Jack Storms is one of the few sculptors in the planet that sculpts glass cold. Yes! I mean it. There is no heat involved in the process whatsoever. Jack designs each piece from start to finish, works on them from inside out and the results are the most beautiful pieces of artwork you will ever see in your life.  It's time to show the world what real glass artists do and how they do it.

WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM?

In February of 2012 Jack Storms honored Derek Jeter’s accomplishment, of becoming the 28th person in the history of major league baseball to make the 3000 hits list, with an incredibly unique sculpture, commissioned specially for the occasion.  Jack spent ten months planning and four months sculpting the stunning, life-sized optic crystal baseball bat he presented to Jeter, which contained an incredible 3,000 pieces of reflective glass. A fitting tribute to such an amazing accomplishment! The best of all, we are donating 30% of all proceeds that come from sales of "The 3000 bat" replicas to Jeter's Turn2foundation.

Jack Storms and Derek Jeter at "Derek Jeter celebrity Golf Classics" in Tampa where Jack donated a Crystal Golf Tee (Valued at 30K)  to a silent auction in benefit of Turn2Foundation.

A short time after the 3000 Bat presentation in Tampa, Jack received a call from NY and a new commission was put in place.StormWorks Limited Edition Art Collectibles “Sports Series Edition” was born.

Jack Storms is designing a 1:1 scale Optical Crystal Football to be presented to a known football player in the next couple of months.  The athlete's name cannot be disclosed as he is not supposed to know about the piece until he actually receives it. But if you follow football, you know him very well!

One of the primary considerations in choosing a celebrity sports figure for this venture, was the extent to which he is involved in charitable works. Stormworks Studio sees this as a wonderful way to align with sports stars who connect with important charitable organizations, and bring  a considerable donation to their cause.

OUR GOAL FOR THE FILM

The Idea is to film the whole process of creating this master piece for this very honorable athlete and create a documentary ("The Glass Sculptor") about the piece named "Football Pride" The first optical crystal football ever created. Where it will show the process from the early design stages to the very end when Jack presents the piece to the athlete. We will film for 6 months straight, we will follow Jack Storms thru this journey minute by minute, and we will create a documentary that is as breath taking as it is exciting.

The first thing people ask Jack when they see his work is "How do you do this?" "How can you put little cubes of colors inside of cold glass?" We will show the process and the dynamic of creating these exquisite sculptures from start to finish. Very few artists work in this medium, very few people know about it and the truth is, there are no limits to what you can do with glass. Why would we want it all for ourselves? Let's show the world this beautiful art.

Stormworks Studio… taking the art world by Storms! 

Glass sculpture artist extraordinaire, Jack Storms has achieved serious recognition in both the public arena and the demanding world of fine art, since he opened his own studio in 2004.

For those who don’t already know about Jack Storms, Jack works in an incredibly rare medium which combines pure, lead crystal and dichroic glass through a cold-glass production process. These beautifully reflective, hand-sculpted pieces begin with a core of dichroic glass pieces; each cut, polished and laminated until they shine like mirrors. This core is then wrapped in sculpted, optic glass which refracts the light passing through the pieces and creates a hypnotic light show of fire and ice colors, which are incredibly beautiful and coveted by all who lay eyes on them.

This sculpture process is incredibly intense and physically challenging. So much so, that in the entire world, there are only a handful of fine glass artisans working in this medium.  It can take up to ten weeks to create these amazing designs, longer for large and specialized pieces.

Not content to be limited by what was possible, Jack set out to do what many thought was impossible, in designing a cold-working glass lathe.  In achieving this major accomplishment, Jack drew on early memories of his father’s wood working lathe while pursuing his vision. The resulting lathe gives him the ability to turn glass and sculpt curved, detailed shapes never before seen in cold-glass production.  Storms shares that, “It is this level of innovation, that enables me to apply my techniques to a broader range of sculpture, and sets me apart from everyone else working in optic glass.”

A true pioneer in the cold-glass world, Jack’s award-winning work is sought by discriminating collectors around the world and has been commissioned for award ceremonies, as commemorative pieces and even as an emissarial gift to the President of Nigeria.  Jack’s work is so rare and special that the demand far outweighs his current production abilities. In fact, Jack Storms is one of the best-selling glass artists in the country today. There is a six-month waiting list for some of his pieces. 

ABOUT KICKSTARTER

Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, art, film, technology, design, food, and other creative fields. Every Kickstarter project must be fully funded before its time expires.

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T REACH OUT GOAL

If we don't raise our goal, we don't get anything.  Donors pledge the amounts, but don't actually pay until the goal is reached and the funding deadline has passed.  We want to avoid this so please spread the word.  Everything helps!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

This documentary is only going to be possible with the help of you (Art fans, independent film fans, and anyone who loves a positive, inspiring story).  We want this to be your film just as much as it is ours. The more people who Participate the more chance we have of getting the story out. To help out please Twitter it, "Like" us on Facebook, email this Kickstarter link and let your friends, teammates, supporter groups, and co-workers know about the documentary and this campaign. We would love for people to get involved on a local level. Email vivi@jackstorms.com to get more information and become involved.

WHEN WE REACH OUR GOAL THIS IS WHAT THE FUNDS WILL BE USED FOR:

Funds collected from Kickstarter will be used to produce, shoot, edit and distribute the film.

SOCIAL MEDIA SITES:

• Jack Storms' Facebook
• Jack Storms' Twitter
• YouTube Channel

JACK STORMS OFFICIAL WEBSITE

• Official Website

Jack Storms' Biography

Incredibly talented and skilled beyond all reason, Jack Storms was destined to be someone really amazing.  Both a tremendous athlete and a motivated student growing up in New Hampshire, it wasn’t until later in life that Jack discovered his passions in contemporary art and graduated at age 30 from Plymouth State University with a BA in Art focusing primarily on studio production.  It was during his junior year there that he happened upon what would eventually become an entryway to his legacy, the studio of a glass artist that was close to his school where he was producing a phenomenally rare style of glass art work combining lead crystal and dichroic glass using a cold-glass process.  The process itself which required weeks and weeks to produce even one completed glass sculpture was incredibly intense and physically challenging, and the number of glass artisans working in this form of fine art could be counted on one hand.  Working side by side with the artisan for over a year, Jack learned every component and facet of this incredibly challenging and rare art form and eventually was a strong enough sculptor to branch out on his own in 2004 and open StormWorks Studios. 

Both challenged and inspired by having been told that his vision was impossible, one of Jack’s first major accomplishments as an independent glass artist was to invent and design a cold-working lathe that offers him the ability to turn glass and sculpt shapes with curves and details like one would produce from a wooden medium.  Early memories of studying his father’s craftsmanship as he worked for hours in his own studio with a wooden lathe provided him with the blueprint of his vision, and his intense drive and deeply embedded passion as a glass artist combined with the inspiration that came from the idea of pioneering new trails in the world of fine art motivated him toward this remarkable accomplishment.

The intense cold-glass process which can take up to 10 weeks for each sculpture to come to life begins at the heart of the design, by creating a core of lead crystal which is cut, polished and laminated creating reflective mirrors.  When wrapped in optical glass, the refraction of light as it passes through the glass creates rainbows of hypnotic color.  The drawn out process of repetitive cutting, grinding and polishing requires intense passion, rigid self discipline, and more blood sweat and tears than any artisan could wrap their mind around.  The results, are mind boggling works of contemporary glass art.

Drawing inspiration from both his heart and his mind when conceiving his artistic designs, at the heart of each piece lays the theory of Fibonacci, a great mathematician that articulated the natural math seen in nature.  Natural beauty is created, not manufactured.   From the repetition florets of a flower to the scales of a pineapple’s skin, Fibonacci numbers are found in the pattern of growth of every living thing in nature.

In spite of the intense natural talent born to Jack’s very talented hands, a stroke of bad luck in business management landed him in the middle of a very bad dream only a couple of years after the opening of Stormworks Studios.  Struggling to keep his head above water financially, and at a complete loss of inspiration it was in true fairytale love story form that the serendipitous hand of fate brought him a beautiful princess that would rescue him from himself.  True love brought Jack to his wife Vivian, and Vivian brought Jack through his stormy weather helping him find his inspiration again, and taking charge of Stormworks Studio’s business affairs allowing Jack’s glass studio to regain success.  A match made in heaven, Jack and Vivian married and brought their son Owen into the world.  

Jack’s complex heart and deeply rooted emotions make him an exemplary caretaker for his family, who are the driving force behind his creative inspiration.  Only one muse inspired glass sculpture in Jack’s collection, the Viviovo sculpture beams with radiant light and colors from within having been modeled after the intense beauty and fire burning within his wife Vivian.

MASTERPIECES

• Bella Vino sculpture by Jack Storms won the People’s Choice Award at the 2007 BAGI Awards
• Carmel Valley Rotary Club commissioned a sculpture by Jack Storms for the President of Nigeria in honor of the first blood bank to open in Africa
• Fireman’s Bell sculpture by Jack Storms commissioned by the City of Pleasanton Firehouse Arts Center comprised of 8000 pieces of glass
• Optic Crystal Baseball Bat by Jack Storms comprised of 3000 pieces of glass, designed for the NY Yankees Derek Jeter commemorating his 3000th hit in the major leagues

Mini Cube and Chroma Cube - Pledge $10,000 or more

Jack Storms' Mini Cube - 2.5" x 2.5" / Jack Storms'  Chroma Cube - 4.5" x 4.5 "