by Summer Callahan
In 2007, LeMoyne Arts gathered thousands of artists, vendors, and visitors for a two-day celebration of high-quality original artwork for the seventh time. That same year, Tallahassee glassblower Robin Holt picked up a torch and changed her life forever.
You can experience them both this weekend at the 25th annual Chain of Parks Art Festival, along with over 150 sculptors, entertainers, food trucks, performers, painters, and more in the downtown parks (Bloxham, Lewis and Randolph). New this year, in partnership with Leon County and Scott Carswell, will be the festival’s musical performance featuring Wilco and Waxahatchee at Adderley Amphitheater at 8 p.m. on April 26.
As an adult, Holt wanted to capture that magic for herself. But her first attempts at creating stained glass mosaics were missing something. Those ingredients? Fire. Propane. Tweezers. Gravity. And an in-home studio that Holt and her husband affectionately refer to as “the torcher chamber.”
Artist Robin Holt will participate in the 25th annual Chain of Parks Art Festival, along with over 150 sculptors, entertainers, food trucks, performers, painters, and more.
Holt’s business, MoonDog Art Glass, was named in part for a bearded collie named Eli, a fellow artist who played “Sandy” in a Young Actors Theatre production of “Annie.” Eli has since passed on, but he used to keep Holt company during long nights firing. Holt still wears a floral iris necklace in his honor.
“It’s not what I normally would make,” said Holt. “But these were the last beads I made when he was living, lying on the floor beside me.” Now, a couple of five-pound Maltese puppies named Dylan and Jameson fill that role.
Although the technology of glassblowing has stayed mostly the same, her process is constantly evolving. She keeps some glass beads, which were melted down early in her career, to remind her. “They were so wonky and ugly,” she said, laughing. “I was ashamed of them. But now it just reminds me that the more you work, the better you get. So, I’ve learned to be patient with myself. I know it will come to me.”
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