John, Nicholas

Biography

 

Nicholas John Winkler was born in Lexington, KY in 1990. Due to his fathers career in the glass lighting industry, Nicholas was introduced to glass at a very young age. His father, a ceramic engineer, had an extensive background making glass light bulbs with the global market leader Philips Lighting Company.  In 1994 his family moved to Corning, NY where he saw glass being used as an art medium for the first time at the Corning Museum of glass. The constant exposure to renowned glass artists from around the world stuck with him. When he graduated from high school in 2008 he decided to attend Centre College in Danville, KY to study under famous American glassblowing pioneer, Stephen Rolfe Powell. Powell, also a graduate of Centre College, founded the glass program in 1985 with the help of Philips Lighting, G.E. and Corning Glass Works. Ironically, Nicholas’ father John was working at the nearby Philips plant at that time and helped create the now famous studio. It seemed only fitting that this is where Nicholas would end up. During his undergraduate studies Nicholas also worked with visiting artists Lino Tagliapietra, Ethan Stern and D.H. McNabb. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2012 Nicholas moved to Northborough, MA. He currently works and teaches out of the nearby Newstreet Glass studio in the neighboring city of Worcester.