If you want to enjoy a hands-on experience and learn something new in glass, The Studio at The Corning Museum of Glass offers many opportunities—from 40-minute Make Your Own Glass (MYOG) experiences and Weekend Workshops to once-a-week classes and intensive one- and two-week classes.
If traditional classes or MYOG offerings don’t fit your agenda, The Studio also has the flexibility to plan something around your schedule. For the more advanced or special interest students, this flexible programming is called Immersion in Glass Studies. Immersion in Glass Studies can be anything from a one- or two-hour class around a specific topic (previous topics include Prince Rupert’s drops) or something more in-depth like a two- or three-day class that focuses on specific techniques or concepts.
This summer, The Studio hosted middle and high school students from the Bird Street Community Center in Boston, Mass. For this group, we developed an Immersion in Glass Studies program centered around glassblowing.
Bird Street is a not-for-profit community center that focuses on underserved youths in a variety of ways. In 2005, they began offering creative studies such as fashion design, dance, t-shirt design, jewelry making, and glassblowing. These classes are paired with more academic studies designed to integrate business skills with creative endeavors. Beginning every summer in July, Bird Street offers these intensive studies to up to 100 youths. During these sessions, “Youth workers and professional artists work together to provide the creativity, the social/emotional wellness, and the business skills that lead to economic self-sufficiency.” (www.birdstreet.org/youth-development-program/arts)
Because Bird Street’s students had prior experience with glass, we designed a curriculum that fit with their existing knowledge base. While here on campus, they had a private demonstration of Venetian glassblowing techniques by The Studio’s resident advisor William Gudenrath. This gave the students the opportunity to get really up close and personal with an amazing glassblower. They also took a tour of the Museum’s collections with our Museum Explainers. Lastly, they had an in-depth glassblowing class with the Fun with Glass team. In line with their small business classes, we focused on a popular saleable form—the floppy bowl.
The students from Bird Street approached the material with a great deal of enthusiasm and were very engaged with what was presented to them. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to work with students who are excited about creating as well as to be able to provide them with experiences specifically tailored to their needs.