In a landmark Penn Avenue building in Friendship, the furnaces never really cool. The Pittsburgh Glass Center — one of the country’s premier glass art nonprofits — runs a blazing calendar of exhibitions, public demonstrations, classes and artist residencies in hot glass, flameworking, kilnforming and coldworking.
Friday ‘Hot Nights’ open houses let visitors watch glassblowers pull molten art from 2,100-degree furnaces, while the Hodge Gallery’s exhibitions show what the medium can do in master hands. Beginners can make their own ornaments, pumpkins and paperweights in make-it-now workshops — a Pittsburgh date-night and family favorite.
The Pittsburgh Glass Center is at 5472 Penn Avenue. Exhibition and class schedules are at pittsburghglasscenter.org. The gallery is free; the glow is unforgettable.
