Arson Studios

09/06/2026

Class time! Come make beads/pendants with me next weekend. Signups close soon so don't wait!

Get into the spirit of the season at Lampworking Sugar Skull Beads on Sep. 12! You can use the beads you make as offerings on a tiny Dia de Los Mu***os altar, party favors, or accessories. This class for advanced-beginner lampworkers will give you practice using stringers and dots to add decoration to your beads.

To participate, you need to have had some experience with glass beadmaking and be able to form at least two simple bead shapes, and make and use stringers. Courses like Beadmaking Experience, 2-3 open studio practice sessions, or the weekend-long Introduction to Torchwork: Beads are ideal prep for this class.

Learn more and register: https://vist.ly/5hg24

09/02/2026

Sparky and I depart Pilchuck this morning. We leave you with a few last views of the lovely sites, and many photos of our classmates' art.

09/02/2026

Yes Sparky, I did say everyone has to help clean the studios today but I think there is probably another job that is better for you. Maybe we should show everyone another piece of finished art instead.

This networked butterfly is a California tortoiseshell. Inspired by a live sighting during lunch one day.

09/01/2026

Ahoy matey! After finishing a 2nd goblet, there was even time to take Captain Sparky for an outing.

09/01/2026

Yesterday was our final day of making things (today we have to pack stuff and then clean the studio). So, here is my favorite finished item. You may remember the "inspiration" photo of Sparky from a few days ago.

08/31/2026

Rage it Sparky! TA Eric says we gotta use more heat when spinning out goblet feet!

08/31/2026

"Find out who you are and do it on purpose."

08/30/2026

Yesterday afternoon I learned we were supposed to pickup a free (included with registration fee) safety kit. Sparky tried it out for me last night to make sure it was safe for work today.

This morning Sparky was looking over the table of finished flame work so I took a few closeup photos of some of my finished work.

I've done fish before, but adding the mirroring effect is new. The kelp forest is a vast improvement on my previous attempts. I've also done many ornaments but never tried the kind with multiple holes in it.

The giant bird (well over 1" tall) is not mine! Each instructor gets a hot shop time slot and a couple gaffers to execute their vision if they are not a hot shop worker themselves. This is the piece my instructor designed. I was lucky enough to observe much of the work getting done.

08/29/2026

So the furnace glass people don't really have their own storage area. Which means their finished pieces all end up coming to the back area of our shop and we get to see them all! I thought you might enjoy seeing some of them too. Also Sparky is showing off the vortex marble I made last night. It's not from class - towards the end of the session there will be an auction to raise $ for scholarships and all the students are invited to donate something, so I decided to make and donate something I was already comfortable making that would turn out nice.

08/29/2026

Not a lot of finished things to show just yet, but there has been a lot of "getting to work!" Even Sparky didn't have time for taking tons of photos, though he did visit the phone booth/post office window/bar and made another new friend. He also visited the library where there is an extensive collection of videos and books about glass. I asked him to do some research on the glass of my people