On Wednesday, October 2, Mrs. McFaden took all eight of her AP Art students on a class trip to Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts in Lake Worth, where they made vases inspired by the artist Dale Chihuly through the art of glass blowing. Dale Chihuly is a famous, American glass sculptor and entrepreneur. His works are considered to have outstanding artistic Merit in the area of glassblowing. The AP Art class has been studying Dale Chihuly for a bit, so going to Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts, created a hands-on experience of what work was like for him.
The students started the glass blowing process by dipping the rod into two thousand degree melted glass. Next, they rolled the melted glass into crushed, sprinkles of colored glass to give it color. They then dipped it back into the melted glass to enlarge the shape. After this, they rolled it out and blew inside of it to help shape it even more. While doing all of this, they had to keep putting the glass in the fire to keep it at a certain heat because when glass cools it can crack . They used tweezer-like objects to form and shape the vase. From here, they were allowed to embrace their creativity by using different colors and techniques. “I just like the overall experience, going and seeing how easy it is to make something so beautiful,” says Ashley Vanderwilt, one of the art students who were able to participate in this experience.
The trip to Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts was a time to remember. Lots of new techniques and valuable information was learned and most importantly, fun was had by all who went and participated in the glass blowing activities. This field trip was one of the many that The King’s Academy takes every year to take students out of the classroom and into their realm of interest. The vases that were made by the students at Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts are on display in the art room for all to see!