Hannah Shenton

Mistakes Perceived | Blown Glass 2024

I began glassblowing through a class at the Franklin Park Conservatory. I have enjoyed learning the process, seeing my progress, and having a time to focus only on the glass and tap into my creative side. Each piece in this installation involves a mistake in the glassblowing process. I chose to not dwell on the mistake and instead continue working on the piece with the help of my instructors. Piece 1 (Snowman) began with the intention of being a caterpillar with even sized chunks, but ended up with a larger base than head. When turned vertically, my wonky caterpillar becomes a cute snowman! Piece 2 is a wavy bowl that began with the intention of being an ice cream bowl. During the process, I got the glass too hot and I did not turn the rod fast enough, so the glass folded back on itself and it lost its smooth bowl shape. I called the instructor in, and we improvised to fit the new wavy character of the base by creating a decorative wavy bowl! Piece 3 is a flower vase. When gathering glass for this vase, I accidentally gathered more glass than I had ever worked with before. I decided to continue working with the amount of glass, but I quickly lost control of the glass due to the weight and imbalance. I had to call in the instructor, and we worked collaboratively to create the vase and she gave me tips for working on heavier pieces in the future.

Hannah is a student at the College of Medicine.