Alabama’s First and Only Public Access Glass Blowing Studio Announces Grand Opening

The Hot Shop at Orange Beach Arts Center in Orange Beach, Alabama will have their grand opening Friday August 21. There will be live glass blowing demonstrations music, food, drink, glass art raffles and a ribbon cutting. The Hot Shop will be the state’s only glass studio available to the public for tours, demonstrations, events, classes, and rental.

Orange Beach, AL - August 10, 2009 – The grand opening of Alabama’s first glass blowing studio available to the public will be August 21, 6PM to 9PM. The studio, called The Hot Shop at Orange Beach Arts Center, will be available for tours, demonstrations, classes, and rental after the opening. There will be live music, food, drink, glass blowing demonstrations, glass art raffles, and a ribbon cutting. The Hot Shop is named after the traditional name for the glass blowing area in a glass studio.
Festivities will begin at 6PM Friday August 21 with glass blowing demonstrations by area artists including Joe Hobbs and Joe Thompson of Bear Creek Glass.

There will be live music played by classical guitarist, Billy Howell. Free food and drink will be available and for a $20 donation you will receive a hand blown glass and complementary adult beverages.

Mayor Tony Kennon and Joe Thompson with Bear Creek Glass, who donated $230,000 in glass equipment for the studio, will cut the ribbon officially opening The Hot Shop at 6:30PM. Hand blown glass door prizes and raffle drawings are scheduled for 8:30PM.

On Saturday August 22 from noon to 4PM individuals will be able to blow their own ornament or sun catcher for $20.

Also on Saturday there will be free “Introduction to Glass” tours on the hour from noon to 4PM. The tour will include a talk about glass blowing equipment, how glass is made and colored, and a glass blowing demonstration in The Hot Shop.

The Hot Shop will offer a comprehensive class schedule for novices and experts in all the methods of forming glass. Classes will be taught by staff artist Joe Hobbs and other artists from around the country and even internationally. The Glass Studio will be open to the public for tours, viewing, and demonstrations including specially designed art education programs for K-12 students.

About The Hot Shop at Orange Beach Arts Center:
The Hot Shop, a public access glass education facility, was founded in 2009 by The Orange Beach Arts Center, The Friends of the Arts, and Bear Creek Glass. It is a place where students, artists, and community can come together to share knowledge, resources and artistic expression through the medium of glass. Tours, demonstrations, events, classes, shop rentals, and gallery are available to the public.