Artist Reinvents Herself After Near-Fatal Accident

Ginny Ruffner revolutionized glass art

March 20, 2012

Seattle-based glass artist Ginny Ruffner was at the peak of her career when a car accident almost took her life.

No one thought she would ever walk or talk again. But Ruffner fought her way back and has been re-inventing herself, and her art, ever since.

Ruffner is one of the best-known glass artists in the United States. Her one-of-a-kind sculptures are vibrant, exquisitely detailed and often humorous.

Over the years, she became famous for a technique called lamp working, also known as flame working, which involves using a torch to melt and shape the glass rather than blowing it.

But in 1991, at the peak of her career, Ruffner was involved in a three-car collision that almost took her life. She was in a coma for five weeks.

"It's scary when you can't talk. It's scary when you can't do what you've done all your life," she says.

The award-winning artist was in the hospital for five months and in a wheelchair for five years.

However, despite the odds, Ruffner overcame her injuries and, although she still has difficulty walking and talking, has willed herself back to work.

Ginny Ruffner is best known for her intricate glass flowers.

She's still creating the glass work that made her famous, but she also paints, draws and creates large-scale sculptures in a variety of mediums.