Studio Lead Spotlight - LauraBeth Konopinski

Meet Laurabeth - glass Studio Lead

What drew you to this art form specifically?

In my youth, I had worked with a whole range of different materials peripherally and learned that I really enjoyed working with my hands to build and create. I started taking classes at the local college while in high school, so I had access to all the art classes taught there. I signed up for my first glassblowing class when I was 16 because I had no idea what glass art was all about. As a kid, I had never been exposed to that medium. On the first day of class, our professor opened the furnace door—and right then, I wanted more! It was a medium I had never known before, with chemistry behind the raw material and endless creative possibilities. Its transparency is also inherently beautiful. :)
 

What made you stick with it?

One of the many reasons that I love working with glass is that it has been a continual teacher for me. I'm always learning something new from and with the material. And for years, I thought it was my draw to the material that kept me coming back to it. Though I realize now that it is the community that I've been a part of that has kept me going.
 

What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever made?

Most of the pieces I make often take weeks or months until they’re ready to enter the world. This allows me to build a relationship with what I’m making. As with any relationship, there are many different pieces and parts to it—so I have different parts of many different artworks that are my favorite components. In 2016, I was invited to participate as a maker in an annual glass fashion show. This was my first wearable glass piece, and it has many components that are favorites. The opportunity allowed me to collaborate with two other beautiful people and artists to make a pair of wearable glass moth wings. We all designed, created, and modeled the wings together.
 

How did your parents feel about you becoming an artist?

I think my immediate family, including myself, was very limited in exposure to the art world, so I (and they) didn’t know what I could do or where I was going with my pursuit of an art degree. I just knew I wanted to continue with it.
 

What’s your favorite class to teach?

I like teaching longer classes such as the 4-, 6-, and 8-week sessions. The longer sessions give students the chance to get comfortable with the material, the studio, and open up their creativity.
 

Where do you recommend people start with this art form?

Any beginner-level class is a great place to start your journey with glassmaking. A one-day or sampler class will give you a taste of what it’s like working with the material.
 

If you didn’t teach Glass, what other would you want to practice or teach?

I’ve worked with and taught many different art forms within my career and really love it all! I tend to combine photography and other image-making techniques (some printmaking) and metalwork within my glass sculptures, so I’d probably like to teach one of those art forms the most.