by Gwen O’Neill

Have you ever watched a glass blowing artist at work? If not, you’re in for a treat. Doug Brown will be installing a permanent glass blowing studio at La Nebbia Winery on Dec. 1. He will offer one-night events for people who want to explore the art, and glass blowing and glass fusing classes in January for people who want to pursue the craft.

Brown, an El Granada resident, previously worked as an industrial glass blower for the electronics industry. He also worked at etching glass for the casino industry. Nine years ago he started blowing for a non-profit in San Jose and developed a portable glass blowing studio.

He began to create pumpkins since they are such a popular item here in the Bay Area. “Every area of the country has a specialty blowers like to create. Japanese fishing vessels in the Pacific Northwest would lose their glass balls and the currents would wash them up on the shores. You see a lot of blowing related to the fishing industry up there. In Arizona you find a lot of cacti,” said Brown.

Glass is melted at high heat using either electricity or propane gas. “The glass needs to be heated to 2,200 degrees before it will melt. We then have to keep it hot while we work. If it gets cold it will break. When we’re finished we let it cool down in the annealer, which allows the piece to cool slowly overnight.”

Brown’s focus has been on the artistic aspect of glass blowing. “You have to sell your work as art if you’re really an artist. I also do functional things like plates but that’s not my focus. Glass fusing is another area that I’m very interested in. It’s essentially taking sheets of glass and cooking them together.”

Brown demonstrated glass blowing during the Pumpkin Festival at Half Moon Bay Glass and will also participate in the Night of Lights on Dec. 5.

The Glass Troubadours, led by Brown, are blowing glass from a mobile hot glass shop on the Paseo de San Antonio. Located in the walkway between First Street and Market next to the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, glass artist Brown and friends will be making everything from glass pumpkins to glass Christmas tree ornaments right there on the Paseo from his state- of-the-art glass blowing trailer. They can be found from 5-9 p.m. through Dec. 23.

Brown can be reached at 650-712-1500, info@colquhounglassworks.com or www.colquhounglassworks.com.