Art Class at Spiva

I just added a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted fused glass serving tray to my collection.

Big deal, you’re thinking.

Well, it is a big deal because  – drumroll, please – I made this tray MYSELF!

More accurately, I designed and prepped it myself.

Yes, I’m super proud of it because I’m not so talented in the arts.

But life’s about learning new things and keeping oneself challenged, right?

Luckily, Joplin’s George A. Spiva Center for the Arts offers art classes that explore a variety of themes and media, like a Saturday afternoon Fused Glass Tray class.

I’d always been curious as to how these pieces were made, and having the chance to create one myself sounded like a unique opportunity, so I signed up.

The teacher for my class was local glass artist Jane McCaulley, who teaches a class at Spiva about once a month. Check out her glasswork here.

While Jane introduced herself, I glanced at the tools we’d be using that day. They seemed foreign to me (except for the Sharpie – I know Sharpies), and I began to get a bit nervous.

But with Jane’s clear instruction and helpful visual aids (she’s a former elementary art teacher), I began to relax. When Jane mentioned that she offered a glass camp for kids in the summer I thought, “If kids can do this, then why can’t I?”

Our project that Saturday required us to use pieces of colored glass to decorate a clear glass piece which would eventually become a tray.

First, we learned the names and functions of the tools on our table and also practiced using each of them.

Then we went hunting.

Hunting for pieces of colored glass that would complete our artistic visions, that is.

On one table, Jane had plates and containers filled with various cut glass pieces.

Plus these long sticks of glass – which look like pieces of uncooked rainbow spaghetti.

I wish I could say that I had a grand vision of what I wanted my tray to look like, but didn’t.

I had nothing.

Nada.

So I just starting sifting through glass and picking out pieces that “spoke” to me, like the one that had an iridescent sheen that changed from blue to green in different light (Pick me, I’m shiny!), and another that sported a dragonfly pattern (Pick me, I’m interesting!)

If the piece looked peculiar, I snatched it up – with the exception of the one with the snowflake pattern that I immediately rejected because of my utter disdain for snow and cold. 

Next, I unloaded my loot onto the white paper at my table, then sat back and considered it (like any professional artist, of course).

That’s when I started to feel a bit panicked again. How was I going to turn this Island of Misfit Glass into a respectable piece of art?

Then I remembered Jane’s encouraging words: There was no right or wrong way to do this.

I picked up one piece and placed it on the clear glass.

Then another, and another.

Once I was satisfied with my pattern, I leaned back and admired it.

I’d done it!

It was unusual-looking, but I’d done it.

Wait!

I wasn’t done –  I still had to glue the pieces to the tray (with Suave hairspray, of all things), and before I could glue them, I had to clean them.

That meant I had to remove every single piece I’d worked so hard to arrange on there.

Sigh.

Oh, well. I snapped a photo of my pattern (thank goodness for smartphones), and then began the painstaking cleaning/gluing/replacing process.

Jane had instructed us to leave our trays at our spots when we were finished; she’d take them home and fire them and then we’d be able to pick them up the following week.

I took one last look at my chaotic, mismatched tray and thought, “Well, at least I had fun and I learned something.”

One week later, I thought, “How did that tray of scraps transform into this cool piece?”

My kids were amazed, too. They wondered how I’d painted on it to make the cool colors and patterns.

Ha! Fooled them.

Fooled myself, too.

It appears that I can be artistic once I accept that there’s no wrong way to create something.

And the bonus?

I now have an eclectic “artisan” tray to use at my next dinner party.

Spiva Center for the Arts is located inside the Harry M. Cornell Arts and Entertainment Complex, 212 West 7th Street in Joplin. When you’re there, allow some extra time to browse through the art exhibits for inspiration.

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This article was commissioned by the Joplin CVB, however the opinions expressed are purely my own. The purpose of Joplin MO Life is to highlight all the best that our area has to offer, and when an article is written about a restaurant, business, attraction, or event, it is because I have had an enjoyable experience and want to share it with others.

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Living Life to The Fullest!

I love seeking out new experiences and finding places off the beaten path. I started Joplin MO Life in August 2013 as a way to share my discoveries with others in the Joplin community so that they can learn about the resources that exist right in their own backyards.

I have worked in education and event planning, and have always loved to write. I hold a master's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor's degree in marketing from Tulane University.