Perfumery and Glass-Cast Vessels

with Emily Endo
GLASS 652 001 | 1.5 credits | $175 Lab Fee
August 3–9, 2025

This class will introduce the process of casting hollow-core glass vessels and the fundamentals of fragrance construction. Part one of the class will introduce the process of creating cast glass vessels using an adaptation of the core-forming process. Techniques covered will include basic hollow-core mold making, wax sculpting, and firing schedule development. The second section of the course will guide students through perfume formulation, structure, material families, extraction processes, and blending. Participants will work with aroma molecules and high quality botanical essences. Each student will leave with their own custom blended alcohol based perfume and cast glass vessel. The histories of perfume and glass have been intertwined since their inception in the ancient world. In addition to technical demonstrations, this workshop will explore the historical and conceptual intersections between glass and perfume. The class will discuss contemporary artists who fuse olfaction, glass, and mixed media within their work such as Sissel Tolaas, Katie Paterson, and Candice Lin. Readings and screenings will include excerpts from Fragrant by Mandy Aftel, Ancient Glass by R.A. Grossmann, and Perfume on the Radio by the Institute of Art and Olfaction. Assignments will include sculpting a vessel using shape, color, and ornamentation to reveal or conceal the vessel’s contents and create a perfume that tells a story through its ingredients.

Emily Endo, Siratus Drip, 2024, glass, shell, volcanic stone, and fragrance, 4 × 8 × 5 in.

Emily Endo (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based in Joshua Tree, California. Their practice pulls from the disparate, yet conjoined, histories of science and mysticism. Using glass, organic media, and aroma molecules their work references the transformative relationships between body, material, and space. Within Endo's work, the visual, cultural, kinesthetic, and chemical qualities of materials are considered so that they compliment and contrast one another in harmonious tension. Endo received an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2010 and a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2006. Their work has been exhibited internationally at venues including Somerset House, London; Massey Klein, New York; Marta, Los Angeles; Harkawik, Los Angeles; Neutra VDL House, Los Angeles; LVL3, Chicago; Bullseye Projects, Portland; and the Byre, Latheronwheel, United Kingdom. Recent press includes NY Times, Wallpaper, Architectural Digest, Variable West, Dezeen, Frontrunner Magazine, American Craft Magazine, LVL3, and MAAKE.