This holiday season, students have the opportunity to make sure the gifts they give loved ones are colorful and creative. Glass Axis, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching and promoting the art of glassblowing, is holding its annual Holiday Sale.
The Glass Axis Holiday Sale is a craft fair at Glass Axis studio, where studio members sell handmade glass items. Proceeds go to the artists and the studio to improve the facilities and support studio programming. The sale will feature blown glass items, including hundreds of ornaments, as well as jewelry, stained glass, fused glass and more. All gifts range from $5 to $100, letting students stick to a budget or go all out for an extravagant holiday gift.
Glass Axis was started in 1987 by 12 graduates of Ohio State’s glass program. Now, the studio has more than 220 members and offers courses in all phases of glass art, including hot, warm and cold glass techniques.
What makes the Glass Axis Holiday Sale a great event, and the gifts thoughtful and personal, is that all the glass work is handmade by members of Glass Axis studio, said Heidi Rozell, studio director of Glass Axis. There will be work from Ohio State’s glass studio for sale as well.
Guests can choose from an assortment of handmade glass goods like stained glass, jewelry and ornaments.
“I personally can’t resist the jewelry. There are incredible necklaces and earrings with intricate handmade glass beads that I absolutely love,” Rozell said.
The jewelry would make great gifts for girlfriend, mom or grandma, but the ornament selection is what usually draws the most attention.
“They are really great, inexpensive and yet thoughtful and attractive gifts that people of all ages enjoy,” Rozell said.
Besides selling colorful, handcrafted gifts, Glass Axis has made it possible for guests to make their ornament gifts a little more personal. During the Holiday Sale, Glass Axis offers a $25 glass ornament blowing workshop. People get to choose their colors, pick the colors up with the glass, and blow air into the ornament with the help of studio artists. Glass Axis offers other workshops in all areas of glass including glassblowing, stained glass, neon, fused glass and mosaic. One day workshops start at $25. After people have a certain amount of experience, they can then start renting out the studio hourly and create their own work.
“Some people think that you need to be athletic or artistic to blow glass, but that’s not true. Anyone can blow glass,” said Rozell.
The Holiday Sale Glass Workshop is Dec. 11 through 13 from 12 to 5 p.m. It is a walk-in workshop for ages 12 and up. The Glass Ornament workshop is $25.
The Holiday Sale is also Dec. 11 through 13 at Glass Axis. It runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 12 to 5 p.m. Sunday. No registration is necessary and admission is free.
Information about classes and events at Glass Axis can be found on its Web site, glassaxis.org.
