Tim Tate has been fascinated with glass since he was eight and visited the Corning Glass Museum. He never received any formal training in art, but traveled all over the country to various specialized schools, including the Penland School of Craft and Pilchuck Glass School. Frustrated with the lack of facilities in the D.C. area, Tate started the Washington Glass School "to bring glass to Washington." He enjoys the sense of community he finds with other glassworkers, and rarely works alone on his blown, cast, and constructed sculptures.