Blackstone River Glass Center

Meet the Team.

At Blackstone River Glass Center, we are proud to have a team of glass artists with decades of experience in multiple forms of glass art. Each artist brings their own unique strengths and skills to the table, and together, they provide fun and informative instruction to our students. We feel lucky to have such a talented and dedicated team of artists on board.

Jesse Yager

Instuctor

Jesse is a production glassblower, studio artist, and outdoorsman. His work is wide ranging in scope and scale. As a production glassblower he often plays a key role in manifesting the ideas of designers or artists. By bringing years of technical knowledge to bear in pursuit of effective manufacturing processes. Jesse has become a valuable member of the Rhode Island glass community.

“My interest in glassblowing comes from the dynamic process of working with my hands. The basic tools and teamwork required give me opportunities to translate my ideas to the viewer from the unique perspective of my personal experience.

Dana Pomerantz

Instructor

Dana Pomerantz is a local artist who resides in Providence, RI. She has been working with glass for 12 years, having earned her BFA from Alfred University in glass and painting. Dana was a resident artist at the Worcester Center for Crafts glass studio for several years, where she created and taught blown and stained-glass courses to the public. Dana’s passion for teaching children led her to become an elementary art teacher. She currently is the K-5 Visual Arts teacher at The Learning Community charter school in Central Falls. Dana loves to experiment with different materials, and incorporates her paintings with blown glass. Along with teaching children art, Dana is excited to be able to teach glass courses again at Blackstone River Glass Center!

Larry Evans

Shop assistant

The carpenter protege. The glass driller. The odd-job specialist. The redhead with dogs. Larry has worked here for 2 years and is a hard-working dabbler in all respects. Outside of Blackstone Valley Glass Center, he is a writer and a potter/ceramicist. In the past, he has worked as a medical worker, an English teacher, a physics lab guy, and much more! He enjoys hiking and loves to cook spicy Cajun-inspired meals. Next time you see him, ask him about mushrooms, tattoos, and clay!

Cameron Lipshires

Instructor

Cameron started blowing glass when she was 17 as a senior project assignment and fell in love with the medium. She went on to study glass at MassArt while working summers in Newport, Rhode Island at Thames Glass. After graduating she continued there full time for 7 years on the production team as well as teaching classes. As her skill level grew she decided to branch out and apply for an internship in Murano, Italy at Wave Glass where she worked for three months. Cameron has now been blowing glass for 9 years, developing a deep appreciation for the beauty of the material and it’s endless challenges.

Andrew McCormack

Instructor/ Shop manager

Andrew graduated from MassArt in 2011 with a Fine Arts 3D Major, concentration in GlassWork.

Since then, Andrew has gone on to work for hot shops specializing in everything from gift items to custom high end lighting.

Through his varied experiences Andrew has acquired intricate knowledge about the workings of glass studios around the country and uses that knowledge base to keep our hop shop running smoothly.

When he is not making art or managing the hot shop, Andrew enjoys nature, hiking, how stuff works, learning new things, working with his hands and spending time with animals

Josie McCormack

Office Manager

Josie humans the front desk here at Blackstone River Glass Center. She assists with customer questions and bookings, coordinates staff scheduling and screams “good morning” before

you have had your coffee.

Josie has a major in Art Therapy and loves working with people; especially creatives. She has had multiple

director and management positions which have helped her hone her organizing skills. “I hope to help Blackstone River Glass Center move smoothly through each new stage as

it grows and expands. I am excited to

be part of this amazing environment

and I love getting to know the

customers that are drawn to this

place.”

Kim Savoie

Instructor

Kim received her BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2013 with a concentration in glass and photography. During her time at Mass Art she began to incorporate both mediums to create sculptures that inform her photographs. She began teaching glassblowing her senior year after a semester long production internship at Almost Perfect Glass in North Cambridge.  Since her undergraduate studies she has worked in several studios assisting others, teaching, and creating her own work. She spent 3 of those years working for the Corning Museum of Glass, Blow Glass At Sea Program doing Hot Glass Show demonstrations for Celebrity Cruise line guests. When she returned home from that position she focused her energy on helping Pairpoint Glass Company open a school under America's oldest glass company.

In 2020 she began focusing on building a production line "Kim Savoie Glass" and a public access glass school Celadon Glassworks.

Acacia Way

Instructor

Acacia Way is a glassblower, neon

sign fabricator/installer, aerialist, and general creative person who grew up

in East Greenwich, RI. She has worked alongside a great number of talented artists, designers, glassblowers,

artisans and craftspeople along the

East Coast and the Midwest. Acacia believes that the process of making

art is a conversation between oneself and the material, with each

engagement leaving a unique

impression on the other. She believes

in the in the cathartic and healing properties of the process of glassblowing, and is passionate about sharing this craft with the world

through teaching. Acacia received her BFA with a concentration in Ceramics and Neon Fab/Design from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has pursued apprenticeships, internships, classes and other glass opportunities spanning a range of different

processes at a number of shops across the country.

Lindsy Marshall

Fusing Instructor

Lindsy Marshall is an artist and maker living in Massachusetts. Discovering glass while studying at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, it has come to be a prominent material in her work. She’s studied at notable institutions such as Pilchuck Glass School and Pittsburgh Glass Center. She is interested in many different techniques of glass such as kiln forming, blowing, flameworking, and casting and mixes them together to create another life form out of glass. Her inspiration comes from nature, the macabre and the history of witchcraft. She also loves and gathers inspiration from eating delicious food and horror movies!

Brian Bigelow is a glass artist from Wrentham, MA. His passion for glass began while he was stationed with the United States Marine Corps in Okinawa Japan. From one glance of the art while exploring a cherry blossom festival on the island a seed had been planted in Brian’s journey. When returning to civilian life Brian found himself struggling to find purpose and began traveling the world. One morning at 2 am Brian locked in on an idea at a music festival and decided to leave early. Brian pursued glassblowing soon finding Corning Museum of Glass and became a frequent flyer attending many classes. He earned his bachelors of fine art at MassART college in Boston midway through his glass journey and further explored different avenues. Brian learned many different techniques in many different styles before honing in one two specific types, 96 coe at the furnace and boro at the torch. He is committed to glassmaking and loves its versatile nature. Brian has been teaching public glassblowing for the last 10 years and has been a traveling glass artist for 6 years teaching classes from Turin Italy to Cumberland Rhode Island.

Brian Bigelow

Flame Working Instructor

info@mysite.com

Call

123-456-7890