Lauren Aria – Shulgin Glass Project
Batch 38 · Shulgin Glass Project
Lauren Aria
Scientific glassblower & artist
Philadelphia-based scientific glassblower and artist.
Lauren Aria (she/they) investigates the corporeal impacts of an innovative and synthetic world. She began her career as a Research Glassblower at the UW–Madison Chemistry Glass Shop and today works from her studio in Philadelphia while teaching scientific glassblowing at Brooklyn Glass in NYC.
Single Edition
Spinning Gear Rainstick
The Spinning Gear Rainstick is made from the larger pipette contained within Batch 38 of Shulgin glass. Lauren used a flameworking torch to close one end of the pipette and modify the surface of the tube, filled it with glass road beads, then closed off the other end and sealed a spinning gear to the top for additional interactivity.
Because the pipettes in this batch arrived mostly complete, with only broken ends, she worked to keep them intact and true to their original forms. A laboratory tool that once held the liquids and solutions driving the Shulgins’ immense psychedelic research now acts as a reservoir for curiosity, playfulness, and creativity — a piece that can bring light and joy to a home, an office, or a library while housing that legacy.
The Shulgin glass: the entire clear tube is Shulgin glass.
Single Edition
Pipette Coil Necklace
The Pipette Coil Necklace is made from the smaller pipette contained within Batch 38 of Shulgin glass. Using a flameworking torch built for melting and reshaping glass, Lauren wound the pipette into a coil. The coil itself is 100% Shulgin glass, with small borosilicate loops sealed to the top; it is attached with jump rings and strung onto a leather cord.
Because the pipettes in this batch arrived mostly complete, with only broken ends, she worked to keep them intact and true to their original forms. A laboratory tool that once held the liquids and solutions driving the Shulgins’ immense psychedelic research becomes a wearable artwork — one that can spark conversation, connection, and learning, and carry that legacy into daily life.
The Shulgin glass: the entire clear tube is Shulgin glass.
In the artist’s words
Artist Statement
My design practice is often inspired by bold and bright colors, glass kinetics, and the ways that objects can spark joy and creativity in daily life. In my most recent work I have been especially excited about creating handheld sculptures that the user can interact and play with — objects that open up the mind to the various ways we interact with glass every day. Glass lets light into our homes, inhabits our phone screens, holds our beverages, and drives research and innovation in the laboratory.
On the Spinning Gear Rainstick: this glass rainstick reimagines how we can think about “play” in our daily lives — a small, handheld object that can return the owner to childlike wonder through a refined glass form. Glass road beads inside the pipette sparkle in the light and jingle like bells as they travel up and down the tube. The piece enhances our senses and continues the creative drive and curiosity that drives the legacy of the Shulgins.
On the Pipette Coil Necklace: the creation of this piece stems from my previous professional training as a scientific glassblower at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. During my time at Madison, I worked alongside researchers to design, fabricate, and repair custom glassware for cutting-edge research on campus. For this project, I decided to wind one of the Shulgin glass pipettes into a wearable coil.
Coils are widely used within scientific apparatus to encourage cooling and condensing, and to maximize travel distance within a smaller footprint. This piece draws on those aspects of scientific apparatus to remake a Shulgin glass pipette as a wearable necklace, in which the owner can carry with them the rich research history and major contributions of the Shulgins in their daily life.
Meet the artist
About the Artist
Lauren Aria (she/they) is an artist and scientific glassblower currently based in Philadelphia, PA, investigating the corporeal impacts of an innovative and synthetic world. Lauren received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2022, with focuses in glass, neon, and video. She received the 2022 Windgate–Lamar Fellowship Award from the Center for Craft in Asheville, NC, which led to her first solo exhibition, FUTURE BODY.
Lauren began her career as a Research Glassblower at the UW–Madison Chemistry Glass Shop, designing and fabricating custom glassware for departments across campus. Her art practice has been heavily influenced by the processes of cutting-edge research and design, and by close contact with the scientists and engineers she works alongside professionally. She has been a resident artist at Salem Art Works and has shown her work at venues including the Chazen Museum of Art, the Pittsburgh Glass Center, and the Shanghai Museum of Glass. Today, Lauren continues her work at her personal studio in Philadelphia and teaches scientific glassblowing at Brooklyn Glass in NYC.
Specifications & Care Instructions
Both pieces were completed on July 27, 2026, and both were made from Batch #38 of Shulgin glass. The Spinning Gear Rainstick took roughly 3.5 hours from ideation to finished work; the Pipette Coil Necklace took roughly 2 hours. Neither piece is signed.
Both works are somewhat fragile and should be handled with care. Clean and dust by wiping gently with isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel.
Every piece ships with a certificate of authenticity. If a repair is ever needed, reach out and we will connect you with the artist.
How to acquire
Acquire a piece
To purchase, please send a 3-5 sentence statement of interest.
