“Glass in the Mountains” will celebrate the 50th, offer public access to the North Carolina studios

Glass in the Mountains will be a weekend of demonstrations and exhibitions. courtesy: www.glassinthemountains.com

Since the Penland School was established there in 1929, the Toe River Valley has been a craft haven. Currently it’s home to Studio Glass patriarch Harvey Littleton and Penland’s first glass resident Mark Peiser, as well as more than fifty other glass artists. In celebration of 50 years of Studio glass, this September the public will have the chance to walk through their studios as part of “Glass in the Mountains,” a weekend of events that will also include glass blowing demonstrations and exhibitions.

Attendants will be free to roam from gallery to gallery or join led gallery strolls. Studio tours and a wine tasting will also be open to the public. For those willing to pay a VIP pass will grant access to Littleton’s studio, which has been closed to the public for around 15 years according to a representative from the “Glass in the Mountains” committee. Peiser, a founding member of the Glass Art Society, will also be opening his studio to VIP guests. A full description of the VIP experience is available on “Glass in the Mountains’s” website, and VIP passes may also be purchased through the website.

—Isabella Webbe