Participants may select one workshop per session, during which they will be fully immersed in a vibrant educational environment on the breathtaking Pilchuck campus for the duration of the session. All participants eat, work, and sleep on campus for the entire session. Days include intensive instruction and demos throughout the day and evening, as well as ample opportunities for personal exploration and studio time. Housing is warm and rustic and most accommodations require a brief walk through fields and forest to reach the studios.

This intermediate class is not for beginners. Through a comprehensive review of basic procedures, this workshop will examine the essential “cause and effect” principles of working hot glass. Students will repeat daily skill drills, mastering one skill before moving on to the next. Daily demonstrations of advanced hot sculpting, garage work, color powder application, discussions, and bit work will prepare students to make their own projects.

Using borosilicate glass, we will create delightfully detailed sculptural objects at the torch. By studying objects of interest carefully, we can break them down into their parts and recreate them as glass sculptures. Instruction and demonstrations will cover project planning and patternmaking, glass rod construction, bridging, armatures, solid-sculpting, and a taste of non-vessel sculptural tube-working will round out the course.

Create sculptures and replicas of natural and imagined objects in Pâte de verre (glass paste) using non-traditional methods for kiln-forming at low temperature without using investment molds. Learn special modeling techniques, how to address technical challenges, and low-fire glassmaking. Techniques taught include Pâte de Verre, kiln-forming, mold making, cold-working, and a hot-sculpting demo.

Glass, just as soon as it comes out of the furnace it comes to life. In this intro to glassblowing class, students will learn the fundamentals of glassmaking. Students will learn how to gather from the furnace, work the glass with traditional glassmaking tools and learn how a glass studio works. Students will learn the basics of blowing tumblers, cones, bowls, spheres, and traditional techniques of glassmaking.
Furniture Music is a research-based studio that designs sounding goods for the home and site-responsive works for sound in situ. Founded in 2021 by Chris Kallmyer, the work is shaped by Chris’ fifteen years of studio practice as an artist and musician in Los Angeles. The studio works directly with architects, individuals, and cultural institutions on projects that use sound as a tool to address the relationship between landscape, ecology, and community. New projects have included a fountain to mark the home and studio of the blind potter, a mystic print for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and windchimes for the iconic California design studio, Commune.

The 2027 program will have a bit of everything, with workshops led by new and returning Guest Artists from all around the world, featuring a wide variety of techniques to expand your practice! Our offerings are vast and unique, including everything from glass and stone carving with Viviane Stroede and Tobia Silvotti, a glassblowing equipment fabrication workshop with Philip Vinson, a Pâte de verre intensive with Eriko Kobayashi, to an epic mega workshop led by William Morris's old crew, including returning Pilchuck legends Rik Allen, Shelley Muzylowski Allen, Nico Dimitrijevic, Martin Janecký, Jasen Johnsen, Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen, Kelly O'Dell, Ross Richmond, Raven Skyriver and Randy Walker.
With eight sessions stacked full of workshops in nearly every glass technique and at every skill level, there are options for everyone! Our 2027 Program is guaranteed to offer you exciting opportunities for creative experimentation. We hope you enjoy exploring our program and feel inspired to join us on campus. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you won't want to miss!