http://www.theglassgallery.com - Most commonly referred to as the father of modern glass paperweights, Paul Joseph Stankard is a visionary and innovator in the delicate field of glass manipulation. Born in April of 1943, Stankard was the second of nine children in an Irish Catholic family. His early life and college education took place in North Attleboro, Massachusetts and in 1961 he enrolled at Salem Vocational Technical Institute (now Salem Community College.) After completing his degree in scientific glassblowing, he perfected his craft for ten years while glassblowing scientific instruments for a number of different chemical laboratories.