Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Pennington. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Michelle, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

The first moment I knew that I wanted to be an artist professionally was in 9th grade in high school. At this point I hadn’t taken an art class since 6th because I was not a fan of the teacher in that class, but fell in love with my teachers in high school. They were so caring a supportive and encouraged me to push my skills further. They also met with my mom and taught her that I do have options for a career in the field of art and told me to consider teaching or graphic design. I ended majoring in college in graphic design and it was there where I found the material I work with today; molten hot glass. I took it my last semester in college as one of my last elective classes and new that this was the career that I had always dreamed of.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Like I said I found glassblowing my last semester in college and completely fell in love with the material. I continued studying glassblowing for about a decade before I even considered opening my own studio. Once I felt confident enough, I opened High Gravity Glassworks in Shreveport. The Italians always said you don’t become a master of glass until you’ve been working with the material for 8 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, for 15-20 years and I now believe them. Since opening my studio just a few short years ago my skills have grown exponentially. And I am most proud of developing my understanding of color. Using different colors in glass can be very difficult because they are made from different metal oxides which can cause a reaction with other colors if used in the wrong way. I love that through trial and error I have created series of work that I am very proud of because of the bright vibrant colors that I use to make them.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

What I find most rewarding as a creative is teaching others how to blow glass. I really don’t make a lot of money doing it but I feel like it has been an important part of my journey of passing on this knowledge to others. As a glassblower within our community, we feel very connected to one another, almost like a family. Knowing how hard it is to learn how to blow glass, I love watching my students overcome hurdles that they never thought they could. It’s like they have an epiphany, and from that point forward they can’t unlearn what they know and that brings them joy which makes me very happy as well.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I opened up my studio in 2021, just after the world was getting back to normal from Covid. I feel like I have been constantly pivoting and trying new ideas in order to stay afloat. My next pivot is going to come this summer. I had been promised that my studio would become climate controlled by this year, however, due to inflation and rising costs of all materials that’s not happening. Since my glassblowing furnace runs at 2000 degrees and I’m located in Shreveport, LA where summers are 100 degrees with 100% humidity, lets just say it’s hotter than hades in there! So instead of blowing glass during the end of July and August, we are going to pivot and start casting glass in kilns to avoid the heat. I think it will be a new and exciting way to use glass that our clients have not seen yet since no one else in the area is doing it yet. We can cast things from nature, from our bodies, or just from utilizing wax or clay to make a positive form. I’m very excited for this next move and hope my clients will enjoy the change in order to avoid the heat.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://highgravityglassworks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highgravityglassworks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/highgravityglassworks