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.
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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.
OCTOBER 26, 2024
COLD SHOP ARTIST
For Hana Dvorak, preschool was a time for collaging, crayoning, and making messes. As a small child Hana played with polymer clays at the breakfast table. Hana made tiny colorful animals out of the clay about the size of a finger tip. Eventually at 10 years old she went into a wheel throwing class where she got to finally work with water-based clay. By the time she hit high school she learned of California College of the Arts where she ended up later going for Ceramics and Glass. After Graduating with a Ceramics degree and a Glass degree she felt lucky to end up working at Public Glass.
HOT SHOP ARTIST
Matt Wesley started working for Public Glass in 2014. Has served as the Assistant Facilities Technician for many years supporting the staff and members at Public Glass. Recently Matt has become the Facilities Manager, maintaining all the equipment and managing a staff of assistant technicians. He first began taking glass classes at SF State University and decided to become a glass blowing artist after studying with Nate Watson. He grew up in Los Angeles, and has lived and worked as a glass artist in the Maldives. Matt is a skilled glassblower, having assisted many others throughout his career. His favorite glass objects to make are goblets because it’s a technical challenge and a great skill building practice. He always learns something new when he is blowing glass. Currently Matt is working towards earning a Bachelors in Engineering.
AUGUST 17, 2024
FLAME SHOP ARTIST
Eriko Kobayashi (b.Tokyo, Japan) fell in love with the color and texture of glass in 2014. This fascination led her to study at Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Japan (2016), and later pursue her MFA in Glass at Southern Illinois University (2022). Kobayashi recently relocated to Seattle to continue her career in glass.
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Kobayashi introduces playfulness to the technically demanding glass works in ways that are positive, and enjoyable to experience. She utilizes forms we encounter in our everyday lives to engage her viewer with the familiar, but also to challenge them to question and rethink these objects.
HOT SHOP ARTIST
Danny White is a distinguished glass artist known for his unique, light-hearted glass sculptures. Born with a passion for art, Danny has been entertaining with his creations for as long as he can remember. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Two Dimensional Studies with a dual focus in Glass from Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio in 2008. His artistic journey took a significant turn in 2007 when he discovered the medium of glass, which he approaches much like painting, blending different mediums into a cohesive aesthetic.
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