Feel the heat of the hot shop as you shape molten glass into a one-of-a-kind blown glass pumpkin. In this quick and exciting hot shop experience, you’ll work closely with a skilled artist to blow and shape glass from our 2,100°F furnace into a festive pumpkin perfect for celebrating autumn or brightening your space year-round.

Make-It-Now experiences offer a quick hands-on introduction to the magic of glassmaking. In the hot shop, you’ll work one-on-one with a skilled local artist at the 2,100°F furnace. In about 15 minutes or less, you’ll work together to shape, color, and craft your glass item. Perfect for beginners, these short experiences offer a taste of the excitement, skill, and artistry that goes into working with glass in a supportive, guided setting.

Ages 5+

We require adult supervision for any participants under 14 years old.

Due to the nature of hot glass, items cannot be taken home the same day they are created. All items made in the hot shop must go through an annealing process to slowly cool the glass. Items are available for pick-up after 5 days. Shipping can be arranged on site the day of your activity.

PGC 237

Learn the art of stained glass while creating your very own glass snowflake. Students will work with pre-cut glass, bevels and gems wrapping each component in metal to then join them together with molten solder. Use these dazzling snowflakes to decorate your home for the winter season or catch the light in your window all year round.

 

 

“Mindfulness is a pause – the space between stimulus and response: that’s where choice lies.” — Tara Brach, Psychologist and Meditation Teacher

Are you feeling stressed or overwhelmed? Or maybe angry or sad with the state of the world? Or maybe just longing for more quiet space to connect with your heart and other compassionate people? 

If so, you are warmly invited to Guided Meditation at The Corner, Pittsburgh Glass Center's Community Space (5431 Penn Avenue, Pgh PA 15206) starting Tuesday, October 6th from 5:30p-6:30p and continuing on Tuesdays through December. 

Weekly sessions will be facilitated by Jeffrey Dorsey and include Guided Meditations and time for sharing, questions, and holding space for one another. 

No meditation experience necessary. 

Registration is required for each session. Sign up for just one session or attend every week! 

Registration for Guided Meditation is donation-based. All donations help make this workshop possible and support future wellness programs at Pittsburgh Glass Center. 

What To Expect

Each session will offer a variety of meditative techniques for you to explore including: Presencing and attunement, visualization and mental body scans, use of mantras, breathwork and gentle movement exercises, basic chakra energy alignment, concentration/focus exercises, inquiry and open awareness, meditations that awaken a compassionate heart such as Tonglin, Metta (loving-kindness practices), and more. Inspirations for the teachings and practices will come from nature, mysticism, ancient wisdom traditions, art, science and can be applied to your life and current events. The practices offered will build on what we are learning week to week, but you need not be able to attend every session to participate. Whether you are curious about meditation, or want to start, re-start, or sustain a mindfulness/meditation practice, all participants are invited to attend as often as possible and bring a curious/beginner's mind.

Why Meditation 

The ancient Tibetan word, "gom" means, "to familiarize ourselves with" and in the ancient Buddhist tradition the word, "gom" refers to the practice of training the mind. This mind training is what we call meditation and includes techniques and practices that help us become more aware of thoughts, emotions, and sense perceptions through expanded awareness. We can then be more mindful/aware in all the choices we make in our day-to-day lives. In this way, we begin to notice and then liberate the mind from unhealthy habitual patterns so that we can become more present and authentic. Over time this can lead to life happening to us, to what our life wants to reveal through us. The form of meditation will practice is called Vipassana, which means "to see things as they really are."  It is a non-sectarian practice, meaning it is not tied to any religion or belief system, and can be practiced by anyone, anywhere, anytime.  The practice uses the senses of the body as a receiver to expand awareness, and it is used universally as a remedy for human suffering and a path to self-transformation. While the practice can appear simple (almost like sitting and doing nothing), it can offer a profound sense of clarity, feeling more whole and centered, and more creative and compassionate. 

Benefits of Meditation Practice

• Feel supported by a community of practitioners
• Regulate your nervous system and co-regulate with others
• Manage and protect your energy/vitality
• Reclaim sovereignty of your mind in a world that is constantly demanding your attention
• Become more familiar with yourself (gain greater insight into how you are wired, your habitual patterns, etc.)
• Ground and re-source for a fuller sense of embodiment
• Become more curious and expand conscious awareness
• Understand the difference between pain and suffering and how to work with both
• Work skillfully with difficult emotions (grief, anger, etc.)
• Learn to set healthy boundaries
• Build capacity for greater alignment, integration, and healing
• Connect to lineage, ancestors, and the more-than-human world
• Rest in loving awareness as your true nature

Accessibility & Accommodations

The Corner is an accessible space, and all practices can be done seated. Instruction is offered via invitation so participants can choose for themselves what is right for them. This is a non-striving, non-harm, non-self-help practice. In order to make our space safe(r), all participants will be asked to abide by community agreements that will be shared upon registration and be posted on the wall for each session. If you require additional accommodations, please let us know at Accessibility@PittsburghGlassCenter.org.

 

Have a question about the guided meditation?

Email Jeffrey at jdorsey641@gmail.com

About the Instructor

Jeffrey's heartwork combines 30 years of creative practices including art-making, mysticism, ritual, mindfulness/meditation and yoga, all of which make up his most recent art project entitled, Another Light: Making Space for Healing. He is trained in trauma-informed facilitation and a variety of therapeutic modalities. He felt called to teach meditation during the COVID-19 pandemic to support community members through difficult times and since then has widened his meditation offerings to include group meditative retreats, teaching at the Carnegie Museum's Mindful Museum program, and custom trainings for organizations and corporations. He is also currently in the process of becoming a certified psychosynthesis coach. Besides meditation, Jeffrey has three decades of leadership experience in arts/community non-profits including: Managing the Penn Avenue Arts Initiative and co-creating Unblurred: First Fridays on Penn; as Director of The Friendship Development Associates (which sold PGC their building located at 5472 Penn Avenue); and, as the current Executive Director at Union Project. He lives in Friendship with his wife, two-adult children, and two cats. He is excited to hold space for community members through this pilot program.

 

PGC 153

Carve out some fun with molten glass pumpkins. In this introductory workshop, you’ll gather glowing molten glass from the 2,100°F furnace and add colors of your choice. Then guided by a skilled instructor, you will blow and sculpt it into beautiful pumpkins with curly stems. This workshop is a fun introductory experience into hot glassblowing. Each participant will make two blown pumpkins, perfect for harvesting compliments at home, gifting to a loved one, or adding a decorative touch to any space.

 

 

Due to the nature of hot glass, your items will be available for pickup 5 days after your activity.

PGC 159

Top off your bottles with style. In this introductory workshop, melt and shape molten glass into custom bottle stoppers with a 3,000°F torch. Guided by a skilled instructor, learn torch basics and add color, texture, and details to create functional art for wine, oils, or decorative display. Impress your guests or give as a unique hand crafted gift.

 

 

Due to the nature of hot glass, your items will be available for pickup 5 days after your activity.

Create a glowing centerpiece for your Hanukkah celebrations in this introductory fused glass workshop. Under the guidance of a skilled instructor, you’ll learn to cut sheet glass and combine it with frit (colored glass granules) and stringers (thin colored glass rods) to design a one-of-a-kind handmade Hanukkiah. Once your design is complete, we’ll fire it in the kiln to fuse everything together into a beautiful and functional work of glass art ready to display and use throughout the holiday season. Whether your style is traditional, modern, or playful, your finished piece will bring handmade warmth and color to your celebrations for years to come.

Due to the nature of hot glass, your items will be available for pickup 5 days after your activity.

Carve out some fun with molten glass pumpkins. In this introductory workshop, you’ll gather glowing molten glass from the 2,100°F furnace and add colors of your choice. Then guided by a skilled instructor, you will blow and sculpt it into beautiful pumpkins with curly stems. This workshop is a fun introductory experience into hot glassblowing. Each participant will make two blown pumpkins, perfect for harvesting compliments at home, gifting to a loved one, or adding a decorative touch to any space.

 

 

Due to the nature of hot glass, your items will be available for pickup 5 days after your activity.

PGC 123 Step into the “magic” world of glowing glass and electrified light. In this introductory workshop, you’ll work with a skilled instructor and learn how to heat, bend, and shape borosilicate glass tubing at a 3,000°F torch. You’ll transform a simple glass tube into a sculptural form like a magic wand or playful design of your own.

Next, you’ll see a demonstration of how plasma tubes are filled and experience the magic of plasma as it comes to life over a Tesla plate, illuminating with vibrant, dancing light. Your finished work will remain at the studio for processing. You choose if it glows red or purple.

We’ll fill it and it will be ready for pickup in five days, fully transformed into a glowing work of art.

This workshop is a fun introduction to plasma. Each participant will create one plasma piece. Fun to make and mesmerizing to watch.

Registration includes Tesla coil base to light up plasma wand at home.