ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —
Asheville is home to one of the largest communities of glass artists in the world. This weekend, they fuse together like glass under the flame.
Asheville Glass Market is a seasonal event hosted by Level 42 Gallery The event runs from10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the second Saturday of April, July and October. Level 42 is at Foundation in the River Arts District.
Market vendors will spread out in the gravel lot in front of Level 42. Artists have glassworks on sale everywhere from $5 to thousands. Work ranges from small glass marbles to elaborate sculptures. Each takes an incredible level of mastery to produce, said Ben Ross, co-owner of Level 42.
“You’re making thousands of pieces to create that muscle memory to understand and learn different techniques. A lot of it is what not to do, too,” said Ross. “You can see there’s just so many different styles and techniques in here, and this is barely scratching the surface of what you can do in glass.”
Level 42 is a unique gallery in that visitors can see the artists creating their work in real time. The space is set up like a glassblower aquarium. The left-hand side of the warehouse is filled with beautiful display cases of glasswork. The right-hand side has a large window that looks out into an industrial workspace. Here, visitors can observe glassworkers in action, blowing flame mere feet away from the observation window.
Level 42 does not only sell and display glass. It also prides itself on nurturing the glass community in Western North Carolina.
“We bring in classes to teach the local community and community around the country. We also host traveling artists, and we have full-time artists that rent monthly from us,” Ross said.
The artists working behind the window are often these full-time glassblowers, who have 24/7 access to the Level 42 workspace.
“We don’t dictate what they make, when they make it, who they sell to,” Ross said. “And they are able to pay their rent in glass if we need it for the gallery or for our distribution company.”
The Level 42 distribution company will bring artwork from its renters and other local glassblowers and give it to salesman to promote to galleries nationwide.
To Ross, the gallery, distribution network and glass markets are just ways that Level 42 can give back to its community heritage.
“Probably within a 45-minute radius there’s well over 100 glass artists — probably nearing 200 because there’s a lot of people that have home shops,” Ross estimated. “Appalachia is actually like the home studio movement.”
People in the market for glass or merely curious about a glass market can find more information about Level 42 and the seasonal Asheville Glass Market on their website, www.level42gallery.com.