The History of Seaview

Seaview was once a stagecoach-stop in the mid-1800’s on the ridge above the rural Sonoma Coast and Fort Ross State Park, with a hotel, bar, blacksmith and a Wells Fargo Barn. The old, historic Wells Fargo Barn is the only remaining building from that era; restored by Fred “Sonny” Cresswell and friends in the early 1970’s, and home to Seaview Art Glass since 1974.

The “Glass Barn”, as locals call it, is a Gallery and Studio offering the works of Leslie Moody Cresswell, and her late husband, “Sonny”, as well as artworks by several local artists. Open on occasional weekends from 11-4 p.m., it is always best to check ahead of time. (A good friend of theirs, Chris Funk, had a choice name for his art glass gallery in Morro Bay: “Rarely Open”. Seaview Art Glass is similar!) If you are planning to come by this way, please call or email and make an appointment – when possible, the Gallery will be open on your chosen day from 11-4 p.m.

“Glass is a fluid frozen in motion . . . A liquid finding form in a moment of time.”

Author Unknown

Fred ‘Sonny’ Cresswell

In Memoriam December 29, 1941 - October 19, 2011

Fred ‘Sonny’ Cresswell was the founder of Seaview Art Glass and had an artistic career which spanned fifty years of continual evolution; from painting and metal sculpture in the late fifties, to bronze and stained glass in the sixties and seventies, and finally, to hot glass.

An inventor and alchemist as well, Sonny designed and built state-of-the-art electric glass melting furnaces which melted his own formulas of crystal and colored glasses.

As the result of influences from renown turn of the century glass artists Louis Tiffany, René Lalique and Frederick Carder, to name a few, his one-of-a-kind works range from classic lamp and vase Fred ‘Sonny’ Cresswell shapes with Italian technique hot glass decoration to sculptural forms.

This varied background led Sonny to become a sought after mentor in the world of hot glass. He was a seeker of knowledge himself, forever exploring different reaches of the hemispheres to experience glass from other cultural perspectives, and to pass on this mysterious art form to others. He was especially proud to have been a mentor and friend to glass artists Andy Paiko and Evan Chambers.

Fred ‘Sonny’ Cresswell married Leslie Moody in 2005. Together they continued to create their art in the private Studio he had founded at Seaview until his death.

Leslie Moody Cresswell

Leslie Moody Cresswell has been an artist for most of her life; from finger-paints and crayons to printmaking and glass. As a graphic artist, she began exploring the properties of glass to utilize its inherent qualities of light and translucence. In 1982 she took her first gather of molten glass and like a compass, pointed her in a new direction of self-expression. Since then, she has been creating one-of-a-kind vessels and sculptures which suggest the fluidity and delicacy of the medium. Incorporating rare earths and precious metals, her blown glass art is the consequence of years of curiosity and discovery.

Her work has been exhibited in numerous juried and invitational shows throughout the United States and Japan, as well as some of the most prestigious juried Fine Art Festivals around: Cherry Creek in Denver, CO, Scottsdale, AZ, Sun Valley, ID and Sausalito, La Quinta, La Jolla, and Beverly Hills, CA.

Leslie has attended Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, WA, received a scholarship to Penland School of Arts and Crafts in Penland, North Carolina, and apprenticed with Loren Chapman of Laguna Beach, CA.

She worked alongside the late glass artist, Norman Thomas, for ten years and assisted Carl Radke and managed his Phoenix Studios in Harmony, California, for five years, before forming a glassblowing co-op on the Central Coast. She married Fred “Sonny” Cresswell in 2005, and together they worked at Seaview Art Glass until his death in 2011. Leslie continues to live and work at Seaview where the Cresswell Family continues the legacy.

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Fred 'Sonny' Cresswell & Leslie Moody Cresswell

The History of Seaview

Fred ‘Sonny’ Cresswell

In Memoriam December 29, 1941 - October 19, 2011

Leslie Moody Cresswell

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