DALLAS — When you walk into Dallas Glass Art, you’ll likely get a warm welcome from the staff and the owner’s sweet pup, Chai.
The warm welcome only gets hotter as you walk into the back room, an area that owner and artist Carlyn Ray calls the “hot shop.”
“It’s kind of toasty in here,” Ray laughs as she points at a furnace. “These are about 2,300 degrees, so the temperature of a volcano back here.”
On the weekends, she invites the community to take guided glassblowing classes. Customers can take home a unique glass work. There are a variety of classes, like beer and whiskey cups, flowers and vases, hummingbird feeders, soap dispensers, bowls or even paperweights.
“Glass is one of the few materials you can actually shape with your breath,” she said.
Customers watch an instructor go through the process, then get a hands-on experience. The first step is to pick a custom color or two for their piece.
Glowing out of the furnace, glass melts together and is bright orange and burning. It’s rolled, molded or stretched into form.
“We’re always working with shape and temperature,” Ray said.
Since glass can’t be cooled immediately, customers won't be able to take their work home the same day. But in a few days, they’ll have a one-of-a-kind piece to pick up and take home.
For more information on Dallas Glass Art, click here.