Glass Blower J. Michael Glass Brings Live "Degenerate Art" Demo to LSD Gallery

Family-friendly theme park performer by day, degenerate artist by night: Jason Bourgholtzer leads a double life, but he's not complaining. It's a childhood dream to work for the Big Mouse, but he has to keep his secret identity under wraps. Under the moniker J. Michael Glass, the St. Petersburg artist is one of Florida's longest-running and hardest-working functional glass blowers. He makes cool chandeliers, bracelets, and cartoon characters, but it's the pipes, bubblers, and Wyz Guy owl series that bring home the bacon.

"I've always been drawn to hand-blown glass more than sculptural stuff, the fact that it's functional," Bourgholtzer says. "Growing up as a teenager, I was always making things into pipes, so I thought, 'Hey, why not?'"

With 15 years of experience and a serious passion for the craft, J. Michael Glass has become one of the most recognizable names in the regional scene. Every day, he's thankful for the chance to do what he loves, and you can check it out for yourself when he hits Lake Worth's LSD Gallery (part of Aces High tattoo shop) for a live demonstration on Saturday, January 24.

Bourgholtzer got his start in 1999, when he found himself mesmerized by a glass blower at a local Renaissance fair. Always interested in being a professional artist, he graciously accepted an offer for apprenticeship, learning all he could.

Glass Blower J. Michael Glass Brings Live "Degenerate Art" Demo to LSD Gallery

 Having run a Subway shop for years, he took those business skills and applied them to his new craft, teaching himself to make a list of 13 functional objects and scoring deals with catalog distributors. Soon after, he headed to Georgia and stayed with a friend for three months, learning the ins and outs of making pipes.

"I'm really big into the whole ceremonial aspect of it," he says. "The fact that the glass is actually a cleaner, healthier source, especially when you get into the water pipes and stuff."

Even beyond his personal interests as an entrepreneur in the glass-blowing field, making pipes is just the smarter move.

"Every time I'd make a pipe, I'd get to a point where it had a bottle shape to it, and I thought, 'I could just make a topper and make this a perfume bottle,'" he says, "but I knew if I made 50 of those, I may sell two, but if I made 50 of them that were pipes, I could sell every one of them."

Back in the early 2000s, there was no such thing as YouTube or Instagram. The world of glass blowing was small, tight-knit, and underground. There were only maybe a couple of blowers beside himself in the regional pipe business, and demand was high. Before long, Bourgholtzer had himself a proper studio, employees, a successful website, and a bunch of great distributor deals. Of course, everything changed for the industry when the feds caught on.

"Once I saw [the documentary] Degenerate Art, I was blown away to see all the guys I look up to and were part of the industry in the late '90s and early 2000s, we were all hit by Operation Pipe Dreams," he says. "The guy I was in business with was upstairs getting orders ready... and he comes flying downstairs letting me know the DEA was out in the West Coast shutting down one of the import distributors. We were all freaked out. We were like, 'All right, guys, this is it.'"



They switched up the project and tried making shot glasses, bracelets, and the like, but the market just wasn't there. Bourgholtzer still had distributors demanding his product, so he did what most blowers had to do: took the movement deeper underground and kept it alive.

"We made more money because the demand was still there and we could charge more because it was harder to get," he says. "I've always been somewhat rebellious my whole life. I've always been a kind, giving person, but I've always wanted to be off the grid if I can, so it was right up my alley."

Source  :http://www.browardpalmbeach.com

Christmas Themed Glass Hammer Bubbler, $105

The most wonderful time of the year deserves a little celebrating with a special holiday pipe! This clear glass hammer bubbler hand pipe from American Glass Works is handmade using quality borosilicate glass, with marias in the stem and a built-in downtube for water filtration and smoother cooler smoke!

The carriage is decorated with snowy white frit, a color glass Christmas tree, tiny candy canes and red and white marbles around the bowl. Each pipe is individually handmade by glass artists in an Oregon collective, so the pipe you receive will be one-of-a-kind!

Available from Grass City for $105, and if you order by December 10, enter discount code GCCW14 for an additional 25% discount.

Source:www.thedailychronic.net

Storm in pint glass as bride refuses to pay piper

A furious Mr Lawrie is refusing to hand back the money, insisting he was holding nothing more alcoholic than a black-currant and lemonade.

The 26-year-old from Glasgow went a step further by posting the bitter exchange on social media, together with pictures of his piping trophies.

His post has even been shared by Scots comedian Kevin Bridges, who wrote: “State of this. Piper shows up, does his pipes and gets sent this. Seriously, get a life.”

Mr Lawrie was paid to pipe at the wedding of the couple, known only as Sarah and Marshal, at a hotel in Renfrew on 6 June.

The day itself passed off without a hitch but the trouble started when the bride saw some of her guests’ photographs, one of which showed Mr Lawrie holding a pint glass. Sarah, in a text since posted online by Mr Lawrie, wrote: “Firstly thank you for piping at our wedding. Everyone loved it and it definitely made our day special.

“I have one issue, however. In one of our guest photos you’re seen drinking a pint and I’m not happy at this.”

She added: “I hired you thinking you were professional and don’t want to look through photos on Facebook to see my piper drinking, as I think this would affect your performance to pipe me and Marshal into dinner.

“I want my money back because I’m not happy about the photos being ruined. Please respond.”

Mr Lawrie then replied: “I’m absolutely shocked you started by saying how great I was then slate me for drinking a pint of blackcurrant and lemonade purchased by your best man.

“If you’re saying it would cause harm to my performance, you’re wrong. This is my job and I take it very seriously. Getting your money back is absolutely out of the question.”

Mr Lawrie has not disclosed how much he charged for the performance but pipers can charge in the region of £200 to perform at a wedding.

The angry bride hit back: “Youre taking the p. You were not professional. Doesn’t matter what you were drinking – it doesn’t look good in photos.

“I would never hire you again. You’re a terrible piper.”

His posts have been flooded with comments from amused and angry piping fans.

Sylvia Ronald said: “Absolutely ridiculous – it’s customary to buy the piper a drink. She should be ashamed of herself. Tell her to sod off.”

Jen Gibson added: “Are they having a laugh? Show me a piper who hasn’t had a drink at a gig or event and I’ll show you a liar.”

Mr Lawrie made a joke of the situation by uploading an old picture of himself sitting on a beach holding a bottle of Drambuie, with the caption: “Lucky the bride didn’t see this!”

He said: “It’s the best complaint I’ve ever had. It makes me glad I’m single. I’m scared I could end up with someone like her.”

Source: http://www.scotsman.com