PETER GUDRUNAS

I've been helping my father, Peter Gudrunas, prepare for a large open house at his studio, Sirius Glassworks,  happening this upcoming weekend. It's been 20 years since he last had a studio sale and 40 years since he started in this profession. Everytime I come to visit, I find myself mesmerized by the subtlety of the material. Making glass is a simultaneously complex and organic process. Using a furnace running at over 2400 degrees fahrenheit, he melts raw minerals and metallic oxides into a molten state.  To hear him describe his practice is to gain further respect for the magnificent pieces he creates:

To work with glass is to work with light, both reflected and refracted. I draw inspiration from the glass itself- the material is fluid and transforms from something very responsive to something very fragile. It has its own unyielding rules- I have to stop when the piece is 'right.' It requires a certain kind of flexibility that can continually lead down new paths. Even an imperfection can lead to an entire new series of objects.

He's one of only a few people in North America to still make their colours from scratch. The process requires a complex knowledge of nomenclature, chemisty and mineral behaviour. Yet, there are so many mysterious properties to glass that even after two thousand years many scientists still can't decide whether it is a slow moving liquid or a solid. Crystal is in fact, not molecularly crystalline. 

Mystery and science aside, we are preparing for spring by inviting friends and strangers to watch the process in action and enjoy the festivities in the showroom at Sirius Glassworks, located in a converted greenhouse. If you're ever building a studio, I suggest looking into replicating a greenhouse as they provide the perfect lighting conditions; wear sunscreen inside if you plan to work for many hours as my father does.

Open House and Glass Sale 
April 20th & 21st, 10am - 6pm
Port Colborne, Ontario, 2739 Hwy #3

Text and photos from guest contributor Iris Fraser-Gudrunas