A guest post from Laura Lazzarini!
I've been volunteering with the Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI) for about two years now. Several years ago I was facing some difficulty in my life with an ailing family member, and I was looking for ways to move myself out of my comfort zone and re-prioritize my life, and start ticking items off my bucket list.
I've had a fascination with glass since I was a kid, and was raised by a mechanical engineer. He was always tinkering in the garage with tools I really couldn't fathom how or why to use. I started attending events at BAGI as a way to find out more about glass, and then took my first “Shape-a-bowl” class. That was all it took, the magic and more importantly the process, of creating a permanent piece that was my own was intoxicating.
Over a year ago I was volunteering to assist a class/demonstration at BAGI, held for a group of at-risk youth one step away from incarceration called Encouraging Diversity Growth Education (EDGE). The EDGE, ran by the Santa Clara County probation office with the office of education, brought a group of participants that where under their care – to learn about glass blowing and get hands-on experience in BAGI’s hot shop and glass fusing studio.
Some of these young adults were mandated to participate in this program because of gang-related and/or criminal involvement – tagging, car jacking, or other infractions of the law. To watch several of the participants have unlimited access to a creative process, often denied to them in their regular educational experiences and life, was humbling to watch and inspiring.
One participant made a gift for his girlfriend; a slumped piece that had a heart, their names on it and their anniversary date, April 21, 2013. It was important to him to express his pride at acknowledging the love in his life, as well as a permanent record of this date. This wasn't tagging an overpass to set his mark on the world, but a quiet way of expressing himself in a very visible and permanent way. This particular participant was definitely embracing the process of creating glass artwork, as he “mentored” his fellow EDGE mates.
Understanding the process of a once mysterious process making it familiar serves so many areas of ones life, work or personal. Dancing with and embracing the process of blowing glass offers lifelong permanence and expression.
I've been volunteering with the Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI) for about two years now. Several years ago I was facing some difficulty in my life with an ailing family member, and I was looking for ways to move myself out of my comfort zone and re-prioritize my life, and start ticking items off my bucket list.
I've had a fascination with glass since I was a kid, and was raised by a mechanical engineer. He was always tinkering in the garage with tools I really couldn't fathom how or why to use. I started attending events at BAGI as a way to find out more about glass, and then took my first “Shape-a-bowl” class. That was all it took, the magic and more importantly the process, of creating a permanent piece that was my own was intoxicating.
Over a year ago I was volunteering to assist a class/demonstration at BAGI, held for a group of at-risk youth one step away from incarceration called Encouraging Diversity Growth Education (EDGE). The EDGE, ran by the Santa Clara County probation office with the office of education, brought a group of participants that where under their care – to learn about glass blowing and get hands-on experience in BAGI’s hot shop and glass fusing studio.
Some of these young adults were mandated to participate in this program because of gang-related and/or criminal involvement – tagging, car jacking, or other infractions of the law. To watch several of the participants have unlimited access to a creative process, often denied to them in their regular educational experiences and life, was humbling to watch and inspiring.
One participant made a gift for his girlfriend; a slumped piece that had a heart, their names on it and their anniversary date, April 21, 2013. It was important to him to express his pride at acknowledging the love in his life, as well as a permanent record of this date. This wasn't tagging an overpass to set his mark on the world, but a quiet way of expressing himself in a very visible and permanent way. This particular participant was definitely embracing the process of creating glass artwork, as he “mentored” his fellow EDGE mates.
Understanding the process of a once mysterious process making it familiar serves so many areas of ones life, work or personal. Dancing with and embracing the process of blowing glass offers lifelong permanence and expression.
RSS Feed
