But their attention quickly shifts as students dip their long metal pipes into the molten glass and began swirling and blowing the unformed substance to create a work of art. The glass has to be reheated about every 30 seconds while it is being worked. And, it has to stay in constant motion, swirling so that none of the molten glass falls to the floor. Blowing requires the use of special tools for detail work. Rhodes' students create a variety of forms through glass blowing, the most conventional of which are vessels.
More advanced students can proceed into sculptural glass blowing.
Visitors who tour the campus appear fascinated by the glass artists' work, Rhodes says. This is our shining star. The university is one of only about 30 nationwide to offer both undergraduate and graduate fine arts degrees in glass. The SIUC program was started in 1967 by art faculty member Bill Boysen. The first graduate-level degrees were awarded in the early 1970s, Rhodes says.