The four glass artists included in this exhibit are all highly innovative contemporary craft artists. They use high temperatures and specialized equipment to create their work, so it is unlikely that you will be able to provide hands-on glass sculpture experiences in your classroom. However, students can view the work and the accompanying power point in order to begin to understand the qualities of glass as a medium and the various techniques and processes of working with glass.

The technique used by Richard Ritter, murrini, can be used when working with polymer clay, so that would be a hands-on activity to consider.

There are glass studios that provide tours and hands-on activities, such as the Glass Factory in Louisville, Kentucky, so a field trip might be an exciting possibility. The Kokomo Opalescent Glass Factory in Kokomo, Indiana, has a virtual tour that can give your students a visual sense of the heat involved in working with molten glass.

For a glossary of terms used in glass work, go to http://www.glassartistsgallery.com/gagInfoGlassArt.htm
or
http://www.spectrumglass.com/Dictionary/DictionSet.html

To see work by many glass artists, go to www.glassartists.org

See work by glass artists in the PBS Craft in American virtual exhibit. You will also learn about the artists and find links to educational resources.