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Tulsa Glassblowing School
Summer
Workshops
Summer Workshops
TGS is excited to host our fourth Summer Program in 2025. Our goal is to enrich our community by creating greater access to craft learning in the region by bringing internationally recognized artists to teach one week intensive workshops. Make the most of your summer in 2025 and come take a class at TGS. Applications for priority placement and scholarships are due Feb 15th.
Residency Program
This residency program invites the instructors who are teaching workshops at TGS to continue working in our studio for an additional three days following their workshop. Instructors are given full access to the studio and help from the TGS staff to create work and to continue the creative atmosphere by sharing their professional practice with the community. Students of the workshop are welcome to stay in Tulsa following their workshop and continue to learn by watching their instructor continue to work in a professional environment.
2025 Summer Program
Session 1
Shelley Muzylowski-Allen
Workshop: May 15 - 20
Residency: May 22 - 24
Finding Your Voice
The focus of this class will be the development of glass sculpting techniques in order to
express an individual artistic voice. By formulating a repertoire of problem-solving and
sculpting skills, students will learn tools necessary to sculpt their unique vision in glass.
Graal carving and surface patterning will be explored, as well as solid and blown
sculpture techniques. Discussions will navigate students' ideas, drawings and include
resolving their own and classmates’ sculpture. We will discuss strategies for developinga body of work and a professional practice.
Be prepared to spend time drawing and a sketchbook and pencils are required. At least one year of glassblowing experience and a good handle of basic techniques is
preferred, advanced students are welcome.
Intermediate/Advanced
Bio
Shelley Muzylowski Allen has been working with the medium of hot glass and other artist materials for over 30 years. Born in Manitoba, Canada, and she holds a B.F.A. in Painting and Intaglio from the Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design (Vancouver, B.C.).
In 2005, Shelley established a glass and sculpture studio with her husband, artist Rik Allen at their property in Skagit County, Washington, after working for a number of years with the William Morris sculpture team in Washington State as a glass-sculpting assistant.
The artist couple recently completed two large-scale, bronze cast public sculptures that are installed in the City of Bellevue, WA. In addition to being an artist, Shelley has taught internationally at the Toyama Institute of Glass in Japan, Nuutajarvii Lasikyla, Finland and the International Glass Festival in Stourbridge,
England. They have also taught nationally, including the Penland School of Craft, Pittsburgh Glass Center, and at the Pilchuck Glass School. Shelley has been awarded Provincial and Canada Council grants, and her work is held nationally
and internationally in public institutions and private collections. In 2008, Shelley had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, Washington, titled Modern Menagerie. Other selected shows include The San Juan Museum of Art, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe and Scottsdale; Habatat Galleries, Michigan; Traver Gallery, Seattle; and Schantz Galleries, Massachusetts. In 2012 and again in 2016, Shelley was a guest artist at Studio Salvadore in Murano, Italy, where she collaborated with Davide Salvadore on a series of large-scale sculptures.
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Session 2
Granite Calimpong
Workshop: June15 - 20
Artist Residency: June 22 - 24
Useful
In this class we will focus on improving technique through the exploration of functional forms. In addition to our technical investigations, we will explore how handmade objects can enhance the enjoyment of food and drink. Various functional forms will be explored including but not limited to cups, bowls, plates, footed vessels, serving dishes, and pitchers. Refinement through repetition will be emphasized and scrutiny of our objects through daily use will be encouraged. Ergonomics and details related to function will be explored through demonstration and the examination of contemporary and historical examples. This class should be a fun combination of technical exploration, discussion and object enjoyment.
Intermediate/Advanced
Artist bio
Granite Calimpong received a BFA in Interdisciplinary Computing in the Arts and Music from UCSD in 2007 and completed his MFA in Sculpture at the University of Washington in 2019. While a graduate student at UW he explored perception and various visual phenomena associated with illusions through the use of wood, clay, glass, photography, and metal. During the decade prior to attending the UW, Calimpong worked predominantly in glass, maintaining his own studio practice, assisting various renowned glass artists in the Seattle area, and working as a fabricator helping a number of non-glass artists realize their ideas in the medium.
Upon completion of his MFA, Calimpong took a position as a long term resident at Pottery Northwest. During his residency he engaged in an intense two years of exploration which served as an extension and continuation of his graduate work and also allowed him to reconnect with clay, which was his first material love. After mounting a solo show titled, Stolid, in January 2022, which coincided with the end of his PNW residency, Calimpong moved into a studio in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle where he has continued his explorations. Calimpong has had recent solo exhibitions at Traver Gallery in Seattle (July 2023) and at the Jam Factory in Adelaide, AUS (August 2023). In addition to his studio practice, Calimpong has taught extensively domestically including stops at Pilchuck Glass School, Haystack Mountain School, Penland School of Crafts, Pittsburgh Glass Center, and the University of Washington. Most recently, Calimpong taught two workshops in Australia at the Jam Factory in Adelaide and at the Canberra Glassworks. Claimpong is currently a full time lecturer at the University of Washington in 3D4M.
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Session 3
Jason Christian & Aya Oki
Workshop: July 20 - 25
Artist Residency: July 27 - 29
Traditional Meets Contemporary: Venetian Techniques and Sculptural Glass
This co-taught workshop by Jason Christian and Aya Oki explores the fusion of
traditional glassblowing with contemporary sculptural elements. Students will engage inhands-on projects that blend technical skill with artistic exploration, guided by theunique perspectives of both instructors.
Collaborative projects will emphasize teamwork and reflect the dynamic co-teaching
approach, while discussions will explore the cultural significance of craft in both
Japanese and American perspectives. Participants will push the boundaries of glass asa medium, discovering new creative possibilities by merging tradition with innovation.
Intermediate/Advanced
Artist Bio
Aya Oki
Aya Oki is a California based Japanese artist whose work delves into the profound
dialogue between herself and the materiality of glass. Her artistic practice, characterizedby a deep and recurring exploration of glass, has been shaped by extensive travels anddiverse experiences as both an artist and educator. Through various residencies and teaching roles at educational institutions, Aya has continuously evolved her practice, with the synergy of her personal dedication and rich teaching experiences serving as a cornerstone of her development. Her journey reflects the ever-evolving relationship between artist and medium, offering her perspective on contemporary glass art.
Jason Christian
Growing up in a small town on Whidbey Island in the heart of the Puget Sound of Washington State, Jason Christian was almost destined to fall in love with glass art. Jason began working with glass when he was 21 as a batch charger and became immersed in the Glass Art scene in Seattle. During that time, Jason learned by his assistance to artists including Lino Tagliapietra, Martin Blank, Preston Singletary, Nancy Callan and has been a part of Chihuly's team for more than a decade. He currently runs his own studio out of his home in Seattle and in his own work pairs classical Venetian techniques with modern simplicity.