Morean Glass Studio & Hotshop

Had a thoroughly enjoyable experience at the Hot Shop viewing live glass making. I’ve always watched it on tv and have been drawn to observe how they work with materials to make the glass art. So I was not disappointed by the artist giving the demo at the Hot Shop, who’s name is Pauly. He clearly knew his stuff, and has about 31 years of experience. There was a lady there assisting him and explaining step by step what the process was. Pauly was nice enough to chat with us after and he had noticed us taking pics of some of the murals nearby way before the demo started. So he showed us a mural on the outside of the Hot Shop building as well. Really talented and pleasant glass artist. If you’re interested in glass art and how it’s made… its worth checking out.

— Short Synopsis —
The hot shop glass making demonstrations are cool and I enjoyed seeing the glass being made. The small studio retail/​gift shop has some interesting glass work, but the pieces can be pricey.
— Summary —
My girlfriend and I decided to check this place out for their 5^th anniversary (July 11^th-​12^th) special that was $ 5 for both the Chihuly collection and the Hot Glass Studio. It was a good deal as the combo ticket to both places is usually around $ 20 for adults, even the normal ticket for just the hot shop is normally $ 9 for adults.
I have never really seen glass artwork being made, so the hotshop experience of watching the artist Dave create the glass artwork was awesome. It was warm and I got sweaty, but didn’t mind as I was focused on Dave making his art. The commentary by the lady also helped and kept me informed on what was happening.
The studio gift shop has the actual, finished glass work for sale made by various different artists. Most of it is quite pricey, so I was just window shopping. Some of the items are affordable though. For beauty, the art here is definitely on a lower level than the beautiful Chihuly Collection pieces, but that is to be expected. Some of the pieces in the studio are interesting to see and look at though. I liked my short browse through the glass pieces.
Go here to see the hotshop demonstration!

Attended a night of in the dark glass blowing accompanied by fantastic music, finger food & libations, The glass artists put on a spectacular show while the audience watched captivated by each movement of each firing, wondering, how will the piece turn out. It takes the artist many steps to turn out such fine pieces & it was quite enjoyable to watch this creativity unfold. The gallery was filled with beautiful colorful pieces that are available for purchase. Well worth the trip to St. Pete.

The Glass Studio and Hot Shop is one of the 4 buildings in the Morean conglomerate. We felt the glass studio room was a little dirty and many of the pieces were yucky shades of brown or weaker colored than the stunning «Chihuly» pieces. (not that every glass blower has to be a Chihuly, just trying to describe a difference in coloration). The clerk sat motionless behind the counter rather than interacting and educating the guests. (We had no clue they were done by many artists.) The cheapest thing was $ 7 for glass kisses. Most things were $ 45 and significantly «up» from there making it window shopping for most of us. The 30 minute demonstration (audience on bleacher seating) was interesting, though they had trouble with the sound system and the guy had to shout above the kiln. It is an educational experience. The action is very fast from start to finish of the piece making absorption of all they are doing difficult. It does give a new appreciation for hand-​blown glass pieces.

You are told when you buy your tickets to meet at the Morean Arts Center. The glass shop is in another building behind the Center.
We arrived at the Morean Arts Center, with enough time before the show, to buy some jewelry made by local artist. I enjoyed the different variety of art work displayed in the Center. You can purchase any of them to support your favorite local Artist.
During the show you will have a narrator giving a step by step explanation as to why the glass blower does certain things with the glass. It’s amazing that he takes pieces of glass to create this beautiful bowl.
After the show, you can look around in the gift shop as they have all kinds of unique gifts to buy as a souvenir.

We had a fabulous time learning how to blow stunning art glass pieces at The Hot Shop! Husband blew a gorgeous amber glass pumpkin, while I made a black & white paperweight. Instructor David Spurgeon explained everything very well, with emphasis on safety. He gave us many color & shape options, then taught us how to use the blowpokes to add tint & then mold the glass. It was a lot of fun, & we will go back next trip to Tampa.
Also very much enjoyed the adjacent Morean Arts Center. Excellent paintings, sketches, pottery, blown glass, etc. We bought a terrific charcoal sketch & an unusual vase. Reasonable prices, too.

We recently checked out the hotshop on a vacation to Florida. I recommend the chihuly collection and hotshop which you can see with the St. Petersburg art experience pass for $ 19.95. You can go to Chihuly Collection, Morean Artscenter and the Glass Studio & Hotshop once each within a 30 day period. We saw a demo by Doug who had been glassblowing for 17 years. He effortlessly blew out a wavy bowl in about 20 minutes. If you haven’t seen any glassblowing before put the Morean Glass Hotshop on your to do list!

This was so much fun to watch and the guy in the gift shop was very friendly. I ended up leaving with a cool pendant and a beautiful vase that was 50% off!
This is something you should totally see if you are ever in the area! Plan it on a mild day though. The Hotshop does indeed get very hot.

OMG!!! WHAT AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE. I took the 30 minute class at the HOT SHOP, and made a ruby red paper weight heart for my hubby. I had so much fun!!! I cannot thank the guys there enough for making it such a memorable experience. My instructor was Pauli. He’s an AWESOME instructor, such a nice person. Then there is Russ, so sweet. To get my glass heart off the rod Russ put on a pair of thick gloves. I gave the rod a sharp tap and Russ literally had my heart in his hands: o)) I was so nervous, but Pauli kept telling me what a good job I was doing. Made me feel great. Then there is a sweet young man, Nikola behind the counter who helped arrange shipping of my heart. Whatever you make it has to cool over night. Shipping is $ 20, the class is $ 75. I highly recommend taking a class. What a great group of people. It’s obvious they are proud of their facility and passionate about what they do. You’ll not only have something special that you made, but an experience you’ll never forget.
Thank you Pauli, Russ and Nikola from the bottom of my ruby red glass heart, Linda

Although the address is often listed the same as the Morean Arts Center (
), the hotshop is actually co-​located in separate building north of the art center. It’s entrance (and parking lot) is at 714 1^st Ave. North. However, you still need to enter through the art center to get your entry ticket to the hotshop glass blowing demo. If you are just visiting the retail shop, I think you can just head on in.
There is a schedule for the glass blowing demonstrations, so be sure to check this and plan accordingly, and if the demonstrations will occur. On the day of our visit (Thursday 1÷10÷2013) the times were 1, 2 3 and 4PM (Monday through Sunday).
After the glassblowing demonstration, which is amazing and educational (I has no idea how many intricate step are required), you can browse the retail shop where prices range from a few dollars to thousands.
If you are doing the Morean tour (St. Petersburg Arts Experience*), your ticket will include entry to the Morean Arts Center and the Hotshop. The cool thing about the tour ticket, is that you have 30 days to visit the four locations (however you can only visit each location once).
There is the Chihuly Collection (
), there is the «Morean Arts Center» (
), there is the «Morean Glass Studio & Hotshop» (
), and there is the «Morean Center for Clay» (
).
* We found a $ 2 off coupon for the St. Petersburg Arts Experience in one of the local Welcome Guide-​Map brochures.