Glass artist Jessica Yager has been making glass professionally for the past six years in Vermont. A recent transplant to Southern California, she is working on establishing an exciting new mobile hot shop to be housed at the Cochella Valley Art Center in Indio, CA. This mobile unit will allow her to take glass blowing out into the community—to schools and community organizations working to bring arts to underserved youth in the Cochella Valley. The entire mobile studio fits into a small trailer that Yager will be able to bring to nearly any site with a 12’x12’ area to set up in, and is equipped with a special annealer that allows work to be cooled in about an hour (instead of the typical 24+ hrs)—making it perfect for demonstrations and teaching. The mobile studio can also be set up at the CVAC in the outdoor space adjoining their existing hot shop in order to expand class size at the center, allowing for group workshops in addition to one-on-one lessons.
In order to launch this mobile studio, Yager is raising money through Kickstarter. This platform is an all-or-nothing crowdfunding platform, which means that she must reach her goal in order to receive any of the funding. This works to ensure that backers will receive their rewards, but also means that it is critical for her to reach the goal in the next 21 days.
Yager has a BFA in sculpture from Keene State College. She has worked in wood, metals, plaster, oil painting, cold cast bronze, charcoal, and chocolate among others, but since her introduction to hot glass it has stollen her heart. Yager is excited to share her passion for this craft and sees the mobile unit as the best way to bring its magic out of the traditional studio to reach the largest audience possible.