Mayauel Ward was born and raised in Manhattan Beach, California. Living only four blocks from the beach, he spent as much time in the water as on land.
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Originally planning a career as a physical therapist, he took one class in glassblowing and became hooked. After college, Mayauel went to work for Correia Art Glass, followed by Abelman Art Glass.

In 1988 Mayauel started his own glass business making lampwork paperweights in his home. Over the years, he has added vases, torchwork paperweights, light sculptures, perfume bottles, and pendants to his line. His pieces reflect his love of the ocean and nature with their coral reef and floral designs.
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Today Mayauel’s work is collected in the United States as well as Hong Kong, England, Germany, and France. Mayauel Ward Art Glass is known for its fine detail and is in high demand.

Drawing upon the beauty of nature, I hand-blow all of my pieces using a technique called torchwork. I begin by gathering a small amount of glass from the furnace onto the end of a pipe. I then heat colored glass rods with a torch and apply the different colors directly to the surface of the glass gather.

By manipulating these colors, I can make flower petals, leaves, fish, or any design that I want to create. The next step is to dip the pipe once again back into the furnace and gather more glass over the first layer. By repeating the design process with the colored rods, my piece now has multiple dimensions. 

After the final layer, I start the blowing and shaping process to turn the molten glass into the final shape. Because each piece created by hand, no two are exactly alike.