Kate Vogel was born in Cambridgeshire, England. She studied at Santa Reperata Graphic Center in Florence, Italy and received a BSA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, WI. John Littleton was born in Madison, WI. He studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, MI, and received a BSA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, WI.

Husband and wife John Littleton and Kate Vogel have worked together in their studio near Penland since 1980. They are perhaps best known for their colorful, playful “Acrobags,” which started as a happy accident. The bags have made their way into collections across the country, including the White House craft collection. Their cast pieces are a dramatic departure from the lighthearted bags. Faces and hands are used in various poses and combination to explore states of mind, relationships, and even spiritual themes. When asked why they work with glass, they reply, “Choice, chance, circumstance, seductive qualities of the material…a little bit of all of the above. We stay with glass because it feels right. The process allows us to collaborate, start to finish. Glass is versatile and we see endless possibilities in it and through it. Hot glass responds quickly and spontaneously. We freeze its spontaneous gestures giving life to the finished piece. In our work we strive to make something that is a personal expression of our thoughts and experiences.”