VALPARAISO | The room can reach temperatures of 120 during the summer. They rely on 2,000-plus degree oven that stays on 24/7. They're doing work that one estimates few people have ever seen done.
It's work, but it's art.
Welcome to Hot Shop Valpo, the first glass blowing studio in the region, according to owner David Lee.
Lee "lit the fire" on the shop in July. He operates it with his son, Bryan, and Eli Zilke, a glass blower from Benton Harbor, Mich.
Lee, a Valparaiso resident and retired Marine, said once he and his son became interested in glass blowing -- inspired by the works of world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly -- they had a vision to open a shop locally.
"It feels to me like this community is ready for an arts revival," Lee said. "There's local folks who are painters and sculptors but nothing is a real art magnet into Valpo. And this community has done such a great job in what we have now that the arts seems to me like the next thing."
Hot Shop Valpo, at 864 Kinsey St., deals in private work for people who purchase the art for their homes and also does commercial installations. The shop is bidding to do a large glass installation "that looks like bubbles descending into water" for the building in New Buffalo, Mich.
"Hopefully we're going to get some interest from local businesses in the area to do work," Lee said.
Lee said people are attracted to glass because it's three dimensional and has a depth that other mediums don't necessarily have.
"Glass incorporates, in my mind, all of the mediums in how it's done," he said. "While we don't paint the glass, we apply colors in a way that is sort of painting. We indeed sculpt as we're going through the process."
Lee said, as artists, glass blowing is a more urgent medium.
"With glass, when you start a piece you have to finish it," he said. "It's either going to end up in the annealer (cooling oven) or on the floor. With other art forms you can step away from it weeks at a time. You can't do that with glass."
Lee said glass art always needs a partner.
"There's a dance medium to it," he said. "It takes a team to do something."
Hot Shop Valpo, which has some of its work showcased in art galleries in Valparaiso, Crown Point and Michigan, creates functional ware to with glass including mugs, goblets and wine glasses. That's in addition to its larger wall pieces to add color and interest in a home or office. Then there are installations like the one being bid in New Buffalo - it's 15 by 18 feet in size.
Lee said they also offers beginner to advanced classes for those who want to learn the art of glass blowing.
"Folks can also stop by and watch what we do," he said. "I think this is something cool to have here locally."