About Lyndon Pullins
Glass History ~
While Lyndon showed an interest in my teaching him stained glass techniques, he did not see Aurora Colors as a career change. Even so, after making two beginning projects and assisting me with a foil commission, he agreed to take a trip to a glass convention held annually in Las Vegas. There is where he got hooked and bought a small glass kiln "for us" (I only had a pottery kiln for glass painting.) Soon Lyndon was studying with some of the best in the glass world and Aurora Colors was ready to expand. My dream of having a retail store was made possible in 2004 with Lyndon providing a store presence while I continued my paycheck job.
His dream was to be with me and have vacations!
Lyndon's primary job has always been our glass store and studio. There he quietly creates his art, often surprising me with a new work which I may not notice he has placed for sale until a day or so later. Though both of us are accomplished in various stained glass techniques, Lyndon's own designs are usually fused and kiln formed or suncatchers and 3D. Many of the pieces available in our gift shop were made by Lyndon when he's had 'nothing to do' and his experiments with the various techniques and products at his fingertips have assisted greatly in his artistic development.
Not realizing his artistic talents until his 50’s has brought Lyndon a pleasure and grace which is reflected in his works. The beauty of his kiln formed lamps and functional art is not only due to his ideas - it is partially due to his diligent cleanup and finishing work, so often neglected by glass artists. Lyndon jokes about his ‘glass hospital’ as people bring all types of repairs to Aurora Colors. His repairs of slumped (bent glass) lampshades require skill, like baking a good bread. After years of creating art with stained glass and hundreds of repairs, Lyndon has honed his skills as a journeyman glass artist.
Glass artist and designer, instructor, retail store owner, entrepreneur. Co-Owner of Aurora Colors since 2003, Aurora Colors Gallery in October 2006.
(Getting him to write about himself is almost impossible, so I will do my best for him. ~ Vangie)
Personal History ~
Lyndon Pullins (no middle name) was born in Fairfield, California.
His father, Robert, was in the Air Force at that time. Dad became a computer technician supervisor for Western Union telecommunica-tions for the military, so they moved around a little. Into the 60's they lived in Colorado where his mother, Julia, was from, and then on to Oklahoma when he was ten. Lyndon and his older brother truly lived those days like Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn, spending their summer days outdoors learning about nature and critters. They did a lot of hunting for small animals and fishing, swimming in the rock quarry, and basically on their own during the summer days. Their internal clock worked because they were never late for dinner. Though his two younger sisters stayed at home while they were 'being boys', his sisters became tomboys with their brothers' influence. Even though they had so much access to the outdoors after he reached tenth grade their father decided to move his family away from their 'city life' in Oklahoma to Sabetha, Kansas - quite a transition for all of them but one Lyndon came to appreciate.
At sixteen Lyndon began working for a roofer while finishing high-school. He was earning excellent wages. Moving to Arizona in 1970, he began Pullins Roofing, had many employees, and a very prosperous roofing business for many years. Always fascinated with new technology (probably a spillover from his father's career) he paid over $2,000 for his first cell phone - very heavy and large. He used a dictaphone to instruct his secretary whom he almost never saw as he could just leave her a tape on her desk every day and talk by phone from the field. He had married in 1973 and they had three boys and two girls. His [then] wife found her salvation in a very small religious group which kept her with church members almost nightly while he tended the children and read the entire Old Testament. Their last three children were born during this time. In the end, he could not accept the beliefs of this church and when she divorced Lyndon in 1989, his roofing business came to a sudden end. He continued working as a roofing foreman for a local business until moving to California.
That is when one could say he was born again.
When our paths crossed in 2002, the direction was clear. He had recently turned fifty years old and had been a bachelor for over twelve years. Lyndon sold his Arizona home, reduced his 'toys' and household contents, and moved with his two cockatiels to my home in Petaluma, California. It was a perfect time to retire from roofing.
Teaching Experience ~
2004 - Present Beginning and advance stained glass fusing and kiln-forming.
2004 - Present Beginning, advanced stained glass in traditional lead or Tiffany copper foil, 2D and 3D.
2004 - Present Childrens' workshops, ages 5 and up, mosaics, fusing, copperfoil stained glass at Aurora Colors.
Aurora Colors students have been direct registrants and registrants through Santa Rosa Junior College, classes held at Aurora Colors.
Sonoma Academy students have been taught at Aurora Colors for two week sessions.
Make-n-take projects sponsored by Aurora Colors at fairs, held at Petaluma Fairgrounds and Santa Rosa Fairgrounds.
Art Education ~
2002-2004 Leaded and Foiled Stained Glass, Vangie Pullins, Aurora Colors, Petaluma, CA
2003 Get Fired Up (beginning fusing), Lisa Voigt, Las Vegas, NV
2003 Introduction to Etched Glass, Norm Dobbins, Professional Glass Consultant, Santa Fe, NM
2004 Introduction to Glass Fusing, Dan Fenton, Fenton Glass Studio, Oakland, CA
2004 Pate de Verre & Kiln Casting, Dan Fenton, Fenton Glass Studio, Oakland, CA
2004 Painting & Staining on Glass, Dan Fenton, Fenton Glass Studio, Oakland, CA
2005 Advanced Precious Metal Clay, Camille Torres, Aurora Colors Studio, Petaluma, CA
2005 Glass Carving Revealed, Norm & Ruth Dobbins, Professional Glass Consultants, Santa Fe, NM
2005 Gold Leafing on Etched & Carved Glass, Norm & Ruth Dobbins
2007 Mold Making, Dan Fenton, Aurora Colors, Petaluma, CA
Accomplishments & Associations ~
2006 Oct Curator's Assistant and Host, "First Annual Artists of Petaluma Exhibit and People's Choice Awards", Aurora Colors Gallery, 145 Kentucky Street, Petaluma, CA
2007-2009 Hosted "Annual Young Artists of Petaluma Exhibit", Aurora Colors Gallery, 145 Kentucky Street, Petaluma, CA
2007-2008 Hosted Petaluma's "Sesquicentennial Youth Art Contest and Exhibit", co-sponsored by Petaluma Arts Association and Aurora Colors
2008 July 4 "Petaluma Sesquifest": sponsored and hosted free make-n-take projects, "Kids Art Activities", Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, Petaluma, CA
2009 Sponsored and hosted free make-n-take projects, Sonoma County Fair, Santa Rosa Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, CA
Exhibitions ~
"Through the Garden Gate" Garden Tour, May 28, 2005. John & Trudenka Brayton residence, benefit for Petaluma Historical Museum, Petaluma, CA.
"Themed Exhibits of National Artists", October 2006 - December 2009, Aurora Colors Gallery, 145 Kentucky St., Petaluma, CA.
"35th Annual Marin Designers Showcase", September 18–October 7, 2007. Featured exhibits in game room and on patio deck of a 1906 home in the Dominican area of San Rafael, CA.
"Red Show", December 2009, Gallery One, 209 Western Ave.,Petaluma, CA.
"All Things Orange", August 30 - September 29, 2012, Healdsburg Center for the Arts, 130 Plaza St., Healdsburg, CA.
"Members Show, SCA", December 12, 2013 - January 3, 2014. Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High Street, Sebastopol, CA.
"Art at the Source", May 15 - June 9, 2014. Hosted by Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High Street, Sebastopol, CA.
"Inside the Members Show", January 8 - February 8, 2015. Healdsburg Center for the Arts, 130 Plaza St., Healdsburg, CA.
Previous and Current Memberships/Associations ~
Healdsburg Art Center
Sebastopol Art Center
The Association of Stained Glass Lamp Artists
Stained Glass Association of America
Art Glass Association
American Crafts Council
Retailers of Art Glass & Supplies