His ‘funk is contagious.’ This L.A. glassblower breaks the rules with his stunning vessels

Mitchell, 37, was an emerging hip-hop artist in Tulsa, Okla., when he first considered glassblowing. It was 2012, and he was recording a song in a Tulsa music studio when he noticed his friend’s impressive glass bong.

“He told me about a studio in downtown Tulsa where I could take a glass-blowing class as an elective at my community college,” says Mitchell, who was studying business at Tulsa Community College. “I immediately signed up for the class at 1 a.m.”

Moss is proud to present artisans that inspire us. Learn about Cedric Mitchell, glass blower redefining the practice.

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Cedric Mitchell didn’t fall in love with making glass the first time he tried it. He was in a studio watching several artists work together for hours to make a six-foot-tall vase, when, at the end of the day, the vase broke. All of their hard work was shattered at their feet.

It was then, seeing how fragile glass work can be, that he was hooked.

“It was exciting and scary and tense and dangerous,” Mitchell says of that experience. “That’s what attracted me at first. That initial moment of danger and teamwork, and letting go of attachment and being able to bounce back. Everything about it was exciting. I was in.”