As Eusheen Goines quickly approached his 3 p.m. deadline, he was smoking on a pipe — not puffing it, but creating it. The Evergreen, Colo.-based artist, known among professional glassblowers by his first name, stood at a two-foot jet of blue fire, rapidly working rods of raw glass into a stunning work of art. It was September 2015 at the Bern Gallery's Pipe Classic 10 — the Burlington smoke shop and glass school's annual pipe-making throw down — and, like all competitors, Eusheen had just 12 hours to complete a pipe that normally might take him days or even weeks. Sporting a black T-shirt, a green wool cap, gloves and dark protective eyewear, Eusheen stood at the torch for nearly six hours without resting or eating, as several dozen spectators watched his every move. (Each year, the Bern Gallery documents the event on a video, where this reporter watched it, and also streams it live on YouTube.) From the corner of his mouth hung a flexible blow hose, which enabled him to occasionally puff air into the molten orange glass while simultaneously twisting, pulling and bending it into various shapes and sizes. "How many minutes do I got?" Eusheen barked, at no one in particular. "Two exactly," someone yelled. With 50 seconds remaining, Eusheen gave a glowing orange globule one final dab with a steel tool, then lifted a kiln door and gently placed his finished piece inside. From the opposite side of a Plexiglas safety partition, the crowd erupted in cheers. Eusheen finished his pipe, which ultimately won first place, with just 30 seconds left on the clock. When it was over, a tired but relieved-looking Eusheen shared a fist bump with Bern Gallery co-owner and Pipe Classic founder Tito Bern, then exclaimed, "That was crazy as fuck!" The same could be said about the Pipe Classic itself. The national glassblowing flame-off, held each year at Bern Gallery in the third week of September, has a solid claim on being the first-ever glassblowing tournament in the country to celebrate the art of glass pipes, bongs and bubblers. Though copycat competitions have since arisen elsewhere, those who've attended Pipe Classic insist that this event is like no other for its sheer artistry, intensity, fairness and raucous partying. This week, Eusheen, 37, is back in Burlington defending his title at Pipe Classic 11, which began on Monday, September 19,…
As Eusheen Goines quickly approached his 3 p.m. deadline, he was smoking on a pipe — not puffing it, but creating it. The Evergreen, Colo.-based artist, known among professional glassblowers by his first name, stood at a two-foot jet of blue fire, rapidly working rods of raw glass into a stunning work of art. It was September 2015 at the Bern Gallery's Pipe Classic 10 — the Burlington smoke shop and glass school's annual pipe-making throw down — and, like all competitors, Eusheen had just 12 hours to complete a pipe that normally might take him days or even weeks. Sporting a black T-shirt, a green wool cap, gloves and dark protective eyewear, Eusheen stood at the torch for nearly six hours without resting or eating, as several dozen spectators watched his every move. (Each year, the Bern Gallery documents the event on a video, where this reporter watched it, and also streams it live on YouTube.) From the corner of his mouth hung a flexible blow hose, which enabled him to occasionally puff air into the molten orange glass while simultaneously twisting, pulling and bending it into various shapes and sizes. "How many minutes do I got?" Eusheen barked, at no one in particular. "Two exactly," someone yelled. With 50 seconds remaining, Eusheen gave a glowing orange globule one final dab with a steel tool, then lifted a kiln door and gently placed his finished piece inside. From the opposite side of a Plexiglas safety partition, the crowd erupted in cheers. Eusheen finished his pipe, which ultimately won first place, with just 30 seconds left on the clock. When it was over, a tired but relieved-looking Eusheen shared a fist bump with Bern Gallery co-owner and Pipe Classic founder Tito Bern, then exclaimed, "That was crazy as fuck!" The same could be said about the Pipe Classic itself. The national glassblowing flame-off, held each year at Bern Gallery in the third week of September, has a solid claim on being the first-ever glassblowing tournament in the country to celebrate the art of glass pipes, bongs and bubblers. Though copycat competitions have since arisen elsewhere, those who've attended Pipe Classic insist that this event is like no other for its sheer artistry, intensity, fairness and raucous partying. This week, Eusheen, 37, is back in Burlington defending his title at Pipe Classic 11, which began on Monday, September 19,…