'We love this material that we work with': Artists showcase their work with molten glass

Diamond Valley glass blowers give peek at studios Glass blowers in Diamond Valley, Alta., are opening their studio this weekend, offering everybody curious a peek at the action.

Julia Reimer and Tyler Rock are opening the doors of their Firebrand Glass Studio in Diamond Valley for an open house November 30th where visitors can see how objects are made out of glass.

It's an annual holiday event for anyone curious about how objects are created.

"People can come and watch demonstrations," said Reimer. "Glass is something that is around us and in every part of our life, from the glasses that we drink out of, to the windows that are in our homes but often people don't really have an understanding about how glass works."

Reimer and Rock have 25 and 35 years of experience respectively working with glass. They are an award-winning couple who are internationally recognized as two of Canada’s best creators of contemporary glass art.

Their work is in the private collections of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, the Prime Minister of Canada as well as many private collections and galleries internationally. There is also a display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller of their interpretation of prehistoric sea life.

The secret sauce

What's the secret sauce that explains their undeniable appeal?

"I think because of the beauty of the material, but also just the beauty of the process of making it," said Reimer. "Where we take molten glass and transform it into an object, where we take a liquid that's 1,200 degrees Celsius and make it an object that you can drink a glass of wine out of, it's pretty magical, we love this material that we work with."

The two travel the world to explore different techniques of working with glass and in 2023 spent time in Rome in an artist residency learning about Roman glass.

Rock is now making Christmas ornaments by first shaping molten glass in an iron mold to create ridges that draws inspiration from the distant past.

"This particular style of glassblowing has its roots in Venetian glassblowing processes from the 1500s," he said.

There are two other artists working with Rock that help in the process. It's a team effort where combined, they have to work quickly while the glass is pliable.

"We're trying to have the heat where we need it to be to be able to change (the piece of art)," he said. "Generally we're working out from the heat, from the blowpipe up towards the end of the glass."

Rock and Reimer say when people come to see their studio, they are surprised at how much heat the furnaces give off that keep the glass molten. And young visitors always come up with some interesting challenges for Rock to create.

"They'll be like, I want to see an elephant with the balloon or like a ball and it's trunk in the middle of a goblet," said Reimer. "And he'll be like okay, I'll do that."

The November 30th holiday open house runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the studio address is 634 Third Street SW in Diamond Valley.

Learn more about Firebrand here.