Nicole Bryson leads readers into the artisan's realm of glass blowing, its culture, how it developed in Cleveland, and what its past and future look like. Read on to familiarize yourself with the personalities and the topography in this underground culture of creatives. The first week in February, Burning River Glass will have a sculptural chandelier show in their gallery featuring Brian Bencheck and other emerging glass artists.

The notorious Cleveland winter has blown into town. You have packed away your chic, monotone-black West 6th Street wear, and have replaced it with bulky wool sweaters. Your hard-earned dollars must be rationed to afford inflating heating costs. A weekend squandered on trendy over-priced drinks is impractical. But the last thing you want to do is spend another weekend lethargically watching movies at home. You’re starving for something new, something different to do in a downtown striving to capture the bustling nightlife of a modern metropolis.

The constructive and arcane world of glass blowing feeds this need. It flourishes within Cleveland’s decrepit structures. Drive down Superior Avenue to the edge of downtown. The buildings turn from skyscrapers blessed with modernity to brick and steel warehouses that recall Cleveland’s constructive and industrial past. Not too far past the heart of downtown is one of the major arteries feeding revitalization into the city. The area bounded by E. 22nd Street and Superior Avenue is known as the Quadrangle, one of several concentrations of artist studios that are pumping life back into a neglected downtown.

When most people think of art, they think of paintings. For many, walking around a cluster of galleries perusing a myriad of canvases is not the way to spend an evening. These so-called works of art are just canvases of indiscernible subject matter splashed with color and aligned with the laws of chaos. So, some may think indulging in a trendy, overpriced drink is not so impractical after all.

An alternative option to all this is Burning River Glassworks, one of numerous hot glass studios in Cleveland and Brian Bencheck, 28, is the sole proprietor of this public access studio. He is one glass blower with the younger generation revolutionizing this art. He believes coupling small business and glass blowing will lay the groundwork to create a culture that will attract young people downtown and contribute to the energy necessary for economic growth in the city.

"People live in the city." he says. "Why is Cleveland a ghost town? You have to create a reason for people to come into downtown. Art shows bring people into the city and give the artists a motive to keep these things going."

Brian never got into the arts but has always had a curiosity for glass blowing. Through a mutual friend he was introduced to a blower who has a studio on E. 36th St. and Superior Ave. Brian has been blowing since spring, 2002. He is mostly self-taught, with a few informal lessons.

The inception of Burning River Glassworks was in October, 2003, when Brian signed the lease. After five months of preparation, the studio opened. Brian offers classes in glassblowing to beginners, intermediates, groups, or private lessons. He caters to the professional glassblower by offering an Electroglass furnace. This digital electric furnace provides better temperature control for glass blowing. Most hot glass studios use propane furnaces. He proudly states that he uses a better quality glass than that used at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. He also provides studio rental for blowers and studio tours.

Brian’s studio is 3,000 square feet, with a loft ceiling. His studio is naturally lit with large windows on the north side, which face Superior Ave. Located halfway below the ground, you see the feet and legs of those walking the sidewalk out front. Against this wall is his impressive Electroglass furnace. The furnace holds the glass in a molten state at a temperature of 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit; and the west wall houses the metal poles and other glass blowing tools needed for blowing. A couch sits in the middle of the space, with a coffee table in front displaying a book of artistic glass. In the back of the studio is the gallery. Multicolored vessels of varying heights and diameters are displayed on cinderblock columns painted white. There is also a melange of sculptural glass pieces diverse in shape and color.

The studio is warm and shortly after we begin talking, he takes off his sweatshirt. He is wearing a white T-shirt that reveals a tattoo wrapped around his upper left arm. He speaks with veneration about the Cleveland art scene. He chose to settle in Cleveland instead of San Francisco where his wife lived. Brian is dressed in a sweatshirt, blue jeans, sneakers and glasses. He is friendly and reflective as he talks about the local glass scene. His hopes for his future are optimistic and practical. He understands where he is today and where he wants to be in the future. And his personal philosophy is aligned with knowing how to get what he wants.

Why Cleveland?

In Cleveland, Brian can witness his contribution to the revitalization of downtown. Downtown practically becomes a ghost town after the evening rush hour, and the term "starving artist" is a reality, not a cliché, for many Cleveland based artists. But Brian cites numerous reasons. First, his 3,000 square foot space on Superior Avenue would cost four times as much if he set up shop in the Bay area. Second, housing is more affordable in Cleveland than in other cities. Third, he can start at the ground level. There are few blowers in Cleveland compared to the thousands in San Francisco or Seattle.

"Glass blowing is a visual art. An action art. It’s neat to watch. It creates a campfire effect. It’s something different to talk about and people will go to the bars and eat after." Brian says.

The "campfire effect" he refers to comes from the glow of the furnace and glory hole. The glory hole is a large insulated drum that maintains a temperature of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It is used to maintain the pliability of the glass piece while it’s being worked on. Brian believes that this new glass movement in Cleveland will stimulate economic growth for the city. "The arts themselves don’t generate a lot of economic revenue but they contribute to other economic developments," he says.

Glass art has been part of society for over three millennia. The beginnings of glass go back to the second millennium BC and the Phoenicians. Through the prosperous trade routes of the Phoenicians and through time, glassblowing techniques were refined in Venice with guidance from ancient Oriental techniques. Venetian glass has been crafted since the late 13th century and is world-renowned. But it is American glass artists that have revolutionized glass as an artistic medium. They have proffered innovative creativity to the refined methods of the Murano artists.

"The Murano artists are masters of glass blowing, but they adhere strictly to tradition and are blowing for tourists," Brian says. "The American glass blowers have no precursors. They are experimenting with the medium."

Glass artists were affiliated with Les Fauves during the early 1900s in France. They showed their work at the renowned Salon d’ Automne in 1905 and Salon des Independants in 1912. Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Joan Miro, and other well-known modern artists created glass pieces that were commissioned by an art dealer. And glass art often parallels contemporary artistic trends like Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. However, scholars have largely ignored the advances in artistic blown glass. Art historians still seem to feel safer classifying blown glass as a craft rather than fine art.

Here in Cleveland, the Superior Quadrangle is not the only heartbeat for the glass revolution. On the other side of the river, down W. 25th Street behind City Buddha and the new Garage Bar, lies the home of the Glass Bubble Project http://michael44113.tripod.com owned by Mike Kaplan, 34, and his best friend, Chris Topher. The Glass Bubble Project offers classes and studio rental as well as a gift shop and gallery. Like Brian, Mike is mostly self-taught. He has been in Cleveland his entire life and has blown glass for six years. Mike was a pre-medical major but took three semesters of glass blowing while at Kent State University. Feeling burnt out, Mike went to Costa Rica for three months. When he returned, a friend introduced him to a woman who wanted to sell the space at 2421 Bridge Ave. With a space to fill, Mike then needed to obtain the pricey equipment essential for launching a glass blowing studio.

But Mike is extraordinarily resourceful. He knows some welding and was able to build his own furnace, glory hole, and kiln from found scrap metal and brick. In addition, he buys recycled glass that helps keep costs down. All in all, Mike now does well enough to make a living blowing and selling glass and giving lessons, although he had to take a second job for support in the beginning. The studio, which opened five years ago, went unnamed for a year.

"We debated a title for the shop. Then one day, while I was blowing with a friend, I said, 'You gotta blow the bubble,’ and the Glass Bubble Project was born. It took two years to build up enough business to get it going. "I couldn’t afford it at first," he continued. "Most of the time I just goofed around," Mike says. "We spent the first two winters with no heat because we couldn’t afford to pay it."

On a recent visit he is giving a lesson to an 18-year-old student. She is working on the typical glass blower novice shape: the bubble/vessel. Mike has a laid back, friendly demeanor and the smile never leaves his face as he enthusiastically discusses this unique art. For a spectator, watching the smooth flow of his movements as he quickly makes a glass "pancake," or base, for his student’s vessel is captivating.

The studio opens directly into the street. You walk in and are immediately in the small cove that serves as the gallery. The glass works of Mike and his friend line shelves that are about seven feet high as well as two four foot display cases. As you enter the studio past the gallery you feel the heat that emanates from the furnace and glory hole. Advancing into the studio, one sees larger multi-media pieces hung on the walls and ceiling. Most of these pieces are blown glass chandeliers. Mike’s specialty is experimenting with the combination of light and blown glass. He prefers to sell his work in his own gallery, although he does exhibit at other galleries occasionally. "I do some art shows but I hate them. The sales are good but it’s a lot of sitting around," Mike says. He enjoys what he does and it reflects in his calm demeanor, as he attentively answers questions while never neglecting his student.

Brent Kee Young has been a professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art since 1973 and is the glass department head. He studied glass at San Jose State University and graduated just five years after the first major glass exhibition opened in San Jose. There was also a simultaneous exhibition at the Toledo Museum of Art. He has an engineering background and first studied ceramics. He confesses it was "serendipitous" that he evolved into glass.

"Glass is its own worst enemy," says Professor Kee Young. "The nature of the material proffers an intrinsic quality that’s attractive." In other words, it’s easy for the viewer to accept any piece of glass as "good" or artistic because of the way glass can capture and reflect light yet still be dense and heavy. Glass has a universal appeal that makes it difficult to differentiate a novice decorative piece from an artistic sculptural piece.

So, is blown glass art?

"It depends on the nature of intent and how it is defined," Professor Kee Young says, "and function is a start." That is to say, is the glass piece decorative or sculptural? It is this undefined line between something that functions as decoration and something that functions as sculpture that prevents blown glass from entering the respectable world of fine art. Blown glass requires incredible skill and stamina. The 56-inch metal pole, called the blowpipe, through which the artist blows, weighs about 10 pounds. The artist "dips" the end of the blowpipe into the furnace of molten glass. The artist then blows the glass into the desired shape, re-warming it periodically in the glory hole to keep the glass workable. The molten glass at the end of the blowpipe can weigh at least 15 pounds. The finished piece is then carefully broken off of the blowpipe and placed in a kiln, kept at 900 degrees Fahrenheit, for 12 hours.

Perhaps the skillful techniques required to blow glass will soon be realized. And for Cleveland glass blowers their most affluent patron may be the Ohio Arts Council. Established in 1965, it is a state agency that supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically. With funds from the Ohio Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Council provides financial assistance to artists and arts organizations. The Council received 1,479 applications requesting a total of $21,943,005 in 2003. It was able to grant 780 of the applications, or 53 percent. The agency disbursed $10,388,827, or 47 percent, of the funds requested throughout the state. $5,144,705 in grants was awarded to individuals and organizations in Cleveland alone. Although half of the funding awarded by the Council went to Cleveland, there is no local office. But the Council recognizes the potential for economic growth possible through Cleveland art.

There is no formal organization of glass blowers in Cleveland. They are an informal community helping change the cultural foundation of downtown. Recognition and support from the Council would be a milestone in the glass revolution.

Hector Vega is a prominent Cleveland artist. Born in Puerto Rico, he came to the United States when he was eight years old. He owns the Artefino café and gallery, located in the Tower Press building at 1900 Superior Ave. His work is mostly Cubistic with elements of Fauve color and three-dimensional Precisionism. His style evolved from a search for structure in life. And now, Vega is pioneering a new market for Cleveland artists. "I encourage artists to become entrepreneurs and to merge the arts into charitable organizations," he says.

Vega is involved with numerous charities and organizations in Cleveland. He is a community activist for El Barrio, a non-profit organization established in 1990 that promotes Hispanic arts and culture. He is also involved with the Cleveland Artists Foundation, the American Diabetes Association, Life Bank, as well as Guitar Mania and the Urban Gallery Hop sponsored by Sparx in the City. "Artists starting businesses and becoming involved in charitable organizations are an integral part of bringing life back to Cleveland," Vega says. Recently, Vega has been involved in a photo op for National City Bank.

"Artists are applying for loans to start businesses and financial institutions are realizing this new market," he says. "It’s the tip of the iceberg. We need to bring the arts community together and increase our exposure by branching outside the art world and into business and charity."

Collaborative efforts between city leaders and local artists, like Sparx in the City, are creating an educated audience. Clevelanders are eager to embrace something new, something different. In a city constructed from industry, the hot glow of a furnace is another attraction. It only follows that the constructive art of blown glass will find a warm place in the Cleveland art world. from Cool Cleveland reader Nicole Bryson althea420@ameritech.net

Image by Nicole Bryson

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