Dan Friday

Native American & First Nations Artist Award (Salish Sea region)

This award supports the work of contemporary visual artists and craftspeople who self-identify as a Native American and/or First Nations Artist. The Award program is open to artists working in disciplines including but not limited to painting, sculpture, weaving, textile, carving, printmaking, photography, video, performance art, beading, installation, pottery, and mixed media or collaborative projects. Artists and craftspeople may work in contemporary and/or traditional content and forms.

Dan Friday is a Seattle-based glass artist and an enrolled member of the Lummi Nation. Raised in a family that valued creativity and cultural tradition, Friday was immersed early in the making of objects and the stories behind them. Without television and with strong ties to his Coast Salish heritage, his formative years were shaped by hands-on learning and a deep connection to community.

After discovering glassblowing in his youth, Friday found an artistic medium that transformed his life. What began as an awakening soon became a lifelong pursuit. For over twenty-five years, he has developed a body of work that draws from ancestral imagery while pushing the boundaries of contemporary glass art. His practice blends traditional Coast Salish forms with modern techniques, often through totemic or narrative sculptures that reflect both personal and cultural memory.

Friday has taught at institutions including the University of Washington, Pilchuck Glass School, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. He has held residencies at the Museum of Glass, Corning Museum of Glass, and Dream Community in Taiwan. His work is held in public and private collections worldwide. Through his glass practice, Friday continues a lineage of storytelling, honoring the past while forging new ground in the present.

Creativity was fostered by my family from an early age. Living without TV and knowing our rich cultural heritage of the Lummi Nation meant that making things with our hands was a regular activity.

I typically work with simple themes and forms, and often employ the subtle silhouettes of glass when making my totems. It is a pleasure seeing inanimate objects taking on a life of their own. The more narrative work is usually a personal expression or a means of processing a life event, often with an underlying statement.

When I saw glass blowing for the first time, it felt as though I grew an inch! That is to say, a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. I had finally figured out my path. This was no small feat for someone who, as a youth, was rebellious and misguided. Glass altered my life. In spite of my colorful past, and by the grace of a loving community, I found my passion in glass. 

Living as an artist may not be directly saving the world, but perhaps we are saving ourselves and, hopefully, in the process, making the world a better place.