Dori Settles was born in southeastern Wisconsin and raised her family in eastern Nebraska where she worked as a sign language interpreter for several years before discovering the medium of glass. Settles moved to North Carolina with her husband and two dogs in 2021, after discovering a glass studio nestled in the forest near Penland.

After discovering glass in 2010 while taking lampworking workshops, I have been enamored with its properties – hot and cold, opaque and translucent, soft and hard. My current work explores both nature and texture. I work in two distinct techniques rendering two separate bodies of work exploring the theme. I enjoy painting and have developed a process layering powdered glass which is then fired at different temperatures to create dimensional glass paintings. For my sculptural work, I choose to use pâte de verre which allows me to create thin-walled objects that transmit soft light and retain the full texture of the subject.