Turns out the correct technique for glassblowing is a gentle steady puff of air like blowing up bubble gum and not the bigger puff used for blowing up a balloon. When visiting the North Shore Glass School’s (NSGS) industrial hot shop space on Proctor Street in Salem for a glassblowing lesson, I was immersed in the precise, fast paced, and, yes, extremely hot ancient art form. Donning safety gear, I listened carefully to NSGS cofounder, Matt Cronin, instructing me in not only safety and how to blow a proper bubble into the molten glass, but also in how quickly to rotate the blowpipe and manipulate the other tools. I watched as we formed my two blown glass objects—a pumpkin and wavy bowl both shiny white and aqua—from the glowing liquified glass Cronin gathered from the 2200-degree furnace. I learned quickly that glassblowing is a team effort, with the added assistance of NSGS cofounder, Michael Hall, and teacher Ben Trussell Holst. The three work together in a well-orchestrated dance of verbal commands and movements.
A Red-Hot Lesson
My quick turn at the roughly 2500-degree glory hole used for reheating and shaping felt almost skin melting to me as a novice but exhilarating. According to both Hall and Cronin, professional glassblowers build up a tolerance to the heat and know the insider tricks. In the worst of the summer heat, Cronin often comes into the hot shop at 4:30 a.m. to blow glass before the day’s temperature climbs.
When finished, my pieces went into the annealer cabinet, where they slowly cooled over a 24-hour period. I was in awe of how delicate glass is at all stages—from the lava-like molten beginning to the fully formed piece of art ready for cooling.
Passionate Teachers
Hall and Cronin, both North Shore residents, opened the NSGS in 2018 based on their mutual passions for both glassblowing and teaching. What first started as mobile art classes seven years ago, is now a busy hot shop location with private and group classes and workshops in glassblowing, fused glass and slumping, stained glass, sandblasting, and flameworking. At its hot shop location, the school holds multiweek and one-time adult classes, kids’ summer workshops, drop-off tween classes, glass and wine nights, and more.
Hall and Cronin, both fathers and former art-loving kids, are dedicated to their work with children and teens. It is evident from the enthusiasm and focus they both display working with students who are in the hot shop for a summer flameworking workshop during my visit. “People who like to work with their hands, which was like me and probably Matt growing up, would have loved to go to a place like this where they can be among their friends who also like to do crafts,” explains Hall. Cronin added that “the kids pick up the techniques way quicker. . . . Their brains are wired to learn.”
In addition to teaching, NSGS takes on commissioned items—on one shelf were orange and blue glass plates for a Salem State University project. Hall told me about an upcoming twenty-inch wedding vase they will be making with specific colors and engraving using their sandblasting technique. Interior designers often come to Hall to commission bespoke hand-blown glass pieces for their clients, including a chandelier Hall is currently working on.
Artistic Collaborations
This past spring the NSGS opened a joint studio and gallery space at Artist’s Row in downtown Salem. I stopped by the bright open space to pick up my finished pieces from NSGS teacher Cate Pruellage. Filling the gallery shelves are hand-blown pumpkins, paperweights, birds, vases, bowls, custom pint glasses, and even lobsters—in an array of colors and sizes. Hanging from the ceiling are rows of glass balls in white, blue, pink, and green. Everything is blown by Hall, Cronin, other NSGS teachers, and students. Unlike the full range of classes at the hot shop, the downtown studio hosts only (no hot open flames allowed) the non-heat related techniques including glass fusing, stained glass, and sandblasting. While there is a full schedule of classes offered, this location also offers drop-in studio time with instruction. The hours are 1 to 5 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. weekends.
Pruellage showed me fused glass projects completed during a class earlier that day and told me about a NSGS birthday party she recently hosted with Holst. Parties are hosted at both locations for ages 7 and up and include a hands-on class and project. The new space is receiving a lot of attention from both locals and tourists. “We get a fair amount of people who go through and purchase items there, and we probably get just as many taking flyers about our classes and workshops to learn how to blow glass or make stained or fused glass,” says Hall.
Halloween Glass Works
Gearing up for the busy Halloween season in Salem the NSGS is offering a full lineup of seasonal classes including 15-minute slots to blow your own pumpkin, fused Halloween jewelry, flameworking ghosts and goblins, fused glass autumn scenes, and more.
On October 25 and 26 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) the annual Pumpkin Patch event turns the Proctor Street parking lot into a rustic farm atmosphere with hundreds of pumpkins. The event includes 8 to 10 vendors each day and opportunities to blow your own pumpkin at the hot shop. Back home with my new pumpkin and bowl displayed carefully on a shelf, it’s time to go get some bubble gum to practice my blowing technique before I return to the NSGS hot shop.