The Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass in Neenah, WI is working to partner with local schools. Art teacher Lori Rademann’s Applied Design class is having multiple glass pieces showcased in an exhibition from March 4, 2021 to April 4, 2021. 

“They want to be more than just a museum, they want to be a working studio that is open for the public. They offer classes to the community and they want to rope in the young generation so they do a high school show every year,” Rademann said. 

Although the museum offers public classes to create glass pieces, Rademann typically has her classes make the pieces at the high school and send them into the museum once they are complete. The student artwork this year will consist of fused glass pieces on which junior Delaney Erb is hard at work.

“I’m currently working on a fused glass mushroom. The steps are pretty simple. First, you pick out all of the glass that you need, then you draw on the glass with a sharpie to know where to score it. Scoring is cutting a line into the glass to break it. Then you glue the pieces together and then put them in the kiln when you’re done gluing them together,” Erb said. 

In addition to the fused glass pieces, junior Molly Gallert and the rest of the Applied Design class is also currently creating glass beads. 

“For the lampwork beads we pick out our colors we want for the rod, the noodle or twisty and melt them on a propane torch with a hot head connected to the torch. Turning the mandrel away from you, you make contact with the melted rod to the mandrel then add your design. Once you’re done put in the fiber blanket to anneal. Once annealed, you take your bead off the mandrel by pulling and twisting the bead off the mandrel carefully,” Gallert said. 

For most students in Applied Design and similar classes, the ideas for their art do not just appear. Most students draw inspiration from their lives or the work of other artists. 

“My inspiration for making the beads was to just have fun with it and make them fun to look at. For my fused piece I wanted to do a snowman for my grandma because she loves snowmen,” Gallert said.