ARTIST STATEMENT

Working with glass fascinates and challenges me; it’s like painting a canvas that I bring into three-dimensional form.

All of my sculptures are individually crafted, fired, and hand-finished in my workshop near Charlotte, North Carolina. As a primarily self-taught artist, I’ve developed my techniques over the course of a decade through experimentation and creative perseverance. The successes, setbacks and lessons I’ve learned along the way have evolved into my current body of work. 

The sculptures in my Crystalline series are inspired by geodes and gemstones, combining the properties natural stones and crystals with the brilliance of refined, polished jewels. Each one is crafted with glass cut from large sheets that I hand crush and sift into tiny fragments. The fragments are then tediously layered in varying densities to create the sculpture’s granular texture while blending colors, shaping, and free-forming the composition as I go. Many of these works feature open areas within the design where I’ve allocated space for the glass to stretch, drip, or hollow-out as it becomes molten while still holding to its planned configuration. Creating these geode-like ‘cavities’ is a meticulous process. My intentionally imbalanced areas have to be perfectly balanced within the overall design for the sculpture to successfully take its shape and avoid collapse while firing. The weight and distribution of layers have to be precise; it’s a delicate process of give-and-take.

After the composition is complete, it is kiln-fired at temperatures reaching over 1200 degrees Fahrenheit through multiple heating and cooling cycles. Once cooled and cleaned, it is then fired through additional cycles using stainless steel forms to help guide the composition as the glass melts, pulls, and solidifies to its planned structure. Finally, the fully formed sculpture is cold worked by hand to its finished size, shape and texture. 
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Each sculpture in my Shards series is free-formed through a similar process as my Crystalline sculptures using larger size shards of glass that I cut and shape by hand and then carefully arrange in layers. Constructed piece by piece and layer by layer, this process also requires just the right balance of space and weight throughout the design to ensure its viability through the firing and shaping process. 

With every sculpture I’m working backwards through a creative process that requires both prediction and precision. Forecasting how the glass will meld, pull and expand during the heating and cooling cycles is essential from the start. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don’t, but the risk of failure never outweighs my love for the challenge.

ARTIST BIO
Elijah Kell is a glass artist living in Mooresville, North Carolina. His passion for art began in elementary school, where it became a creative refuge from academic challenges. At the age of ten, he encountered glass for the first time, sparking a deep connection that has since defined his artistic journey. As a dyslexic, Elijah finds profound meaning in visual storytelling, using color, texture, and form to bring his ideas to life.

A natural artist-entrepreneur, Elijah began exhibiting his work across North Carolina at a young age. At just 11, he won his first professional juried award, and by 13, he was creating large-scale installations for hotels in Charlotte’s Center City. His first solo gallery exhibitions soon followed, and at 15, he was honored with an invitation to exhibit at the GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art—a distinction that solidified his commitment to his craft. 

In March 2023, Elijah launched Kell Glass LLC and made the leap to pursue his art full-time. His work is now represented by multiple galleries in the Charlotte metropolitan area, and his collectors and commissioned pieces span the Carolinas, the nation, and beyond. While primarily self-taught, he is dedicated to continual artistic growth and has studied at the prestigious Penland School of Craft under Nisha Bansil, exploring the pâte-de-verre technique and the intricacies of embedding patterns in glass casting. Additionally, he gained valuable curatorial and installation experience while working with the Gorelick Galleries at Central Piedmont Community College.

Beyond the studio, Elijah is committed to giving back. He proudly partners with Arts for Life, a nonprofit that brings the healing power of art to pediatric patients in hospitals and treatment clinics across North Carolina. His generosity also extends to numerous charities in Charlotte and beyond, where he donates his work to support meaningful causes.
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This year marks a decade since Elijah discovered glass and created his very first art piece—a milestone celebrating his passion and dedication as a continuously evolving artist.