Pip, 2007. Designed by Cameron, age 8. Fabricated by the Museum of Glass Hot Shop team. Blown and hot-sculpted glass with applied bits. H 11 in.
Shark Attack!, 2007. Designed by Erica, age 8. Fabricated by the Museum of Glass Hot Shop team. Blown and hot-sculpted glass. H 13 in. photo: russell johnson
A new exhibit celebrating the imagination of children will open at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington on October 31. Titled “Kids Design Glass,” the exhibit will showcase 52 glass sculptures designed by children and then crafted by the artists in the museum’s hot shop.
In “Kids Design Glass,” a child draws a design, names it, and writes a brief explanation or story about their creation. Museum visitors ages 12 and under, as well as patients at the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, all have had the opportunity to submit a design. One design is selected each month, and is transformed into a three-dimensional glass sculpture in the hot shop.
The artist creates two sculptures; one for the child to take home, and one for the museum’s permanent collection. The original drawings, as well as photographs from the fabrication of the piece in the hot shop, are displayed with the sculptures.
These sculptures are often more difficult to create than what one might assume. According to Museum of Glass hot shop manager Benjamin Cobb, “Following a child’s drawing takes a whole different kind of precision,” he says. “‘Each Kids Design Glass’ session is an adventure. The process is always a challenge and immensely rewarding. It’s one of our favorite things to do – and one of the most intense.”
Each of the sculptures on display were created between 2005 and 2009 in the Museum’s Hot Shop by the hot shop team, as well as by various visiting artists including Lino Tagliapietra, Canadian glassblowing trio Bee Kingdom, and Dante Marioni, among others. The exhibition will be on view through February, 2011, and is scheduled to travel to venues across the country that same year.
—Marianne Mychaskiw