Candlelight Glass will be holding three open studio events during the months of October and November this year:

Portland Open Studios: October 12-13 & 19-20, 2019, 10am – 5pm

Washington County Open Studios: October 19-20, 2019, 10am – 5pm

Oregon Glass Guild Open Studios: November 9-10, 2019, 10am – 4pm (Note corrected date)

8 1/4" x 2 1/2" Radiant Bowl with French Vanilla and Transparent Turquoise Blue
8 1/4″ x 2 1/2″ Radiant Bowl with French Vanilla and Transparent Turquoise Blue

During the Open Studio weekends , we’ve got lots of new glass art for you to see and buy. Many of you are familiar with the Radiant Bowls that I make. In the past, these have mostly been made with opaque glass in lots of bright colors, but recently I have been making bowls using a type of glass that is a mix of opaque and transparent colors. These bowls cast wonderful shadows and are especially beautiful when lit from underneath. 

8 3/4" x 4 3/4" Transparent Blue vase with Transparent Green Bamboo and Dragonfly imagery
8 3/4″ x 4 3/4″ Transparent Blue vase with Transparent Green Bamboo and Dragonfly imagery

I’ve also been creating a lot of one-of-a-kind glass vases. Deep, steep sided vessels like these are not common in kiln formed glass work which lends itself more readily to flatter forms like plates. I use a process known as Drop Ring to create these vases. Each vase begins as a thick “blank” of glass that I create by fusing together multiple sheets. The blank is then placed on top of a ceramic ring mold with a hole in the center that is raised high above the kiln shelf.

8 3/4" x 4 3/4" Transparent Blue vase with Dogwood blossom  imagery
8 3/4″ x 4 3/4″ Transparent Blue vase with Dogwood blossom imagery

The glass blank is heated until the glass becomes soft enough to slowly sink down through the hole in the center of the mold to create the vase shape. After cooling, I may finish the vase as is, or I may sand-carve imagery onto the sides. In that case, it goes back in the kiln a third time to seal the sandblasted surface, then goes to the coldwork room to have the collar (remainder of the glass blank) cut off and the rim polished. The whole process of making a single vase takes about 4 days, but I think the results are worth it.

Of-course, again this year, during all of our Open Studio events, we will be offering our visitors the opportunity to create their own unique piece of glass art by sandblasting a  glass, or several. We’ll have lots of different types of glassware available including water glasses, wine glasses, Pilsner Beer glasses and many others, and a variety of sticker punches and precut stickers available with which to decorate them. You then use our sand blaster to make the design permanent.  Click here to download a flyer that explains more about the process. We’ve offered this, fun and safe, hands-on, activity during all of our Open Studio events for the last three years and it has proven to be very popular with everyone from kids to seniors. Many people use the opportunity to create Christmas gifts and some people even bring  their own hand cut stencils to create some really amazing works of art.  There is a minor charge to cover the cost of the materials used and we will have experts on hand to help. We hope you’ll plan a visit to our studio during one or more of our Open Studio weekends. Our studio is also available to host private events such as birthday or work group parties. Contact us to discuss details if you’re interested.

During the November 16-17 Open Studio event, we will also be hosting three additional artists from the Oregon Glass Guild at our studio so there’ll be even more wonderful art to see and buy. The visiting artists include Julie Vincent, Sharon Dunham and Rosalind Cooper.

To stay informed about future Open Studio events at Candlelight Glass, please join our mailing list.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

four × four =