Born in 1951 in Boston, Massachusetts, Toots Zynsky is a pioneering studio glass artist known for developing filet de verre – a technique of heating and melding arranged glass threads into sculptural vessels. Zynsky was introduced to glass as a student at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, where she was drawn to the collaborative choreography and performative energy of the glass studio. She received her BFA in 1971 under legendary glass artist and ACC Gold Medalist Dale Chihuly. She later became part of the cohort that followed Chihuly to Washington State, where they founded the Pilchuck Glass School. An avid global traveler, Zynsky cites her time living abroad in places like Ghana, Amsterdam, and Paris as a major inspiration. Experimentation is also central to her artistic practice. She worked in a variety of mediums throughout her early career, including fabric, wire, and video/performance, until settling again on glass in 1979. Her filet-de-verre sculptures are widely collected by museums and individuals around the world, notably the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Zynsky’s continuing contributions to the field of glass have brought her numerous honors including the Visionary Award from the Smithsonian and Smithsonian Women’s Committee (2015) and several fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1982 and 1986). Toots Zynsky was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2008.