Mary Hong is the South Walton Florida 2014 Artist of the Year and a full-time working artist cracking up glass in her studio/gallery in Grayton Beach, Florida. She has amassed a collection of over 4000 pounds of blown glass, sheet glass, recycled glass, stained glass, glass test tubes, vintage glass swizzle sticks, glass tiles, glass beads, glow-in-the-dark glass, and “really pretty” glass.

A creative glass freak since 1999, she uses a non-traditional mosaic technique that suspends cut glass in resin on painted canvas. She uses almost all reclaimed glass. “I crack up the glass (think sledge hammer), dye it, mix it with vintage jewelry, beads, fairy dust, and/or found objects. Sometimes I slather it with gold and silver leaf, then mix it with other shattered remains of lamps, dinnerware, and lately and old shower door… the stories this glass could tell…”

Mary has been a professional artist for over 20 years, working with glass the last 15 years. This award-winning artist has shown her work in the United States and abroad. She lives in Destin Florida with her husband, John, their 8 year old twins, and a lot of glass!