The 2026 Degenerate Flame Off came back to stoke the fires of passion and excitement that resonate deep within the heart of the glass community. DFO is one of the longest-standing celebrations and competitions for functional glass art in the world, boasting a storied history that’s grown over the last 17 years. After a brief hiatus in 2025, the event returned to Portland, Oregon, July 24-26. More than a festival, the gathering epitomizes glass culture by bringing together some of the most talented artists to ever grace a torch with their flameworking.
This year’s celebration took place at the headquarters of legendary borosilicate glass manufacturer Northstar Glassworks. The event’s lineup was stacked with interactive activities, including live glassblowing, music performances, vendor booths and a myriad of delicious food. Each day brought a multitude of individual demonstrations hosted by popular artists, like Mike Luna, Darby Holm, Northern Waters Glass and more.
On the first night, some of the biggest names in borosilicate glass worked in tandem to finalize massive, competition-grade masterpieces that were then pitted against each other on the second and third day for the honor of winning a People’s Choice award. To say the art was fantastic is an understatement — the glass produced between the team competition and the individual demonstrations was absolutely mind-boggling.
Scott “Scomo” Moan mixed his signature scribble-tech stringer work with Adrienne “Babedrienne” DiSalvo’s sculptural skills in skeletal structures to create a life-size anatomical skull.
Punty and Nate Belmont created a surreal fusion of their individual skill sets in the form of a gigantic “Alice in Wonderland”-themed Pez dispenser, complete with a functional Cheshire Cat head.
Jessica Tsai added a whole myconid colony worth of hyperrealistic fungi to a 3D skull made by Josh “Kid Glass” Vineyard in his signature style.
Joel “BlackSandGlass” Corley and Jupiter Nielsen came together to create a weeping face made out of botanical plants, leaves and flowers, representing nature crying for ecological tragedies, like deforestation and the extinction of endangered species.
Windstar Glass and Burtoni pushed outside of their comfort zones to forge a massive replica of the ship ‘Going Merry’ from the anime One Piece. We caught up with Shayla Behrman of Windstar Glass to ask about it.
“If you watch the series, it’s all about hope and freedom and standing up for what’s right. That’s what the piece represents. …We spent about 120 hours putting it together over the last five days.”
Subliminal Glass and Joe P Glass brought together their next-level sculpting and insanely intricate design abilities to create a borosilicate aquarium covered in realistic sea life. The entire piece — or collection of multiple pieces, rather — contained plasma. This meant that touching any given surface of the glass caused arcs of electrostatic energy to connect to the fingertip, like an old-school plasma lamp.
Finally, Blossom Glass Art and LaceFace Glass came together for a colossal collaboration titled “Golden Hour.” The work had an almost divine presence that brought it to life.
“The skeleton of the piece is inspired by the golden ratio,” Lacey Walton of LaceFace Glass explained. “If you look at the piece, you can actually see the swerve and the ratio. We did golden sunset colors to tie it all together. It’s a special blend of our styles; we just wanted to make something really beautiful.”
“This piece has a really good energy to it. … It’s really cool to come together and inspire each other,” Blossom Glass Art added.
As a spectator, it was practically impossible to compare the caliber and diversity of art on display to pick a favorite. Nonetheless, attendees voted with their hearts, and winners were crowned. Blossom Glass Art and LaceFace Glass ended up taking home the first-place People’s Choice prize, while Subliminal Glass and Joe P Glass nabbed a close second. Regardless of the outcome, the real winners of the competition were the attendees of DFO who got to see so many masterpieces up close and in production.
Walton left us with a powerful statement during the award ceremony that summed it up.
“Keeping the pipe movement alive — it takes everybody. All the shops, all the store owners, all the growers, all the hash makers. All of you guys are necessary for this art movement to exist. Thank you for showing up, thank you for being here. The scene is not fucking dead; we’re still here raging,” Walton said.
The spirit of the community is alive and well. Where culture is prioritized, it thrives, and DFO showcases the very essence of that idea.
A huge amount of respect and appreciation to Northstar Glassworks, the sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers, attendees and everybody who had a hand in making 2026’s DFO so special.
2026 Degenerate Flame Off Gallery
