Pam Pitts

Pam Pitts began her working years as an aircraft mechanic, building & maintaining general aviation planes until 1995. Deciding to take things to the next level, she began working on her Engineering degree at Palomar College. It was there that instructor Ray Warner opened her eyes to glass during a stained glass class and later a casting class. She loved the glass, especially molten glass, but the sizes of the tools were cumbersome. The class took a field trip to a local torch working studio, Flame and Fusion, CA. One look at the flowing glass in a weight class she could handle and Pam was sure of what she wanted to pursue. The precision of science and the unexpected result of artistic expression was the perfect balance.

That field trip became a full time job. It began with Pam’s first instructor, Debi Willingham, now owner of BNC. She taught the skills needed to get the glass to do what you want, but also the philosophy of when to let the glass do what it needs to. Pam and her long time friend Kati O’Meara swept floors and did whatever needed to be done in exchange for torch time and the chance to learn from other master artists like Cesare Tofollio, Lauren Stump, Lea Fairbanks, Patti Walton, Deb Crowley, Kim Affleck, Kate Fowle-Meleney, Bandu Scott Dunham, Corina Tettinger, and Jim Smirchich. The more information that came, the more Pam wanted to absorb. In 2001 Pam was able to visit Corning Glass Museum in New York. The vast collection of marbles inspired Pam to make them a special interest in her learning. A later visit to the Smithsonian in Washington DC would bring Pam’s marbles to a planetary place.

By 2002 Pam was assisting the guest artists and began teaching her own basic to intermediate soft glass classes in bead making, marbles, complex canes, pendants, metal/glass reactions, introduction to borosilicate, and home instruction and studio assembly. Pam was accepted to Glass Stock 2003 - 2005, where the 40+ participants must teach what they know and get the chance to learn what others have to offer. In 2004 Pam began running a full marbles workshop for the Glass Stock event. Pam also attended the 2003 ISGB Gathering in Lowell, Massachusetts, which included seminars from Jonny Olsen, Heather Trimlett, and a private tour of the Blaschka Glass Flowers exhibit.

When Flame and Fusion closed its doors in late 2004, Debi created a new lampworking studio, Beadmakers of North County. This is where Pam is currently teaching most of her private lessons and public workshops.

Pam enjoys the challenge of using many different types of glass. While her main palate is the Italian made Moretti, she minors in borosilicate glass such as Northstar and Glass Alchemy, and the American made Bullseye line. Pam say’s “The big draw to glass for me is its endless possibilities. No matter how long you work with it or study its properties, you cannot get to the end of the discovery in a life time.”

Pam’s work can be found at Beadmakers of North County in Escondido, CA; Ocean Sky Glass and Bead in Oceanside, CA; The Edge Gallery in South Beach Oregon, and Ornament Magazine, Vol. 28, No.1, autumn 2004.

You can see some of Pam's work on our Links page.