El Segundo, California-based glassblower Cedric Mitchell and his Etorre Sotsass-inspired glass designs are the subjects of a feature article in the Los Angeles Times. Staff Writer Lisa Boone tracks Mitchell's evolution from his mid-20s as an up-and-coming hip-hop artist born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The article credits his discovery of glass at the Tulsa Glassblowing School, and his rapid skills acquisition to all the hard work and dedication Mitchell has devoted to mastering glassblowing. The article also notes some of the artist's fortuitous meetings, including his long friendship with Joe Carriati, which brought Mitchell to Los Angeles, and led to further connections in the design world that have allowed Mitchell to launch his own successful business, Cedric Mitchell Design.
Mitchell's eye-catching designs and their bold chromatic hues come together in an aesthetic he calls "modern funk," which appears quite distinct from the "California Funk" glass and ceramics of the late 20th-century. One difference is Mitchell's attention to precision technique and symmetry, a rigor that reveals a dedication to hand-skill.
“Robert Greene’s book ‘Mastery’ really helped me,” Mitchell told the Los Angeles Times. “The main thing for me was improving my skill set through practice. I still embody that today: the perpetual practice of things.”