A version of the story was published in The Sylva Herald, April 1 edition
The inaugural Dillsboro Glass Arts Festival was held Saturday, March 28 with live glassblowing and local vendors to introduce the community to glass art, support regional artists and add a new spring event to the calendar.
The free event featured multiple vendors, including glass art businesses and local sellers from North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, offering visitors the opportunity to watch artists work with molten glass in real time.
Colorful glass pieces arranged for display at the glass art festival in Dillsboro. Photo by Kendall Link. 
Local vendor burns glass live to visitors as she crafts jewelry. Photo by Kendall Link. 
Live glassblowing demonstrations at the Dillsboro Glass Arts Festival. Photo by Kendall Link. 
Illustrative glass pieces arranged for the art festival. Photo by Kendall Link. 
Vendor partnered with Jo Brothermon shows live glass making to visitors. Photo by Kendall Link. 
Glass jewelry and bead collection on display in Jo Brotherton’s booth at the glass art festival. Photo by Kendall Link. 
Glass art necklaces displayed from Just American Made Glass. Photo by Kendall Link.
Live glassblowing and lamp-working demonstrations from Silica Burns Glass Blowing and the North Carolina Glass Center brought crowds throughout the day.
“I think a lot of people are just interested in seeing the actual craft in front of them happening,” said Meghan Carroll, a glassblowing demonstrator from the North Carolina Glass Center. “Glassblowing, especially in this area, is actually like available for the public. But, having events like this and everything, people actually get to come up and see it in real life instead of just watching videos of it.”
Carroll said she got hooked on glassmaking after experiencing its unique consistency and finding passion in the material.
“Art is a really good outlet for creativity, and I feel like everybody should have some kind of creative outlet just to have like space of mind and just like full self-discovery,” said Carroll.
Local vendors set up booths to sell their glass creations, including beads, jewelry, household items and decorative pieces.
Jo Marie Brotherton, a stained-glass artist who has been working with the material since 1980, said she was drawn to the craft because of its exotic features, and visitors were excited to see her creations.
“It’s beautiful. You know, you find something that just speaks to your soul, and you can’t let go,” said Brotherton. “I like the whole idea of being able to do something that not everybody can pick up to produce.”
Brotherton said people were most interested in her utilitarian pieces, like seam-rippers, letter openers and magnifying glasses, and that she was busy all day.
“I like the transparency of glass. I like the glow that it has in the sunlight,” said Brotherton. “That has always drawn me to glass. I’m fascinated to look at a solid form and to see three dimensions, but it’s suspended.”
Another local vendor said that his glassworks are unique and personal.
“It’s very illustrative, so you can see that each kind of one of the bigger pieces is individualized,” he said. “You don’t see a lot of people do that. Even if you did, everybody has a different drawing style, so I think that brings additional personal aspect beyond just being a glass.”
He said visitors were particularly interested in paper weights.
“I think it’s one of those things that if they don’t collect, they know somebody who collects or they’ve inherited a collection, so they seem to be pretty popular,” the local vendor said.
Organizers said the festival is a way to support regional artists and bring more cultural events to Jackson County.
Jacqueline Laura Large, the vice president of Jackson County Arts Council, said many participants were local, while others traveled to demonstrate their skills.
“A lot of these people are actually from the area. Some of them, the little tented people, are all our local people, and then these people come from Tennessee to do their demonstrations,” said Large.
Large said she hopes the festival and art opportunities continue to grow in Jackson County.
“We should keep supporting the arts and do this every year and just make it bigger and bigger with more support and more people coming,” said Large.
Many of the featured artists use Green Energy Park, which captures methane from an old landfill to fuel its glass, metal and ceramics studio. Most participants are full-time artists who live, work and teach in the area.
In addition to the demonstrations and vendors, the festival included food trucks and a children’s station where young visitors could try glass-themed crafts and learn about the art form.
