Lewis Ginter to Host Local Glass Artist Brad Pearson for Flame Work Glass Demos

by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

If you love the  Hans Godo Frabel’s Glorious Glass in the Garden exhibit at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden — you may be interested in seeing some of the glass-working process actually take place here at the Garden.

Local glass artist, Brad Pearson, will be here at the Garden leading several  flame-work glass demonstrations  in the North Wing of the Conservatory, on Saturday August 21, and September 11, at both 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.   The glass work demonstration will allow you to learn more about how this delicate sculpture  is created.

Brad Pearson demonstrates flamework glass technique at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Brad Pearson, a professional lamp-work glass artist, is a graduate of VCU, and teaches intermediate and advanced glass classes around the country, including at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. Like Frabel, Brad first developed his love of precision and detail through work with a scientific glass blowing firm.  For the past decade, he has refined his lamp working skills and pushed the boundaries of design and small-scale hot glass work.

Rachel Cooper, who writes for About.com, was here for his first demonstration in July:

“The cool thing that we learned was how he blends glass colors together using powdered glass and melts it onto the surface. This creates a unique swirling color pattern.  It was fascinating to watch,” she says.