At some point during her interview for a server job at Tacoma’s Sea Grill restaurant, Jeannine Sigafoos mentioned that she and her husband owned a glassblowing studio. General manager Mike Neumann made a mental note. Last year, Jeannine got the job. And this year, her husband — glass artist and Tacoma native Mark Sigafoos — added nearly 20 pieces of custom-designed glass art to the décor at the restaurant.



“It really fits in with Tacoma,” Neumann says of the blown glass pieces — in keeping with the city’s growing reputation as a venue for glass art. Installations began in the restaurant’s private dining room, which previously featured vintage Tacoma photographs. Sigafoos created a series of glass plates to hang on the room’s walls. More pieces have since been added in the main dining area.



Each was designed and to act in concert with the Sea Grill’s color palette, Jeannine Sigafoos says. Neumann had asked for pieces that would blend with the restaurant’s color scheme, and would “complement both the day and night ambiances,” she explains. Her husband obliged with a series of glass bowls, balls and fluted vases in subtle combinations of orange, yellow, blue and green.



“We had to go shop for colors,” Mark recalls. “Then we ordered colors that would work for the space.” The works on display reflect the artist’s subsequent effort. “I took a few weeks and that’s what we worked on,” Mark says.



Neumann was pleased with the result. “It’s awesome,” he says.

But Neumann himself deserves part of the credit, Sigafoos adds. “He did a good job of choosing the colors.



Sigafoos has been working in glass art for some 12 years. He and Jeannine opened their studio in 2006. Jeannine looks after the business side at Tacoma Glassblowing Studio while her husband divides his time between glass blowing and teaching evening classes at the studio.



“I do all the boring stuff,” she says, “everything but blowing the glass.”

Tacoma Glassblowing Studio is in the Dome District at 114 S. 23rd St. For more information about the studio or to learn about classes in glass blowing, call 253.383.3499 or visit their Web site.



[Sea Grill, open for lunch at 11 a.m. Tuesday-Friday, dinner at 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1498 Pacific Avenue, on the Commerce St. level of Rainier Pacific Bank, Tacoma, 253.272.5656 or visit  their Web Site]