Hudson Beach Glass Philadelphia

First eggs of the season

The Craft Committee is Coming to Visit

34th Annual Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show

We are proud to be hosting The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show Committee on Wednesday, March 10th. We're going to introduce them to our gallery and line of hand-crafted functional, sculptural glass. Sean Gilvey, the owner, will do a demonstration of how he makes some of his better known pieces including the suspension bowl, which was recently shown on Iron Chef America. We look forward to meeting all the members of the board and hope they enjoy their visit to Hudson Beach Glass Philadelphia.

Joy Brown's "Clay: A Way of Life" Opens April 2

Please join us on April 2nd from 5:30 to 9:30pm for the opening reception of Joy Brown's "Clay: A Way of Life". Light refreshment and drinks will be served.

Working with clay has been a way of life for the artist Joy Brown for 35 years. Her figurative sculpture has a universal quality, touching us with a grounded down- to- earth element as well as a warmth and lightness of being. The Japanese influence in her work reflects her early life in Japan and the rigorous discipline of a traditional apprenticeship in pottery.

Joy Brown fires a year's worth of work during a week-long, 24 hour a day process in a 28 foot long Japanese style anagama wood-firing kiln. This process results in the warm, rich earth colors, and rugged textures that are an integral part of her sculpture.

“Remember what it feels like to squish mud between your toes? Pack mud pies... or dig in the warm sand at the beach? It is this feeling I have when my hands are in wet clay. It is the source of creativity for me. The dialog begins between me and the clay. Forms emerge. Ideas arise…,” Brown explains.

The feeling of pleasure Brown describes as the source of her creativity becomes tangible in her ceramic sculpture. “Clay: A Way of Life” which features ceramic wall pieces, large and small figures, and a selection of her 108 Dancing Ladies. The dancing ladies are 16” tall, skirted ceramic figures demonstrating a variety of dance moves. The quiet expression on the figures faces lends seriousness to their hands-over-the head hip swaying postures. “I love the idea that the parts of this piece, like us may be spread far and wide, in time and space, but are all connected and dancing as part of the celebration,” Brown added.

Brown grew up in Japan and recounts a memory of snow falling on temple grounds in a remote mountain village on New Year’s Eve when she watched and listened to a monk ring the temple bell 108 times, an annual ritual for hundreds of years to cleanse the spirit and welcome in the New Year. That distant memory from 35 years ago when Brown was an apprentice in a pottery in the Japanese mountains of Wakayama, came back to inspire the magic number of one hundred and eight dancing ladies.

Trained in Japan as an apprentice under the tutelage of a 13th generation master of wood firing, Brown has been firing her traditional Japanese wood fired kiln in South Kent, Connecticut for over 20 years. Brown’s sculptures have been exhibited in galleries and museums in the U.S., Europe and Asia and featured in the New York Times, Art News, Ceramics Monthly and House and Garden.

Make Your Own Glass Easter Egg

Turn molten hot glass into your very own glass Easter Egg

You can pick from a wide range of colors and endless patterns to create your own unique Easter egg. Appropriate for ages 10 and up, making glass Easter eggs is a great way to spend the day with your family. With the help of a highly trained glassblower you'll use blocking techniques to shape molten hot glass into your very own Easter egg.

Making your own Easter egg costs $35. Appointments are available Saturdays and Sundays from March 20th to April 4th. You can also buy a gift certificate and give the experience to a friend or family member. Please note that your egg will have to cool overnight so you can either pick it up the next day or we'll ship it to you.

First Friday in March is going to Rock

Despite a fatal flaw in our terrarium mold which forced us to cancel our planned terrarium show this First Friday is still going to Rock. Brian Foster's mirror show "Through the Looking Glass" is still up on the walls letting all of you who got snowed out last First Friday a chance to see it. If you've been hiding in your home waiting for something good enough to lure you out onto the streets let this show be the thing. Besides the fact that it sounds cool to say you're going to a mirror show at a glassblowing studio, the show its self is spectacular.

We've also got a great visiting artist, Amber Cowen, in the studio. She'll be making vases and other examples of her work. Ms. Cowan has been working with glass for the past ten years. In 2004 she was the first woman at Salisbury University to receive her BFA in Glass.  She has since lived in Brooklyn, New York where she was a glassblowing and flame working instructor at Urban Glass and One Sixty Glass. She has had the opportunity to be the teaching assistant for many wonderful artists including Paul Stankard, Kari Russell-Pool, and Gianni Toso at The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass. Amber is currently an MFA candidate in Glass at Tyler School of Art where she is also teaching an introductory glass class.  Below is an example of her work.

We also have a new neon piece for our transom. Evan Jespersen has shown at many outdoor light shows including The Museum of Luminous Phenomenon, Binghampton's First Night celebration, and The Corning Museum of Glass. His work is in private collections and on permanent display at Alfred University and The Museum of Luminous Phenomenon. And for the month of March Hudson Beach Glass will be displaying his work in our transom. Below are is an example of his work.

So there is all the great art, the great people and did I mention Jenna is making her famous Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies. Of course, we'll have something alcoholic. I'm thinking Pim's Cups. They are so good and often overlooked as cocktails go. In conclusion, you can clearly see that First Friday in March is going to Rock.

Pull Your Own Flower This Saturday 3/6

The flower show is taking over the city and since our terrarium molds are not functional (yet anyway) we still wanted to do something to honor it. So this Saturday we'll be pulling glass flowers. We thought we'd wait until Mother's day to do this again but when the flower show calls...

 

Choose from a wide range of colors to design the flower perfect for you. Then go into the studio and with the help of the owner, Sean Gilvey, you'll get to use tweezers pull molten hot glass into the shape of a flower. I bet you'll feel pretty darn accomplished after that.

We'll be pulling flowers from noon to 6pm. Call to make an appointment (267-319-1887) or stop in the shop.

Please note that your flower will have to cool overnight so you can either pick it up the next day or we'll ship it to you.

Design Your Own Pint Glass March 13th

In honor of St. Paddy’s Day we’re inviting people into the studio to design their own pint glasses.

 

 

 

You can pick from a wide range of colors and seven different stamps (the liberty bell, an eagle, barley, shamrock, a four leaf clover, a music note, or a skull and crossbones). Once you’ve decided on what your masterpiece should look like then you can go into the studio and watch the owner, Sean Gilvey, make it for you.
 

Design your own Pint Glass costs $40 and will be for one day only, March 13th. Call to make your appointment (267-319-1887) or stop in the shop.

Please note that your pint glass will have to cool overnight so you can either pick it up the next day or we’ll ship it to you.