THE STUDIO BUILD-OUT
BIG NEWS! Mikula Glass furnaces are hot! (2250 degrees)
With great joy, I am happy to say that my OWN glass furnaces are once again FIRED UP.
Overcoming many hurdles and sustaining my glassworks during a 13 year interruption in my hot glass studio operation has been the biggest challenge of my professional life. The process has encompassed buying a used furnace, moving it three times, finally finding suitable studio space. Followed by renovating, and setting up this new studio with cold-working equipment, annealing ovens and a space that could accommodate the unique needs for furnaces. Not an easy task. Interject Covid, life’s daily demands, plus almost 150 art fairs and wow... how time flies.
It all happened in starts and stops - as funds and time allowed... intermingled with blowing glass at outside studios and maintaining an ambitious art fair and exhibition schedule. But... finally, there is now molten glass here, in my studio, in my furnace, ready to use! For the first time in a long time, I can do everything needed under one roof, and it feels amazing. I have a fully functioning art glass studio, with room to share with others.
TIMELINE:
2014 - Interim move from Collinwood studio to the Hildebrandt building /purchasing a used glass furnace.
2017 - Move to current (and final!) midtown Cleveland location - 4701 Perkins Avenue.
2017 - Renovate 3200 square foot space to accommodate cold glass working studio, design, assembly, storage and display space, and to eventually accommodate the glass furnaces.
2018 - Bring in a larger gas line to feed the hungry furnaces. Install industrial sized exhaust fans.
2019 - Install four annealing ovens, as well as cutting, grinding and polishing machines.
2019 to 2025 ~ Refurbish a Charlie Correll designed glass furnace.
2025 - Rebuilding furnace combustion train and safety systems.
2026 - Install and integrate electronic controller for combustion system.
June 2026 - Test fire furnaces, pass all function and safety checks. All systems go!
July 2026 - Fire up the furnace for real!
ROCK 'n ROLL!!!
DON'T MISS...
MIKULA GLASS STUDIO / MIDTOWN GLASSWORKS ~ OPEN HOUSE and CELEBRATION
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2026
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Please join me for in-studio tours of the newly functioning hot glass studio, glass blowing demonstrations, new work available for purchase, and light refreshments.
Getting to this point required help and expertise from many sources. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the many people and organizations who helped make the dream of a fully operational Mikula Glass Studio/MIDTOWN GLASSWORKS a reality
GO-FUND-ME DONORS:
THANK YOU to the more than seventy generous individual and organizational contributors to my successful, GLASS FURNACE FIRE UP FUND. Having these funds available allowed me to make the final push over the past year, attaining this critical goal. I am forever grateful.
I must also thank creative colleagues and friends, Karen Beckwith and Kelly Pontoni who took the initiative to convince me that via Go-Fund-Me, I would be surprised by the outpouring of support it would generate… and so it has!
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES & IN-KIND ASSISTANCE:
Brent Young, brentkeeyoung.com Mentor/Advisor/Hotshop Rental
Mark Sudduth, sudduthglass.com Mentor/Advisor/Hotshop Rental
Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion, toledomuseum.org Hotshop Rental
Bergstrom Mahler Museum of Glass, bmmglass.com
Sue Berry and Superior Hot Glass Studio, superiorhotglass.info
Charlie Correll, correllglass.com Glass Furnace Designer / Guru
Andrew Dutcher, Wet Dog Glass, wdg-us.com Furnace Controller Guru /Patient Teacher
Charles Patterson, Byrider Builders / Electrician
Zac Gorrell, zacgorrell.com. Advisor / Pipefitter
Tim Spurchise, Tim Spurchise Glass @tspurchise. Advisor / Pipefitter
Jon Paolo, Kiln/annealing oven consulting
Todd Leech, toddleech.com Studio Finder
Stephanie Craig, stephaniecraig.net Studio Finder
Marc Petrovic, marcpetrovic.com Brilliant Studio Neighbor
Andrew Stenerson stenersonstudio.com Advisor/Furnace Finder
Anne and Don Britt, Rossford, Ohio, my wonderful Toledo hosts
Brent Marshall, Brent Marshall Glass /Studio Fittings /Moving helper
Stephen Tatar, Ohio Knitting Mills
Jean Appleby, Sage and savvy advisor
Bob and Pam Nielsen, Generous and supportive collectors
Tom and Marcia Nielsen, Generous and supportive collectors
Joseph Mikula, Sr., National Bank of Dad
Jeffrey Aaron, Go To Guy / Volunteer Studio Assistant
Daniel Fox, Lumina Studio / Photographer Extraordinaire
Rhanna Nyman, Creative Facilitator / Website Developer Extraordinaire
UP NEXT...
As I settle into the flow of working in this fully operational glass studio, the horizon is suddenly broader. While my roster of art fairs has purposely shrunk, sales from galleries and commissions have expanded. It will be possible to do so much more, now.
Part of the original vision for MIDTOWN GLASSWORKS has been making room for a studio mate(s) to join. It would be mutually beneficial to share tasks, tools of the trade, space, while helping an emerging artist/craftsperson launch their glass making career and learning from their experience, as Brent Young and Mark Sudduth did for me from 1988 to 1995.
