Ginny Ruffner

Ginny Carol Ruffner (née Martin; June 21, 1952 – January 20, 2025) was an American glass artist based in Seattle, Washington.

[2][11] Following graduation, one of Ruffner's first jobs was working for Hans Godo Frabel as an apprentice lamp worker,[12] creating glass animals.

[13] In 1984,[14] Ruffner relocated to Seattle, Washington, where she taught the first flameworking class at Pilchuck Glass School.

[16] Ruffner was the first woman in the United States to create sculptures with borosilicate glass, which is commonly used in the manufacture of scientific glassware.

[17][16] In lampworking or flameworking, a torch or lamp is used to melt glass, which is then blown and shaped with tools and by hand movements to create a sculptural form.

[18] It was described as "an exuberant installation of glass, steel and bronze depicting explosive flowers, massive leaves and twisted growing vines".

[19][1] One of her public art projects, "Urban Garden" (2011), is a 27-foot high metal flowerpot, with flowers and moving petals, in downtown Seattle.

[5][14] Through the use of lampworking she has developed a distinctive style, creating glass sculptures, mixed media installations and works of public art that are known for being "opulent, figurative, richly colored and metaphorical".

[3] Entering her thirties, Ginny Ruffner scored high enough on an IQ test to be accepted to Mensa and Intertel, two high-IQ societies.

Stella at the Louvre , 1990