Aurora Borealis Glassworks makes glass art approachable

Apr. 15—Transitioning from working for a financial investment corporation to creating glasswork for a living was a life-changing leap for Max Derderian thanks in part to Aurora Borealis Glassworks.

"My parents gifted me the Aurora Borealis class with a gift certificate as a birthday present," Derderian said. "Before that, I really had no idea that glass was something that you could do. I didn't know that as an art form. I've been doing art my whole life, a lot of woodworking and drawing and stuff, but never anything quite like this."

It all begin for Derderian with learning how to make a paperweight during a class at Aurora Borealis Glassworks. He later returned to master his craft.

The business and art school recently relocated to a larger facility at 5001 Central NE.

"(Aurora Borealis Glassworks) offers rentals to past students," Derderian said. "So once I had taken that first class, I could just come back and rent the shop for a couple hours every week or something like that. And I developed my skills from there. And then a couple years down the road, I started teaching classes for them. And now I kind of work there full time, as much as possible."

In addition to teaching, Derderian also assists with commission work.

"I will either assist (owner) John (Owen) with making those parts or I will make the parts that have been ordered," Derderian said. "And then as far as myself, personally, I make stuff, vases, cups, ornaments, stuff like that, which then I can sell on my own."

The shop has a gallery area where Derderian sells most of his glasswork and also recently set up an Instagram account, instagram.com/m.derderian_glass.

Aurora Borealis, which opened in 2002, has taught thousands of students over the years.

"I would say, on average, between 6,000 and 8,000 (students), between the original start date and now," Owen said. "But we really have ramped up our volume in the last two years. We service mostly local now, whereas before over 40% of our students were from out of state or even out of the country. And so now that's probably closer to like 30% of travel and about 70% of our students are now local."

Aurora Borealis Glassworks focuses on basic glasswork instruction that is geared to be people's first experience with hot glass. More advanced classes include stained glass and flat glass or kiln working. The school is also working on a lampworking program that involves torch work. More information can be found at auroraborealisglassworks.net.

"We focus on giving people their first experience with hot glass, whether it's their very first time working with glass or have a basic understanding of it, we're geared towards that first-time experience," Owen said.

Beginners usually learn how to make a glass flower or paperweight. Advanced learners can participate in classes where they learn inflating and how to use glass blow pipes.

"We also offer some experiences through like a date night where couples can come and blow a vessel," Owen said. "And we're now located in the same parking lot as Albuquerque Distilling. And so people can have a local made drink with a local handblown vessel. And it's one of the only places in the world that we know that's possible. We also do their custom flight glasses now. So people are able to have a drink out of a custom made vessel."

An average class costs $250 for one or two people. Students can also add on if they would like to bring a larger group and receive a discount.

Recently, Aurora Borealis began working with the University of New Mexico's Continuing Education program offering glass blowing, fusing and stained glass classes. Courses can be found on the UNM Continuing Education website, ce.unm.edu, and tuition remission is possible.

Depending on the size of the class and instruction, Owen asks students to set aside three hours to learn. The school is handicap accessible.

"Anybody, from ages 8 to 80, have had lots of success in our classes," Owen said. "It depends on their physical core strength as far as some of the kids, but we can meet anybody at any skill level. And we can even modify, depending on personal needs."

Students can rent space at Aurora Borealis after their first lesson. Space is rented out so students can practice their skills. Instructors provide support students need to have success during their continued practice.

"It's like playing an instrument," Owen explained. "You develop it over time. It's not something you can just do and be good at it the first time. Everybody starts off pretty much the same when it comes to heat. And then they kind of relax about it and have more fun on their second piece. So typically, it's about getting muscle memory. And we encourage people to come back and practice their skills. And we support it and continue their development through those rentals."