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.

“Time passes, and the glass is very fragile- but eternal; reuniting 30 years later but with the same enthusiasm and spirit (as it began).” This team first worked together at Pilchuck 30 years ago. Led by Brian and Ed, with assistance from Lucio, this workshop will explore numerous ways of combining flame and furnace expressions.

Leaning into oneself and how one creates a place, students will be led through a series of exercises to explore what it means to create and hold space. From these mini exercises, students will develop works in glass using lost wax casting and pate de verre. In addition to these techniques, demos will include silicone mold making, the use of enamels on flat and cast surfaces, and the benefits of reinvesting. Students should expect to take away fully finished work, a series of tests, and many ideas.

This Workshop will work with glass as a unique sculptural material. We will consider the relationship to the body, site specific space and touch on the material connections between glass, metal, wood and landscape. The outcome will be objects and site-specific installations. We will use drawing and all technical facilities to develop new approaches to one's work.

Our point of departure is the interface between analogue and digital making in glass. We will consider different ways we can take glass from the 2D image to the 3D form and vice versa. It will be a quick sprint through elements of screen printing, kiln-forming. water jet cutting, and glassblowing! We hope to discover what is possible in the crossovers.

In this class, students will develop hot glass sculptures reflecting their personal identity by tapping into family history, cultural heritage, and significant life events. Using a variety of methods – cane, murrine and roll-ups, color application, mold-blowing, and printing - students will learn to create a visual narrative using a personal iconography, that draws inspiration from mythology and folk traditions.
Kelly Akashi, a Los Angeles-based artist, explores material tactility and impermanence through glass-blowing, casting, and stone carving. Her work has been showcased in solo exhibitions across prestigious institutions and collections worldwide. Akashi is a recent recipient of the MOCA Distinguished Women in the Arts Award and the LACMA Art+Technology Grant.

Narcissus Quagliata, is considered one of the most significant artists in glass, he has redefined glass art over the past 50 years. Renowned for public works across three continents, his recent video courses explore fused glass's painterly potential. His works are featured in museums and private collections worldwide.
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Corey Pemberton (American b. Reston, VA 1990, Lives Los Angeles, CA) received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012. He has completed residencies internationally at institutions including The Pittsburgh Glass Center (PA), Bruket (Bodø, NO), and a fellowship at the Penland School of Crafts (NC). He currently divides his time between his painting studio and a production glassblowing team in LA.

Throughout her artistic career, Danielle has explored her voice through various techniques involving glass and mixed media. After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Glass from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 2012, she immediately became immersed in the world of glass lighting and production. Danielle previously lived in Brooklyn, New York where she worked as a freelance glassblower, artist assistant and educator out of UrbanGlass. During this time, Brensinger also taught as an adjunct professor at Salem Community College in New Jersey. She has received full scholarships from the Celebrity Fund as well as the Tommie Rush and Richard Jolley Scholarship Fund to attend classes at the Corning Museum of Glass and the Penland School of Crafts. Danielle has also been able to attend Pilchuck Glass School and the Bild-Werk Academy in Frauenau, Germany as a teaching assistant for both glass blowing and bronze casting classes. She recently completed her Masters of Fine Art at Cal State San Bernardino in 2023 and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. Danielle is an integral part of Second Best Studio while she continues to work as a freelance glassblower fabricating work for lighting designers and other artists.

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!