Visiting Artists
Upcoming Visiting Artists
Glass Mechanics and More with Bandhu Dunham
Feb 15-19th, 9am-5pm
Five fun days of making borosilicate glass sculptures that move. Starting with marble runs, simple mechanisms and mechanical principles, we will take things up several notches to create fascinating, complex motions that inspires artistic engagement. Be prepared to see glass in new ways and become addicted to movement! Some basic familiarity with working glass at the torch is needed for this class.
Bandhu Dunham began to teach himself lampwork technique in 1975, while still in high school. Now an internationally respected glass artist, author and teacher, his work is in the permanent collections of museums worldwide, including the Corning Museum of Glass, The Museum of Arts and Design, The Sandwich Glass Museum, Museum für Glaskunst (Germany), Niijima Glass Art Center (Japan), and Osaka University of Arts. His Contemporary Lampworking books are the authoritative, standard instructional texts in his field. He teaches workshops around the United States and internationally.
Pattern Play: Bullseye Murrine with Corey Pemberton
Feb 22nd-27th, 9am-5pm
In this workshop, students will explore creating intricate patterns in glass using murrine made from Bullseye sheet glass. Through designing and experimenting, students will create bundles of sheet glass to fuse and stretch into detailed murrine tiles. These patterned elements will be incorporated into blown and sculptural forms. creating a cohesive body of vessels or sculptures conneted by form, color, and surface.
Corey Pemberton is an artist and activist based in Los Angeles, California, working across glass, painting, and textiles. He received a BFA from VCU in 2012 and his practice has been shaped by residencies at The Pittsburgh Glass Center, Bruket (Bodø, Norway), and Alfred University, as well as a Core Fellowship at Penland School of Craft. Pemberton’s work has been exhibited nationally, and is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Arts and Design, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Mint Museum, and the Chrysler Museum of Art. In 2026, he was named a United States Artists Fellow.
Pemberton also works with the nonprofit organization Crafting the Future, where he advocates for greater access and representation in the arts. Whether through community-building or the objects he creates, his work seeks to foster connection across identities and experiences, using material, imagery, and collaboration as a means of challenging assumptions and building shared understanding.
Previous Visiting Artists
Our 2026 season of visiting artists was presented with support from the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass.
Images on Glass with Joseph Cavalieri
June 29th - July 2nd, 9am-5pm, Free Lecture July 2nd 5-7pm
This workshop explored fun and easy ways to add detailed images and patterns to your glass works. Students learned silk screening, penning, painting, and airbrushing enamels onto glass to use in stained glass panels, mosaics and fusing.
Joseph Cavalieri is a New York City artist and educator, now living in France. His art career began as an art director in the publishing industry in New York City and began working in glass in 2000. His art is found worldwide in public an private collections and he has held residencies and taught globally.
Shane Fero - Imaginative Torchworking Workshop
March 16-20th, 2026, 9am-5pm, Public Demonstration March 20th 5-7pm
This workshop focused on nature and imagination to create forms using tubes, rods, and powders in color and clear glasses. Students learned about cover point pulling, blowing, flaring with tubes, and solid sculpture using soft glasses and some borosilicate.
Shane Fero was born in Chicago, IL and has been a flameworker for 50 years and maintains a studio next to Penland School in North Carolina. He participates in international symposia and conferences by lecturing and demonstrating. Fero has taught at both in the US and internationally. Learn more about his work at www.shanefero.com
Dori Settles - Sculpting Stories Workshop
March 2-6, 2026, 9am-5pm, Public Lecture March 7th 10-noon
Students learned the amazing pate de verre technique to take an ordinary sneaker and turn it into an extraordinary realistic glass sneaker. Techniques includded mold making, pate de verre, and firing schedules for your different goals.
A multifaceted artist, Dori embraces various mediums to convey her messages. Pâte de verre remains Dori’s preferred and primary technique in her artistic practice. Whenever possible, she incorporates salvaged glass into her creations, showcasing her commitment to sustainability. Learn more about her work at https://dorisettles.com/
Dan Hoffman - Flameworking Workshop
February 25-27th, 2026 9am-5pm, Public Demonstration February 28th 5-7pm
This workshop focused on applying principles and techniques from scientific glassblowing to creating artistic works using solid and hollow borosilicate glass. These techniques included working with relatively thin clear glass and maintaining even wall weight, assembling complex molecular style sculptures out of smaller bits of solid glass, a variety of hollow seals and shaping, flame annealing, bending glass tubing, and planning larger assemblies.
Dan Hoffman draws inspiration from his background in chemistry and scientific glass technology, and is known for creating some of the smallest borosilicate glass pieces in existence, with a focus in accurate molecular structures and other sculptures based on the geometry of nature.
Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen and Jasen Johnsen - Sculpture Workshop
January 26-30th, 2026, 9am-5pm, Public Demonstration January 30th 5-7pm
Karen and Jasen demonstrated hot glass sculpting techniques, including color applications, textures, teamwork, torchwork, garage work, and plenty of sculpting techniques. They also discussed glass colors and provided guidance to students to develop and create their ideas during their bench time.
Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen’s work is the result of countless hours of observation and dedication to the studio glass movement. Karen’s unique vision and passion for glass is evident, teaching sculpting classes world wide with her husband and collaborator, Jasen Johnsen. Learn more about their work at willenbrinkjohnsenglass.com
Jason Christian - Glassblowing Workshop
January 19-23rd, 2026, 9am-5pm, Public Demonstration January 23rd 5-7pm
This 5-day workshop significantly deepened student’s hot sculpting and advanced Venetian color techniques. Students focused on the intricate use of cane, learning methods to pull, apply, and integrate these rods directly into sculptural glass forms. They explored how to achieve high-impact visual results using Duros color and use of a hot torch for precise shaping, detailed surface work, and altering the glass on the bench.
Jason is an integral member of Dale Chihuly’s boathouse team, collaborating with international artists, including the late Pino Signoretto. He has worked with many well-known glass artists, including Lino Tagliapietra, Martin Blank, Preston Singletary, James Mongrain, and Nancy Callan. Learn more about his work at www.jasonchristianglassdesigns.com
Kazuki Takizawa - Glassblowing Demonstration
January 16th, 2026 5-7pm
As an artist who lives with bipolar disorder, Kazuki Takizawa uses glass as a means to explore his inner reality and destigmatize mental illness. With an aim to give the invisible shape, Takizawa crafts elaborate vessels and installations, each with a unique story.
Takizawa is a Japanese glass artist based in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a BFA in glass art in 2010 and currently owns and runs KT Glassworks, LLC in the historic West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles.
James Lynch - Collab Demonstration Class
November 14th, 2025 9am-5pm, Public Demonstration 5-7pm
SGS Flame Shop Manager Brian Jacobson collaboratinged with James Lynch (@hicdogg) to make a borosilicate piece. The collaboration incorporated advanced techniques with multipart assembly, flips, and more.
James Lynch has been working with glass since 1996. At 16, he discovered flameworking and began learning in his dad’s garage. At 18, he moved to Colorado to work at Diablo Glass. Since then, he has worked independently under his business, I Blew It Glassworks, and his nickname, HicDogg.
Danny White - Glassblowing Demonstration
April 26, 2025 Public Demonstration 5-7pm
Danny White (known as @ethan_windy online) is a glass artist known for his unique, light-hearted glass sculptures. Combining torchworking with hot glass, he creates whimsical sculptures characterized by narrative and storytelling. During this lecture/demonstration, Danny entertained us with his unique glassblowing style and demonstrated techniques that help create his painterly artworks.
Born with a passion for art, Danny has been entertaining with his creations for as long as he can remember. 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.
Richard Royal - Glassblowing Workshop
February 10th through 14th, 2025 9am-5pm, Public Demonstration 2/14 5-7pm
This workshop included demonstrations and instruction by world renowned artist Richard Royal. He emphasized and focused on effective and efficient glassblowing techniques to help students realize better versions of their creative ideas. This included color applications, gathering and clear communication with assistants.
Richard Royal, a native of the Northwest and resident of Seattle, is recognized internationally as one of the most skilled and talented glassblowers in the studio glass movement. His sensitivity and natural affinity towards the material reveal themselves within his extensive body of work. Richard’s artistic approach combines sensuality, fluidity and bold abundance to deliver gracefully attenuated pieces that speak of their own elegance and sculptural verticality.
Awaken the Beast: Sculpting Animals in Hot Glass with Grant Garmezy
March 29th through April 1st, 2022 9am-5pm
This class focused on using both solid and blown sculpting techniques to create animals and animal-inspired sculptures. Students brought sculptures to life using a variety of torches and sculpting techniques, which include solid sculpting, inside sculpting, assembly of parts, color application, garage use, and – most importantly – teamwork.
Grant Garmezy grew up on a working farm outside of Nashville, Tennessee. His passion for the arts led him to pursue studying at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond. Once he wandered into the glass studio, he discovered a love for the molten material. Grant is drawn to depicting animal imagery and natural forms when sculpting. Grant has taught and demonstrated worldwide and throughout the U.S.