While much of my time this season has been spent firing heavy pâte de verre molds for public commissions, some of the most rewarding hours in my calendar belong to community education. Recently, I had the privilege of leading a hands-on workshop for the Leduc Summer Camp youth.
Why teach glass art to young students?
Glass can often feel like an intimidating medium—something usually kept behind gallery glass or handled with extreme caution. Teaching kids allows me to strip away that distance and show them how light, shape, and color intersect.
Color Selection ──> Structural Placement ──> Kiln Transformation ──> Discovery
What did the students learn during the Leduc workshop?
During our time together, young artists explored fundamental design concepts:
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Layering & Transparency: How overlapping primary colors create depth once melted in the kiln.
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Negative Space: Arranging elements so natural light enhances the final composition.
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Tactile Design: Translating their personal drawings into physical, lasting materials.
How community workshops inform my studio practice
Seeing young students create without overthinking is a wonderful reminder for any professional artist. The pure curiosity they brought to the Leduc Summer Camp workshop fires up my own experimentation back in the studio. Art education will always remain a core pillar of Krystal Jones Glass Art.
