Tom McGlauchlin

MC GLAUCHLIN Tom Tom McGlauchlin, 76, an artist and pioneer of the studio glass movement, died April 4, 2011, at his home in Toledo. He had pancreatic cancer. He was involved in glass as an artist and teacher since 1962, when he took part in the first, historic glass-blowing workshop at the Toledo Museum of Art. His parents, Charles Orion and Frances Lenore McGlauchlin, christened their ninth and last child Richard Thomas McGlauchlin. But, because 24 letters seldom fit legal forms, he legally changed his name and became known to everyone as Tom. He was born in 1934 in Turtle Township, Wisconsin, near the city of Beloit, on what was the family homestead since 1848. A graduate of Beloit High school, he was active in Sea Scouts and civic theater. He enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, as an engineering student, but after discovering the arts earned his BS (1959) and MS (1960) in Art. During his last year at UW, Tom was a full-time pottery instructor, teaching Harvey Littleton's students while Litteleton was on leave to research glass blowing. This was the beginning of the birth of the studio glass movement, which changed everything in the the glass world. Also during this time, he met Patricia Smith, of Madison, a UW art education major. They married August 5, 1961, then moved to Mt. Vernon, Iowa, where Tom taught in the art department of Cornell College from 1961-71. During the summers of 1964-66, he taught introductory glass blowing classes at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City -- the second such university-level class in the nation. During 1966-67, funded by a grant from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, Tom moved with his family to Seattle, where he enrolled at the University of Washington in Non-Western Studies. For 13 years beginning in 1971, he was an adjunct professor and director of the glass program at the University of Toledo/Toledo Museum of Art joint program. From 1984 until his death, he was a self-employed studio artist, working in blown glass, glass sculpture, handmade paper sculpture, and digital imaging. His work is in museums and private collections worldwide, including the Toledo Museum of Art, the Corning Glass and Smithsonian American Art museums, and the Museum of Modern Art, in Kyoto, Japan. Tom was awarded commissions for several major works, including "Clouds of Joy," at Four SeaGate, for which he was interviewed by Charles Kuralt and featured in the program "CBS News Sunday Morning." His work "A Mountain for Toledo" was installed at the SeaGate Center in 1988. In 2008, "University Woman," commissioned by Women and Philanthropy, was installed in UT's Carlson Library. Competitive exhibits include "New Glass," Corning Museum of Glass; "Paper in the Millenium," The Ferst Center for the Arts, Atlanta, and "Third International Enamel Art Exhibition," Coburg, Germany. He was the recipient of numerous grants and awards. He also served on the boards of the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo; the Commitee of 100, and the Funeral Consumer's Alliance of Northwest Ohio. Tom was a man of many talents and far-reaching interests. Raised during the Depression, he knew how to make the most of just about anything. He was a voracious reader with an endless curiosity, and had an astounding capacity for remembering esoteric facts. Passionately interested in world issues, Tom was a proud political progressive in the tradition of Wisconsin's Fighting Bob LaFollete. As a volunteer for the Metroparks, he enjoyed participating in bird and frog monitoring, and developed his skills as a nature photographer. At an island cottage in Minnesota, he sailed an Interlake, and later, on lakes Erie and Huron, a Westerly. He was a member of the Jolly Roger Sailing Club. At an early age, after being profoundly affected by the jazz records his brother played incessantly, jazz became Tom's primary artistic influence. He was a member of the Art Tatum Jazz Society and created a series of posters for them. He believed strongly in space studies, and was a contributor and early member of The Space Studies Institute. Tom is survived by his wife of 49 years, Pat; son, Christopher, of Silver Plume, CO; grandchildren, Piper, Nile, and Frances; brothers and sisters, Frank, of Berrien Springs, MI, Alan, of Comanche, TX, Helen, of College Park, Md., and Geraldine McKearn, of Rockford, IL, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a son, Patrick, and daughter, Jennifer; his parents; brothers, David, of Shopiere, WI, and John, of Savanna, IL; sister, Mary Tull, of Madison, WI, and nephew, Norman Fontaine, of Beltsville, MD. A celebration of Tom's life will be held at the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion, Sunday May 1, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to the Tom McGlauchlin Memorial Fund established at the Toledo School for the Arts, 333 14th St., Toledo, OH 43604, or Hospice of Northwest Ohio or Toledo Museum of Art.