Michael Hatch, glassblower
By Emma Castleberry
On Saturday, April 7, the Southern Highland Craft Guild will host the 3rd annual Glass and Metal Day in the auditorium of the Folk Art Center. The event, which will act as a launch for the Guild’s 2018 programming, will feature more than a dozen members demonstrating their glass and metal techniques from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Demonstrations will include blacksmithing, glass blowing, piercing and soldering metals, knife making, bezeling, repoussé, copper etching, assembling stained glass and forging.
Michael Hatch, a glassblower with Crucible Glassworks and a member of the Guild since 2005, will be using a small kiln to exhibit the quick thought process of blown glass. “This portable furnace provides an opportunity for me to share the process of glass blowing with the community outside of my studio,” says Hatch, who has participated as a demonstrator at every Glass and Metal Day. For glassblowers in particular, there are unique challenges associated with demonstrating a craft outside of the studio. “Direct sunlight creates a huge problem for a glass blower,” says Hatch. “I rely on precise temperature control throughout the piece, where I depend on a 1,000-degree temperature difference in a few inches to control the shape.” For this reason, Hatch’s Glass and Metal Day demonstration will be more focused on process than finished product. Demonstrations may include brewing coffee in an oversize, glass coffee cup, the 6-foot disappearing goblet and a variety of other vessel forms,” Hatch says. “I usually end up breathing fire out of something like a glass ray gun, dragon and or a goblet of fire by the end of the day. Expect the unexpected.”
Kathleen Doyle, jeweler
While Hatch enjoys providing demonstrations, his favorite part of the Glass and Metal Day event is learning from other makers about their craft. “At Glass and Metal Day, the general public has the opportunity to see the finished pieces as more than just handmade objects, but as items with a connection to history and tradition as well,” he says. “These events allow the public to connect with artists on a personal level, providing them with a richer understanding of the work these makers create.”
SHCG is a nonprofit, educational organization established in 1930 to cultivate the crafts and makers of the Southern Highlands for the purpose of shared resources, education, marketing and conservation. The Folk Art Center is located at Milepost 382 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of the Highway 70 entrance in east Asheville. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., April through December, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., January through March. Learn more at craftguild.org.
