Josh Poll is a self-taught artist with experience in all facets of glass art, mosaic, casting, furnace glassblowing, and flameworking. The first steps of Josh’s journey started in Joliet, Illinois at Joliet Junior College in 1995. It was here where he melted glass for the first time, and became hooked!
Starting out in his parent’s basement, he set up a small studio where he experimented with the new substance. He became his own mentor. Music was the catalyst – jazz, soul, rock & roll, world beat, all of it; without music there’s no flow, each song brings a different emotion.
His family’s history of study in Geology and Archeology has brought Josh to a new level of understanding of his medium, borosilicate glass. In August of 1998 Josh relocated to Tampa, Florida. In March of 2001, looking for new inspiration, he attended a workshop in Melbourne, Florida. Robert Mickelsen’s work had always intrigued him, so now was a chance to learn from the renowned artist. While attending, Josh met, among others, David Walker. David was Mickelsen’s studio assistant. In March of 2002 Josh attended another workshop of Mickelsen’s. This time it was a figurative class with a live model. This was the class that sent him over the edge, as it gave him a whole new outlook of all sculptural work. Very soon after, Josh and Dave combined forces to form Zen Glass Studio and Gallery.
Josh’s styles include, but are not limited to: Tiki, Botanical, African, Erotica, and Far East. Goblets, jewelry, vessels and figures are some of the pieces Josh incorporates into glass. He draws his inspiration from many different sources. Here are a sampling of the glass artists who have had an impact: William Morris, Luccio Bubacco, Milon Townsed, Lauren Stump, Paul Stankard, Joshua Simpson, Lino and Pino (Tagliapietra and Signoretto). Whether dug up and centuries old or recently conceived, Josh’s unique style and technique is ever expanding. He continues to run a full production studio, with classes, local and national festivals.
The business of being a professional artist has given Joshua a unique opportunity to reach and speak with thousands of people, from all walks of life, which is one of the most rewarding aspects of his work
For more information about Josh, please contact him at info@zenglass.com today!
TESTIMONIALS
Just Awesome Thank you to our Teacher Josh my Wife and I Had a Great time.
Had a totally awesome time. They were great. We plan to go back for more classes!!! Everyone should try this. Zen Studio rocks!!!!
My mother and I took a class with Katy, it was awesome! Thanks Katy!
Thank you Austin!! We really had fun today!!
We had a great experience at Zen Glass! Josh was friendly and patient with us, talking us through the process. We can’t wait to go back! Highly recommend this as a fun activity, date night, birthday celebration, etc! We had no experience at all and we enjoyed ourselves!
Absolutely had the best time making our own pipes! He said that was the most fun he’d had on a birthday! We most definitely will be back!!!
Place is simply awesome! Great people over there!!
I had a great time with u guys!
Great class nice people, hope to see you soon again !! From Puerto Rico ✌
Awesome night at Zen studios ~ the instructors were kind & very helpful. We’ll definitely be going back! 5*!!!
Very friendly . Helpful. Awesome studio.
Took a chance on a Groupon for our first visit. Enjoyed it so much we went back a second time. Staff/instructors were really attentive. A fun experience. Highly recommend.
Enjoyed making my wine glass stem, was a little nervous at first but David was an awesome instructor. Will be doing another work shop
Lots of fun and easy to do. Great teachers, I highly recommend anyone that has any interest in trying this, go for it, you won’t be disappointed .
I spent a few minutes with Josh telling him my background and what I wanted to get from the class. He took me through a few ‘basics’ and I was off and running. Fantastic experience and I look forward to coming back the next time I’m in town.
best place in florida to learn glass working
Amazing experience! I don’t think it’s possible to have a bad time here
Had a great experience with the staff making champagne flute glasses that we plan to use in our upcoming wedding. Will be going back again!
Josh is my wife’s cousin. Amazing man & an amazing artist.
Our family had so much fun creating our Glass
Our instructors were great!!
We took our teenage boys ~ the whole family had a great time
Thanks for some rainy day fun!!
Amazing people and atmosphere! If you love glass definitely go check out Zen!
Great fun. Instructors have a good sense of humor and patience galore!
We had such an amazing time at Zen glass studio!! Josh was patient and helpful! We will definitely be back!
Cool place…loved seeing how they blow glass up close
The person that helped us was awesome, patient, funny and nice. Definitely will be coming back
Awesome experience! Josh and Austin were great. Would definitely recommend this to anyone.
What a great experience! The guys working there were super kind! Highly recommend!!
wicked fun and entertaining,
We had a great time at the studio! They were patient with us and let us get as creative as we could. Definitely coming back!
Great introduction to making glass! Staff was very welcoming.
Absolutely wonderful place to see and try something new! Our family of four had a great experience and would do it again in a heartbeat! My wife and I made wine glasses and our children made their own abstract art. We couldn’t have had a better time! Thank you Dave for an amazing afternoon! We will see you the next time we’re in Florida!
It was a wonderful experience that we be going back to make more.
Absolutely incredible experience!!! So perfect for date night or company team building…so much fun!!
zen is an amzing place 2 become an ar7is7 or jus look @ some amazing glass . DAVE @ Josh are super skilled and knowledgable .
Took my boyfriend here for his birthday, awesome experience the instructors were all great, they checked in and were able to guide you in the right direction. I would definitely recommend going here if your looking for something fun and unique.
Austin was AWSOME! We had a blast making wine glasses – so much we signed up for another workshop the following week. I highly recommend this class!
Jill, Wes and Jasmine
Thanks to KATY and JOSH for making my birthday weekend simply wonderful by going the extra mile!
Mike &Jozette Spina
This was on my husband’s bucket list…super cool experience!!! Definitely recommend & will do again!
Austin was a very good teacher and funny. Had a fun and great experience and going to go back to make some more works of art.
What a freaking blast! My mom bought this experience on Groupon for us (group of 4) and we had so much fun making the stems of our wine glasses! Austin was patient, super helpful, and did an excellent job not only explaining what we should be doing but also entertaining us. 10/10 would go again.
Lots of fun trying something new. New appreciation for glass blowing!! Awesome time and cool teachers that make it easier and you can’t do anything wrong.
OHHHHHH my Gosh, such and amazing experience. Austin, Dave and the other artists were so incredibly awesome!!! This is some things I recommend doing more then once.
Zen glass is an amazing place. My friends and myself went on Saturday and had a blast. Katy and the staff were friendly and very informative. We did the make your own wine glass. Also if you have a chance check out their gallery of work. All of their pieces are simply stunning. I can’t wait to come back.
Had a fantastic time making my our beer glass. Looking forward to taking classes
For two ladies with introverted testing anxiety the Beginner’s Pendant workshop was absolutely wonderful Austin was a great help, always full of bounce and positive encouragement! Thank you for helping our belated birthday celebration go so smoothly!
I ?You………………………………………
My husband and I had a great experience at a wine glass workshop today with Austin. Great way to experience something new and cool on a Sunday afternoon. Our wine glasses are so unique and we can’t wait to drink out of them. Thanks Austin! We will recommend you to all our friends.
Fantastic experience with Josh Poll. Would highly recommend it! Can’t wait to see my piece.
Met some cool people at the show in Miami got the big coin from Josh aka Jash. And what a good bunch of salesman Zen had there. Makes me want to learn how to blow glass. Thanks, Josh and Zen btw thanks Jb and thank your girlfriend for the lil cupcake
If you are looking for something unique and fun to do for a few hours this was a fun experience.
Would highly recommend.
Josh Poll & David Walker did such an awesome job in honoring my brother! Had some beautiful pendants & a pocket piece made with cremations & some outstanding paper weights too. Can’t put into words what it feels like to have & only know I have felt a definite peace.
Josh is a great instructor! He took his time with us and made the session fun. Definitely recommend him and his studio. I have a new found respect for this art. It’s amazing!
I 😘You………………………………………
Perfect name for this amazing space! Knowledgeable, kind, and fun folks just enjoying everything glass. Check them out, you’ll be happy you did.
Thanks so much to Christian for making the ornament workshop so easy! They have some fabulous works of art in their gallery and the service is superb! Can’t wait to see how our hand blown ornaments came out. I’m grateful to Christian for explaining how the color combos might look. Will be back!
everyone there is friendly and helpful. Love that I get to create something with my bare hands ??? its fun
my wife and I had an excellent time creating our own wine glasses! I highly recommend attending one of their classes, great atmosphere with friendly down to earth people.
Lots of fun,people friendly and helpful want to do it again
Had such a blast! Staff was friendly! Got awesome one-of-a-kind wine glasses out of it!
Great personalized experience. I learned a lot and had a blast. Josh is customer focused, witty and a pleasure to be coached by. I’ll be sharing and encouraging others to signup.
We had a great time today. Staff was incredible and helpful! Thanks
Had a great time with hubby and friends, thanks Austin!
The class was Lots of fun. 😊
AWESOME! So fun and great teaching by Josh and Co
Everyone there is friendly and helpful. Love that I get to create something with my bare hands 🥰🥰🥰 its fun
Fabulous time, unbelievable great experience! Will definitely be taking another class.
This was such a fun glass. I had a great date day! and our glasses came out great! thank you Austin for making our day enjoyable. definitely coming back! Austin was a great instructor.
Great time with a group of 14!
Thanks for accomodating our crazy group today! We had a blast and will be back!!
We had a blast at the studio. Highly recommend taking a glass blowing class.
Hard working vision within the craft of art. And dedicated to the community.
Awesome place!! Great teachers!!
Such a fun afternoon! Highly recommend!!
Very fun experience. Definitely makes you appreciate the custom glassware you see.
GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL STUDIO…………..
Great time!
My sister and I made wine glasses.
All the staff were so welcoming and informative. They made sure we had a good experience and made a successful project.
So much fun!
We definitely plan to come take another workshop! Cheers!
Best family fun experience! Austin and Josh were amazing to work with. Thanks Guys!
Josh was amazing. very relatable and welcoming from the minute we got there. it was a surprise for me so kinda didn’t know what to do, but he explained and gave us examples and really made it a memory for us. looking forward to our next visit already.
Just went to this studio because I had seen an event advertised called nude night. We were expecting artists, a glass blowing demonstration, body paint, and figure model sketching. When we arrived for the event two friendly gregarious staff members greeted us with the unfortunate news that the event had been cancelled. We were disappointed to miss what we had expected, but the friendly lady with blue hair and her jovial coworker were so welcoming and fun we had a good time anyways!
The class was Lots of fun.
Me an my wife had a blast!👍🏻
My cousin Josh is amazing at glass work. Definitely hit him up! 🙂
Awesome! Did the make your own wine glass, can’t wait to see how it turns out! Had a great time!!
definitely recommend for a day out. nice date idea. staff was helpful and sociable! 🙂
My boyfriend and I had an amazing date night here! It was so fun. Such a different and exciting date.
Amazing fun!! Had an great time with friends
This was so fun! Austin was great and took so much time with us. I can’t wait to come back and do it again.
It was so much fun.. My husband and I had a great time
My wife and I participated in a pendant workshop on October 15, 2016 with instructor, Katy. It was fun to learn how glass pendants are made and to try to make a few pendants. We were able to practice with combining different colors of glass and also trying to make different shapes. Katy was great as an instructor! I have a lot of respect for the process of glass making.
What an awesome experience. I would highly recommend this to anyone. So friendly and relaxed. Thank you for a wonderful experience (~);}
Highly reccomend this place. Our instructor Dave made it very fun and relaxed. He was very eager to help and answer all our question and gave us enough space to have fun and be silly while providing a safe environment.
Feel right at home here…long live zen glass studios
We had a great time today making our own martini glasses. The owners were friendly and very knowledgeable, so the whole experience was a lot of fun. They also have really nice pieces for sale to accentuate your home. We’d highly recommend going there to anyone looking for something fun and different to do!
best glass studio in southeast
It was an awesome experience. Being that it was my first time I was a little nervous. But luck was on my side because we had Austin helping us and explaining every step of the wonderful process. I was supper happy with my wine glass and so were my friends! Austin rocks !!! Give it a try …. you will not regret this amazing experience ❤️?
My daughter got to work w glass!! So wonderful!!!
We had a great knowledgable instructor
The owners are wonderful and love teaching.
A great place for a cool weekend activity! We had a blast!!
zen is an amzing place 2 become an ar7is7 or jus look @ some amazing glass . DAVE @ Josh are super skilled and knowledgable .
zen is an amazing place 2 become an artist or just look @ some amazing glass. DAVE & Josh are super skilled and knowledgeable.
Awesome!!!!
My husband loved it!!!
We had an awesome experience making crag beer glasses today, wonderful way to zen out.
If you are itching for an adventure, look no further! I cannot say enough positive things about this experience. Josh went above and beyond to endure that we felt safe with social distancing, plenty of sanitizer and plexiglass between stations. He is very knowledgeable of his craft and helped us create exactly what we wanted. Already looking forward to our next trip
We had a great experience here making some wine glasses.
Absolutely, I had a great time. planning a group to return. Didn’t know what to expect, this totally exceeded anything I thought.
Great fun place to learn about working with glass
Something fun and unique to do with the Besties ❤️ The owner and the workers are very helpful?
Everybody was so nice and helpful. Had a blast. Everybody should try this at least once!
Austin is a person who is real to the teaching of …” people listen and watch … !”
it was informative and exciting..
Austin was fun and attentive..!
I am attending another appointment..!
I did the make your own wine glass workshop for my birthday, and it was by far the most amazing experience I have had. Austin is an amazing instructor I will definitelybe going back. Thank You!!
GREAT TIME. Would do it again in a heartbeat! Great way to learn the art
Me an my wife had a blast!??
We attended a wineglass workshop and had a great time. Everyone was very helpful and patient with us while we were figuring things out and soaking in all of the information. It made for a unique and fun girls afternoon out! Looking forward to a “cheers” with our new stemware!
We had such a great time would love to do more great teacher
Today my work partner in crime and I took our amazing customer service team for a class on pendant and bead making – they had so much fun! Josh & team were so patient with the 4 of us and really let us experiment and explore the artists inside. I was proud of both our girls – Karin and I need more practice heehee. This was 100% an awesome time and highly recommend it!!!
Great classes!! Great people.I love going here one of my favorites.
So much fun!! And they were so very patient with us. I highly recommend their workshops!
Great vibe love glass art and they are very helpful def will be back
Kind hearted education. Welcoming and all around awesome people, hope to spend more time there, so much to learn!
Great place to hang out and melt. I took my wife there for veterans night and she had a blast!!!
If you haven’t already, check it out!
It was an awesome experience. Being that it was my first time I was a little nervous. But luck was on my side because we had Austin helping us and explaining every step of the wonderful process. I was supper happy with my wine glass and so were my friends! Austin rocks !!! Give it a try …. you will not regret this amazing experience ❤️🍷
What an awesome place, with a super low key, but awesome time!
I went for the wine glass workshop and had a great time. I was solo so I had Josh’s full attention. I created a glass that I will enjoy for many years to come. I also bought a beautiful necklace for my mom’s birthday.
zen is an amzing place 2 become an artist or just look @ some amazing glass . DAVE & Josh are super skilled and knowledgeable .
Great group of people! Awesome experience!
My 14 year old daughter has a hobby interest idea, and I am trying to help feed that idea/passion. Joshua was extremely helpful and informative. She will be back.
Austin was so patient and fun. My mom wasn’t to sure about what we were doing but he put her at ease. We had a blast and made a great memory!!! Thanks Austin!!!
The best places in the state for classes, camaraderie, and overall good glass vibes. Knowledgeable, friendly staff and a plenty of bench space. They also have a wonderful gallery full of beautiful work from tons of artists. Zen Glass really is a jewel of Florida.
Very “cool” actually HOT!!!
Awesome Place,Great People, I totally enjoyed meeting everyone there.
Awesome Place to learn Glass Blowing.
Very friendly, helpful people. Most interesting and we had a great time! Would recommend it as a great addition to your Florida vacation!
We had such a great time, I definitely want to come back and do more!
Bought a session through Groupon, had a great time…I think we might go back!
Great place to take a glass class and a great place to teach one. Some very kind professional people host a myriad of glass opportunities. I will be back!
Super fun!!! The guys were patient with us and very helpful.
this place will literally changer your life for the better 🙂
zen is an amazing place 2 become an artist or just look @ some amazing glass. DAVE & Josh are super skilled and knowledgeable.
A great family environment!! Excellent food!! If you looking for great environment and food I would absolutely recommend Zen great restaurant!!
Great experience. Austin was FANTASTIC! We just finished less than an hour ago so pics have yet been posted. Highly recommend.
Awesome workshop and great instruction. Me and my wife loved it.
My friend and I attended a class today. We had such a great time. David was an excellent teacher. He was very personable and made it so fun! We will definitely be back!
Austin was amazing and very helpful. He made the class so much fun. We will definitely return for another
Awesome! Hubby and I had so much fun playing with glass and fire. Katie was the best with helping us create our glasses. Thank you for offering the workshop.
So much fun! What a wonderful gift for you to have blessed Mother’s Day with! We enjoyed it very much and plan to return again in the future! Thank you!
Great atmosphere and very friendly instructors. Much more fun than we thought we were going to have. Thanks Austin!
Christian is amazing! My boyfriend and I did the valentines deal and we loved it! We made pint glasses. Can’t wait to pick them up Monday! I would suggest this place to everyone. It’s amazing.
Had a great time celebrating my other sister birthday! I highly recommend it and appreciate all of the team. Great gift shop for a unique gift.