Quick Facts
AriesBiography
Tom Holdman (born April 8, 1970) is an art-glass artist located in Lehi, Utah in the United States. His works include the Story Telling stained-glass windows in the Orem City Library in Orem, Utah and the Roots of Knowledge stained-glass window at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Personal life
Tom Holdman was born and raised in Orem, Utah. He has spoken with a stutter since childhood and has since used art to express his thoughts and feelings. Tom Holdman attended Orem High School and later Utah Valley University. Holdman was called to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Dallas, Texas. He married his wife, Gayle Holdman, in the Manti Utah LDS Temple.
Artistic experience
Inspiration
Holdman's interest in stained glass began in high school, when a teacher saw his potential and acted as a sort of mentor to Holdman's interests. At 21, after returning from Texas, he started a stained-glass studio out of his parents' garage and found patrons by traveling door-to-door. Using funds he received, he travelled to Europe where he studied stained glass and other artistic masterpieces. Holdman describes his introduction to glass-art as "It’s a partnership of three — the artist, the glass and the light. You are only one-third of that partnership. I loved how the light interacted with the glass. It’s hundreds of pieces of art as it is affected by the sun. That captivated me."
Holdman studios
Holdman began Holdman Studios in 1988 in Lehi, UT.and has taken on about 1,000 commissioned works.
Early projects & LDS temples
One of his first stained-glass works was for the Orem Public Library in Orem, UT. This project, funded by Karen and Alan Ashton, depicts classic children's fairytales and stories. The LDS Church, asked Holdman to sketch his ideas for a glass-art depiction of the First Vision for the Palmyra Temple.
Roots of knowledge
Holdman's Roots of Knowledge stained glass window installation, located in Orem, Utah at Utah Valley University's Fulton Library,took 12 years to complete and $3 million.The window includes depictions of Sir Isaac Newton, Harriet Tubman, Louie Armstrong, the Berlin Wall, the invention of the chocolate cookie and the ballpoint pen, Stonehenge, Darwin, the Millennium Falcon, and USS Enterprise, Alice in Wonderland, Walter Cronkite, Gandhi, Mr. Bean, Joan of Arc, the Depression, World War II, Alfred Hitchcock (holding a knife behind his back). It also houses real objects encased in glass such as a meteorite, a Depression-era $1,000 bill, and a 5-cent bill, gemstones, petrified wood, two coins that are nearly 3,000 years old.
Rome temple & visitor's center
Most recently, Holdman designed, created, and installed a four-panel depiction of Jesus Christ's life, miracles, parables, and mission, in the Rome LDS Temple visitor's center.