Mark your calendars—Saturday, December 13, 2025, from 12–5 PM—when Mount Rainier’s creative community throws open its doors for the annual Winter Open Studios. The best place to begin your visit is right here at the Washington Glass School, located at 3700 Otis Street, Mt. Rainier, MD.
This year, WGS is proud to feature a special exhibition highlighting the artwork created by Military Veterans participating in the Hot Shop Heroes program. Since the fall, the Washington Glass School has hosted the second session of this powerful collaboration with the Museum of Glass (MOG) in Tacoma, WA. Over the course of the 10-week workshop, Veterans have stepped into the glass studio and into a unique journey of creative arts therapy.
Hot Shop Heroes brings Veterans together through shared making—offering a space to experiment, reconnect, and explore the expressive, transformative qualities of molten glass. In their hands, glass becomes a powerful metaphor: fragile yet resilient, vulnerable yet capable of astonishing reinvention. The resulting artworks reflect not only creative growth, but the profound healing potential of the arts. We are honored to share these works with the public for the first time during Open Studios.
While you’re here, take time to explore the full energy of the Artists-by-the-Tracks compound. Our neighboring studios—including Otis Street Arts Project, Ampersand Art Space, Janis Goodman, Sharon Robinson Studio, and many more—will also be open and welcoming visitors throughout the afternoon. It’s an opportunity to step inside working studios, meet the artists, and discover remarkable handcrafted works just in time for the holiday season.
We look forward to welcoming you to the Washington Glass School and to this vibrant celebration of local creativity and community.
Artists-by-the-Tracks
