If you make the trek to the Marilyn K. Glick Center for Glass, you’ll be greeted by elaborate art pieces and an open view into the hot shop, where each piece is made.
The Glick Center is home to the Glass Guild, a group of students who make glass artwork for class — and sometimes for selling.
Veronica DeBone is the president of the guild. The junior with a glass concentration joined the guild during her freshman year after hearing about the trips that were offered.
“I’ve been to Poland and the Czech Republic, and the guild was able to pay for a lot of the cost because of the sales it puts on,” DeBone said. “But I think I spend more time here than anywhere else.”
The Glass Guild hosts sales throughout the year in order to raise funds for the organization and gives students a chance to sell their own work. The pumpkin sale is in the fall, usually followed by an ornament sale in the winter or spring, DeBone said.
“The guild takes a 15 percent cut of what the student makes, but every show charges so it gives students a minor taste of what it’s like to sell work,” she said.
The pumpkin sale is what brings in the most money. The last sale was supposed to run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but all the pumpkins were sold out within an hour, DeBone said.
Students of all majors can join the guild, but DeBone said they like for students to have taken an introduction to glass class first.
The time students get to work on glass varies. Each student in a glass class gets a three-hour “blow slot” when they can work on class projects, pumpkins or their own personal art to sell.
“When I don’t have projects, I practice different techniques,” DeBone said. “Everything that’s extra, if it’s nice enough to sell, I will, but if not I might give it to my family. But all projects get photographed for your portfolio.”
Everyone has to work with a partner, so students have to find a time that aligns with someone else. DeBone works with James Lupkin, another junior with a glass concentration.
Lupkin said selling with the guild makes him feel like more of a professional artist.
“Anything you make for class you can sell," he said. "You don’t really have that opportunity to sell work and still walk away with that much money anywhere else. It’s an easy way to be a part of the small glass community.”
DeBone was the one who convinced Lupkin to join the Glass Guild.
“It’s a pretty tight niche,” DeBone said. “It’s its own community and its own culture.”
Other guilds for students interested in 3-D art include the Metals Guild and the Ceramics Guild.
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