Heidi Schmenk was walking through The Oval nine years ago when she first saw blown glass art. The display intrigued her, leading her to take up the craft herself, and she is now offering the general public the opportunity to experience the craft of glass blowing.
“Anybody can come learn to blow glass and take classes,” said Schmenk, who graduated five years ago. “Everyone is welcome.”
The Glass Pumpkin Workshop will be held from Oct. 2 to 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is a service of Columbus’ non-profit Glass Axis glass-blowing studio. The pumpkin patch will consist of handmade glass pumpkins, arranged across the ground just as a true patch would grow.
“We will have hundreds and hundreds of pumpkins on display,” Schmenk said. “We work year-round making pumpkins.”
The workshop will be held at Glass Axis, located at 1341-B Norton Avenue.
The studio will provide pumpkin-making lessons from 1 to 4 p.m. every day of the workshop.
Admission is free. All of the glass art featured is made by local artists and will be for sale. Visitors who wish to make pumpkins of their own can do so with the assistance of an instructor for $50. According to Schmenk, a glass pumpkin takes roughly 20 minutes to blow, and anybody who is at least 12 years of age can learn. Glass Axis has a limited number of workshop spaces, and they are available on a first-come, first-served basis. They do not accept reservations.
The pumpkin patch will be set up much like the art Schmenk saw that lured her into the art of glass blowing.
“At Glass Axis, students will jump right in, working with glass immediately,” Schmenk said.
Glass Axis also has a gift shop and gallery that are open during the week. In the event of rain, the program will be moved indoors. The studio’s phone number is 614-291-4250.