern Lights the subject of this sculpture took on a double meaning by using recycled glass as a medium. The Duluth Clinic First Street Building is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building and the locally reclaimed plate glass and locally produced glass sculpture fit nicely into the philosophy of LEED certification.

About Blue Skies Glassworks:

Michael Tonder of Blue Skies Glassworks is an award winning artist sculpting with the medium of recycled glass. Through his innovative vision and creative design, his artwork and sculptures of recycled glass create flow and fluidity rarely seen using other materials.

Jody Freij-Tonder, a premier artist in her own right, brings color and vibrancy of the mixture of stained and recycled glass to life through her hand-made jewelry.

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Contact:
Mike Tonder