Rick and Janet Nicholson collaborate on handblown glass platters, bowls, vases and lamps which are executed with a painterly approach to line and color.

Their distinctive, asymmetrical style is distinguished by bold opaque, semi-translucent, and translucent colors contrasted with brilliant, clear crystal. The Nicholson’s elliptically shaped pieces, sometimes curled over at the edge, convey the flow and fluidity of molten glass.

The plate or roundel, which is one of the most difficult forms to achieve in handblown glass, provides a flat canvas for the Nicholson's. Their surface “drawings” combine deep, soft colors to convey the viscosity and delicacy of the medium. Rich bands and swirls of color make their platters as dramatic as any abstract painting.

The Nicholson’s large pieces require tremendous strength and technical skill. Manipulating a mass of molten glass on the end of a five-foot blowpipe, at temperatures in excess of 2000 degrees F., the Nicholson's begin each piece as a bubble to which they add various contrasting colors of molten glass.

To create the flat form of the plate, the bubble is attached to a punty rod, opened, and spun out in one continuous process.

The Nicholson's hope that their art will enrich the homes of people who appreciate their creativity and attention to detail so often overlooked in our fast paced world of mass marketing.

The Nicholson's met at the University of Southern California where they took a course in glassblowing together.

In 1982, Rick and Janet left careers in ceramics and photography respectively to pursue glass art full time.

The artists have studied at the renowned Pilchuck School with master glass artists Dale Chihuly, Fritz Dreisbach, Richard Marquis and Therman Statom.

The Nicholson's have been featured on PBS, and Sierra Heritage Magazine.

Major exhibitions and collections include the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; the Governor’s Mansion, Sacramento, CA; Hewlett Packard, Sacramento, CA; Los Angeles International Airport; Oakland Museum Collector’s Gallery, CA; and The White House Christmas Ornament Collection, Washington, DC.