"Victor Chiarizia remembers back 30 years when glass blowing was considered a dying art.
But the centuries-old craft has been seeing better days.
“Now you can’t spit without hitting a glass blower,” he said.
The Asheville, N.C., glass artist is one of the leading incalmo glass makers in the country and will be among the visiting artists at this weekend’s seventh annual Virginia Hot Glass Festival in Staunton. The 16th-century Venetian technique features two or three bands of color in a vase or bowl and is used to make both functional and art pieces. Chiarizia studied under the world-renowned incalmo glass artist Lino Tagliapietra of Italy.
Glass making has become a highly competitive form of art, with younger generations stretching the boundaries in technique and creativity, said Chiarizia, who travels the country to sell his work at festivals and artisan shows. 
“The kids are really doing some interesting work,” he said. “They’re referred to as the skateboard crowd. Most start out making pot pipes, then the ones that find their own voice branch out into more sculptural work.”
The festival at Sunspots copper-and-glass studios also will feature several glass artists from across the region exhibiting and demonstrating a wide array of glass artistry. Another way glass blowers will get to show off their fire skills is during team competitions at the two-day event. Festival-goers also can see flame-work artists melt rods of glass into miniature artworks in the form of beads and marbles...."
Longley, Maria. "Old craft is new again at Hot Glass Festival." April 23, 2009. News Leader. Central Shenandoah Valley, NC. Accessed April 25, 2009. http://www.newsleader.com/article/20090423/ENTERTAINMENT01/90422014/1040/ENTERTAINMENT
photos of no spitting signs from flickr users accessed April 26, 2009: myLSD, alphalim, cristophe dune, welcome to the lizopedia
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