ALYSA PHIEL

Alysa is a third-generation glass artist with almost 30 years of experience in glass, having been taught by her grandparents, long-time glass artists who owned their own studio for 12 years.  She then owned and operated Creations in Glass in Tucson with her mother for 10 years.  As the former Director of the Warm Shop at Sonoran Glass School in Tucson, Arizona, she spent eight years developing the curriculum and teaching beginning through advanced classes to hundreds of students.

In late 2017, Alysa opened her own studio, Wild Desert Glass in Tucson, where she continues to create custom works, as well as offering instruction in fused glass, stained glass, and mosaics.  Her creativity and range of knowledge make her a fantastic teacher for students looking to create any type of glass art.  She constantly experiments with new techniques and materials and helps others challenge themselves and expand their own skills as artists.

Since 2010, Glass Patterns Quarterly magazine has regularly published her tutorial submissions, including four projects as main magazine cover piece.  In addition to teaching workshops at studios in the Tucson area, she has been an instructor at Glass Craft & Bead Expo in Las Vegas since 2014.  She has taught workshops at studios outside of Tucson, like D&L Artglass in Denver, CO and will be teaching at other distributors and shops around the country. 

For those unable to participate in her workshops, she introduced her first instructional DVD, “Mastering On-Edge” in 2017.   “Reuse and Refuse” and “Glass Cutting Basics” were added in 2018 and her newest DVD “Creating Screen Melts” was offered in 2019 at Glass Craft in Vegas.

Alysa’s work, which ranges from fused functional pieces and wall art to mosaic furniture and fountains, can be found in private collections all over the country.  She also has numerous stained glass windows installed in homes and churches around Tucson.

WILD DESERT GLASS STUDIO

We have a 500 sq. foot climate-controlled working studio with great overhead and natural window lighting. We have space for 8-12 students to work comfortably during classes and open studio sessions.

In space separate from our studio, we have 3 coffin kilns to keep up with project demands, as well as smaller kilns for specific projects or firing schedules. In addition, we have specialized kilns, including a clamshell and vitrograph kiln for making murini and glass raking.

Our fully equipped cold shop is a space separate from our studio and includes multiple tile and glass saws, a large sandblaster, belt polisher, and lap wheels.
Alysa’s original personal 120 sq. foot studio now houses our large selection of slumping molds, as well as our Art Glass inventory.