Art students involved in the Glass Club will be selling handmade, glass-blown pumpkins and giving demonstrations on Oct. 10 from 4-7 p.m. Demonstrations will be happening all day in the Fine Arts Building, and money raised will be used for tools for the art program and artists to visit classes.
“Students have been making pumpkins since Christmas of 2023 in order to prepare for the crowds of people lining up all the way to the bathroom like in years past,” said Nadine Saylor, the associate professor of glass.
When Saylor arrived at UNK three years ago, she decided to start the glass pumpkin event. The previous years, she started a club to grow interests and opportunities for students in this career path but didn’t see exponential growth until this past year. Saylor formed the Glass Club this year, in which all students involved are able to participate in the pumpkin-blowing event.
The community outreach and student fundraising are just a few reasons why this event has grown in popularity.
“All donations and money made will go towards the visiting artists funding, along with the ability to expand and enhance studio experience for glass students with tools,” Saylor said.
Students are able to get an insight into running a business while also experiencing the team-building aspect of glass blowing.
“People don’t realize that pumpkin making is like an assembly line of creating each piece,” said Taylor Moore, a graduate student. “We’re all working together towards a common goal.”
Students like Moore have been gathering each week for multiple hours since Christmas to create the pumpkins. The students are assigned specific roles when creating pumpkins. One group must start the bubble of the pumpkin, then the next blow it into a pumpkin shape, and after they are satisfied, the stems are created and connected to the pumpkin.
Moore will be leading some of the demonstrations on Oct. 10. While he enjoys the art of glass blowing himself, he also enjoys the reactions of community members during the demonstrations.
“The community always seems to get excited about this sort of thing,” Moore said. “The risk factor is high for them in the demos when dealing with fire and hot tools.”
