EASTHAMPTON — After experiencing a challenging pandemic, Juggernaut Glass is moving forward with its mission to provide a home for glassmaking and glass art in its space in the Keystone building.
“My overall plan for this place is to be a safe haven and safe place for artists to actually work and be in the public eye,” said owner Mark Wurtzel. “They should not be working out of, in my opinion, garages and sheds and basements. They should be working out of a beautiful studio like this.”
Juggernaut provides space for glassmakers to rent, and glassmaking classes are also taught there. Additionally, glass art is sold at the space, which includes both local artists and high-end pieces that originate from all over the country, such as sculptures from Lewis Wilson and marbles from John Kobuki.
Wurtzel said that about 50% of the pieces in the shop are pipes and other 21-plus items, while the other half are creations such as sculptures, hummingbird feeders and marbles.
Wurtzel founded Juggernaut six years ago in Houston before he relocated to the Pioneer Valley to be with his now wife. The Houston studio remains open.
Wurtzel grew up on Long Island and when he was studying music at Ithaca College he started working with glass and fell in love with it. As an artist, Wurtzel mostly does flameworking, although he said he’s looking to do more furnace work. Some of the items that Wurtzel makes, and that can be bought at Juggernaut, are turtle pendants and pipes.
Wurtzel said that finding a location for his business in the Valley was difficult, but in 2017 they started putting together the space at the Keystone Mill. However, shortly after Juggernaut was fully functional, the pandemic hit, shutting the space down for months.
Wurtzel said that the business got government relief during the pandemic, and while the business isn’t where it needs to be yet he expressed hope for it.
“I think we’re in good shape,” Wurtzel said. “We’re not going anywhere.”
He also noted that the business does a number of team-building events for companies in the studio, and that it’s interested in the wedding and events space.
Aside from Wurtzel, everyone who works at the studio, is an independent contractor, including those who teach classes.
“We are all able to disagree with one another and have a voice here,” Wurtzel said. “This is not my shop, this is their shop and I built it for them.”
Currently the shop is open Thursday through Sunday.
The pricing for the space is $20 for a torch and $35 for a furnace, and artists can rent on a monthly basis for around $550. Group classes are $75 to $125 per person, private flameworking classes clock in at $250 for two people while private glassblowing classes are $325 for two people. However, for every five private classes a person takes they’re eligible for 10 hours of studio rental time or group classes.
One of the people who takes advantage of private classes and studio time is Nikki Gibson, who recently started a business where people will able to get the cremains of their loved ones encased in glass marbles.
“Where else would I be able to practice?” Gibson said.
She also said that it’s nice to be part of a community at the space, and that she’s there three out of four days that it’s open.
“We might have to open up more days just for Nikki,” Madeline Stewart said.
Stewart and her partner Ori Ben-Shir both teach and work out of Juggernaut, with Stewart serving as studio manager.
“I really like that this space is just up and coming right now,” Stewart said. “I think of this place as a playground.”
Some of the art that Stewart makes are octopus and pumpkin sculptures, jewelry and vases. Ben-Shir, meanwhile, does items such as goblets and soap dispensers as well as art pieces.
“I think that there is a lot of potential here,” Ben-Shir said.
The pair also collaborate on sculptures, and Ben Shir initially got into glasswork after doing a class together alongside Stewart.
“Sometimes it’s frustrating and sometimes it’s beautiful,” said Ben-Shir, on getting to work alongside his partner.
A big project that Stewart is working on is a hanging glass dream catcher, that takes inspiration from the water cycle.
Stewart also told a story about working for months on a piece that was a combination of a microscope/kaleidoscope, only to have it shatter shortly before completion.
“I lost three months of work,” she said.
However, she chose to keep a few pieces of the destroyed work, and made them into pendants.
“Those pendants were a little reminder of the impermanence of things,” she said. “You’re not going to be able to keep everything that we make, everything that comes into our lives. Things break.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.