Education, work

Beecham’s art education was taken at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Art in 1979. He worked for a year in 1978 at the J. & L. Lobmeyr glassworks in Vienna, Austria before returning to the United States to settle in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. There he worked from 1980 to 1985 as an assistant to Harvey Littleton

Harvey Littleton

Harvey Littleton is an American educator and glass artist. Born in Corning, New York, he grew up in the shadow of Corning Glassworks, where his father headed Research and Development during the 1930s...

. Thereafter Beecham began his own career in glass, creating in the techniques of free-blowing, fusing

Fused glass

Fused glass is a term used to describe glass that has been fired in a kiln at a range of high temperatures from to . There are 3 main distinctions for temperature application and the resulting effect on the glass....

 and carving glass.

Colleagues

Beecham is one of several notable glass artists who have made their home in western North Carolina. Colleagues who live in the region include Rick and Valerie Beck, Katherine and William Bernstein, Shane Fero, Rob Levin, John Littleton and Kate Vogel

John Littleton/Kate Vogel

John Littleton and Kate Vogel are American studio glass artists who have worked collaboratively since 1979. They are considered to be among the third generation of American Studio Glass Movement artists who trace their roots to the work of Harvey Littleton in the 1960s...

, Mark Peiser, Richard Ritter

Richard Ritter

-Early life:Ritter was born in Detroit but grew up in the then rural Michigan town of Novi. He was inspired to pursue a career in art by his high school art teacher and in 1959 on to study at the Society of Arts and Crafts in Detroit, Michigan...

, Jeffrey M. Todd, Yaffa Sikorsky-Todd and Jan Williams.

Collections

Beecham’s work has been collected by the Glasmuseet Ebeltoft

Glasmuseet Ebeltoft

Located in Ebeltoft, Denmark, Glasmuseet Ebeltoft is a museum dedicated to the exhibition and collection of contemporary glass art worldwide. Its mission is to educate a broad audience in the appreciation of glass as an art form.-Establishment:...

, Ebeltoft, Denmark; Düsseldorf Art Museum in Ehrenhof, Düsseldorf; Glasmuseum Frauenau in Frauenau, Germany; Asheville Art Museum

Asheville Art Museum

The Asheville Art Museum is the only community based nonprofit visual art organization in Western North Carolina and is Accredited by the American Association of Museums. Its vision is to transform lives through art...

, Asheville, North Carolina; High Museum of Art

High Museum of Art

The High Museum of Art , located in Atlanta, is the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States and one of the most-visited art museums in the world. Located on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district, the High is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center.-History:The Museum was...

, Atlanta, Georgia and Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina.