Lundberg Studios

Lundberg Studios has been an important name in American art glass since 1970, creating richly colored, individually handcrafted glass in the small coastal community of Davenport, California.

The studio was founded by James Lundberg, who began experimenting with glass in a backyard hot shop during the early years of the American studio glass movement. From those modest beginnings, Lundberg Studios developed a distinctive body of work recognized for luminous color, iridescent surfaces, intricate decoration, and an unusual combination of traditional glassmaking methods and innovative techniques.

One of the qualities that distinguishes Lundberg glass is the studio’s approach to color. Lundberg Studios melts its own specialized colors rather than relying entirely on commercially prepared glass, allowing its artists greater control over the subtle tones, layers, and effects that give the finished work such depth. Designs range from interpretations inspired by Tiffany, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco glass to highly individual contemporary pieces.

Creating this kind of glass requires both artistic vision and considerable technical skill. Molten glass must be gathered, shaped, reheated, and manipulated while it remains workable. Color, metallic effects, decorative elements, and surface treatments are incorporated as the piece develops. Because the glass is constantly changing as it heats and cools, the artist must work with precision and instinct, making countless decisions before the form becomes permanent.

Among the artists closely associated with Lundberg Studios is Daniel Salazar, whose extraordinary ability to capture the natural world in glass has made his work particularly recognizable.

Daniel joined Lundberg Studios in 1974, initially working as a glass grinder. By the following year he was working with hot glass as a helper and pontilman, and his natural talent for design quickly became apparent. By 1978, he had begun designing and producing his own paperweights and became influential in the development of techniques used in Lundberg’s California-style crystal encasement work.

Daniel is especially known for creating remarkably delicate imagery within glass. Flowers, birds, butterflies, underwater scenes, and abstract compositions appear suspended within clear crystal, giving his work a wonderful sense of depth and dimension. His interest in botany, Asian art and antiques, along with a lifelong love of sketching and watercolor, has strongly influenced his artistic style.

These intricate designs are created through lampworking and related hot-glass techniques in which small elements of colored glass are carefully formed and assembled before being encased within clear glass. Once enclosed, the image appears almost to float inside the finished piece. The process demands extraordinary control, because the individual glass elements must survive repeated heating and encasement without losing their form or delicate detail.

Lundberg Studios has produced an extraordinary range of art glass over the years, including paperweights, vases, scent and perfume bottles, lighting, and custom pieces. Because the glass is individually made in limited production, subtle differences in color, pattern, and form are part of the character of each piece.

Daniel Salazar’s work has been exhibited internationally and is represented in museum and private collections. His pieces are individually signed and numbered, adding another layer of identity and collectibility to work already distinguished by its craftsmanship and remarkable attention to detail.

Arts&Souls has proudly represented Daniel Salazar’s work from Lundberg Studios since 2003. His extraordinary ability to translate the beauty of flowers, birds, and the natural world into glass exemplifies what makes studio glass so fascinating — technical mastery transformed into something delicate, luminous, and enduring.