Glassblowing Culture: Artist Highlight Stan Alba

written by Arianna Willis @ari sunshine

Glass artist Stan Alba has been an influential part of the cannabis consumption culture in the Pacific Northwest and the Emerald Triangle for over twenty years As a young cannabis enthusiast and deadhead he was blown away by how the experience of medicating could be altered by the functional glass art that was chosen for a session Stan first fell in love with the art of glass smoking pipes when his friend showed him a Bob Snodgrass chillum in 1993 After smoking out of the chillum he went on a mission to find Bob Snodgrass and purchase a piece for himself He became obsessed with the cannabis culture found in the parking lots of GratefulDead shows where Bob’s work was most commonly found As a dedicated fan and cannabis lover Stan embarked on the hunt looking for Bob on the next Grateful Dead tour He eventually found Bob in Seattle, Washington in 1994 after seeing his flier in the parking lot for a gallery show not far from the venue Bob’s gallery show at that time consisted of only marbles, wine glasses, and jars where Stan was able to finally meet Bob and ask him how to acquire one of his highly sought after glass pipes Bob then invited Stan to come to his campsite after the Grateful Dead show where he would be live glassblowing on a table outside That night at the campsite watching Bob blow glass changed the direction of Stan’s life forever and Bob put Stan on waitlist to have a pipe made specially for him Bob’s waitlist was long and it took almost a year for Stan’s first Snodgrass pipe to be made

In 1995 after Jerry Garcia’s passing Stan found himself settled in Eugene, Oregon to learn how to blow glass with his friend that showed him that first Snodgrass chillum that caught his attention After Stan picked up his first long awaited Snodgrass piece he set his focus on becoming a skilled glassblower with his friends in their shop One day he was standing outside of his shared glassblowing studio space in Goshen, Oregon when he smelled the most amazing smell of marijuana wafting in the air He followed the scent of the strain he later found out was called Trinity to find Bob Snodgrass and a handful of his apprentices in an open office after their safety break It was a synchronistic moment that Stan just happened to be blowing glass in the same building that Bob Snodgrass was also working in From that point forward Bob would frequently come to visit Stan’s shop space during his smoke breaks and eventually invited Stan to join his team of apprentices in September of 1995 the month before he turned 18. Stan was the youngest apprentice in Bob’s shop at that time and benefited greatly from watching all of the apprentices work until he was given the task of making a color called silver white with glass and silver filings From there Stan continued to grow as an artist alongside Bob and the dream team of apprentices: Cameron Tower, Brian Padilla, Bob Badtram, Yvonne Padilla, Travis Wigger, and Bob Snodgrass III (Bob’s son)

The Snodgrass team of glassblowers is most famously known for their precise skills in the art of “fuming” glass Chunks of gold and silver coins are heated up on a glass rod to apply fumes of color onto the pieces of work. When the finished pipes are then smoked a handful of times the glass begins to change color with the silver fumed areas turning different shades of blue and white; while the gold sections reveal a range of bright orange, pink, or green colors While there were many different styles of glassblowing that informed Stan’s style he most heavily relies on fuming to create the intricate designs that you can find in his work. After 28 years of glassblowing functional pipes for the love of cannabis consumption and culture Stan is now a nationally renowned artist having distributed his works to galleries and private collections all over the country. Today Stan continues to collaborate with his mentor Bob Snodgrass and apprentices frequently from the mountains of Northern Humboldt County where he blows glass in his home studio

Stan Alba Glass available for purchase: https://www.glassjunkee.com/stanalba