Meet Jay

“I wish we understood how lucky we were,” Bashant recalls. “There were flower farms where Martin Downs is now. Sailfish Point was just raw beach. There was no Indian River Plantation, not even the road.”

He remembers a time when MacArthur Boulevard was accessed past Stuart Beach, and when the now-iconic Conchy Joe’s restaurant was known as Seymour’s, a place where beachgoers could grab a cocktail from a drive-through window before heading out to the sand.

Bashant graduated from Martin County High School in 1978, when he says the area had a laid-back, almost bohemian vibe.

His first house was in Jensen Beach in what is now known as the Art Cottages. “It was kind of a hippie atmosphere,” he said. “Like Edenlawn Plantation back then.”

His early career was shaped not by art, but by a diversity of experiences. Bashant worked in several local establishments and learned to cook at Terry’s, a continental restaurant in Rio where Weedline is now located.

“Terry Biggs gave me an amazing culinary education,” Bashant said. “I was probably the only 18-year-old kid around who could make a Béarnaise sauce or a Grand Soufflé.”

In his twenties, Bashant briefly pursued real estate and even tried opening a restaurant in downtown West Palm Beach. But when that venture failed, he found himself starting over as a waiter at the well-known Fort Lauderdale restaurant Yesterday’s during the height of South Florida’s flashy 1980s nightlife.

The restaurant had an extraordinary wine list, including Château Lafite vintages dating back to the 1870s, but it was something else entirely that changed Bashant’s life.

The Art Deco bar featured massive carved glass panels created by the French glassmaker Bollé, depicting swans and nude figures in sweeping, intricate designs.

“That’s what started my love affair with architectural glass art,” Bashant said.

Determined to learn the craft, he began experimenting with sandblasting techniques, designing patterns by hand, and cutting stencils with an X-Acto knife. Working from a trailer outfitted with a compressor and sandblaster, Bashant etched designs into door panels, sidelights, and shower glass for local clients.

“There was nobody sharing information back then,” he said. “It was a huge learning curve.”

Eventually, Bashant opened a studio and gallery in historic downtown Stuart, where The Gafford restaurant now stands. During that era, downtown Stuart had a thriving arts scene, and Bashant’s studio became known for carved glass, neon, and kiln-fired glasswork.

His designs found their way into homes, restaurants, and even custom sportfishing yachts. One popular trend at the time was etched marlin scenes on boat salon windows.

But Bashant jokes that one subject kept his business afloat.

“If it weren’t for the blue heron, I would have starved,” he said with a laugh. “I must have etched or carved over 500 herons and egrets over 40 years.”

Although many of those pieces disappeared as design trends changed, one large installation featuring herons and egrets remains in the dining room of the Best Western hotel in downtown Stuart, surviving decades of renovations and ownership changes.

After years in the studio, Bashant experienced creative burnout and took an unexpected detour into the art world as an auctioneer and sales representative for Park West Galleries aboard cruise ships. His travels eventually took him on a world voyage aboard the Crystal Symphony, during which he visited more than 35 countries.

His travels eventually led him to Las Vegas, where he reentered the glass art business during the city’s booming construction era. There he met his beautiful wife, Nancy. After several successful years, the couple sold their studio and pursued another adventure, building a beachfront home in southern Belize.

“We had a fantastic expat life on the Caribbean Sea,” Bashant said.

The couple returned to Stuart in 2009 following the real estate collapse and built their home along Frazier Creek in the city’s historic district.

In recent years, Bashant has entered an entirely new artistic chapter, painting.

What began as an occasional experiment gradually grew into a deeper creative pursuit. Bashant painted just one acrylic work per year from 2018 through 2021, then slowly increased his output. By 2024 and 2025, he found himself fully immersed in painting.

“I still don’t really think of myself as a painter,” he said. “But I’m having a lot of fun with it.”

His Jensen Beach property now includes a renovated cottage he affectionately calls “The Ritz (Cracker)” and a large steel studio building outfitted for welding, glass sandblasting, kiln work and painting.

Recently, Bashant completed a series he calls “Yearbook Girls.” Inspired by photographs from early-1950s school yearbooks, the works reinterpret the solemn expressions of young women from the era through unexpected artistic directions.

“They had this look like they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders,” he said. “I took their faces and went in some very untraditional directions.”

He’s also experimenting with landscapes, flower fields, and mixed-media work using handmade paper he recently inherited. Printmaking ideas are also brewing.

“Every day is a school day for me,” Bashant said.

For most of his career Bashant worked as a commission artist, a reliable but sometimes creatively restrictive path.

“It was a blessing and a curse,” he said. “You make a living, but it can be soul-crushing.”

Painting, however, feels different.

“With this work, I’m doing it for myself, not for approval or money,” he said. “That’s the game changer creatively.”

Now in a renewed artistic phase, Bashant hopes to eventually partner with the right gallery to showcase his latest work.

“The best compliment I get,” he said, “is when people recognize how distinctive and unique my style is.”

For Bashant, the goal is simple. Keep experimenting, keep learning, and keep creating.

“I’ve got some great stuff coming, I think .”

For longtime Martin County resident and artist Jay Bashant, creativity seems to follow the currents of life along Florida’s Treasure Coast. From carving intricate designs into glass for sportfishing yachts to experimenting with bold mixed-media paintings today, Bashant’s artistic journey is immersed in the community he has called home for nearly five decades.

Bashant first arrived in Martin County as a young boy in the early 1970s, when the area looked very different from what it does today.