Yes. For classes and experiences, our instructors are adept at enabling students to do as much as they are able, and expertly assisting with the more challenging parts of the process.

Learning how to successfully blow glass usually takes a year or more of regular practice. Students usually begin taking our semester classes or introduction to glassblowing to learn the techniques.

On occasion, but they are usually not severe. We take a good deal of precaution to prevent burns especially with beginners and students. The most common burns come from hot tools rather than hot glass.

Natural gas and forced air. The fuel is supplied by the city in the form of natural gas. The flame is made to burn hotter by mixing the fuel with air that is supplied by an electric blower.

Glass colors are created by adding metal oxides to the glass. These metal oxides are also known as colorants. Common colorants include cobalt oxide for blue, chromium oxide for green, manganese dioxide for purple. Gold, silver, nickel and many other elements can be added to glass to create a large variety of colors. There are companies and factories that produce glass color, and most studios purchase their glass color from these companies. Sonoran Glass School (SGS) has a color furnace and melts many of its own colors, including the Make-Your-Own Experience (MYOE) color and colors for students. In addition SGS offers classes in glass and color making. Watch a video about how a new purple was made in the Hot Shop.

Not usually. There are variables that determine how much force is needed to inflate the glass bubble. The main variable is how molten the glass is. When the glass is very hot it is also very soft and even gentle puffs of air can inflate a bubble. As the glass cools it hardens and gets more and more difficult to inflate

Not usually. If someone was inflating a bubble of hot glass and inhaled instead of exhaled there would be no harmful or painful effects.

When our furnace is full it holds about 400 lbs. of molten glass.

The furnaces run between 1900 and 2300 degrees Farenheit. The common working temperature of the glass when it comes out of the furnace is usually 2075 degrees Farenheit.

It is possible, but difficult and not as fun as blowing glass with other people.

Blowing glass requires an amount of physical strength, coordination, and caution. Our age limit on experiences and classes is 12 years old.

SGS was founded in 1999 and began holding classes at Philabaum Glass Studio. The school was built and the hot shop opened in 2000.

The instructors working with students all have a minimum of four years of experience working with hot glass. Our Associate Director has been working with glass since 1999 and our Hot Shop Director has been working with glass since 2003.