The Artists

Meet Udo and Mary Ellen Radloff, the husband and wife team behind the fused glass artwork.

We have both had a lifelong passion for the Arts. Udo originally from Germany, has a BA in Graphic Arts from the University of North Florida. He taught Art for ten years at Orange Park High School in Florida and Sumrall High School in Mississippi.

We met in Germany when we were both in the U.S. Army, and started working with glass as a hobby. We initially worked with stained glass, added mosaics, and about seven years ago were introduced to glass fusion, the art of making fused glass, also known as warm glass or kiln-formed glass. It's addictive!

Our first class was in Stuttgart, Germany. In 2016, we moved to Virginia and took courses at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA. In 2017, Udo bought Mary Ellen a kiln for Christmas and that was the beginning. Having our own kiln gives us the opportunity to explore and experiment with various techniques and colors. We have both also attended workshops at The Glass Underground in Warren, New Jersey.

Having recently retired and moved to The Villages, Florida, we decided to take our passion for creating beautiful, unique, but also utilitarian items to the next level, forming the company, Purple Glass Fountain, LLC.

We are happy to be active members of the local community. Mary Ellen is a member of Tri-County Women Veterans, The Villages Honor Flight and the Veterans of Foreign War. Udo is active in the soccer community and we both are members of the American Legion. Additionally, we are members of the Leesburg Center for the Arts (www.leesburgarts.com).

Mary Ellen participates each year in the Veterans Administration Healthcare System Creative Arts Competition and won at the local level (North Florida/South Georgia) in 202, 2022, 2023 and 2024. In 2023 her piece won a gold medal at the National Level!

We've been working to create larger, more artistic pieces and were pleased to receive Honorable Mention Award at both the 2023 and 2024 Annual DeLand Outdoor Art Festival.

We started the 2024 art show season by being invited to the Art Festival Beth-El in St. Petersburg, Florida - it was a great weekend of beautiful art and a fun way to start the year. We look forward to starting 2025 back at Art Festival Beth-El!

Please take time to explore the examples of our work in the Gallery. You can find our work at Arts and Crafts Shows. The list of upcoming shows can be found on the Events page. Additionally we welcome the opportunity to customize something special for you.

You can contact us at: purpleglassfountain@gmail.com or by phone at (571) 326-3943.