Fire and Glass: The Art and Craft of Milon Townsend

Artisan Milon Townsend crafted a delightful series of glass sculptures based on ‘Aesop’s Fables.’

The artist Milon Townsend at work. Courtesy of Milon Townsend

This spring, Milon Townsend read an Epoch Times piece about Sara Masarik and the Plumfield Living Books Library, which she and her family had founded in Wisconsin. Inspired by Sara’s story and her devotion to literature, Townsend sent her a box of the books he’d recently published, “Aesop’s Fables.” What makes this collection unique are the beautiful pictures of the glass figurines created by Townsend accompanying each of the fables.

Masarik then put The Epoch Times in touch with Townsend, a man who has devoted nearly his entire life to working in glass and teaching his skills to others. It turned out that Milon—“Rhymes with smilin’,” he told The Epoch Times—Townsend had quite a story to share both about his book and his art.

Bringing Beauty to an Ugly Time

As happened to so many Americans, the COVID-19 lockdowns left Townsend and his wife, Kiyoko, feeling isolated. Many of their sales outlets were shuttered by the pandemic. “It kind of put a lot of people out of business, people like me,” Townsend said.