Student Story – Tanner

When you think of working with glass, most people think – hot!  Tanner, a Team Production student, has shifted his attention to the opposite end of the spectrum and has been focusing on his cold working skills.  ‘Cold working’ is a term used to refer to the many techniques used to decorate or alter glass after it has cooled, such as grinding, polishing, or engraving.

Jessica, the Team Production Manager, is proud of his dedication to improving his mastery of coldworking skills. Lately, he has been working on polished lenses – an advanced finishing technique!

Tanner has been a Hilltop Artist for the past 3 years. He started in our Daytime classes at Jason Lee Middle School and quickly moved to the After-School and now Team Production programs. Tanner says he spends as much time at the Jason Lee hot shop as possible. “I have friends here and I enjoy the hot shop environment [and] the chance to work with the glass.”

Completing a Visiting Artist Residency with Hilltop Artists team at the Museum of Glass the past two summers is his favorite experience as a glass artist. He is hoping that his dedication to cold working will pay off and turn his dream of being a professional cold worker into reality — maybe even here in Tacoma at MOG.  That would make us happy too because we would miss his near-daily presence at our hot (and cold) shop!