SMC’s Glass Pumpkins Return for Fall
It’s that time of year when pumpkins start popping up everywhere—from Starbucks’ pumpkin spice lattes to piles of pumpkins at various grocery stores.
Hand-blown glass pumpkins made by Santa Monica College (SMC) alumni, students and staff were also featured at Santa Monica Farmers Market on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Virginia Park.
Simultaneously, hundreds of multicolored, shimmering glass pumpkins were displayed near the main entrance of the Pico Branch Library. Shoppers from the farmers market drifted over to browse the art pieces. Young children pressed close to admire and touch the delicate objects as parents stood closely watching.
Organized by SMC glass sculpture instructor Terri Bromberg, the annual glass pumpkin sale featured both glassblown and fused pumpkins, fruits, jewelry, and glassware.
When asked where the pumpkins originated from, the staff at the glass pumpkin sale, also SMC’s alumni, students, and staff, answered, saying, “New England!” one called out, “Palo Alto!” said another.
The staff all agreed that the glass pumpkin has become a traditional project in glass blowing, fundamental in many glassblowing programs. Susan Haskell, a teaching assistant, said, “You can see in glass pumpkin patches in some places - a whole field of glass pumpkins.”
The first glass pumpkin patch fundraiser to help fund the glassblowing program and artists was started in Palo Alto, California, by Boddy Bowes and Mike Binnard, founders of the Bay Area Glass Institute in 1996. Later, Binnard brought the glass pumpkin technique to the MIT Glass Lab, which held the MIT Great Glass Pumpkin Patch in 2019.
Adopting this tradition for well over a decade, SMC uses the event to help fund its glass program and support local artists.
Mildred Rivera, an SMC alumna, showed her glass-fused jewelry at the sale and she said that glass blowing is very expensive. If you do not have access to a glassblowing facility, you can create a glass-fused art piece using a high-power torch. SMC is the only public program that offers glassblowing in Los Angeles County.
Upcoming SMC Glass Pumpkin sales will be held on Thursday, Oct. 9, from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the SMC main quad, and Saturday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. at Simon Meadow, Temescal Gateway Park, Pacific Palisades.