Have you ever wanted to make glass art or wondered what to do with loose pieces of glass? On Saturday, Sept. 17 a glass workshop benefitting the Palmer Food Bank took place at the Palmer Community Center.

Half Moon Creek LLC, based in Palmer, put on the first annual “Art From The Heart.” Dozens of attendees came from near and far to make a fused glass plate or a sun catcher. To make a project, those who took part in the event were asked to donate non-perishable food or personal care items to the local food bank.

Half Moon Creek LLC is a glass studio located at 10900 East Lupine Road in Palmer, Alaska. They offer a wide array of glass classes and workshops as well as offer the “Largest selection of fusible glass in the state of Alaska,” according to their website, halfmooncreek.com. The studio also has a gift shop that sells a variety of glass creations, such as; ornaments and decorative plates.

Christian Blankenship, who owns the studio with her mother, talked about how their overall goal for the day was to get as much food donated as possible. “We wanted to get the community together to bring attention to the food bank and just create something that people would really enjoy.” She said, “People have just been bringing tons of food, and people brought more food than what was required to get the glass piece. That was really great. We’re really pleased with that.”

Palmer local, Carol Green, attended the event because she loves art and is friends with the owners of the studio. “I think supporting The Food Bank is a great thing to do.” She especially enjoyed the live music and process of making her glass piece. “I like experimenting with the different forms of the glass.” She continued, “You don’t have an exact idea what you’re going to come out with when it comes out of the kiln, so it’s kind of like Christmas.”

Blankenship was very pleased with the outcome of the “Art From The Heart” because they received much more food than they expected. To find out when their next glass workshop is, check out Half Moon Creek on Facebook.