Issues → July/August 2008 → Features → 25 People You Must Meet This Summer! →
Eben Horton, Glassblower, Wakefield, Rhode Island
by Justin Shatwell
Credit: Erik Rank
If Eben Horton minds the crowd of tourists, he doesn't show it. His studio operates out of an old-fashioned gas station. Even with the twin bay doors flung open, the heat is oppressive. Lifting, turning, blowing, his craft is an endurance challenge. He gets just 20 seconds at a time to work the glass at his bench before he has to reheat it; then he gets a shot at another 20 seconds. If he takes a break, the glass will crack. Finally out of the struggle emerges a wineglass so fragile it defies its violent crafting. Eben's is a store of unusual intimacy, letting customers witness the creative process and inviting them to snatch up his art while it's still warm.
The Glass Station,318 Main St., 401-788-2500.
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