LAURA DONEFER was born in Ithaca, NY and was raised in Quebec,
Canada. In 1973 Laura studied sculpture for a year at the National Art
School of Cubanacan, in Havana. Back in Canada, Laura graduated with
honours in “Literature and Languages” from Dawson College in 1975, and
with honours from McGill University in 1979. After traveling the world and
working with many interesting people, Laura trained as a glass artist at
Sheridan College, graduating in 1985. She has been using glass as the
primary medium in her work for over 25 years, combining it with other
materials. Making work is very important to Laura, but so is teaching. She
has been staff in the glass department at Sheridan College and has been
permanent faculty in Montreal at Espace Verre for over 18 years, helping
to mold the school with her dynamic classes. As well Laura teaches
regularly at the Pilchuck Glass School, the Corning Museum of Glass
School, Penland School of Craft and Red Deer College. She also conducts
many workshops in schools throughout North America and beyond,
including Japan and Australia. Laura also believes in supporting the work
of her fellow Canadian glass artists, and is a tireless promoter world wide,
lecturing extensively on Canadian Contemporary Glass in Canada, the
United States, Mexico and Australia, including the Canadian Embassy in
Washington DC, the Tucson Museum of Art, the University of Honolulu and
during AUSGLASS in Sydney, Australia. In fact Laura has curated a
number of exhibitions in the United States to showcase Canadian work,
one of them being “North of the Border, “ in Tucson, Arizona. As
president of the Glass Art Association of Canada, Laura was instrumental
in trying to unite all of the glass artists across Canada when she began
publishing a quarterly magazine, The Glass Gazette,” which has
developed into the major voice of the Canadian glass artist today. As well
as all her teaching and lecturing, Laura keeps to a very busy exhibition
schedule, and has exhibited her work internationally since 1985. She has
participated in many solo and group exhibitions, including shows at the
Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Japan, the Art Gallery of Western
Australia, the Hammelev Arts and Culture Centre in Denmark, the Agnes
Etherington Art Centre in Kingston, the Museo del Vidrio in Mexico, and
the Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai, China. Her work is in many public
and private collections, including the Corning Museum of Glass, the
Tacoma Museum of Glass, and the Museum of Art and Design in
Manhattan. As well Laura is a past board member of the Glass Art
Society, and is now on the International Council of the Pilchuck Glass
School. In 2006 the Glass Art Association of Canada awarded Laura their
first “Life Time Achievement Award,” and in 2008 the Glass Art Society
presented her with the prestigious “Honorary Membership Award.” As
well she exhibited her incredible installation “Shields to Ward off Madness
at the Clay & Glass Museum in Waterloo in June of 08, which is now on the
website. Laura lives in Harrowsmith, Ontario with Dave and Ana Matisse,
now 17 and a budding actress. Laura loves organizing her wacky Glass
Fashion Shows, and is planning the next one for 2009 to be held at the
Corning Museum of Glass. In her spare time she gardens, hangs out with
her dogs, and kayaks the nearby waterways. Check out her website:
www.lauradonefer.com