David Smallhouse (born 1949) American, Orient & Flume Iridescent Blown Glass Apple. Hand blown glass apple in clear glass tinted with a delicate green iridescence, best visible against a dark backdrop. Etched signature on base, dated 1990, with studio name above. 

Size: 6 x 7 in. 

#4326 . 

David Smallhouse was born in Bakersfield, California in 1949. When he graduated from high school he served a tour in Vietnam with the United States Army. The experience traumatized him severely, and when he returned to the US he studied in San Diego for a while before transferring to California State University in Chico. He earned his Bachelors of Arts in Ancient & Classical History and taught for a while, eventually marrying and having four children. In 1980 he attended a glassmaking demonstration at Orient & Flume on a whim and was immediately hooked. His passion for glassblowing led him to become a master, and was instrumental in helping him to finally deal with the psychological toll of his time in Vietnam. He was honored by the incoming president of CSU, Manuel Esteban, by being asked to create an inaugural mace in 1994, as Esteban was, himself, a former glassblower. After twenty years at Orient & Flume he opened his own studio, Smallhouse Art Glass, in 2001. Some of his most popular designs include the use of lapis lazuli in jars, urns, and vases, and his poison dart frog series was added to the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution. The “Two-tone Floral” style he pioneered while at Orient & Flume became one of their Signature Series, and the city of Chico has honored him several times with awards and retrospective exhibitions. In 2022 he retired for good and closed Smallhouse Art Glass in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but his exuberant, whimsical, and delicate pieces have become more and more collectible since then.