A group of six Muncie students have the opportunity to learn the art of glassmaking as part of Minnetrista’s Glass Artists camp, which is open to children 11-14 years old and lasts four days.
This is the second year for the camp, said Karen Nickel, assistant director of education at Minnetrista.
The class is kept at a maximum of eight students because of the potential dangers involved with glass artwork.
Depending on the type of glass art, temperatures needed to heat the glass could be up to 2000 degrees. Only two students at a time will either be doing flamework or soldering, Nickel said.
“The camp is well-supervised,” Nickel said. “There are two instructors who have experience with glasswork, and they will work one-on-one with the students.”
There will also be a third instructor who watches the other students not using heat. When the students do glass cutting, there will be three per table. Working with the kiln will be the easiest, because students don’t have to work directly with the heat.
Students will also get to take a field trip to the Marilyn K. Glick Center for Glass at Ball State to watch a glassblowing demonstration.
Nickel and Victoria Markum will be the primary instructors for the camp. Both have experience working with glass, having also taught the similar adult course.
Teaching students to work with glass is important because Indiana has a history with glass art, Nickel said.
“Minnetrista is part of Indiana’s glass heritage because of the Ball jars,” she said.
Nickel began organizing the camp in order to give young artists another medium to work in.
“Hopefully [the kids who signed up] are kids who have an interest in art,” Nickel said. “Glasswork is another way for them to express themselves.’