Unbreakable/Handle With Care

I am a first year Art student at Alfred University with an interest in pursuing glass
studies. Glass as an art medium has always fascinated me, and as a craft medium, intrigued me. I
studied glass for two years at Punahou High School in Hawaii, and my glass teacher Mark
Mitsuda has told me about the GAS conferences. I am interested in meeting and talking with
glass artists as well as seeing and learning about new techniques from all over the world.
I have always been fascinated by the bowl form and its many possibilities for aesthetics
and practicality. In my third semester of studying glass in high school, I focused on the bowl
form with the intent to better understand glass and its properties. Over the course of this study I
created bowls with radically different design processes, and challenged myself to take advantage
of both the form of the pieces and their design. When working with glass, I strive to allow the
natural character of the glass to come through while still maintaining the integrity of the piece
itself.
As yet, my association with the glass community has been limited to those with whom I
studied in high school. This has aided me in the detailed study of the intricacies of bowl and
goblet forms as well as the daily interaction I experienced with my teacher and TAs, both as a
student, assistant, and peer. On the other hand, the small community in which I lived and studied
for two years has made made me all the more appreciative when I am able to broaden my
horizons and meet and exchange ideas with other glassworkers and artists.
Attending the annual GAS Conference would offer me the opportunity to meet glass
artists not from not only around the world, but also from different manners of approaching and
working with glass. That my first year away from home should find the conference so near my
school makes me all the more excited to experience that which it has to offer. Attending the 2009
Glass Art Society Conference is an incredible opportunity for me to refresh my own perspective
in working with glass of the past two years and is something I have looked forward to since first
hearing about it.