Art(s) on the Air Nov 29, 2023 with Ron Martinez (Hostess City Hot Glass)

Join Tamara – and David Laughlin, previous co-host of the show! – for an interview with Ron Martinez, owner of Hostess City Hot Glass, and his assistant Chris Charley.

A native of nearby Metter, GA, Ron was first introduced to glassblowing while in college in the Pacific Northwest. While supporting himself in jobs ranging from salmon fisherman to antiques dealer, Ronald continued to pursue his love of the ancient craft in Seattle, the Bay Area, and even on a program in Sweden! Ron eventually returned to Savannah with his wife and daughter, and after a few years of working at the now-closed Drayton Glassworks, he opened Hostess City Hot Glass in 2018. 

In his amazing glassblowing studio you can take a class, book an event, and shop online and in-studio. They even put on seasonal "epic little scavenger hunts" called Glass Hunts, which allow folks to explore a certain spot in Savannah and find their very own one-of-a-kind hand blown piece of art! 

Check out Ron's glasswork and follow the shop here: 

https://www.hostesscityhotglass.com/
https://www.instagram.com/hostesscityhotglass/ 
https://www.etsy.com/shop/HostessCityHotGlass 

Topics in their chat include:

Ron considers himself to be a glass turner, as opposed to a glass blower; how a glass business is really difficult to maintain, not least because your electric and gas bills are super high - the temperature in his studio frequently reaches 2300 degrees so they have fans running and much of their making is done at night; Ron's belief that his business's success is due to keeping a balance of both making/selling products, and teaching glass making; his term "glasshole" for the jerks in his business; the glass hunts they put on every few months - keep an eye out on their social media! - basically an Easter Egg hunt in a particular spot in town, but you're finding and keeping one of Ron's small glass objects!; at the beginning of the second half Ron goes into the history of glassmaking and info about the modern scene, how the two major tracks are Venetian and Swedish; creating all of the art for his show last year at the Mansion on Forsyth Park in one week; how Ron will be exploring light fixtures for his new/upcoming work; his focus on symmetry as the main technical element in his work; his loss of fingerprints on one hand (!); their new shopdog, Peaches the bulldog; and his awesome answer to David's last question: What's something you can do with glass that you can't do with other mediums?

Tune in and get all the details!