Glass art program proposal could bring 'a dance of light' to Marshall High School students

Marshall High School art teacher Shawn Harris discusses his vision for a glass sculpture program and facility he hopes to develop. Harris is currently raising money for building a studio.
(Eric Crump/Democrat-News)

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--Terry Pratchett, in "The Wee Free Men"

Marshall High School art teacher Shawn Harris fell in love with glass when he was in college.

As a student of sculpture, he worked in close proximity to the glass work studio.

"I remember seeing it done. You would see these wisps of flame coming out of the ovens," he said.

The students working glass had to come through the sculpture studio with their work.

"They would say, 'Hot glass, coming through' and you'd get out of the way. You could feel the heat radiating from it," he said. "I thought you'd have to be crazy" to work with glass.

But that was before he tried it himself.

Two examples of shapes that can be created with glass. The simple paper weight on the left is something art teacher Shawn Harris said students could tackle fairly early in their studies. The bowl on the right is a more advanced project.
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"Clay takes from beginning to end about three weeks, depending on whether it's glazed," he said. Other materials, like wood or metal, have time or equipment requirements that defer the satisfaction of seeing the result.

"With glass, you make it today, you get it back tomorrow," he said.

Past that, Harris said it is difficult to describe the attraction of working with glass. He provided an analogy, saying it was similar to being told about David Copperfield's famous magic trick -- making the Statue of Liberty disappear.

It's one thing to being told about it. It's another thing to be in the audience and see it happen. Working with glass is like being back stage to see how the magic works.

And there's beauty not only in the result, but in the process, which Harris said glass artists sometimes call "a dance of light."

Nick Fowler, a senior at MHS at the time, shows the Marshall school board glass pieces he made during a field trip with art teacher Shawn Harris. Fowler appeared at a board meeting in April 2007.
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Both flexibility and immediacy are not just matters of personal appreciation, though. Harris thinks those qualities help make glass a good fit at the high school level, where students raised on fast-moving media images and with appetites for instant gratification.

"They want to know how they are doing. I think that will be a draw," he said, noting that students who have gone with him on field trips to professional glass studios have been very excited about the possibility of being able to take glass crafting classes at MHS.

Harris said the program will help students -- especially at-risk students -- with their education in other subjects and will give them a chance to develop skill at a craft that could itself develop into a career.

Students in the classes he envisions would study the history of glass art. And they would have to understand science and math concepts while learning the basic techniques.

He said they would start with very simple shapes and build on their skills as they go.

"We cover all the bases. It can't help but spill over into other classes," he said.

Safety is always a concern to people who first hear about the program, but Harris said that would be addressedby having proper equipment and giving students training in safety measures.

He said working with glass is comparable to welding or construction work, both of which are already programs offered in the district.

"In 13 years (of working with glass) I've never seen anything that couldn't be treated with an ice cube, a Band-Aid and some aloe vera," he said.

He has dreamed since joining the MHS faculty several years ago of sharing his passion for glass with MHS students, and it's a dream that is tantalizingly close to coming true.

If successful, MHS would be the first high school in the state to have its own glass art program and would be one of about 10 in the nation, according to Harris.

With funding from the 21st Century Community Learning grant obtained by the distict last year, money is available for all the equipment needed for a glass studio.

What's needed now is a place to put it.

Harris first approached the Marshall Board of Education with a proposal to start a glass program and build a facility for the studio in April 2007.

The board was intrigued but cautious about the idea.

He returned in February 2008 to provide and update, with board member Kathy Green having become an advocate for the cause after she joined Harris on a field trip to a professional glass art studio.

Former Interim Superintendent Donn Quick advised the board to go slowly in approving the project, however, noting that the district's finances are precarious enough without taking on additional expenses and that the board should be certain it can support the program in the long run.

The board gave its blessing for him to continue developing the project and to report back with building specifications and more precise cost estimates.

At the board meeting July 22 the board asked administrators to look into insurance coverage and find out whether current policies will cover the new program.

Harris remains undeterred by the lack of district resources available and has vowed to make the program and its facility as self-sustaining as possible. He has, as of Monday, July 28, raised or obtained pledges for more than half the money needed to build the 24- by 30-foot building.

After receiving construction estimates last week that were higher than expected, Harris bumped the fundraising goal up from $75,000 to about $80,000, but he has raised $52,500 so far. In February, the amount raised was about $7,000.

He is encouraged by the recent success of the community center and cancer center fundraising efforts.

"I have faith in the community," he said.

Contact Eric Crmp at

marshalleditor@socket.net