Hot Glass Cold Beer Archives
MARCH 22, 2025
FLAME SHOP ARTIST
Abram Deslauriers is a visual, sound and performance artist based in San Francisco. Deslauriers earned his MFA in Craft/Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and studied at University of Washington as an undergrad in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts.
Deslauriers’ art explores identity, perception and the pursuit of expressing the authentic self. Often work is presented in abstracted forms, complex networks of lines or fields of rhythm that invites viewers to oscillate perception between minutia and the whole. It speaks to the beauty of personhood that cannot be summed up in words, that is ever shifting in day-to-day presentation of one’s self in the chaotic speed of connectivity. The work itself feels complete, yet evades a final state, a composition that can be scaled and rearranged. A manifestation of personhood's ineffable beauty, a poetic commentary on how our identities adapt and shift our relationships in response to an ever-changing world.
HOT SHOP ARTIST
Douglas Jan Burgess II is an Indigenous artist (Haida, Dakota, Grand Ronde) and his aesthetic is inspired by the Haida art surrounding him during his childhood in Hydaburg, Alaska. He began learning glass at Hilltop Artists in 2009, later continuing his education at Pilchuck Glass School and Corning Museum of Glass. Burgess has exhibited his work at the Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Thurston County Museum of Fine Arts, and Pilchuck Glass School. In his work, Burgess pays homage to his culture’s traditional practices within a contemporary format. He now teaches at Hilltop Artists, working with middle school students to foster teamwork, perseverance, and to build confidence through working with hot glass.
JANUARY 25, 2025
FLAME SHOP ARTIST
Gwynovear Gillespie, also known as YoungStar Glass, is a glassblower from Oakland, currently working in San Francisco, CA. Her work incorporates natural forms in surreal collages in order to conceptualize body dysmorphia and gender dysphoria. Working primarily with borosilicate glass, she employs hand spinning techniques, as well as lathe working for larger pieces. Since 2015, Gwynovear has embraced a DIY ethos, meticulously crafting most components by hand. She is largely self-taught, engaging in creative collaborations with fellow artists, online demonstrations, and workshops to discover innovative techniques.
HOT SHOP ARTIST
Asher Holman grew up in San Francisco and was first exposed to glass-blowing at Public Glass when he was 16. Drawn in by the dynamic community of artists, the physicality of the medium, and a fascination with the mesmerizing molten material he began down the road of pursuing a career as a glass artist. In 2017 he received his BA at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky with a major in studio art focused in glass. After years of working at his craft, Asher opened his own studio, Small Batch Glass, in Asheville, NC. Opening to the public in February 2023, Asher realized the longtime dream of operating his own space to share his passion for blown glass art.
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