Temple University shared today that the Tyler School of Art and Architecture’s glass program, now in its 50th year, operated out of a garage in Elkins Park until 2009.
In its initial phases, students and faculty had to melt marbles and Pepsi bottles to get the glass they used for teaching, learning and creating. In the decades since, Tyler’s glass program, and the glass field as a whole, now work out of a state-of-the-art studio on Temple’s Main Campus.
Today, the facility is home to three large furnaces; 16 annealers used to gradually cool hot glass; five flameworking stations; four glory holes for reheating glass between steps; a dedicated kiln room; a cold shop for working with cooled glass; and a dedicated studio for undergraduate glass majors that features a critique room, a smart classroom and a neon studio.
“The facilities are a big part of the reason why Tyler’s glass program is able to produce nationally ranked exhibiting artists, practitioners and educators,” said John Dillard, who earned his MFA from the glass program in March, and added that Tyler glass alumni are now running programs at places like Tulane University, the University of Louisville, Alfred University and Virginia Commonwealth University.
“The glass program spoils you in a way, because you don’t realize until you leave that you’ve been given access to the best facilities you could ask for,” added Gemma Hollister, a 2021 graduate of the program who recently competed on the Netflix glassblowing competition show Blown Away.
Students in the program learn from faculty who are specialists around the world in their respective glass processes and techniques. The faculty roster includes Judith Schaechter, a world-renowned stained-glass artist; Stephanie Lifshutz, an expert in neon glass; Amber Cowan, a well-known glass sculptor on the East Coast specializing in recycled, upcycled and second-life American pressed glass; Kristin Neville Taylor, a multidisciplinary artist who recently received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts grant; and Sharyn O’Mara, former head of the glass program, current head of sculpture program and director of graduate studies.
“Every single one of our faculty, even if they’re emerging artists, are uniquely qualified, getting recognition, and leading the field with their research and process,” said Jessica Jane Julius, head of the glass program and associate professor of glass. Julius boasts more than 20 years of experience as an artist and educator. Her mixed media works have been displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, the Traver Gallery, the Heller Gallery and the Museum of American Glass in New Jersey.
The program also regularly ranks as one of the top glass programs in the country according to U.S. News & World Report, and its master of fine arts program is currently ranked number two in the nation.
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Photo: Temple