All That Glitters is Glass at Seattle’s October ‘Refract’ Festival

Seattle is the leading hub for glass art in the United States, and that’s reason to celebrate. Refract: The Seattle Glass Experience returns for its eighth year to share the city’s love for the art form, from flameworking, fusing, and kiln casting to neon, mosaics, and jewelry making.

“Refract is for people like you who have never blown glass before, who don’t know anything about the medium, and they’re just like falling in love with it for the first time,” says Taryn Coles, assistant director at Chihuly Garden and Glass. “Then there’s also old souls, like us, who come and we still love it because everyone gets together.”

All are welcome to join in the fun Oct. 15 to 18, with over 80 arts events citywide, many of which are free.

Chihuly, Godfather of Glass

First, a quick tale about how Seattle came to be the vibrant glass art scene it is today. It starts with Dale Chihuly, a native Washingtonian, who was instrumental in elevating glass from craft to fine art.

In 1968, Chihuly went to work in the Venini glass factory in Venice, where he witnessed the team approach to glassblowing. After returning home to Washington state, he co-founded Pilchuck Glass School, which pioneered an “artists teaching artists” model. It also became the pipeline for nearly everyone who shaped the glass scene that followed.

In 1979, Chihuly and glass artist Benjamin Moore invited Lino Tagliapietra, widely considered the best living glassblower, to teach a course at Pilchuck. Tagliapietra brought techniques from Murano, Italy that quickly caught on, as he trained many of the artists who became the country’s leading glassblowers. Most of them never left Seattle.

In the decades since, organizations including Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle Glassblowing Studio, Hilltop Artists in Tacoma, and Glass Eye Studio grew up around that talent pool, evolving into the glass ecosystem that Refract celebrates.

A Celebration of Glass

Is it worth traveling to Seattle for a four-day glass party? Absolutely. Hosted by Chihuly Garden and Glass in partnership with Visit Seattle, this festival shows off creative uses of glass by Washington’s glass community of 700-plus glass artists.

Refract opens with GATHER, an opening night party at Chihuly Garden and Glass that sells out each year. From there, the festival fans out into gallery exhibits, live demonstrations, private studio tours, and open houses.

This year, you can join milestone anniversary events with two of Seattle’s famed glass art institutions: Pratt Fine Arts Center turns the big 5-0 with free hot shop and flame shop events, and Seattle Glassblowing Studio turns 35 with a free Music & Glass party.

Events You Don’t Want To Miss

If you’re flying in for the festival, keep an eye out for key registration dates. Popular events fill up quickly. Here are two things I recommend you register for to secure your spot.

The Boathouse on Lake Union, Dale Chihuly’s working studio and hot shop, opens to the public for one day only. The free, ticketed 90-minute tours will be on Oct. 15 at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.

Inside the studio, you can enjoy Chihuly works of art as well as many of his personal collections, from vintage string pullers to objects salvaged from a Japanese carnival ride. Be sure to peek in the bathrooms — they’re delightfully adorned with vintage collectibles and children’s books. Registration for the free tours goes live on Oct. 5.

The studio tour shuttle bus is the best way to explore open studios, with local artists as your guides. The routes are mapped out and you won’t need to worry about navigating traffic, getting lost, or figuring out where to park. You’ll need a reservation to secure your seat.

Meet the Artists at Open Studios

Refract’s open studio weekend is your chance to see artwork up close and visit with the artists. Learn about their inspiration, frustrations, and periods of growth in style, color, and technique. Hear backstories, ask questions, and leave inspired.

Don’t miss the studio of Richard Royal, a charming hot glass sculptor who worked alongside Dale Chihuly as one of his main assistants. A prominent artist in the studio glass movement for the past 30 years, Royal is a laidback character who is happy to chat about the evolution of his glass art through the lens of falling in love, celebration of marriage, sobriety, and parenthood.

“Everything’s kind of an evolution from previous stuff, but that’s just kind of how it works,” Royal says. “You know, pay attention to stuff that inspires you … I’ve been really lucky to be able to work around a lot of other really good artists that I can glean ideas from and see things that they’re not using, that I can take for myself.”

Royal’s open studio is Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. No reservation is required.

Hands-on in the Hot Shop

To get a real appreciation for how tricky it is to work with hot glass at 2,200 degrees, visit a free demo during Refract, or give it a try yourself. Seattle Glassblowing Studio has hands-on hot shop opportunities for you to make your own Refract souvenir, for a fee.

It’s intimidating to work with glass at these temperatures, which gives you an even greater appreciation of the incredible work these artists are creating. If you’re visiting outside of Refract, you can still stop by Seattle Glassblowing Studio to watch the artists work in the hot shop, or try a hands-on experience.

The Chihuly Effect, Up Close

In the Seattle glass arts scene, all roads lead back to Dale Chihuly. If you stay in the Sheraton Grand Seattle, you can see his striking Flower Form 2 (variation) sculpture in the lobby, as well as works on display by Pilchuck Glass students. In each guestroom, there’s also an original Chihuly print.

During the festival, and throughout the year, you can marvel at his works inside and out of Chihuly Garden and Glass. Download a free audio tour narrated by Chihuly himself, and listen as you stroll through the rooms of his glass masterpieces.

If you miss The Boathouse public tours, you can still enjoy many items from Chihuly’s personal collections of Native American woven baskets, trade blankets, and Edward S. Curtis photogravures at Chihuly Garden and Glass. “It’s a real reflection of him,” says Coles, the museum’s assistant director.

You can also see some of Chihuly’s collections in The Bar at Chihuly Garden and Glass. “This is the gallery that a lot of people miss,” says Amy Cunningham, the venue’s PR director. You’ll find family-friendly dining under a ceiling of accordions, a wall of Chihuly prints, and some of Chihuly’s personal collections inset in the tables. Plus, the food there is delicious.

Art is Everywhere in Seattle

Whether you’re in Seattle for a few days or longer, you can discover art and glass around every corner. Take a Through the Looking Glass walking tour with a Seattle Architecture Foundation volunteer, or one of 13 free self-guided art walks, to know where to look.

Seasonally, you can head to Olympic Sculpture Park to play nine holes of mini golf, each designed by a local artist. Then stroll along Seattle’s newly reimagined 20-acre Waterfront Park to enjoy playgrounds and plants, from Belltown to Pioneer Square.

For indoor art, the Seattle CityPASS offers bundles of discounted attractions, including Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP), and Chihuly Garden and Glass. With my pass, I also enjoyed an indoor/outdoor visit to the Seattle Aquarium and some time on the water with an Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour.

Start planning your next trip to Seattle here.

Heidi Gollub has been a travel writer and editor for 16 years. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Fodor’s, The Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY. She lives in Austin with her family.

Heidi has been writing about Austin adventures since 2010, when she founded a hyperlocal events website that later became part of Austin.com. She was an inaugural local expert with Visit Austin, Texas, and spent several years contributing the best free fun in Austin to local news stations.