Guest artist Jake Pfeifer will work with the STARworks Glass team to perform an exciting glass demonstration for free! All ages are welcome. Those who are 21 and older can purchase locally brewed beer or wine from the bar in the glass studio or the STARworks Café & Taproom. Purchase a drinking glass or ceramic tumbler from the School House Gallery and the price of a beverage of your choice is included in the price. Drinks can also be purchased at the bar. The Hilltop Seafood food truck on site. Whiskey Pines Live at the Café following the glassblowing demo.

Jake will create an encalmo flattened pill vase. Encalmo is a Venetian glassblowing technique that involves fusing different glass sections. Encalmo pieces are traditionally worked with several bands of color, stacked on top of each other. The vase will have a veiled cane reticello in the center band. Reticello is a type of blown glass made with canes organized in a crisscross pattern to form a fine net. Jake will begin the demo by pulling the veiled cane to show how reticello is made. The team will then assemble the three parts of the encalmo vase.

Jake, glass artist, and owner of Hot Glass Alley, has been blowing glass since he was 14 years old. Even at that young age, Jake could see the technical challenges, but also the range of possibilities in using glass as an art medium. He worked during high school with an experienced glass blower in New Jersey, and took as many classes as possible. He learned to blow glass and create glass art pieces; graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010 with a BFA in glass and glass sculpture. Jake’s inspiration and creativity comes in many forms; and the work is personal. Each piece receives his enthusiasm and perseverance for excellence. His vision for each piece encompasses an understanding of the properties and movement of glass and application of color. Jake uses a large color palette and doesn’t limit himself to just a few colors or shapes. His work is both functional and sculptural.