About the Artist

Meet the Artist

Kevin Ryan was born in Atlanta, GA in 1970. The love of family, his love for art and his exceptional gift of crafts and building and creating unique art is where it began. He was introduced to glass sculpting in 1985. Kevin quickly developed a passion and skills necessary for success. He spent decades designing and sculpting glass neon lights, signs and logos for iconic buildings and businesses.

This was May 1989 when Kevin first started learning glass sculpting skills. His Uncle Joe in Virginia taught him everything he needed to know to be a master of the craft. Since then it’s been his life long goal to pass down his skills to the next generation.

Years later, he moved his family to North Carolina. He surrounded himself with local artists and crafts people that became influential in his obsession in the arts as a wood artisan. Kevin cherishes the connection with nature and feels that the exchange between the forest and artist allows for endless possibilities.

A History in Glass Sculpting

The Fox Theater

The Fox Theater is one of my favorite restoration jobs I ever got to do in my career. On May 26th 1976 The US Department of Interior named The Fox Theater a National Historic Landmark for its architectural uniqueness. As an artist this will always be one of my greatest achievements. 

Universal Studios

In 1998 I was given the opportunity to be involved with the world's largest addition to any amusement park. It would be a year long job of sculpting glass neon signs and designs for the new Island of Adventures that would open in March of 1999.

The Varsity

Years ago I was given the opportunity to hand sculpt all the glass neon lights for the World’s largest drive-in restaurant in downtown Atlanta, Ga. 

Ebenezer Baptist Church

This morning on one of my favorite programs “ This old House “ the boys were in Atlanta. They were remodeling a house near the home of MLK. I had the honor and privilege to restore the vintage neon sign. It is always great to see this sign in person or on TV.

Drumline

Early 2002 20th Century Fox Studios contacted me about hand sculpting some neon lights for the movie set DRUMLINE. Drumline starring Nick Cannon was a success with a budget of $20 million and box office sales of $57.6 million. The screenplay was inspired by The Southwest Dekalb High School Drumline in Atlanta, Ga. This was the school district that I grew up in as a young child in the early 1970’s. At soccer practices and games we use to watch the Drumline practice all the time at Panthersville Stadium. So this was a dream come true when I was introduced to the job. The job was to use your imagination and use different colors and free hand sculpt glass on large 3ft cylinder tubes provided and some other signs. As an artist that was a dream job to be told just do it your way with no real special instructions. I am so thankful that I had the honor and privilege to work in association with other artist on a production that I had such a strong connection with. 

Atlanta Public Schools

From 1991-2001 I welcomed High School students into Strictly Neon to experience a world of science and Art. These were science students that were working on theirs annual science projects. I got to spend an hour with them and introduce them to the Jacob’s Ladder. I would fully furnish them with used high voltage transformers and recycled wire and parts as a donation to the science departments for their annual science fair. It was a wonderful experience for me to give back some of my knowledge to the next generation. 

Crunk Juice

In the early 2000’s I was approached by Lil Jon’s team to hand sculpt a red neon sign that read CRUNK JUICE for the photo shoot of the album cover. The album Crunk Juice hit number 3 on US Billboard top 200 and has sales over 2.1 million copies. The album features many special guest including Ludacris, Ice Cube, Usher, T.I , Pharrell , to name a few as well as one of the most prolific producers in music history Def Jam Recordings Co- founder Rick Rubin. As an artist to be associated with such an incredible list of amazing artist , it has always been one of my greatest accomplishments. 

  • Atlanta Braves

    This Braves Neon sign was in the outfield of the Stadium in Gwinnett. It was a complete joy to be engaged in this project because I’m a Braves Fan! Chop-chop !! 

  • Coca-Cola

    I had to hand sculpt all new neon for this Coca-Cola sign because all of the glass was broken. This logo is extremely difficult to do and requires the finest skills. 

  • Guitar Center

    I hand sculpted this massive guitar and other neon lights on the Guitar center in Atlanta, Ga. This was such an enjoyable experience because it’s a place that many artist shop. 

  • Red Brick Ale

    In 1993 I was approached by a small micro-beer company in Atlanta to come up with a logo and neon sign for a new beer called Red Brick Ale. They are the oldest Atlanta craft brewing Company and have won many awards over the years. I’m very proud to be apart of such a rich part of Atlanta Beer history. 

  • 96 Rock Studio

    I made this neon sign in 1991 for the The 96 rock studio. Renegade Radio was the program at night featuring DJ Blake Anthony AKA The Bladerunner. I sat in the studio with Blake a few times where he introduced me to a band called Shark Island that did a cover of “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac ! ….. Those Days were some really fun times living in Atlanta !!

  • Memorabilia Restoration

    I totally loved working on this vintage porcelain neon signs. To get the chance to restore these old pieces of memorabilia was so awesome. 

  • Jeff's Dogs and Suds

  • Ford Sign

  • Vintage 1930's Vibe

  • Vintage Classic 10-Speed Bicycle

  • Hotel Sign

  • Classic Bicycle Sculpture