AO Glass Works Hosts a "Chihuly Night" 

• Rich Arentzen

If you took in the “Chihuly: Utterly Breathtaking” exhibit at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts this year and are still puzzling over how the Seattle glass artist makes his astonishing, enormous works, you can get a little sample this Friday. And walk away with a piece of your own. Burlington’s AO Glass Works co-owners Rich Arentzen and Tove Ohlander are throwing open their Pine Street studio to the public for an interactive demonstration of ornament making using “many of the techniques that Chihuly used,” but on a smaller scale.

The interactive part? “Visitors can participate in choosing the color combinations, shapes and patterns” of their ornament, says Ohlander, and then see it blown on the spot. In addition to Arentzen, glassblowers Lucas Lonegren, Harrison McCandless and Santiago Galvis will man the kilns. We’re told that Galvis will be taking a break from blowing 2100-degree molten glass to juggle fire outside the studio at 6 p.m.

Back inside, Swedish-born Ohlander will also demonstrate how she sketches images onto glass freehand and “pours” glass letters. She says visitors can try their hand at pressing glass stamps.

Oh, and Dale Chihuly himself will be there — in a streaming video showing the master and his team in action.

Sounds like a hot night in the South End.

AO Glass Works Goes Chihuly, Friday, November 15, 5 to 7 p.m. Free. aoglass.com The AO Pop Up Store will open for the season on Saturday, November 16, 10 a.m., at 194 College Street in Burlington, with coffee and cupcakes. The temporary venue will offer glass works, photographs by Greg Comollo and prints by Jen and Byron O’Neill.

The original print version of this article was headlined "All Fired Up"