SMC glass artists shine with handmade Valentine’s gifts at Virginia Avenue Park
Sunlight glinted off rows of colorful glass as shoppers drifted through Virginia Avenue Park, stopping to browse through heart-shaped ornaments, hold jewelry up to the light and admire the swirls of colors and designs. Nearby, vendors grilled food and sold fresh produce at the Pico Farmers Market while families and couples with dogs and children wandered between tents on a warm Saturday morning.
The glass displays were part of Santa Monica College’s Valentine’s Day Glass Sale, held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7, in conjunction with the weekly market. The sale featured handmade glass art created by SMC students and staff, offering market-goers the opportunity to buy original gifts while supporting local artists and the college’s Art Department.
The sale showcased a wide range of glasswork, including jewelry, plates, vases, wine stoppers, and other decorative ornaments shaped to look like hearts, flowers, butterflies and more, made using three different techniques: glass blowing, fusing and torch work.
“There’s three different processes represented,” said Terri Bromberg, an associate faculty member at SMC who teaches the glass sculpture course along with glass fusing through community education. “There’s blown work, there’s fused work and there’s torch work.”
Bromberg, who has taught at SMC since 2008, said the amount of time spent on each piece varies widely depending on the process and complexity. Blown and fused pieces can take anywhere from an hour to several hours to complete, with fused work often requiring multiple firings in a kiln, while torch work can range from 15 minutes for a simple bead to over an hour for more intricate designs.
“I think every artist here is offering something different,” Bromberg said. “Different styles of work and different aesthetics.”
Prices ranged from $5 to $500, reflecting the time, materials, and techniques used. Each piece was labeled with a number corresponding to the artist who made it, and each artist’s sales were tracked on a whiteboard behind the register area. Seventy percent of proceeds went directly to the artists, while the remaining 30% was split between Virginia Avenue Park and the SMC Art Department.
Local resident James Finlay said he visits the farmers market frequently, and he learned about the sale through a notice from KCRW and decided to stop by while attending the market.
“I thought, Valentine’s is coming up,” Finlay said. “Got a great girlfriend, so I wanted to get her something here.”
Finlay purchased a small glass heart on a string and said he was drawn to the uniqueness of the pieces.
“I like handmade stuff, and original, interesting and unusual things,” he said. “I used to shop at Freehand a lot, but they closed, so I missed that. I saw this and thought, oh, that’d be fun. And I already come to the market anyway.”
Mads Knight-Weber, a CSULB student who transferred from SMC and still performs as a violist with the SMC Symphony Orchestra, said he happened to come across the sale while visiting the market.
“I’ve come here with my grandma every Saturday for the past, like, six years or so,” Knight-Weber said. “It’s a nice weekend tradition for us.”
Bromberg said the event highlights the talent of SMC’s glass artists and provides students with experience in selling their work.
“The Santa Monica College group is exceptionally creative,” she said. “The skill level is high, the work is professional quality, and I think the pieces displayed here today show that.”
The next SMC glass sale is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, ahead of Mother’s Day, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Virginia Avenue Park.