I love Michael Mortara's work and consider him to be among the most talented glass blowers you could find anywhere. I have been collecting his work now for over 6 years.
2400 Fahrenheit is a working artist's studio, the fact that this facility is open to the public is a rarity - particularly when you are dealing with glass blowing (a very exacting art that requires many steps.) Should you be planning a trip to Michael & Misato's working studio, where you can watch them blow actual pieces that they are working on, use common sense and call in advance to see what their schedule is. That someone arrived at a time when there was not a great deal of work taking place is unfortunate but this is a working "fine art" glass blower's studio (not a tourist sidewalk glass worker where some guy can spin glass to make you a unicorn within an hour. ) What you can expect to see when work is not taking place, is thier working facility, the tools they use in blowing glass, and a wonderful gallery where there are newer works that have often not been released to commercial galleries generally priced lower than you will find at commercial galleries. You will also have the opportunity to speak directly with Michael and/or Misato, Michael's wife, regarding what new colors or series they are working on. And, when you call ahead, they can sometimes take the time out of their busy schedule to allow someone to manipulate an actual piece of glass - like they did with our 10 year old daughter - teaching her secrets is glass explaining to her (and us) how exacting and difficult it is to blow glass, how color becomes embedded within the glass and how much time, thought, creativity and hard work it take to create the beautiful pieces their studio turns out year after year.
In short, remember that this is a working artist's studio, so call ahead if you want to see them working. Also remember this is not a factory like Dale Chihuly where there are many workers blowing glass based on Chiuly's designs, here you are watching and meeting the real artist that is creating and blowing the glass with maybe the assistance of an apprentice. It's a wonderful and rare treat to see Michael work and one that I would highly recommend to anyone that is visiting the Big Island. It may be a bit hard to find - but it's well worth the road less traveled! read more