Glass Pumpkins are “Hot” at the WheatonArts Festival of Fine Craft

A majestic glass pumpkin patch captivates shoppers every year during the WheatonArts Festival of Fine Craft held in the beginning of October. The crowd-favorite “Glass Pumpkin Patch” will send you on an adventure to find the perfect pumpkin! The incredible patch offers 6,000 handcrafted glass pumpkins in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors; each of which have been uniquely handcrafted by WheatonArts’ resident glass artists. They range from all colors like orange, bright blue, purple, green, yellow and white and some have splashes of too many colors to name. They have short stems and long curly stems and comes in sizes from a few inches to larger than a foot in diameter.

There is a pumpkin production process as the artists get ready for the festival trying to get all their pumpkins done in time! Last year it took the artist 4 months to create 6,000 pumpkins right before the festival. The process is an all-hands-on-deck gig for any artist. The process is methodical at first, but the pace speeds up dramatically when you work with a team and put the finishing touches on the pumpkin, including the addition of the stem.

When finished, the pumpkin is placed in an annealing oven at 1,000 degrees where the piece slowly cools to room temperature, relieving stress from the glass so it does not break. 

The artist and team then takes a moment to congratulate one another on a job well done before moving on to the next pumpkin. As far as pricing goes, they can range anywhere from $5 to $1,000 depending on the size and shape the pumpkin is.Furthermore, all proceeds from the patch go to supporting arts educational programming at WheatonArts. All the glass pumpkins will be available for purchase and visitors are invited to find their favorite pumpkins and share them on the Festival of Fine Craft Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/.