EUGENE, OR – The Eugene Glass School, the first public glassblowing school in Oregon is finally taking shape.  For the past three years, a small group of avid glassblowers from Eugene has been planning on opening a public glassblowing facility in the southern Willamette valley.  Finally, the vision is coming together, with expert craftsmen working every day at the newly procured building to install the custom equipment needed to melt and shape the glass.

  Organized as a non-profit glass art school, the Eugene Glass School (EGS) is poised to be one of the eminent glassblowing centers of the Northwest.   Internationally known glassblowers have volunteered to teach classes, as well as famous glassblowers from the US.  Karl and Hans Ittig, 6^th and 7^th generation glassblowers, respectively, are here in Eugene for the next 3 months to help install the two huge shipping containers of equipment they have donated from their shop in Wertheim, Germany.  Josch Borz, the expert custom glass furnace builder also from Wertheim, has been one of the people working night and day getting the school in shape.  “Josch has had to make everything from scratch,” Says John Wiedenmann, Secretary of the EGS Board of Directors, “He is going to be busy for quite a while.”

   And busy he is, as the 10,000 square foot faculty -- temporarily leased at a reduced rate due to the generosity of the Hartley Family -- was nothing but an empty warehouse 2 months ago.
   “First, I have to make all the benches, then I have to build the furnace, then I need to get the coldworking equipment in place, then we need to build the ovens, and install the ventilation system . . .and that is just the beginning,” says a sweaty Josch, in a thick German accent as he takes a break from work.

The school is planning on opening it’s doors late in 2000, and will offer classes to a wide range of abilities, from the beginner to the advanced.

“It is the hope of the Board Members to provide not only a fine teaching facility, the only such facility in Oregon, but to encourage those students for whom the traditional academic route is unworkable for what ever reason.  We anticipate that a number of students will be drawn from at risk situations, once the facility is available.  To that end, we plan to have at least 10 percent of our classes filled by scholarships,” says George Kjaer, MD (pronounced like “care”) President of the EGS Board of Directors.

Not only does the school plan on attracting disillusioned youth, but also some of the finest glassblowers in the world.  The EGS has been spending a lot of time networking with the global glassblowing community, and plans of having true masters of the glassblowing arts teaching at the Eugene facility.  The Ittigs, both on the board of Directors, plan on teaching several classes a year.  According to Chuck Edson, a part time volunteer at the EGS,  “ . . .they [the Ittigs] make it look so easy when they blow glass.  I had never seen glass like they created, with perfect spiral-cane patterns running down the sides of a perfectly shaped vase and stuff like that . . . these people take glassblowing to a whole new level!”

“The idea is to bring the glassblowing community together, to share ideas, and have a lot of fun learning and growing in our profession,” says Jason Harris, a board member and owner of a local art-glass company.

The EGS is actively soliciting donations, and is a non-profit company, so any donations are tax-deductible.   “About $25000 is needed before the end of the month, if we are to get the first furnace lighted before the Open House,” Dr. Kjaer stated.

Friday, September 16 is the First Annual Open House at the EGS facility, located at 575 Wilson in Eugene.  The open house will include dinner, entertainment, tours of the facility, a silent and a verbal auction of glass art donated by some of the finest glassblowers in the world, a chance to meet the board members, and 4 door prizes to be awarded at the end of the evening.  Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased by calling George Kjaer at 343-3234, or by e-mailing tickets@eugeneglassschool.org