Sonoran Glass School

Spots still open for the Teen session of Camp Fuego June 8-12th, 9am-4pm. Campers get a comprehensive glass experience with hands on projects using fusing, blowing, and torchworking techniques. Everything you make is yours to take home and we will have an exhibition at the end of the week for your family and friends to see what was created during camp. This is a great way to explore the options here at SGS and see what you are capable of! Sign up through the website sonoranglass.org under events. #tucsonsummercamp #tucsonaz #glassart #teencamp

We are excited for our next visiting artist, Joseph Cavalieri @joseph_cavalieri_glass who is joining us June 29-July 2nd to teach Images on Glass. Come learn how to silk screen, enamel paint, and airbrush your ideas and images onto glass. Don’t stress if you can’t draw, there are stencils and guides and ways to trace the images! If you’re an incredible painter, come see how your work translates on glass. This class is exciting for a wide range of students and we are happy to offer this opportunity to our community of artists and crafters- in our air conditioned space! Sign up on our website- sonoranglass.org and look for it under the Glass Fusing classes! #thingstodointucson #fusedglassworkshop #tucsonartist #josephcavalieri #summerfuninac

We are offering two days of Sand Casting this year! Join us for the fun and the glow, and learn how to create works of art using everyday objects. The class is $275 and runs from 9am-4pm with a break for lunch on either June 25th or 26th. Or both! Participants can expect to make multiple pieces and no experience is required. Sign up through the website Sonoranglass.org #thingstodointucson #glassart #tucsonart #sandcasting #tucson

Spring Fundraiser update! We are getting closer to our goal and need your help to reach $40,000. If we can get there, it will get DOUBLED by a generous donor! These donations will go directly to supporting scholarships, operations and facilities management, and our Creative Aging and Youth Education programs. Donations can be made in person or through our website- sonoranglass.org #501c3nonprofit #glassart #communityartists #tucsonart #fundraiser

“Within a few weeks of being here [in Tucson, Arizona], all these people showed up and said, ‘If you want to build a studio, we’ll all help,’” recalls Tom Philabaum, co-founder of @sonoranglass . “So, I immediately had five best friends.” As the heart of glassmaking in the desert Southwest, the Sonoran Glass School is a nonprofit dedicated to connecting both artisans and the public to the transformative medium of glass. Serving as a public-access educational center, it offers instruction across the full spectrum of glass-working techniques: glassblowing, fusing, torch working, and cold working to create functional items and sculptural pieces. In a recent Folklife Magazine article, the school's executive director, Debra Ruzinsky (@debraruzinsky ), shares the rich legacy of glass art in Tucson and her journey to leading the community where she first fell in love with the craft. She also highlights the #KazakhstanArtisanInitiative learning exchange—when, in July 2025, twelve artisans from Almaty, Kazakhstan, traveled to the American Southwest to explore the vibrant artist communities of Santa Fe and Tucson. Read more in Folklife Magazine. Link in bio! 1: @richard_royal , @stevehagandesigns , and @marstallglass blow glass in the Sonoran Glass School hot shop. Photo courtesy of Sonoran Glass School 2: Installation by Flo Perkins, Sculptural Glass, Tucson Museum of Art, 1983. Photo courtesy of the Tucson Museum of Art #TucsonArt #GlassBlowing #CulturalVitality #Kazakhstan

Make two 4x4in tiles in this Glass on Glass Mosaic class with instructor Linda Jones. The class is $90 and will be on May 16th from 11am-1pm. The tiles will mimic stained glass without having to use lead. You will get to explore design, cutting, and grouting. Head to our website sonoranglass.org to sign up! #glassmosaic #tucsonart #thingstodointucson #glassart #funwithglass

Join us this Saturday for an exciting evening of glowing glass and light as Mel @melanie.t.long.art and Brian @brianjacobsonglass show off different ways of working with glass. We will be a part of Barrio Viejo’s First Saturday event @visitbarrioviejo and hope you will pop in to see what we are up to and how you can join the fun. We love our community and are excited to be a part of this event! #barrioviejo #tucsonaz #glassart #tucsonartists #saturdaynightfun

Give your Mom the gift of an experience this Mother’s Day! Or come in and hand make something just for her. We have weekly classes you can sign up for together, or a gift card would give your loved one many options to choose from. Head to our website Sonoranglass.org to see the three main ways of working with glass at SGS (Glassblowing, Glass Fusing, and Torchworking) and the many classes we offer in each. #tucsonart #mothersday #glassart #visittucson #thingstodointucson

Here are some student Platters after their first firing! These will go through another round in the kiln to slump into molds that give them a platter form. You can join us any Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday and make your own! Head to the website sonoranglass.org to sign up and check out the other class offerings. We teach 30 minute to hour long classes every week here at SGS, Tuesday- Saturday. #tucson #glassart #tucsonart #glassfusing #visittucson

Join instructor @brianjacobsonglass for this one day class that will teach you how to turn borosilicate tubing into functional shot glasses. Choose your colors and design and use the heat to shape your shot glass. No previous experience required and all materials provided. Sign up through the website sonoranglass.org #handmade #glassart #torchworking #shotglassclass #tucsonaz

Help us reach our goal of $40,000 and the donation will double! Your support helps with scholarships, Creative Aging Programming, Youth Education, and operation and facilities maintenance. Donations can be made through the website or in person at the school. Sonoranglass.org #fundraiser #501c3nonprofitorganization #glassart #communityart #tucsonaz

Register online for evening glassblowing in May every Tuesday and Thursday with instructor Paul Anders-Stout @paulandersstout . This Fundamentals class will teach you how to use tools and heat to shape molten glass from the furnace. No previous experience required but this is also a great refresher class. Class meet 5:30-8:30pm for a total of 8 classes and costs $950. Head to the website and look under classes to join! #thingstodointucson #artclassintucson #glassblowing #learntoblowglass #tucsonartists