Paula Stokes was born and grew up in Ireland. She graduated from the National College of Art and Design(NCAD), Dublin, Ireland, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Glass Design. She also has a Certificate in Glassmaking and Technology from the Dudley College of Technology, UK. Stokes received the Milnora Roberts Scholarship for Academic Excellence in Printmaking from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Stokes moved to Seattle in 1993. In 1995, she travelled to Ireland to work on Dale Chihuly’s prestigious Chihuly Over Venice project at Waterford Crystal. Stokes continued to work with Chihuly’s team until 2000, specifically working as a project lead in the construction of his Chandeliers series. She has exhibited her own work extensively, with exhibitions including Wild Geese at the Green Door Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, (2020), 1845: Memento Mori at the Jefferson County Museum of Art and History, and at METHOD Gallery, (2019), Solas: Light Inspires Glass, Morean Arts Center, Florida (2017), Into The Field, The Model Contemporary Art Center, Sligo (2014), Future Beauty at the National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny(2013), Critical Selection, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Collect 2012, Saatchi Gallery, London, Engaging with Glass, Traver Gallery, Tacoma, and the Solstice Arts Centre, Co. Meath, Ireland (2011- 2012), Supermarket, Stockholm, Sweden (2012), Transformation, Shift Gallery, Seattle (2012), 21st Century Irish Craft, National Museum of Ireland (2011), and The Wild Geese, Crafts Council of Ireland Gallery, Ireland (2007). Stokes’ work is included in many collections including the National Museum of Ireland and the Irish Embassies in Brussels and Beijing. She has been awarded Artist’s Residencies at the Cill Rialaig Arts Centre, Ballinskelligs, Ireland, and at the Jefferson County Museum of Art and History, Port Townsend, Washington.