Made on the Gulfshore

It was in the jungles of Vietnam that Jay von Koffler found his affinity for the smooth, relaxing beauty of glass.

Von Koffler, 58, was born in Argentina and developed a lifelong passion for art while living in Asia and Europe. But it was his wartime experience that forged the creative connection to his chosen medium. "There’s a satisfying immediacy to glass," he says. "The only thing I’ve ever found as exciting as glass is combat. Glass is always moving. It waits for no one."

After retiring from the military in 1969, von Koffler became an itinerant student and craftsman, traveling extensively to learn from master glassblowers and artists, finally building his own studio on a hillside outside Austin, Texas. Along the way, von Koffler built an international reputation as well. Part master craftsman, part performance artist, von Koffler hosted hundreds of spectators who came to his studio to witness the dynamism of molten glass.

His vessels, lamps and chandeliers capture a crystallized liquid dream state replete with undulating forms of coral reefs, ancient canyons and childhood memories. Von Koffler juxtaposes sinuous lines and sensuous colors against sharp-edged, prismatic shapes that refract the light. His plate-glass tables, countertops, doors and windows range from painterly to playful, figurative to floral, and graphically disciplined to optical razzle-dazzle.

"If you can dream it, I’ll go there with you," he says.

on koffler says his reputation as an artist of singular vision earned him a commission to create "chalices of reconciliation," two glass sculptural vessels that represent international healing and renewal. The "peace cups" were part of an exhibit of medieval treasures; one resides in the Quedlinburg Cathedral in Germany, the other remains in Texas.

Von Koffler moved to Florida two years ago with his wife, fellow artist Jo Ann Hawley, and their son, Cheyene. He’s found Naples to be a fitting place to recover from a kidney transplant and heart surgery. His nagging health issues haven’t slowed von Koffler’s manic output.

"For years, I worked with one-of-a-kind pieces. But really, when you’re trying to communicate as an artist, and you only get to say it one time, there’s no way many people will hear you," he says. "I was screaming in the woods. It was interesting screaming, but I wasn’t really being heard. Now people ask me, ‘You’re a museum-collected artist, you want to do my coffee table?’ But the whole idea is to have that many more canvases to work on."

The artist’s paperweights and small lamps start at $750; coffee tables run $3,000; doors, $9,000 and up.

With von Koffler, however, selling his works is only part of a means to a better end. Both von Koffler and Hawley return an ample share of their blessings to the community and elsewhere, including supporting a variety of charitable organizations in South America and other regions.

"Right now, I’m pursuing a project that would take kids from the slums of Saõ Paõlo and teach them how to collect broken glass and melt it down; teach them how to create something beautiful out of it," von Koffler says.