After graduating from Alfred University in 1994 with a BFA degree in glass sculpture, Wm. Erich Woll moved to Seattle, Washington in 1995 to pursue his career as an artist.
In 1997, Dale Chihuly’s glassblowing team offered Woll a position at Chihuly’s residence in Seattle, known as ‘the boathouse.’ He quickly advanced though the ranks to the position of gaffer. After creating Chihuly’s work as a gaffer for two years, Woll was promoted again, this time to the position of color designer for the studio’s entire production. During his six-year tenure with Chihuly, Woll traveled around the US and the world and gained valuable skills and knowledge of glass sculpture, both technical and artistic.
In 2002, while still working for Chihuly, Woll was asked to join the team of Italian master Lino Tagliapietra. He continues to work for Lino and benefits greatly from the experience of working with one of the world’s most talented, yet humble, glass artists.
In 1999, Woll and a group of friends from Alfred University who were also living and working in Seattle decided to start a collaborative group called the Butter Eaters. The group has continued to collaborate, making work at Pilchuck Glass School, Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, and The Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington. The group has also taught workshops at Toyama City Institute for Glass Art in Toyama City, Japan, and at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Alberta.
When Woll is not making his own art, he works for select artists in the Seattle area, including Richard Marquis, Debora Moore, Richard Royal, Preston Singletary, Lino Tagliapietra, and others.
In 2004, Woll exhibited his work in a joint show with Richard Marquis at the Priceless Works Gallery, formerly the Elliot Brown Gallery, in Seattle. He is in an upcoming group exhibition at the Butter’s Gallery in Portland, Oregon in June. Woll has a solo exhibition on June 14th at the new Gather Gallery in Seattle.