Willow Glen Resident
News
Glass blower fires up for a public demonstration
By Mary Gottschalk
The purple doors are the first clue that there's something special at 99-B N. Almaden Blvd., near the arena and across from Henry's Hi-Life.
Step inside and you're surrounded by beautiful, hand-blown glass vases, tree ornaments and even pumpkins in an industrial setting.
It's Silica Valley Glass Studio and home to Kevin Chong's wizardry.
Here, the Willow Glen resident fires up his furnaces, gathers molten glass on the end of a blowpipe and starts blowing.
Using his own lung power, augmented with shaping tools, Chong transforms the visions in his mind to reality in glass.
On Dec. 8 and 9, Chong is opening his studio to the public for his annual holiday sale.
Much of the year Chong works here alone, selling his work through galleries and at the Downtown Farmers Market at San Pedro Square.
The 43-year-old Chong first worked with glass in high school when he took a class in stained glass.
After a detour into the world of baking, he found the lure of art was greater than the lure of the perfect torte and enrolled at the Neon Art School in Portland.
His skill at neon has garnered a wide clientele, from the HP Pavilion, The Tech Museum, Sharper Image, Subway and Men's Wearhouse.
In the early 1990s, Chong found himself mesmerized by a man blowing glass and watched for several hours. In 1995, a lecture by the famous glass artist Dale Chihuly inspired Chong to enroll in his first glass-blowing class at San Jose State University.
He's continued to learn since, from masters such as Lino Tagliapietra, the Venetian master considered by many to be the greatest living glass artist, as well as Pino Signoretto, Elio Quarisa and Treg Silkwood.
In 2003 Chong combined his neon glass and glass-blowing businesses under the name Silica Valley Glass Studio.
He finds it amusing that most people hear Silicon Valley instead of Silica Valley.
"Silica is one of the ingredients in glass," he says.
During his upcoming open studio, Chong says he will have glass- blowing demonstrations both days.
He will also have a "super sale table" of his seconds.
Silica Valley Glass Studio's annual open studio and holiday sale is Dec. 8 and 9 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 99-B N. Almaden Blvd., San Jose.
