4 years ago
I was connected with Jessica the owner of Mantra w...
I was connected with Jessica the owner of Mantra when she moved here from Denver. I am soooo happy this universe brought us together!
I got a group of girlfriends together and we signed up for one of her classes. We chose to make wine glasses (there are quite a few classes to choose from). If you're looking for a class to sip wine and chat and doodle, this is not for you. If you're looking for a class to get down and dirty and get your face in a hot kiln and make an amazing piece of art, this is definitely the class for you!
Jessica is great beforehand with arranging payment and letting you know in advance what to wear, etc...(cotton clothes, closed toe shoes and the like). You must get there 15 minutes early to go over and sign waivers. Then the fun begins! Please be on time, there's a lot to do!
Jessica talked about the process which was confusing to all of us since we had never done anything like this before, but it was to be expected. We picked out what types of colors and types of glass we wanted and then got to work.
I chose to go first knowing full well I was the guinea pig, lol! It is an intense process, involving many times at the fire and molding, adding colors, and molding and shaping again. Then you (if you want to, which I did) get to blow air into the glass to make it's shape, and then mold the top and bottom. I'm super simplifying this process, by the way. After all is finished, she puts the glass into a hot box and it sits there for 24 hours. I have not seen my finished product yet, but cannot wait to get it!
One more thing- the first person to go takes the longest (about an hour) as Jessica is explaining the process in detail with that person. After that it's only about 30 minutes per person since everyone knows what's going on. This time frame is for the wine class, not sure about the other classes.
I could go on and on about Jessica. She has been doing this for 8-10 years and one of only a handful of female glass blowers in the United States. She is so informative, encouraging, patient and kind. I cannot wait to do another class with her! Who's going with me?