Mary Ann Zynsky, better known as Toots Zynsky, (born 1951) is an American

glass art Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including gl ...

ist.

Early life

A native of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Zynsky was known as "Toots" almost from the time she was born. She studied at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

, receiving her BFA before traveling to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

to work at the Pilchuck Glass School under

Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly ( ; born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is well known in the field of Glassblowing, blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on ...

; she has continued to return there as an instructor. In 1970, She spent six months in the 1980s in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

researching the local music.

Career

Zynsky's work is known for featuring the ''filet-de-verre'' technique, which she pioneered, in which fine threads are pulled from glass canes. Zynsky has shown her work at exhibitions worldwide. In 1988 she was awarded the Rakow Commission for work added to The Corning Museum of Glass. She designed the torch, in the shape of a prosthetic limb, for the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games. She was a resident artist at the

Corning Museum of Glass The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning (city), New York, Corning, New York, United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Incorporated, Corning Glass Works and currently has a ...

in 2016. In 2008 she was named to the American Craft Council College of Fellows. Her work is included in the collections of the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

and the Seattle Art Museum.

References

1951 births Living people American glass artists American women glass artists 20th-century American artists 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American artists 21st-century American women artists Artists from Boston Rhode Island School of Design alumni Fellows of the American Craft Council {{US-artist-stub