Coyote In Socks by Marion Emme, Age 9 – From the Museum of Glass “Kids Design Glass” Catalog

     Last week some friends and I had an extra few extra minutes before an appointment in Tacoma so we stopped in at the Museum of Glass.  “OMG!” as they say these days.  What a fabulous few minutes they were!
     First, we visited the Hot Shop where we watched the museum’s team of resident artists create ‘something’ from molten glass.  We weren’t really sure what they were making – discs of swirled colors that might be used as part of a larger piece.  We joined several dozen people in the bleachers just feet away from the action and listened as a young woman with a microphone explained their process.  They were about to break for lunch so we quickly left and nipped into a large exhibition hall with the intriguing title, “Kids Design Glass.”
     On display were 52 glass sculptures designed by children who had taken part in a museum program for kids 12 and under.  Here’s how it works.  A child draws a two-dimensional design – often it’s a fantastical creature – with crayons, markers or colored pencils, gives it a name, and then writes a short story or description of it.  The museum’s Hot Shop Team selects one design (based on aesthetic merits) every month and transforms it into a three-dimensional sculpture.  The child-creator and family are invited to the Hot Shop to watch the process and the child actually gets to direct the artists as they make two sculptures – one for the child-designer to take home and the other for the permanent collection at the Museum of Glass.
     The current exhibition will continue until October 31, 2011 – plenty of time to go back and spend a leisurely afternoon with these beautiful, fanciful creatures.  Even better would be to go at a time that the Hot Shop Team is working on a child’s design. Meanwhile, I intend to spread the word to every kid, parent, and grandparent I know. So, if you fit one of those categories, take a look at www.museumofglass.org  which tells how a child 12 or under can enter the “Kids Design Glass” program.  “OMG!”