Pittsburgh turns to glass to generate good luck for Sunday’s Super Bowl

PGC artists made a glass football when the Steelers went to the Super Bowl in 2009.

Citizens of the Steeler Nation gearing up for Super Bowl XLV can get their culture fix Steelers-style this weekend thanks to the Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC), which will stream two live glassblowing demonstrations Friday evening to show its support for the Black and Gold; they will also be open to the public for anyone who wants to attend. Perhaps not as extreme as the commissioners of Pennsylvania’s Green County that introduced a resolution today to temporarily change its name to “Black and Gold County,” the PGC artists will make a Steelers helmet, a glass version of the much hoped-for Lombardi trophy, and a three-foot Steelers emblem. The emblem will be hot poured in a sand mold before the artists attempt to keep the temperature at 2,000 degrees while hoisting it behind the trophy.

With the Super Bowl just days away, Steelers fans have gotten press as much for their creativity as they have for their intense game-day rituals. In addition to the glassblowing demonstrations, fans can check out the work of fellow Steelers obsessives at the Miller Gallery, which has extended the quirky “Whatever it Takes” exhibition through February 6 in honor of the Steelers’ spot in the Super Bowl. The exhibition showcases almost 1,500 sculptures, videos, t-shirt, and other items created by fans, including fan Denny DeLuca’s reassembled basement that the New York Times referred to as a “man cave,” complete with 80 homemade Steelers action figures and a toilet seat from DeLuca’s favorite stall that he snuck out of the stadium under his coat.

The demonstrations will coincide with the opening of “TENacity,” an exhibition of works from over 30 glass artists based in the Pittsburgh area; the demonstrations and exhibition are free and open to the public. You can read more about the “TENacity” exhibition here.

—Grace Duggan