John Mooney was born in San Francisco and received a BA in Philosophy from Pomona College. He blew glass for the first time in his last semester of college under the tutelage of Therman Statom. John met Richard Silver on a field trip to Kurland-Summers Gallery (Hollywood), and after graduation, he drove to Venice Beach and joined Silver’s studio where he remained for 10 years.
In 1999, John founded Moonlight Glass. With the perfect glass furnace designed by HUB Consolidated, Inc. (Orwell Vermont), he designed a dreamy glass studio that took three years to get fully up and running. The studio is now three blocks from the beach and Abbot Kinney’s famous canals.
Twelve years ago, to keep things interesting, and to stay “young,” John began teaching. It’s impossible to measure how much he’s gained from blowing glass with thousands of his students. John now has over 36 years of hot glass experience under his belt and has gained a deep appreciation for hot glass–an amorphous, solid material with infinite possibilities.
A special thanks to John Chiles, Bob Farnham, Richard Silver, Peter Kukay, Edward T Schmid, Henry Halem, Dudley Giberson, and countless others.
“Although there are many ways to master the skills and styles, the motto that has always worked for me is: Just blow glass!”
