In just two weeks I will be starting a project that I’ve never done before. I have been offered the Artist in Residency at Hawthorne Elementary in Salt Lake City. The school has 250 kids, grades K-6. I usually teach just one class of kids at a time, so expanding to include 7 classes of varying age and ability of kids has been very exciting.
The theme of the residency is Using Glass Art to tell the Story of YOU. Each of the four projects that we will be doing will tell some part of what is unique about each persons life. Three of the projects will be recycled glass, one will be fused art glass.
The prep work began a long time ago, with a detailed proposal and samples of each project. The real physical prep work begins tomorrow.
How we feel: Using a a 4″x4″ square of clear art glass that the kids will add small art glass pieces to to create a colorful fused project that shows a feeling translated into color. We are using Bullseye 90 CoE for this project. My materials estimate for this project: 250 4 x 4 squares and approximately 50 lbs of precut small pieces of various color art glass.
Self Portrait: Using a variety of pre-made press molds, each kid will create a self portrait that will be cast into a solid paperweight using recycled bottle glass. The kids will make the mold and load their own crucibles with glass. Materials estimate: 500 lbs of recycled glass cullet in 5 colors.
Our Environment: Using a modified fossil vitra technique, the kids will press leaves from their neighborhood between two 6″ squares of recycled window glass. If the kids choose, they can coat the leaves with float fire frit. Materials estimate: 500 6″ squares cut in pairs from the same sheet of glass. (yes, this one is keeping me awake at night)
Our Neighborhood: Each kid will make a texture tile of their neighborhood’s topography, or a picture of their home. The tiles will be fired and then used to make a glass tile with their pattern on it. Materials estimate: 250 5.5″ squares recycled window glass.
The window glass used in this project will come primarily from the old Utah Museum of Natural History glass donation that I received some years ago.
I plan to document the whole thing, including how I designed each project and why and what went on before and after to make it successful. I hope you will follow along as we go!