Rising Stars: Meet Shara Funari

Hi Shara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Shara Lynn Funari and I was born and raised in San Antonio, TX. I began working in the glass blowing industry in 2004 at a small production glass blowing studio in San Antonio where over the following four years I learned glass blowing from maestros who were sponsored to travel from Mexico to work at the facility. In 2008, I made the decision to further my career in glass and moved to Smithville, TN to take glass blowing courses at the Appalachian Center for Craft. Spending two years in that program, I furthered my skills in design and craft. In 2010, I moved to Austin, TX and opened my own glass blowing studio and over the next five years taught classes, built an art gallery and made my own glass designs. Since 2018 I have been working for Ghost Pepper Glass as both the Education Coordinator and am one of several resident artists.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
From my experience, the struggle here in Texas as a professional glass artist is two-fold. Finding a strong community of skilled glass artists can be challenging when there are few hot glass studios that are open for public use and rental. Blowing glass is similar to team sports, it requires a skilled group of trained and dedicated artisans, so the community aspect of blowing glass is crucial. The other obstacle is oftentimes procuring the facility and equipment that is necessary and specific to glass blowing. The overhead costs of purchasing and running glass equipment is a huge investment.  Over the last 18 years I’ve existed on both sides of that fence both as a small business owner and a contracted professional glass blower for hire. Fortunately, I currently work at a beautiful hot shop in Austin, TX called Ghost Pepper Glass! Without the community of professional glass blowers at Ghost Pepper Glass, it would be difficult to produce my work. I am eternally grateful to the ATX glass community!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
My work straddles both sides of handmade art: well crafted functional glasswares and art pieces that speak to my personal aesthetic and are meant to spark inspiration in the viewer. My functional glass designs are meant for everyday use, but being handmade, each piece is truly unique. I enjoy the process, so being able to repeat a handmade object out of molten glass in color, shape and size has been foundational throughout my career. My personal art work tends to be full of color, texture and pattern. Drawing inspiration from centuries old glass blowing techniques is at the heart of how I design my work. One aspect that sets me apart from others is my use of mixed media, specifically vintage or antique sourced components in my designs. Sourcing on-of-a-kind antique parts to combine with my handmade glass designs is my happy place on so many levels.

What makes you happy?
My happy place is all about balance. Finding the time to work for both myself and my work position at Ghost Pepper Glass while maintaining a happy marriage is where I find harmony. When I achieve balance in both my work life and personal life is when I also feel the most creative. My success as an individual is certainly due in part to working with the supportive team of professionals that I blow glass with and my loving husband and family!