Born and raised in the Omaha metropolitan area, Jeremy Michael Hoich has established himself in the ever-growing creative community that encompasses much of Eastern Nebraska. Growing up surrounded by his father’s collection of late Pewter Artist Michael Ricker, Jeremy quickly found his artistic style developing towards sculptural works as soon as he got a feel for how glass moves. These often pay attention to detail, and similarly to those in which Ricker incorporated into his pieces, are portrayed in a whimsical yet realistic way. He credits his mother for keeping art as a constant in his life by signing up both him and his twin brother for classes with their former grade-school art teacher during summer breaks, as well as going to his cousin exhibitions at an early age that inspired him to keep art as a potential outlet. Following in his father’s entrepreneurial footsteps, Jeremy attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s business college as a part of the first-year cohort of students in their Entrepreneurial Living Learning Community. Formed and directed by Dale Eesley, this opportunity allowed himself and a small group of others to learn from local small business owners, tour successful start-ups both locally and nationally, and ultimately understand how to operate a business. Years later, Jeremy Michael Hoich is now both a proud artist and small business owner in the big, small town of Omaha, Nebraska.

Gallery photo from Jeremy’s first pubic show, “Essence of Bloom” shared with Maggie Smith at Landlock Gallery in April 2022.

The introduction of glass into Jeremy’s life began most notably while vacationing to Naples, FL over the fall-breaks of his teenage years with his brother, mother, and stepfather. During these trips, many hours were spent walking around the beautiful downtown area which is home to a plethora of established galleries who carry the works of prominent artists from around the globe. Many of the most awe-inspiring pieces that stuck out to him were those made of glass, and after working food-service jobs in high school and into his early 20s, Jeremy found himself with enough disposable income to start building his own art collection out of you guessed it, glass. With the rise of social media, he was able to follow and connect with borosilicate glass artists both locally and internationally. Through these outlets he began to see the different techniques that were possible with the medium and felt the urge to learn how to work with the material himself. With the help and referral from a friend who purchased a piece from a guy not too far from Omaha, he connected with Kyle Dewit, of Sioux Falls, SD. After a series of direct messages, Kyle graciously invited Jeremy to his studio to watch the process and see if lampworking was something he seriously wanted to pursue. In June of 2018, they lined it up, and after spending the weekend up there, Jeremy was hooked. He quickly returned in August for a week of lessons with his own tools in-hand (Kyle didn’t want him messing his up). After making his first gather, pendants, and pipes, he left that following week with Kyle’s first torch; a GTT lynx that was also his cousin RJ’s first torch, and Kyle’s starter kiln, a Paragon F130, in the back of his car. Jeremy moved to Vail, CO in November of that year to experience living in another state and be amongst the mountains he enjoys snowboarding down and hiking around, depending on the season. Thanks to Eva Pobjecka, the owner of PIECE Art Gallery, he found a place to rent bench space in Minturn, CO where he was able to see some well-known artists in the industry work together to create collaborative pieces while they visited or passed through the area. Jeremy was able to see first-hand the experience he would need to eventually join in on those collaborations and paid for lessons from those who were willing to teach him with the money he made as a food runner at La Tour in Vail Village. The most insightful of these lessons were those taught by Luke Murphy and Gina Gaffner, who both went out of their way to teach their processes genuinely and thoroughly. In May of 2019, Jeremy descended back to the plains and found a familiar place to rent bench space at; One Stop Smoke Shop, which is where he had purchased his first-ever pendant and functional piece from a few years prior before he ever thought about blowing glass. He enjoyed renting space there for the next two years, while he focused on building his own studio, in which he operates out of today.