Do you love the look of glass paperweights? How about displaying them in the light? Or are you obsessed with the reality tv show Blown Away? What if you could make your own custom glass paperweight right in St. Petersburg, just like the artists on television, to add to your collection?
Zen Glass Studio teaches the basics in the one-on-one Make-Your-Own Glass Paperweight Workshop held in our Hotshop. In this one-hour experience, you, the guest artist, will choose your favorite colors for the piece you’ll be creating. Then you are introduced to glassblowing with a demonstration of thel ins and outs of what to do, what not to do. Then it’s time for you to balance and maneuver the molten glass.
You will turn and roll the glass on the end of a steel blowpipe. Rolling the molten glass into granules of color, then twisting or shaping before “gathering” another layer of clear over your whole piece, adding space for light and dimension! Your piece is finished when we break it off the “Punty”(steel blowpipe).
Our dedicated and knowledgeable artist staff are there to help you complete your perfect piece and place it in the annealing kiln or annealer, where it must soak and cool down over the next 12-24 hours.
Your finished glass paperweights are ready for pick up the next day (excluding Mondays – we are closed)) and can also be shipped or picked up at a later date.
The Make-Your-Own Glass Paperweight Workshop is best for people aged 13 and up as it involves working with molten glass. If you are looking for something to do in St. Petersburg after you’ve visited The Pier and Chihuly Museum, come to Zen Glass Studio for a one-of-a-kind experience.
Zen Glass Studio has offered this great experience for over 15 years in the Tampa Bay area and have served 7 introduced upwards of 10,000 1st time glassblowers! Located in the Warehouse Arts District, Zen Glass Studio is central to all of St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay area.