West Ketchum jeweler and glassblower Mike Ausman has been blowing glass for several years and making Sun Valley his home for the past five of them. Working for Barry Peterson Jewelers in Ketchum by day and blowing glass by night has allowed Ausman to explore his craft and excite people who may be unfamiliar working with glass.
"I went to school for off hand soft glass. Within the realm of that, I learned the lampwork technique, which is more mobile and less expensive when trying to keep a studio going," Ausman said. "The lampwork technique is done with one torch and an annealing kiln. You use cold material as oppose to hot."
Ausman studied glass at Palomar College in San Diego, Calif., and has taken private lessons with soft-glass artist Sharon Gilbert in Chicago as well as an advanced class with Ed Schmidt. In addition, Ausman studied at the Geological Institute of America.
Ausman will be teaching his second lampwork glass class at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Ketchum on bead making and solid beadwork.
"The goal is to have people come out," Ausman said. "There is a learning curve with glass—and everybody can do it—but some people get it easier than others. I want to start with procedures and certain prep work so people can get familiar with the glass."
Ausman wants to give more experience to people who have worked with glass as well as teach people who have never touched glass an introduction to lampwork and allow everyone to take home a project. In past classes, participants made pendants and stir sticks.
"It's a basic technique," Ausman said. "The skills are very interchangeable with each piece. I've been working on leaf patterns and making little cactus to put on stir sticks as well as little birds."
The class will reveal how to mix and manipulate color, which brings about the detail in the glass.
"Part of the procedure and prep work is to first take two pieces of clear rods and stick them together to gather a ball by heating a section of a glass rod. When you push the two pieces together it will become bigger, and that's called gathering," Ausman said. "It moves like honey when it gets to its melting point."
Ausman's own work has been concentrated on making perfume bottles and rings, but he admits that in the winter it is harder to work on his glass because it's so cold at night.
Glass Class
Lampwork Glass with Mike Ausman will be at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts at 314 S. Second Ave. in Hailey Tuesday, Feb. 13, and Thursday, Feb. 15, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The class is $80 for members of The Center and $130 for non-members with a $15 supply fee. Scholarships are available for The Center art classes. To register, call 726-9491.
Students work in lampwork glass class at The Center.
