DENVER — For the first year, Denver’s Christkindlmarket has moved to the Auraria campus, bringing with it live glass-blowing demonstrations and hands-on workshops that let visitors make their own holiday ornaments.
“It’s so relaxing and therapeutic,” Dean Kirby, an apprentice glass blower who operates the Jason Mack Glass booth at the market, said. “It’s a lot of fun to make a show for them and blow a big bubble and stuff like that, but it's honestly more fun to get people behind the torches and show them how to do it.”
Ken Sanchez, a glass blower and instructor who runs the workshop with Kirby, enjoys sharing his passion with eager students.
“It is relaxing just to see the way the glass moves in the flame and how I can shape into things I want,” Sanchez said. “I’m able to teach the classes and see the smiles on people’s faces when they make their own little figuring or ornament.”
Participants can sign up at the market, but Kirby recommends signing up online in advance to guarantee a spot.
“There's a lot of things I love about glass,” Kirby said. “It's one of those mediums that it's really hard to mess up. It's so shiny and pretty that no matter what you make, even if it's wonky and weird, it's still going to be beautiful.”
