Glass Arts Education at UrbanGlass
I have been studying at UrbanGlass in Brooklyn as a scholarship student since 2018. I began by taking workshops in stained glass sculpture, glassblowing, and glass painting before earning a place in The Bead Project at UrbanGlass (keep scrolling for more info on the program). By November 2018, I finished The Bead Project and spent the following semester finishing my MFA in Digital & Interdisciplinary Art Practice at The City College of New York-CUNY. After graduating from CCNY in 2019, I returned to UrbanGlass to continue my glass studies. Thanks to the generosity of Bead Project alumni scholarships (called Chelicca Scholarships), I studied kilnforming before the pandemic halted my glass studies. I returned to UrbanGlass in 2022 as a Chelicca Scholar and have since studied (or continued studying) mosaic-making, powder drawing, fusing, slumping, inclusions, enamel painting, and gluing. UrbanGlass also hired me to do bead-making lessons during Fall 2022 Open Studios.
My first professional glass exhibition included three of my pieces in the group show "Mixed Media Masterpieces" at the Belskie Museum of Art & Science in Closter, New Jersey in April 2023.
My first professional glass exhibition included three of my pieces in the group show "Mixed Media Masterpieces" at the Belskie Museum of Art & Science in Closter, New Jersey in April 2023.
At this time, I am seeking to create more ambitious glass objects with the support of grants and patrons, and continue integrating glass into my film and performance work. One example is my poetry film Story of a Shade Tree, part of the Belladonna Magic series, based on my book by the same name. I am also planning to design and sell jewelry using my bead-making skills.
The Bead Project
I was selected for The Bead Project, a competitive entrepreneurship program for women, in 2018. This is a full scholarship program for women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Over the course of 10 weeks, participants learn about bead-making, glass arts more generally, pricing jewelry and other arts/crafts works, creating a business plan, and marketing a small business. At the end of the program, I participated in The Bead Project Fall Trunk Show to display some of my designs from the semester.
