Last week, the picture above showed up in my WordPress reader along with a story about how someone had broken into an art studio and smashed it to bits. (See full story on Oh, the Places We See.) I was horrified that someone would want to do that to such a beautiful and moving piece of art. While certainly a terrible waste, it did, however, get me interested in the artist, Thoryn Ziemba.

He’s a pretty cool guy (with a great name). Raised by self-professed hippies, first in rural West Virginia, then in Pensacola, Florida, Ziemba grew up intrigued by urban styles of expression. Fascinated by graffiti, when he started working in glass, his creations immediately showed elements of the shapes used in street art. His use of both hot and cold glass-working methods combines with his graffiti influences to make for really striking, surprisingly architectural pieces.

I hope the unfortunate loss of the piece above gets Ziemba’s work loads of attention (and I hope the vandal really bashes the hell out of a toe or something).