Gatlinburg, Tennessee, offers visitors a chance at throwing clay and Grapevine, Texas, heats up with glassblowing opportunities.
"Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.” —Lovelle Drachman
Traveling doesn’t have to just be about hotels, motels, and attractions. Yes, it’s fun to lie on a beach, paddle down white water streams, ski a slope or visit Mickey Mouse's home. But traveling also offers unique opportunities to learn something new. And it can be quite crafty.
In Gatlinburg, Tenn., I had the pleasure of taking the Make a Mug Experience pottery class with Fowler’s Clayworks and in Grapevine, Texas, blow a glass ornament into creation at Vetro Glassblowing Studio & Gallery.
First, getting my hands dirty.
At the Fowler’s Clayworks studio in Gatlinburg, Smoky Mountain potter Mike Fowler gathers the class around him, all of us seated at a pottery wheel with a lump of clay. It looks easy, dropping the clay onto the wheel and letting it spin while your hands turn it into something recognizable. We were aiming toward a coffee cup, which required opening the inside and pulling up the walls, then attaching a handle, both of which I failed to develop. But Mike came to the rescue, first explaining how it’s done and offering advice, then lending a hand. The last part really helped!
A couple of hours later, we were all pleased to have created a lovely cup, one that Mike would later glaze and fire and send our way.
Classes cost $65 per person and cover all materials and shipping. Minimum age is 8 years old and children must be accompanied by an adult. Other classes are offered as well.
We all enjoyed the class so much, reveling in that we tackled the difficult task. Not sure I want to include this hobby in my life, but I came away appreciating the work that goes into ceramics by wheel.
Note: Fowler’s Clayworks's gift shop features many of Mike’s works, all of which are beautiful and hand-made.
Here is the finished product:
Into the Fire
In Grapevine, Vetro Glassblowing Studio & Gallery lets visitors create their own glass works, setting them up next to the raging furnaces with experienced glassblowers. Items to be made range from ornaments at Christmas to glasses and bowls. Next month it’s Egg-Travaganza glass eggs for Easter and Halloween time they help you make glass pumpkins.
I was visiting during the holidays—Grapevine is the Christmas Capital of Texas—so Vetro had me choose my colored glass to blow into a round ornament. Because we’re dealing with extreme heat, the Vetro guides show you how the ornament is made through heating the glass, blowing it into a round shape and then rolling it until it’s finished. You don’t get too close to the flames, which is a good thing. I was pretty nervous around all that heat until I realized they were guiding me the entire time.
It’s a lot of fun, and perfect for groups. Great photo opps too. And your finished glass piece is usually available the following day for pick up.
Vetro also offers glassblowing classes and workshops.
Note: Vetro's gift shop features many glass creations for sale.
Here is my finished product.
Weird, Wacky & Wild South is written by travel writer Cheré Dastugue Coen, who loves crafting just about anything. That's Cheré at right happily playing with fire.
