Behind the face protection he wears, Bryan Holden is smiling. Piece by piece, Bryan transforms glass and metal into monumental sculptures of life with a flame as fierce as his passion for the process.

This is a passion cultivated as a young boy watching his father customize cars and motorcycles with artistic, intricately painted murals and graphics, and sculptural metal modifications. It is also an artistic endeavor strengthened by the love of his life, his wife Maria, the loss of his parents, and in 2002 the birth of his son, Mason.

Bryan was born in Louisville, July 14, 1962. The middle child of three boys, he and his brothers grew up in the River City, where Bryan, as a teenager discovered he had a gift for working on cars and a sense for business. After graduating from high school, Bryan and his older brother Bill started an auto collision repair business, specializing in high-end luxury vehicles. There, Bryan worked to refine his metalworking skills and attention to detail. In 1989, he transferred this talent to creating his first sculpture: an abstract piece that amazed friends and family members when they learned of its origin.

Prompted by the positive response to his burgeoning talents, Bryan did his first show at a local art gallery in 1993. One year later, he left the auto repair business to create full-time. The motivation was simple: He wanted to do something that he loved to do, so he would never have to work another day in his life. From creating his art in a tiny one-car garage to pounding the pavement in an effort to build up a clientele, Bryan recalls his humble beginnings.

At first, he knocked on doors and left his business cards at homes in the finer neighborhoods of the city. Yes, people laughed at him, and he didn't necessarily create sales right away, but his determination eventually paid off, which enabled him to pursue his passion.

In 1995, Bryan had sold enough of his work to amass the necessary cash to purchase a 1890s-era firehouse on the historic West Main Street of Louisville. With the same painstaking care he puts into his artwork, Bryan gutted the building and renovated it into a studio with upstairs living quarters.

The joy of working and residing in the same place is evident in an artist who exudes a sense of balance most people believe impossible to achieve. Between intense sessions at work on his art, Bryan delights in playing ball with his son in the courtyard behind the firehouse. The simple pleasure is a luxury that helps fuel Bryan's desire to continue creating sculptures that are powerful, moving and perfect to behold.

Bryan started showing out of state in 1996. He exhibited in Columbus, Ohio, Miami, New York, Chicago and St. Louis. In 1997, a gallery in New York sold his first piece outside the United States to a collector in Germany. Around the same time period, a businessman copied four pieces of Bryan's work; who paid a local welder to attempt Bryan's technical and innovative creations. After two years of litigation, Bryan and the offenders settled.

He then went many years doing only commission-based work, then in the summer of 2006 he decided he was happier creating his private work. Now he is excited and focus on creating new groups of work for solo and group exhibits. Most recently he is learning to work with glass, incorporating kiln casted, sand casted, kiln formed and hot sculpted glass into his creations.

Bryan's parents have missed the early journey he has taken as he's established himself in the art community. But Bryan believes they've played major roles in his success. He also can't help but believe his mother had something to do with his son's September 27, 2002, arrival. Had she lived, Linda would have turned 61 that day. The moments with his child help to stave off the bittersweet longings for his parents, both of who died just as Bryan's career as an artist took flight.

For the longest time, Bryan eschewed the title of artist and thought of himself as merely a person who created "things" people called art. As his work evolved from the initial sculpture he made to establishing a solid presence in the art world, Bryan now takes pride in who he is and what his God given talents compel him to accomplish.

Piece by piece, as his visions begin to take shape, Bryan Holden's passion continues to burn as brightly as his future.

Angie Fenton