In addition to these workshops, many local companies host team-building events in the studio as well as demonstrations for passersby while the production team works.
Goodman, who studied at the world-renowned Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Wash., came to Seattle more than 15 years ago to start his own studio after realizing there was nowhere in the region to go for this type of art.
“There was nothing like it,” said studio director Cyrena Stefano.
While glassblowing is considered by many to be a modern art form, Syrians have practiced the particular technique of blowing glass since the first century. Since then, little has changed in this technique, save for newer equipment making the process faster and increasingly precise.
When made with bright and vivid colors, the translucent pieces become more than just glass and can transform the atmosphere surrounding them.
They can turn an ordinary room into flashes of colored light that diffuse across floors and walls.
If you want some kind of art to liven a room — and have a lot of money — there are many stunning works to pick from in the gallery just outside the studio. From little animal ornaments to bigger elegant bowls and giant circular vessels, there is a piece of art that can modernize any space.
Seven- or eight-person teams work in flawless synchronism around flaming torches and ovens that burn up to 2,400 F. This is not your grandmother’s workshop. With 15 to 20 people in a classroom, it can be a little crowded as artists hover around the kiln. With music blasting, it is difficult to hear, much less concentrate on the task at hand. Everyone in the room has burn marks on their arms and hands. Seasoned glassblower John Moreno said he gets burned “once every couple weeks.”
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