John Leighton

John Leighton studied environmental design at California State University, but then decided to try his hand at creating sculptures from glass. At first, glassblowing "did not come naturally" to him. However, the artist eventually developed “a certain level of expertise” with the medium. Leighton enjoys the teamwork that comes with glassblowing, and has worked with groups of artists from countries as diverse as the Czech Republic and Japan, where he was one of the first two Americans to teach at the Tokyo Glass Art Institute. He was head of the glass program at San Francisco State University for over 20 years. He led the glass programs at San Francisco State University and California State University, Fullerton for 37 years and continues to teach at the latter.