Chad Balster studied painting at the University of Minnesota, graduating with a BFA in 2000. While there, he became enchanted with the art of glass and began blowing glass in a small production studio in Minneapolis

Chad continued to study glass for two years at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls, and then assisted in the ground-up construction of White Pine Studio, his mentor John Olesen’s private glass shop.

In 2003 Chad moved to Louisville to become a resident artist at Louisville Glassworks, demonstrating and teaching. In 2008 Chad was awarded a commission to engineer and fabricate the glassblowing equipment for “Juicy Lucy – the Glassblowing Hot Rod,” the first mobile glassblowing studio in a van. Along with other endeavors, Chad continues to manage “Juicy Lucy” and work as a freelance glassblower in Louisville.

In 2011 Chad joined the Highlands Art Studios in Louisville, a co-op gallery space on historic Bardstown Road, where his work continues to be available.

Works by this artisan can also be found at the Louisville Glassworks, Louisville, KY; Gallery Janjobe at Mellwood Arts Center, Louisville, KY; Artique, Lexington, KY; Completely Kentucky, Frankfort, KY; and the  Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, Berea, KY.