GlassRoots Sparks Young People’s Creativity
An interview with Carol Losos
Executive Director of GlassRoots
Carol Losos
Photo Courtesy: GlassRoots
Photo Courtesy: GlassRoots
By Carol Lippert Gray
Don’t play with fire, your mother probably said – doubtless more than once. But on Bleeker Street in Newark, New Jersey, there’s an organization where children do just that.
Founded in 2001, the mission of GlassRoots is to ignite and build the creative and economic vitality of that city by teaching underserved youth and young adults to learn glassmaking. It offers classes and summer camps in all aspects of the arts. The students learn patience, teamwork, creative problem-solving, and the discipline necessary to harness the power of 2200-degree fire and molten glass. Along the way, they also learn about chemistry, physics, math, and the beauty and fulfillment of engaging in the creative process.
Carol Losos, the executive director of GlassRoots since 2021, spoke with Sanctuary’s associate editor, Carol Lippert Gray, about the organization and her role there.
Don’t play with fire, your mother probably said – doubtless more than once. But on Bleeker Street in Newark, New Jersey, there’s an organization where children do just that.
Founded in 2001, the mission of GlassRoots is to ignite and build the creative and economic vitality of that city by teaching underserved youth and young adults to learn glassmaking. It offers classes and summer camps in all aspects of the arts. The students learn patience, teamwork, creative problem-solving, and the discipline necessary to harness the power of 2200-degree fire and molten glass. Along the way, they also learn about chemistry, physics, math, and the beauty and fulfillment of engaging in the creative process.
Carol Losos, the executive director of GlassRoots since 2021, spoke with Sanctuary’s associate editor, Carol Lippert Gray, about the organization and her role there.
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Who conceived the idea for GlassRoots?
Patricia Kettenring was a professor at Rutgers University’s business school in Newark. She had two specialties: nonprofits and social entrepreneurship. She also is a glass-art collector and was our director for ten years. She was on a trip to Tacoma, Washington, which is the headquarters of the studio art glass movement in the United States. [Noted glassblower] Dale Chihuly, who is from there, was essential to the birth of the movement. He set up a nonprofit for public middle schools because he felt glass was a way of learning and succeeding in the arts, which helps children who aren’t traditional learners. She brought the idea back to New Jersey. In 1999, GlassRoots started with two [glassblowing] torches at the Boys and Girls Club in Newark. In 2001, we were incorporated and got our own space with programs for Newark youth. We later raised money through corporate groups and private commissions for a “hot shop” [a studio where artists work with molten glass]. |
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How many people do you serve?
[Since 2001], we’ve had over 20,000 students. About 7,000 people now come through our doors each year, from our half-hour pumpkin-making program to in-school programs and intensive on-site programs. Half are under 18; half are older. We run adult programs as well.
Some student enrollments are application based; some are through the schools. There are few barriers to participation.
[Since 2001], we’ve had over 20,000 students. About 7,000 people now come through our doors each year, from our half-hour pumpkin-making program to in-school programs and intensive on-site programs. Half are under 18; half are older. We run adult programs as well.
Some student enrollments are application based; some are through the schools. There are few barriers to participation.
Group Photo with Work
Photo Courtesy: GlassRoots |
What are the benefits of the program?
We’re an economic driver in downtown Newark. The glass arts are traditionally expensive. You need space and equipment – two furnaces and a kiln minimally. But here, there’s no economic barrier. It’s easy to join us if you can get to us and want to do it. And once you’re in the door, it’s “sticky.” That’s the magic. Fire is used to create. Giving these teens the ability to use fire is self-empowering. The danger of fire is mesmerizing, so glassblowing is magical to watch and do. It’s a creative force and yields beautiful things. Fire is also destructive, and we worry about that. We have many safety protocols. Some of our students have become professional glassblowers and a number of the members of our teaching staff started as students here. They’re people from the Newark community teaching younger people from the Newark community.
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The industry has a long tradition of unpaid work. But all of our internships are paid. There are stipends through our programs.
The end goal here is to help the students find pathways to education and careers in the field. These are long-term investments, and sometimes we’ll never know the outcome. But we’re modeling, showing and investing in kids in the community and showing them future pathways.
The end goal here is to help the students find pathways to education and careers in the field. These are long-term investments, and sometimes we’ll never know the outcome. But we’re modeling, showing and investing in kids in the community and showing them future pathways.
How did you get to GlassRoots?
My background is in nonprofit arts administration. I have a master’s in art history. Early in my career, I was a museum educator. I saw this job posted online and applied.
I was eager to be back in an organization making art. This one spoke to me because of its mission.
Are you a glassblower?
When I started, I took classes in all the spaces.
Where do you find sanctuary?
For me, it’s in art museums. That’s where I can take myself and escape into my own solitude, my spiritual place.
My background is in nonprofit arts administration. I have a master’s in art history. Early in my career, I was a museum educator. I saw this job posted online and applied.
I was eager to be back in an organization making art. This one spoke to me because of its mission.
Are you a glassblower?
When I started, I took classes in all the spaces.
Where do you find sanctuary?
For me, it’s in art museums. That’s where I can take myself and escape into my own solitude, my spiritual place.
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Carol Losos, GlassRoots’ fourth executive director, is passionate about the power of arts to change lives. She has spent her career in cultural organizations directing and developing programs that create access and opportunity. Most recently, she consulted with community arts and education nonprofits, focusing on strategic planning and outreach. Her prior positions include Director of Education for The English-Speaking Union in New York City where she oversaw national programs for students, educators and recent immigrants. Based on her work advancing middle school debate and communications, Carol received the Founder’s Award in 2016 from Claremont McKenna College Department of Forensics. She currently also serves on the boards of the Sokolow Theatre Dance Ensemble and the Phillips Brooks House Alumni Association (Harvard College). Carol is forever grateful for her first job as a Museum Educator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where she learned that your passion could also be your career.
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