PGC Artists & Instructors

The studios at PGC are open throughout the year for instruction and rental. We have attracted some very talented young artists to teach and work at Pittsburgh Glass Center.

If you are interested in becoming an instructor at PGC, contact PGC at 412-365-2145 ext.206

Meet the PGC Artists & Instructors

Kathleen Mulcahy and Ron Desmett

Pittsburgh Glass Center co-founders Kathleen Mulcahy and Ron Desmett have worked assisting each other and collaborating on special projects since 1980. Kathleen was director of the glass programs at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh for 14 years until she left to build a hot glass and sculpture studio with Ron, who is also a painter and printmaker, adjacent to their Oakdale home. For the past 13 years, they have worked as independent artists on projects for installation in private glass collections, homes, corporate offices, public projects and solo exhibitions throughout the United States.

Visit Kathleen Mulcahy's site » Visit Ron Desmett's site »

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Theresa Cress

Classes taught at PGC: Flameworking, Beadmaking, Hot 1

Summer 2008 - Flame Shop: Beadmaking Bonanza for Beginners

Theresa Cress has been teaching at PGC since 2002. A graduate of Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, she studied under Jon F. Clark, Jack Wax, and Anna Boothe. She was a visiting artist at Salisbury (MD) State University’s sculpture department in 2002.

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Brian Engel

Classes taught at PGC: Ramp It Up!

Summer 2008 - Warm Shop: Ramp It Up!

Brian Engel is a glass artist working in Pittsburgh. Maps and the idea of conjured travel inspire his current work with a focus on mixed media installation.

• He began working with glass in New Mexico and received his BFA from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where he studied under Che Rhodes and Jiyong Lee.
• Recent juried exhibitions include Rickert-Ziebold Trust Award Competition and the SIUC 29th Annual Purchase Awards Show (first place).

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Matthew Eskuche

Classes taught at PGC: Flameworking

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Matt Eskuche has had the opportunity to work with master flameworkers Emilio Santini and Cesare Toffolo. Matt has recently relocated to Pittsburgh and was recently featured in New Glass Review 25.

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Jason Forck

Classes taught at PGC: Hot I, Hot Casting, Get Your Feet Wet and Teen classes

Summer 2008 - Hot Shop: Get Your Feet Wet

Coming from a blue collar farming family in Kansas, Jason learned early on the value of working with one’s hands. A graduate of Emporia State University, he is currently a staff instructor at Pittsburgh Glass Center. He experiments with hot glass as a sculptural medium and figurative and sculptural ways.

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Daniel LeDonne

Classes taught at PGC: Kiln Casting & Hot Casting

Daniel LeDonne received a B.F.A. from Alfred University with a concentration in Glass Casting, Metal Fabrication/Foundry and Neon. He studied with renowned Glass and Metal artists Stephen Dee Edwards, Fred Tschida, Ruth King, Mitchell Gaudet, Stephen Paul Day, Sybille Peretti, Glenn Zweygardt, John Buck, Deborah Butterfield, and Ming Fay. He has exhibited at Alfred, Chappell Gallery, James Gallery, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Penn Garrison Building and Pilchuck Glass School.

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Mike Mangiafico

Classes taught at PGC: Flameworking, Beadmaking, Hot 1

Michael Mangiafico, “Fig,” founded FiG Studios – Forms in Glass in 1996. Michael has been teaching torchworking and glassblowing since 1993 at Pilchuck, WA; Corning School of Glass, NY; Touchstone Center for the Arts, PA; Penland, NC and PGC. Fig’s current specialty is the creation of glass insects including spiders, wasps, ants and scorpions.

Visit Mike Mangiafico's site »

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Jeff Phelps

Classes taught at PGC: Fusing and Slumping

Jeffrey Phelps has worked in stained glass since 1976, and in fused and slumped glass since 1985. In 1987, he studied with renowned glass fuser Klaus Moje. His work ranges from organically painted bowls to highly stylized, geometrically designed forms. He has many commercial and residential commissions nationally.

Visit Jeff Phelps' site »

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Heather Joy Puskarich

Classes taught at PGC: Fusing, Teen Boot Camp/Fusing, Artist in Residency Program

Heather Joy Puskarich is a graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Film Studies and a concentration in Photography. She moved here from Dallas Texas to study photography at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Since discovering the Pittsburgh Glass Center and working under artists such as Jeffrey Phelps and Susan Taylor Glasgow, she has begun specializing in photographic imagery in kilnformed glass. Currently a staff member at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, Heather Joy continues to experiment in flat glass and imagery as her primary focus.

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Watch Us in Action!

See for yourself how much fun glass can be.

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Reserve Studio Space

Call 412-365-2145 ext. 208 for more information or to schedule time.

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