In the Hot Shop

The hot shop at Chicago’s Ignite Glass Studio sizzles with activity.

- Meg Moss

Furnaces glow as teams of artists and students turn melted sand into art.

Do you think of glass as fragile? Tough? Clear? Colorful? Flat? Shapely? In the hands of talented glass artists, it can be all of these things. “Anything you can draw, you can turn into a piece of glass art,” says Jalen, a high-school student and artist at Ignition Community Glass. His advice for budding glass artists? Draw everything and save your drawings. You’ll be able to shape them in glass someday.

Turning a molten mass of glass into beautiful works of art takes some special skills. “It’s kind of like playing a sport,” explains Joe Waropay, a glass artist and teacher. “It takes teamwork, concentration, and coordination.” Today Joe, fellow teacher Josh, and students LT and Jalen are going to show us how it’s done. Safety glasses on!