Glass-Blown Organics
with Christen Baker
GLASS 691 001 | 3 credits | $350 Lab Fee
August 10–23, 2025
Glass-Blown Organics is an introductory glass course that approaches material investigation and sculpture through a lens of posthumanism. “Posthumanism” refers to a perspective that challenges traditional human-centered views by emphasizing interconnectedness among organisms and complex systems, aiming to disrupt hierarchies and boundaries between humans and other entities. In this course, students will explore three methods of hot glass forming: solid sculpting, glassblowing, and mold blowing with the inclusion of found organic materials. Soil, wood, water, and food are some examples of organic materials that will be used to create glass artworks that speak to the environmental impact of humans in the Anthropocene. Through demonstrations and discussions, students will develop an understanding of sustainable glass practices that can then be applied to their sculptural works. Using these skills and techniques, students will learn to create forms and surfaces that explore glass as a unique material, how glass is deeply significant to place and time, and how to utilize hot glass and organics together to enhance artistic impact. Each component of this course will develop an understanding of material and processes and will facilitate discussions on critical theory, artistic practice, and making with intention. Sculptural works by contemporary glass artists such as Amber Cowan, Sabine Mescher-Leitner, and Kristen Neville Taylor will be important points of consideration. Assignments will explore material inclusions in glass, optics, impressions, and other formal considerations that speak to the environmental impacts of humans in our time. Students will also view selected historical videos from the Rakow Research Library at the Corning Museum of Glass to research the important technological role of glass in our modern world. Students must demonstrate a strong work ethic and a passion for investigating personal artistic strengths and goals throughout this intensive course. Students of all experience levels working with glass are welcome and encouraged.
Christen Baker, New! And Impervious to Natural Elements (Installation View with HDPE _O_ ), 2023, glass, cement blocks, hand painted sign, OSB plywood, rope, and tape, 24 x 69 x 102 in.
Christen Baker (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist exploring the complex relationships between attention and desire, and the physical and digital economies that emerge from it. Baker earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute and a Master of Fine Arts in Glass from Tyler School of Art and Architecture, where she was awarded the Assistantship for Tyler Information Technology and Digital Services. Baker’s interests have led her to glass, neon, sculpture, photography, and 3D scanning. She has utilized these mediums to create a new visual lexicon that speaks to the ways in which attention and desire shape our perception of material use, physical space, and information hierarchies. Baker has completed residencies and exhibitions at Belger Arts, the International Ceramics Studio in Hungary, UrbanGlass in Brooklyn, and was awarded the Summer Fellowship in Glass at Ox-Bow School of Art and Artist Residency. Most recently, she was awarded the Neon as Soulcraft residency in collaboration with SheBends at the Museum of Craft and Design. She currently lives and works in Indianapolis.