SRES art teacher to receive $25,000 Lilly grant
Cindy DiFazio - Staff Writer

South Ripley Elementary School art teacher, Thom Maltbie, has been chosen to receive a grant from the Lilly Endowment Fund. The $25,000 "distinguished fellows" grant, titled "Building Futures in Architectural Glass," will allow Maltbie to engage in concentrated studio work, short apprenticeships and classes in art glass; and create architectural glass designed and installed by students and staff at the school. The grant dates are June 2006-June 2007.

Maltbie has already introduced students to the concept. They have been making fused glass pieces utilizing donated scrap glass. The glass has to be of high quality and pure. The young artists pick out small pieces that they want to put together. Then, the colorful configurations are fired in a kiln. Students can view the firing process through a peephole in one of the kilns.

A longtime potter with a master's degree in fine arts, Maltbie explains, "I come from a craftsman's background. It's important to me that the kids see the process." One of the unique things about working with fused glass pieces as compared with ceramics, is that, when fired, the glass colors layer and float. "When the kids see their finished products, " Maltbie says, "their eyes start to sparkle."

One of the educational opportunities Maltbie is exploring is a summer workshop at the Bullseye Company in Portland, Oregon. Bullseye, according to their website, has manufactured colored glass for art and architecture since 1974. The Bullseye Resource Center offers workshops and classes, guided by "glasstronauts, in such disciplines as glass fusing, blowing and torchwork.

An idea being considered for a school art glass project is to create and display a series of art glass shadowboxes depicting the metamorphosis of the Monarch Butterfly from caterpillar to adult. Each year, South Ripley first graders hatch Monarchs as a school project, which would make a nice tie-in to the art glass project. Maltbie stressed, however, that the techniques and final imagery are still very much up in the air.

Meanwhile, Maltbie's students get to work in all kinds of artistic mediums. For instance, kindergarten through second-grade classes draw with color-rich oil pastel crayons and develop cutting and gluing skills. Kids in all grade levels create computer art as well as traditional art, and sixth-graders are learning to make PowerPoint presentations.

Maltbie is pleased to report that the South Ripley School Corporation makes art and music a priority. "I'm proud that we have the things we have," he enthuses. "We have the technology that provides our students with the most exciting experience they can get."