ART VENUE

AO! Glass Kicks.....

Pedestrians strolling down the Church Street Marketplace might think that their retail and art options stop at Main, but those who happen to venture further will be rewarded with a visit to AO! Glass, located on the corner of Church and Maple Streets.

A garage door opens upon the 2400-square-foot studio, a combination glassblowing workshop, retail gallery, and event space which is also the home of Church and Maple Glass. Three work stations center around the furnaces at left, where on open studio days, observers can watch glass artists creating a classic tumbler, collaborating on a complex goblet, or experimenting with new forms.

Tove Ohlander, who hails from Sweden, and Rich Arentzen, who helped found Church and Maple Glass with Bud Shriner over a decade ago, returned to Burlington and assumed management of the studio early this year. The duo behind AO! Glass, who had been living and working in Scandinavia, transformed the space with a lot of fresh paint and a new layout for the display and retail area. Floor-to-ceiling shelves showcase the diversity of the in-house designs, from functional glass art and small sculptural gifts, to goblets with graceful human silhouettes for stems, and vessels adorned with engraved illustrations.

There’s a feeling of community in the venue, which extends to the practice of inviting local glassblowers to rent studio time, offering classes, and hosting small exhibitions to promote local artists. Special openings have included a “Freak Show”, with guest glassblowing demos and live music, and an after dark candlelit glassblowing expo. (Keep your eyes open for future extraordinary events.) The overall impression is one of vitality and evolution, of both the Burlington glass scene and the studio itself. One is allowed to see all steps of the creative process, rather than just the finished product.

by G. BLAKE MACPHAIL

 

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