Meet Pauly Cudd, a former River Falls standout athlete and a current glass blowing artist

When Pauly Cudd was a River Falls High School student in the early 1970s, he didn’t expect glass blowing to be such a part of his life. But Cudd’s competitiveness as a student-athlete helped him stick with what he calls an intimidating artform. 

While he later went on to earn his degree in K-12 physical education and health and human performance at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Cudd’s passion for glass blowing would eventually become a lifetime endeavor. 

“I just love the color application, the heat — the actual process, to me, is more important than anything. I mean, I just enjoy it so much,” Cudd said.

In 2009, Cudd and his wife, Debbie, opened a glass blowing studio on Quarry Road, which is still in operation today. The open studio concept allows Cudd to continue with his craft, introduce people to the medium and to work alongside fellow passionate glassblowers. 

Throughout the years, Cudd said part of his enjoyment of art stems from working with different assistants at his studio. Cudd’s current assistant is Donte Germain, the latter of whom shares the former’s love for the work. 

“I am lucky to have the opportunity to build my work relationship and friendship with Pauly. We don’t just work together, we grow together and have a blast at the same time. Pauly deserves just as much of the credit for my success as I do because he believes in people,” Germain said via email. 

Outside the studio, Cudd has accrued more than 40 years as a volunteer firefighter and has earned different civic contributions along the way. He’s been named to both the UW-RF and River Falls High School Athletic Hall of Fames, too.

In football, he earned collegiate All-Conference honors twice and was awarded the Offensive Player of the Year twice, according to the Wisconsin Wrestling Hall of Fame. In wrestling, he was the conference runner-up as a freshman, conference champion at 190 pounds as a junior and a three-time national qualifier for the Falcons. He also won the conference as a team during his collegiate career. 

With glassblowing, Cudd encourages beginners to accept the challenge of getting better. “There’s no mastering when it comes to glassblowing. Just keep going and make yourself happy.” 

Cudd’s art can be seen at ArtReach St. Croix’s current gallery titled “Altered Perspectives of Nature” where each artist uses their preferred medium to showcase their interpretation of the natural world. Cudd’s experimental techniques will be on display at this Stillwater exhibit until June 29. 

Further information on Cudd and his work can be found on his website, glassbypauly.com.