Leah Fairbanks Leah Fairbanks is a well known contemporary glass artist recognized for her distinct floral handmade glass beads. She attended the Academy Of Art in San Francisco where she explored many medium with her main focus on printmaking and fashion Design. Leah began her glass career in 1983 specializing in large commission pieces. She explored and pushed the limits of the medium creating stained glass windows, neon sculptures, fused glass plates, bowls and jewelry. Leah’s first lampworked class in 1992 guided the course of her path into the realm of hot glass. Leah was intimately involved in the resurgence of professional flameworked glass beadmaking in America during the 1990’s. Leah’s exploration in garden motifs directly influenced and impacted the early movement of floral decoration in contemporary beadmaking. Leah provided direction in this art form in it’s formative stage in her role as Secretary/Treasurer from 1994 to 1995. Articles about her works have been in numerous books and publications: LAMMAGA Magazine, Ornament Magazine, Bead And Button Magazine, Lapidary Journal, Masters: Glass Beads By Lark Books, Making Glass Beads & Beads Of Glass by Cindy Jenkins, 1000 Glass beads: Innovation & Imagination In Contemporary Glass Beadmaking, Lark Books, Contemporary Lampworking: A Practical Guide to Shaping Glass in the Flame and Formed of Fire, by Bandhu S. Dunham. As an accomplished instructor, Leah has taught beginning to advanced glass beadmaking workshops nationwide since 1994. She has taught classes throughout the United States and abroad which include Canada, Japan, Ireland, France, Australia, Denmark, Holland and Italy. Leah has the honor of being exhibited in The Corning Museum Of Glass Permanent Collection, Corning N.Y., The Contemporary Glass Collection: The Bead Museum Permanent Collection, Washington D.C., The KOBE Lampwork Museum and many more private collections throughout the world.