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Thanks to an award from the UAF Alumni Association Benefactor Fund, the Students Learning Art Guild (SLAG) found themselves with a powerful new tool in their creative kit: fused glass. SLAG members weren’t exactly strangers to glass—glass casting is already part of the sculpture curriculum at UAF. But fused glass offered something different: a process that’s at once highly technical and deeply visual. It marked an exciting departure and the beginning of a hands-on, transformative learning experience.

Unlike other materials they’ve worked with, fused glass brought new challenges. “Creating fused glass requires an understanding of the material’s physical behavior, particularly the coefficient of expansion and contraction,” said Wendy Croskrey, Professor of Sculpture and SLAG’s faculty advisor. “Not all glass is compatible, so students need to learn how to identify and work with specific types that can be safely fused.” It’s a medium that demands precision, planning, and patience, but rewards artists with striking opportunities to explore depth, form, and the interplay of light.

Students began by cutting and layering carefully chosen glass pieces, then arranged them into designs. The pieces were fired in a kiln across several stages: fusing, which melds glass pieces through heat; slumping, which reshapes softened glass over a mold; tack-fusing, which lightly bonds pieces while preserving texture; and fire-polishing, which smooths and refines the surface. “Most of our finished pieces required at least four separate firings,” Croskrey noted. “We met on Saturdays outside of regular class hours to allow for uninterrupted access to the equipment and demonstrations.”

After weeks of firing, shaping, and refining, SLAG’s glasswork was ready—not just for critique, but for the community.

The Student Art Sale has long been a staple in UAF’s Art Department, offering students a chance to share and sell their work each semester. Originally launched by the Student Ceramic Art Guild (SCAG), the sale grew to include disciplines like printmaking and metalsmithing where the scale and production methods make it easier to offer multiple, affordably priced pieces. Sculpture students, on the other hand, have often been absent from the sale. Larger works and limited editions necessitate a higher price point, meaning that oftentimes sculpture simply didn’t fit the mold.

That changed during the spring semester with SLAG’s introduction of these small-scale, visually compelling, and attainable fused glass pieces. “There was a lot of curiosity and excitement,” said Croskrey. “Many people were surprised to see glass included in the student work and were intrigued by the variety and quality of the pieces.” SLAG officer and MFA student Sarah Dexter added, “We experienced a great response with a lot of interest in the technical process of working with glass.”

Beyond positive reception, the sale offered something even more valuable: momentum. The UAFAA funds created space for students to experiment, push their process in new directions, and transform raw materials into work they could share and sell. “The UAFAA funds allowed us to... create glass pieces which we could then use to generate our own funds to move forward on,” said Dexter. “It was the jumpstart we needed to get rolling.”

More than just a successful debut, the experience broadened SLAG students’ technical and conceptual range. As Croskrey put it, “It allowed students to access a medium with a distinct visual language—glass brings its own context through translucency, color layering, and light. Working across multiple materials broadens students’ conceptual and technical vocabulary.”

This opportunity represents more than just a successful art sale or new skills. It’s a testament to what happens when curiosity meets support, when students are trusted to take creative risks, and when learning becomes active, layered, and reflective, just like the glass itself.