Artist Profile: Michael Nourot

Originally from Riverside, Michael Nourot first came to Benicia to visit his grandfather as a child. He graduated from the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) in 1972 and was one of the first students at Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Wash.

Working with founders Dale Chihuly and Jamie Carpenter, Nourot designed and helped build Pilchuck's first hot shop. Nourot then apprenticed in Venice, Italy, with glass master Checo Ongaro at Venini, where very few Americans were accepted.

"What my glass tries to say cannot be separated from the forces of physics and chemistry that are used to create it, “says Nourot. “Glass becomes what it is made, or born to be. I try not to get in the way. I try to flow with it while I dance along; it’s enough for me."

In 1973, Nourot founded his first studio, Micheal’s Light Opera in Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. He partnered with CCAC alumna Ann Corcoran, whom he married the next year. The pair relocated to Benicia, opening in the old Yuba complex in Benicia in 1974. They moved across the street to their current location on East H Street in 1987.

The Nourot Studio has made glass for Pope John Paul II and Presidents Clinton and Reagan but its new focus is custom lighting for lobbies, restaurants and casinos.

Nourot and Cocoran raised their three children, Lois, Nick and Gabriel, in Benicia.  Nick Nourot joined the family business as a glass blower. Click to see Michael and Nick Nourot demonstrate their art.

location: 675 East H St.