advertisement

Glass Pumpkin Patch coming to arboretum

The third annual Glass Pumpkin Patch will feature 3,000 glass pumpkins and other autumnal designs such as apples, gourds, acorns and more from Oct. 16-20 at the Morton Arboretum.

The patch will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and is free with arboretum admission.

Visitors can watch a free glassblowing demonstration, meet the artists, and walk through the Glass Pumpkin Patch to see finished pieces in a wide variety of styles, sizes and colors. The patch will be open for viewing and glass blowing demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 16-18.

The pieces will be available for sale starting at 1 p.m. Oct. 18. The pumpkins and autumnal designs range from $35 to $300 per item based on the artist’s experience level, techniques used, color, size and style of the pumpkin, and are only available for sale at the Patch.

Here’s a quick look at some of the Chicago-area artists who are contributing to this year’s display and sale:

Mike Amis

Amis received his diploma in product design from the Kent Institute of Art and Design and continued on to the University of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, where he earned a bachelor’s with honors in glass. He received an MFA from Illinois State University in 1998. After graduation, he designed and built a hot shop for Kokomo Opalescent Glass in Kokomo, Ind., where he worked as a studio director, designer and gaffer until he opened his own studio in October 2007 in Bloomington.

Holly Behrends

Behrends graduated from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale with a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting in 2006. While in school she was exposed to numerous materials and fell in love with glass. In 2007 she started working at Chicago Hot Glass as a shop technician and instructor for the Holiday Ball workshop classes.

Mary Rose Merkin

Merkin was born and raised in Downers Grove and received a BFA from the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. She attends glass-focused workshops and creativity conferences. She is a technician at Chicago Hot Glass and is lab supervisor in the Glass Art Classroom at New Trier Township High School.

Kit Paulson

Paulson received her bachelor of fine arts degree from Alfred University in western New York in 2004. Since then, she has assisted a number of glass artists and honed her skills as a glassblower in a variety of studios. She has taught at studios in the Chicago area. She lives in Chicago.

Jeff Alan Smart

Smart began working with glass in 2000 when he took his first class at Talisman Glass in Chicago. He went on to study glass through the Chicago Art Institute, Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, N.Y., and Ox-Bow in Saugatuck, Mich.

In 2003, Smart began working from his home studio as well as collaborating with George Tessman of GT Glassworks. Working with soft glass and Borosilicate glass gives him an unparalleled perspective allowing him to create a variety of unique pieces.

George Tessman

Tessman grew up in Highland, Ind. Even at a young age he had an interest in the arts, but he didn’t discover glass until 2000. After delving into stained glass and fusing, he found his passion in hot glass. He works out of his own studio.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.