Chrysler Partners With Boys and Girls Club

Norfolk, VA — December 23, 2013 — The Chrysler Museum Glass Studio has partnered with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia to bring children together in an educational setting to create works of art for display. Studio Assistant Mike Butzine created this art project with the goal of working with local children to promote self-confidence, creative expression and a sense of community. Works created in this project will be showcased in a live performance by the students on January 3.

All Glass Studio assistants must complete a work of art to be displayed in the Studio’s vestibule. Growing up in Phoenix, Butzine regularly attended a Boys and Girls Club and used that experience to guide his selection for this project. He wanted his project to highlight the community, not himself.

The project consists of four weeks of classes and a final art performance. Each class includes an educational component, such as the history of glass and the scientific properties of glass. In week one, students worked on enameling glass using an “alter ego” name of their choosing. In week two, participants learned about sandcasting, with each person creating one of the letters that would spell out “Boys and Girls Club.” Week three focused on glassblowing, with each student creating a holiday ornament designed as a gift for a particular person. In week four, students were presented with their ornament creations and began planning the final performance. Their self-designed performance, titled “Wish Upon a Star,” will consist of a dream-like setting and include s’mores, apple cider, and hot chocolate warmed by the heat from the furnaces. The students will help studio staff create glass clouds with glitter and gold accents as part of their dream sequence, with children’s classic movies playing in the background. Each student will also present one thing for which they are thankful and one wish or dream they would like to see in the new year. The two-hour performance is open to the public and will begin at 6 p.m. on January 3.

“It is inspiring to see these kids growing into their own style,” said Butzine. “They are learning that it’s okay to get messy, and self-expression is not a bad thing. With each class, they are learning that they can make a difference. Today they are doing it with art.”

Artwork created by the students will be on display in the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio vestibule December 31, 2013 – January 6, 2014. The Glass Studio is located at 745 Duke Street in Norfolk, adjacent to the Museum.

Founded in 1939 as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Chrysler Museum of Art combines one of America’s great fine arts museums, two significant historic houses and a Glass Studio, the only one of its kind on the East Coast. In addition to maintaining a distinguished permanent collection of over 30,000 objects spanning nearly 5,000 years of history, the Chrysler Museum offers a comprehensive program of changing exhibitions and education activities for visitors of all ages. The Chrysler Museum is currently closed for a major expansion and will reopen in spring 2014. The historic houses and Chrysler Museum Glass Studio are open. To learn more about the Chrysler Museum, call (757) 664-6200.

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