The Firehouse Studio

The Firehouse Studio
3 Dunn St. Kingston, NY 12402
Phone: 845.331.6469 / E-mail: info@thefirehousestudio.com

The Firehouse Studio is based in Kingston, New York. The gallery and artists studios operate out of the historic two-story Twaalfskill firehouse, originally constructed in 1853. This historic landmark has since been equipped with glass, metal, and wood working facilities. The Firehouse Studio is primarily a glass jewelry and gifts production company, which host an array of unique designs and styles. The other studios, both wood and metal, are maintained and run by the artists who use the space. Currently we are home to seven artists who work in and help operate the studios and gallery. Every first Saturday of the month, The Firehouse Studio hosts an open studio and gallery exhibition, featuring both work made in the studios, as well as work by selected local artists. We invite you to visit us at one of our “first Saturday” openings, or, if you cannot make it, please contact us and set up an appointment.

The process we use to create our work is flameworking.
This is a type of glassblowing which incorporates a bench mounted torch used as the primary way to heat glass so it can be blown, shaped, and manipulated into the desired form.

A flameworking torch utilizes pressurized oxygen and propane to produce a variety of flame characteristics, sizes, and temperatures. The artist uses six valve adjusters to control flame temperatures, ranging from 2800 degrees F to 4800 degrees F. Regulators monitor the flow of the gases, and graphite and metal tools are used to form, shape, and grab hot glass.

The type of glass used to make our products is Borosilicate. This glass is a hard, synthetic glass mixture, known most commonly by its brand name “Pyrex”. This type of glass is more utilitarian than traditional glass because of its greater strength & durability, but it requires higher forming and working temperatures.

After the artist is finished working the glass it must be annealed in a kiln, thicker glass requires longer soak times and slower ramp rates, in other words, a longer annealing cycle is necessary. When the annealing cycle is finished the result is a strong, durable, and timeless glass object.

The Studio focuses on traditional techniques and classic forms to make glass, while incorporating a more modern pallet with more sophisticated color schemes. It is this juxtaposition of both the old and the new that creates a tension and excitement, attractingall types of personalities. In the world of modern art and design, The Firehouse Studio looks to the past, revisits and reinterprets what is discovered to our liking. People create emotional responses to forms and colors they recognize. Add a change of context and it breeds a new excitement, as one revisits memories and creates new ones. The Firehouse Studio hopes for its patrons to relate to the objects they purchase, becoming connected to them emotionally as well as physically.