Alan Honn

A Minnesota native, Al earned his BFA from the University of Minnesota in 1986 and worked as a professional glassblower in Boulder, CO and on Whidbey Island, WA. Now the proprietor of Al’s Saloon in Center City, MN, he recently returned to the studio as part of the Minnesota Center for Glass Arts and Foci Cooperative in Minneapolis.

Exhilarated by the demands of the process, Al enjoys meeting the challenges of timing and intuition required to manage fluid hot glass. In the studio, he states, “it’s important to stay in the moment, open to the ever-present opportunity to defy gravity.” He cites appreciation for the material as his most significant influence and prefers the “glass cowboy” tradition of design and production by a single maker.

Form is the artist’s primary consideration; he often works with clear glass, focusing on surface reflections and interior views to create sculptural, functional goblets, pilsners, tumblers, plates, bell jars, vases and bowls.