Family Resemblance
This intemediate glassblowing workshop invites students to build a world of objects connected through material, color, narrative and "family resemblance.” Together, we will explore how designed objects can feel related — like cousins, siblings or distant relatives — through repeated gestures, forms, textures and ideas. Students will identify a creative thread within their interests and learn how to elaborate on it across a playful and evolving family of sculptural and functional work infused with their own DNA and point of view. Through demonstrations, experimentation and group discussion, students will explore a variety of color application techniques including overlays, encalmo, cane and murrine. Along the way, we’ll embrace curiosity, intuition and risk-taking while developing confidence in the hot shop. Whether you are relatively new to glass or looking to deepen your voice within the material, this class offers an encouraging environment to experiment, connect ideas and create work that feels uniquely yours.
Corey Pemberton, born in 1990 in Reston, Virginia, is a Los Angeles–based artist working across glass and painting. He received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012 and has completed residencies at Pittsburgh Glass Center, Bruket in Bodø, Norway, Alfred University, and a Core Fellowship at Penland School of Craft. His work has been exhibited at the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art and Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh and is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Arts and Design; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Chrysler Museum of Art. Pemberton currently serves as Executive Director of Crafting the Future, where he works to expand access, equity and representation within craft and design.
Cedric Mitchell, born in 1986 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary designer and glass artist whose work bridges craft, collectible design and contemporary culture. Through glass, furniture, lighting and sculpture, Cedric explores bold color, geometry, rhythm and identity through his signature aesthetic, Modern Funk — a fusion of modernist form, postmodern playfulness and Black cultural influence. Cedric has collaborated with Adobe, Lincoln, Heath Ceramics and Joopiter. His work was featured in "Objects: USA 2024" and is held in the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum and the Chrysler Museum of Art. In 2024, Cedric joined the Board of Trustees of the American Craft Council and was nominated for the 2026 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
