Loy Allen

Loy Allen was born in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. She earned a B.A. in Design from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1975 and completed advanced lampworking residencies at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. 

Allen specializes in torch‑worked glass botanicals—sculptural flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, and other insects—crafted by hand without molds. 

Allen says, “My inspiration comes from the natural world, the hills and plains of Dakota. Stylistically, I am inspired by the art of the Art Nouveau Age. Like the artists of that time, I am interested in a depiction of plant and animal life in a pantheistic spirit. My natural forms are meant to be expressive without being strictly realistic. I hope my work evokes the mystery and power of nature in a celebratory feminine voice.”

She continues to create and exhibit from her own studio in the Black Hills of South Dakota.