“As proprietor of Bareglass, I live and work in Silver Point Tennessee as an artist and instructor of art. Specializing in one of a kind hand made glass, I have been practicing hot glass production for 30 years. I’ve lectured and demonstrated the craft of paperweights across the United States and Europe.
My current arts exploration is the Millefiori paperweight (“Millefiori” is Italian meaning a thousand flowers). Millefiori paperweights were very popular in America and Europe during the 1850s and continue to be appreciated for their beauty today. It is within this tradition my current work honors the past but strives to create contemporary works through design and contemporary motifs in the paperweight form. I find the technical challenges rewarding in my pursuit of perfection. Arranging murrini under the magnification of the glass dome speaks to properties inherent in the material and allows an outlet to practice my love of design.”
MacNaught received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelors Degree from Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. He also worked for numerous private studio’s prior to founding Bareglass. MacNaught is currently Assistant Professor of Glass at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tennessee. He has been teaching in higher education for the past twenty two years, and has been practicing hot glass production since establishing Bareglass, in 1997. Damon’s work has been exhibited and presented both nationally and internationally.
