The Reboli Center for Art and History is pleased to name Janet Zug as its artisan of the month for April. “I discovered Janet while looking for some handmade glass for the Design Shop. I searched the internet and found several glass blowers, but I loved her pieces and contacted her. Janet agreed to sell her work at the Center, and we have done very well with her beautiful creations,” said Lois Reboli, founder of the Reboli Center and wife of the late artist, Joseph Reboli.
Janet started blowing glass in 1990. She answered an ad in the local newspaper for a glass blower apprentice and no experience was necessary. The position was with Simon Pearce, a famous glass production studio in Vermont. She got the job and after five days, fell in love with the art of glass blowing. When she was done for the day, she was allowed to work on her own designs. In 1992, she founded her own business and rented space from other studios to make her creations. In 2004, she installed her own hot shop at her studio in Vermont, where she lives.
According to Janet, “I am inspired by function and beauty. A piece should be useful and pretty, such as my hanging vases. I love making drinking glasses as you can use them, enjoy them, wash them and they are so personal. There are so many things I love about glassblowing. First there’s the hot stuff itself, what a crazy medium to play with! Then there’s the challenge of executing high quality work from this pot of hot goo. I never get tired of it because it’s always changing. Blowing glass is the best part, of course, but being a productive business person is equally as important as designing work that I am proud of.”
Her studio is open on Saturdays from Thanksgiving until Christmas and visitors can take a class, where she will help someone make a piece.
Janet Zug’s hand-blown glass is for sale in the Reboli Center’s Design Shop. The Center is free, and open Tuesday – Saturday from 11am – 5pm and Sunday from 1pm - 5pm.
For more information on the Artisan of the Month, please call the Reboli Center at 631-751-7707