A glassblowing workshop led by artist Keegan O'Brien for beginners to advanced practitioners, focusing on creating distinctive glass pumpkins for the holiday season.
Beyond the Basic Pumpkin is a glassblowing workshop led by artist Keegan O'Brien at the Belger Arts Glass Annex on Saturday, October 17. It runs from 9 AM to 12 PM, and you'll need previous glassblowing experience to join. O'Brien has built the session for everyone from beginners to advanced blowers looking to strengthen their foundation and refine their technique.
The class takes a familiar seasonal item—the glass pumpkin—and pushes it further. You'll work through a variety of pumpkin body shapes, different color application methods, and how to make a polished, well-proportioned stem. The goal is to move past the standard version and produce more distinctive, marketable pieces just in time for the holiday season.
The setting is a big part of the experience. Belger Arts has three Kansas City locations, the oldest dating from 2000, and the Glass Annex opened to the public in October 2021 as the city's first public glassblowing studio of its scale and scope. It houses a furnace that holds 300 pounds of molten glass and three workstations, so there's plenty of room to work. The workshop is part of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, a national Semiquincentennial collaboration showcasing the importance of the handmade and the diversity of craft that defines America.
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The session costs $100, with an optional four-hour afternoon rental for $175 if you want to keep working after the class wraps. It runs from 9 AM to 12 PM on Saturday, October 17, at the Belger Arts Glass Annex in Kansas City.
