| About the 2025 award: $20,000 to support the creation, documentation and public exhibition of Stealing Fire, Taming Lightning, a solo presentation of plasma and neon light sculptures. |
Percy Echols II is a Pittsburgh-based artist, educator and founder of Taming Lightning. His work explores the intersection of glass, plasma and light, transforming invisible forces into sculptural form. At the Pittsburgh Glass Center, he has been instrumental in developing programs and infrastructure that expand access to plasma and neon as emerging artistic media.
Echols began working in glass in 2011 at Illinois State University and was introduced to plasma art in 2014 at Pilchuck Glass School—an experience that continues to shape his practice. After earning his BFA in Studio Glass, he completed a year-long apprenticeship at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, where access to neon equipment and a growing artist network helped lay the foundation for public-facing work in light-based art.
Through workshops, classes and collaborations, Echols fosters engagement with luminous phenomena, while his podcast Taming Lightning, launched in 2017, documents and connects a global community of artists and thinkers. He joined the Plasma Art Alliance Committee in 2019 and was nominated to a leadership role in 2020. In 2023, he joined the board of the Glass Art Society (GAS), where he works to connect neon and plasma practices with the broader glass community.
His practice centers on expanding access to specialized tools and knowledge, supporting artists working with light-based media and advancing plasma as a vital contemporary art form.