TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — One Magic Valley business specializes in hand made art that’s made of glass…this week’s behind the business brings us to Magic Valley Art Glass.
Robert Koch has been blowing glass for twenty years.
“Murrine is my specialty, which is images in cane, I make a lot of pictures inside of glass cane, a lot of marble work, sculpture work,” said Robert Koch, the owner.
Koch found his love for glass art when he saw professionals blowing glass in Florida and Georgia.
He says the minute he tried it, he knew it was what he was supposed to be doing.
He taught himself how to do it, and it wasn’t until 10 years of practice that he even took a class.
“I don’t really know where it came from, my dad was a welder and he worked with a torch his whole life, and he passed when I was eight years old, but when I picked up a torch, I knew I was supposed to be doing something with fire, I don’t really know how to explain it but I feel, I use the torch, just like he did and he didn’t teach it to me, so I figure it’s just kind of in your blood once you find what your supposed to do,” said Koch.
After moving to Idaho five years ago, he knew he wanted to teach his passion to the community, which is when he started his business, Magic Valley Art Glass.
Interested glass blowers are able to attend classes and Robert teaches you everything you need to know.
The classes are done right at his glass blowing studio.
“We teach a lot of classes actually; it’s done better than we thought. and this fall I’m going to teach for CSI with their community ed. program, so I figure it will grow that way as well,” said Koch.
He does create pieces for people who commission them, and for national and even international glass collectors, but here in Twin Falls, he wants to educate the public on glass blowing.
He explains briefly what goes into each piece, and what he teaches in his classes.
“I make images in cane like I said, I then take it to my saw, cut it, polish it, then it becomes like a glass sticker, and then I can go inside and weld these stickers on to a marble inside and encase the images and build out the piece from the inside out, basically,” said Koch.
You can find him on Facebook under Magic Valley Art Glass.
He encourages anyone even remotely interested in learning about glass blowing, to reach out and take a class.
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