The Greek word pyr means fire. Combining the form in English creates compound words that mean “heat” or “high temperature.”
In Mount Clemens, Michigan, when you combine the initials of longtime friends Philip Yamron (PY) and Robyn Ochs (RO), you also get a lot of fire, heat and high temperatures at their glassblowing studio and gallery.
Born and raised in Michigan, Yamron took an interest in glassblowing early on. “It’s very hypnotic,” he says, much like the way a campfire can mesmerize you. While he worked in construction and as a plumber, he began taking glassblowing classes in his early 20s. After a while, he realized he wanted to earn his living from the craft.
He worked as an instructor and also as a glass blower at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan (http://www.thehenryford.org/village/index.aspx). Today, it’s known as the Henry Ford Museum and in addition to the many exhibits, there are Liberty Craftwork Artisans who create works in pottery and glass. From 2003 to 2012, Yamron and six others worked in the glass studio making 125 distinct products. They cranked out 10,000-12,000 pieces of glass work per year for the museum gift shop. It was here, Yamron says, he got the most experience as a glass blower.
In late 2011, he got a call from a colleague telling him the River of Glass Studio in Mount Clemens was selling all their equipment. The owner was a chiropractor by trade and had the studio on the side. Not being able to devote the time he needed to the craft, he was selling. The colleague asked Yamron to spread the word to other glass blowers he knew.
In passing, he told Robyn Ochs. Yamron had been her first glass blowing teacher and they had become friends. After some thought, Ochs came back to Yamron with the concept that they should buy the equipment. “There are people who tell you about their [small business] and how they fought and struggled to make it all happen. That wasn’t the case with us. What happened is that Robyn and I had to make ourselves available and show up for all that was possible. It fell into place…It was meant to be in a sense,” Yamron says.
The friends now equally co-own the studio on Main Street. The shape of the building still indicates that it was once a gas station. In fact, Yamron says when he and Ochs were first setting up business, an elderly man came by and told them how he had worked in the two-bay station during the 1950s. The man was a teenager then in the famous car-producing state; there was a great drag racing scene and he would fill up the cars.
Today, gas and electric fuel the furnaces at PYRO Art Glass Studio. The glass furnace burns at 2000 degrees 24/7. The reheating furnace and cooling oven are the only pieces that are turned off at the end of the day. During a cold Michigan winter, it’s one of the warmest places to be.
For those who visualize the state as a scarf and mitten, Mount Clemens is located right in the “thumb” of the mitten. Detroit is a 45-minute drive south on I-94. Yamron says he knows of nine other small glass studios in the metro area. He and Ochs do well by continuing to create a wide variety of one-of-a-kind vases, bowls, dishes and decorations. No molds are used. Everything is hand shaped. They sell pieces in their studio and at art fairs around the area.
Additionally, they pass along their knowledge and love of glassblowing with classes. Students attend three hours a week for eight weeks. Workshops and special events are also offered. Yamron says he and Ochs have a goal to share this unique experience with the public. “Most people haven’t really seen glass being made before,” he notes. Visitors not only experience the heat, but watch the movement of taking a molten substance and using centrifugal force and gravity to shape it into a solid object.
Yamron and Ochs are also focusing on building the PYRO business with a product line of glass for wholesale and individual one-off pieces for galleries. In 2014 they were commissioned by Friends of the Clinton-Macomb Library to create “Soaring” a suspended sculpture. Asked whether he sees himself as an artist or a craftsman, Yamron spends a lot of time discussing the topic. Of course, he and Ochs are both. However, because he is more of a vessel maker by trade, he sees himself as a craftsman. He says it gives him a sense of pride. Yamron then goes on to explain the spectacular craftsmanship of Venetian glass blowers, masters in the world of glassblowing. “You can’t deny that level of craftsmanship,” he says, “but all art is subjective. Someone may see a bowl or vase as art.”
In addition to being able to view and purchase pieces at the studio gallery, Yamron and Ochs host two big events a year. One is in October, where the 2015 PYRO Pumpkin Patch showcased 1300 glass pumpkins and gourds and between 400 and 500 visitors came through in a two-day period. “We went through 38 dozen donuts very quickly,” Yamron said, noting it wasn’t the most scientific method for measuring attendance. The annual Holiday Open House in December has tents warmed by the studio furnaces and features glass trees, snowmen and ornaments. Equally large crowds are expected.
