LA PLUME — The best gifts often come from the heart and members of the public had an opportunity to create Valentine’s Day-themed glass paperweights, with the help of the Keystone College art students and instructors Feb. 9 and 10.

Utilizing the Italian glass “Murini” technique by imbedding layered glass cane designs in molten glass and shaping the final form, each participant created glass hearts.

According Ward Roe, Keystone College Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, the school has offered its glass program for more than 10 years.

“It started as a part of our sculpture program,” Roe said. “The first glass furnace was built by a sculpture student, Jeremy Unterman, who was interested in doing glass as a senior project and he is now fully employed at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York as a studio manager.

Per Roe, the college offers four-credit classes to students, which fill almost immediately, and Keystone decided to expand its reach with workshops for the general public last year

“We started last fall with a glass pumpkin workshop and then we did one for holiday ornaments, and they were immensely popular,” Roe said.

He added the college is planning an Easter egg and spring flower workshop in the coming months.

Devin Connolly, a third-year Studio Art student, was introduced to glasswork during high school and the process piqued his interest.

“There were Keystone Junior Workshops and my art teacher at Abington Heights (Eileen Healey) told me about the opportunity,” he said. “I took the class; it was a six-day program and I fell in love with it.”

Connolly added the college recently upgraded equipment in the glass department.

“We’ve always had an electric furnace and, over the past summer, we built an entirely new furnace with a crucible that holds about 500 pounds of glass instead of about 80 pounds and is powered by natural gas,” he said.

Michael Swanson, an adjunct instructor who has been involved with the glass program at Keystone for 15 years, assisted individuals during the workshop. As a student, he didn’t intend to study glass but, after seeing the process, he was hooked.

“I discovered it my third year,” Swanson said. “I didn’t even know it existed. I just wandered in one day and they were blowing glass in the sculpture studio. I thought ‘wow, that’s awesome.’”

Swanson believes members of the public are drawn to the workshops due to the uniqueness of the process.

“A lot of people have never done this before,” he said. “They come in a little bit intimidated and not sure what to expect and they usually get something very rewarding out of it.”

Keystone College Studio Art student Devin Connolly, right, instructs Tim Bachak, of Jermyn, on how to turn the glass to keep it centered during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_ABJ-KEY-Glass-1-2.jpg.optimal.jpgKeystone College Studio Art student Devin Connolly, right, instructs Tim Bachak, of Jermyn, on how to turn the glass to keep it centered during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9. Robert Tomkavage | Abington Journal

Keystone College adjunct instructor Michael Swanson shows Allison Berman, of Wilkes-Barre, how to shape glass with a wooden block during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_ABJ-KEY-Glass-2-2.jpg.optimal.jpgKeystone College adjunct instructor Michael Swanson shows Allison Berman, of Wilkes-Barre, how to shape glass with a wooden block during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9. Robert Tomkavage | Abington Journal

Keystone College Studio Art student Devin Connolly reheats glass during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_ABJ-KEY-Glass-3-2.jpg.optimal.jpgKeystone College Studio Art student Devin Connolly reheats glass during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9. Robert Tomkavage | Abington Journal

Keystone College adjunct instructor Michael Swanson teaches Samantha Cielski, of Archbald, how to keep glass centered during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_ABJ-KEY-Glass-4-2.jpg.optimal.jpgKeystone College adjunct instructor Michael Swanson teaches Samantha Cielski, of Archbald, how to keep glass centered during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9. Robert Tomkavage | Abington Journal

Keystone College Studio Art student Devin Connolly instructs Damian Howard, of Factoryville, how to shape glass with a wooden block during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_ABJ-KEY-Glass-5-2.jpg.optimal.jpgKeystone College Studio Art student Devin Connolly instructs Damian Howard, of Factoryville, how to shape glass with a wooden block during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9. Robert Tomkavage | Abington Journal

Keystone College Studio Art student Devin Connolly carves a heart into glass during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_ABJ-KEY-Glass-6-2.jpg.optimal.jpgKeystone College Studio Art student Devin Connolly carves a heart into glass during a Valentine’s Day workshop Feb. 9. Robert Tomkavage | Abington Journal
Keystone College Art Department hosts Valentine Day’s glass workshops

By Robert Tomkavage

rtomkavage@timesleader.com

Reach Robert Tomkavage at 570-704-3941 or on Twitter @rtomkavage.