September 2021 Class - Glass Blowing in Cleveland

The visit to the Glass Bubble Project was one of the highlights of my weeklong trip, and until about 24 hours before my visit, I had never heard of the place!

I ended up in Cleveland a day before I had planned on arriving, due to some very bad weather that made me cancel my camping plans for one night. So, I called the Kulpins’ to see what they would suggest – since they are the only people I know that have a current connection to Cleveland. They told me to go eat an ice cream at “the ice cream place” and then go around the corner to watch glass be made at “the glass place.”. I asked for a bit more info and got the name of the glass place. After a quick phone call, I was set up for a “2 piece” class for the next day.

When I arrived at the Glass Bubble Project, I learned that a “2 Piece” class included the creation of one solid glass piece, and one blown glass piece. Cool. And, apparently, they will help where needed, but the student does about 95% of the work. PERFECT! I was super happy with this, as I had tried to take another glass blowing class earlier in my trip, and it ended up being 98% watching.

There was another guy creating two items as well, so the glass artists, Mike and Paul each worked with one of us. First, Paul demonstrated how to do a solid object, then we each made one. Next, he demonstrated how to do a blown glass item, and we each made one of those.

For my solid item, which is basically a paperweight, I wanted to make it look like an underwater scene. I know that it will be abstract, as I’m not an artist, but that was my thought. I explained that to Mike, and he didn’t flinch. Cool. He helped me do what was on my mind. I have no idea if it worked or not, since I am writing this while I am still in Cleveland. The piece needs to anneal and won’t be shipped to me for several days. The idea was to put green and blue on the inside, then cover it with clear, then put some red flecks in to simulate fish, then more clear. We put some yellow “fish” in there too and added more clear. I am so excited to see how it worked.

For my blown item, I asked to make a shade for a light. Once again, I had a crazy idea of how I wanted it to look, and Mike took that in stride and helped me figure out how to do it. Basically, I pulled up a photo of Vincent VanGogh’s “Starry Night” and told him I wanted the shade to look like the sky. We covered the first gather in blue, twisted it, then added white and tried to swirl it, after that, we added a few yellow specks. I’m positive it won’t look like the sky in Starry Night, but I think it will look cool.

I was so grateful for Mike and Paul and all the help and individual attention they gave during my time at their shop. I had told them of my disappointing class earlier in the week, and they successfully provided an experience that I will remember and recommend for a long time! Thanks!