Up in the small mountain town of Frisco, there’s a small shop where an ancient art form and modern aesthetics meet — and passersby can take part in the result.
Sitting a few miles outside the ski mecca of Breckinridge, Frisco is the Colorado home of GatherHouse – the studio and gallery for artist and master glassblower John Hudnut.
The internationally trained and experienced Hudnut creates his own mix of household, functional glassware and more eccentric fine art creations out of GatherHouse. Anyone wandering around Frisco’s modest main street can tuck in to watch him at work.
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More importantly, those visitors might be invited to take part because — whether as official in-class students or intrigued tourists — anyone can take part in the glass creations that emerge from GatherHouse every day. Hudnut teaches courses for beginners, guides apprentices and welcomes in wanderers to spread his wisdom on creating beautiful fused silica.
The work might involve forging useful home items like bowls or cups or purely artistic efforts like abstract sculptures or decorative pieces. Regardless, blowing glass demands a mix of patience, urgency, delicacy, and strength. The act of making glass items also requires constant caution as extreme heat is a constant workshop factor. Glass becomes malleable north of about 1,300 degrees, so anyone working in the shop must be carefully aware at all times.
During a class, Hudnut is both teacher and coach — demonstrating techniques and giving orders. Creating glass can be a team effort, with one artist working the furnace, one blowing, one shaping, etc. Throughout the learning experience, Hudnut handles the more dangerous and difficult stages — but he allows students to get involved in all aspects of his work.
The hospitality of Hudnut – blended with the atmosphere and resources of GatherHouse – perfectly demonstrate the burgeoning, yet humble art scenes you’ll find in the Colorado mountain cities and resorts like Frisco, Breckenridge, and Aspen. The artists are serious and skilled, but they offer a generous and welcoming energy. The creators are open to teaching others who wish to create.
If you can’t get up to Frisco easily, you can get a look at some of the lessons found within the glassblowing process in the gallery below.
All photos by John Scott Lewinski
Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
GatherHouse in the idyllic Colorado mountain town of Frisco welcome visitors willing to learn how to make magic in blown glass.
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Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
Glass melts into a semi-solid form between 1,200 and 2,500 degrees, and this furnace keeps glass soft enough to shape.
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Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
The tools of a master glassblower have changed little hundreds of years.
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Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
The creation of glass objects involves a mix of delicate touch and tremendous heat, so extreme caution is a constant.
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Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
Glassblowing is often a team effort with one person blowing and another shaping.
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Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
Master glassblower and teacher John Hudnut of GatherHouse teaches classes in the fine art at his studio.
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Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
Once initially heated and colored with flecks of other glass, the item re-enters the furnace for the colors to blend.
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Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
The process of glassblowing walks a razor's edge between heating, shaping and cooling — requiring a mastery of distinct elements.
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Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
Molten glass has the consistency of putty, allowing it to be shaped and formed during the glassblowing process.
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Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
Blowing glass requires strong lungs and a firm set of lips. Leave the jokes outside of GatherHouse, though.
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Blowing Glass at GatherHouse
Not every piece goes as planned, but even the broken bits are pretty at GatherHouse.
