Beauty is easy to find in McCreless. Home to the music and art departments, the building is full of gorgeous sights and sounds. In one of the large studios on the second floor, there are a few pieces that are particularly eye-catching.
There’s a lion made up of small, colorful shards of stained glass, sitting upright on an easel in the center of the room. On one of the worktables lies a vibrant chameleon, while another table holds a pod of blue glass whales.
These animal mosaics are being created by students in the stained glass class, which occurs during the fall semesters of odd years and gives students the chance to make their own stained glass art.
“The course is experiential, as you would imagine,” said Professor Margaret Park Smith, who taught the class in past years. “With four to five projects being learned and completed throughout the semester, each project includes a different process that often requires a distinct visual approach, knowledge of the history and specific tools. Each process has limits, challenges and opportunities that help guide the exploration of what is created.”
Students in the class learn various processes which include working with copper foil, lead came, mosaic and fusing and slumping glass in a kiln. They utilize these processes to complete many different projects, including mosaics, ornaments and other glass pieces. Students are not given much direction on subjects to feature in their projects, which gives them the freedom to create.
“Some people are passionate about things, and I want them to sort of talk about what they’re passionate about, what they enjoy, what they love, what they want to celebrate, because it’s going to be around forever,” said Rudy Medlock, professor of the class. “The opportunity for creativity is really there.”
To complete their semester, the students will take their finished projects into the cafeteria. This allows students to showcase their work along with bringing the beauty of the art department to a new location.
“Every time we have a glass class we take it to the cafeteria, which we try to do right before Thanksgiving, because the Thanksgiving meal is a celebration, and people beyond our campus show up,” said Medlock. “This is festive and beautiful and it is a way to let people know on campus who [the students in the class] are and what they’re working on.”
The glass creations will be on display beginning the week of Thanksgiving until the end of the semester.