Glass Art Forums » General Discussion

**failing enrollment syndrome** Posted: 5/15/2008 6:09:08 PM

hey all,
i am writing an article for the educational issue of the The Flow scheduled for print this fall. the main topic it'll revolve around is the cancellation of flameworking classes at so many craft schools, universities, and public and private studios. i am hoping to make contact with as many teachers, students, hobbyists, pipers, democrats, administrators, etc. to flush out the reasons and consequences of this current trend in flameworking education. i'll be putting together a questionnaire in the next few days that i will be sending to tons of flameworkers from the GAS membership roster and from glassartists and glasspipes. if you have any interest in joining in the discussion, please feel free to email me so i know who to send the questionnaire to. also, if anyone has knowhow/interest in formatting the questionnaire so it is easy to reply to and user friendly, any help would be greatly appreciated.

thank you for your time, keep an eye out for future posts.

eskuche@hotmail.com 843 469 8342

**Re: failing enrollment syndrome** Posted: 5/23/2008 1:31:35 PM

Hey Matt!

I have't heard much about the enrollment issues going on on the mainland and things... My thought would be that classes are packed with people trying to get a foot in hte door to learn the art. Perhaps becasue of the economy people are less interested in classes, becasue as artists we're the first to feel the pinch when times are tough? Maybe poeple aren't ready to invest or dedicate a lot of time into our art right now? People want to feel secure in their future and perhaps the 'Starving Artist" lifestyle just doesn't suit...

Are classes being cancelled due to lack of interest by students (lack of enrollment)? or is it because the Schools don't have proper funding? Unmotivated Teachers? or something else??

I'd definitely like to hear more about this though. Please put my on your mailing list and keep me informed about the goings on...

aloha!

**Re: failing enrollment syndrome** Posted: 6/4/2008 8:05:35 AM

Matt,

Here locally, I havent seen a decrease in the enrollment of flameworking classes at our local college

I have had to enroll several times and get waitlisted in order to get the classes. Part of this may be due to the fact that all of our local flameworking classes are offered through the college and renowned bead artist Kristen Orr teaches all of them.

Many of the local beaders take the class over and over because they don't have to invest in alot of equipment or tools, all of the supplies and glass rods are provided and the local beader community is fairly small and a pretty close knit group. Class time also becomes social time for them. The courses are offered 6 times a year so its steady torch time in terms of bead production without having your own studio or equipment.

In terms of flameworking aside from beads - I'm the only one in the area attempting anything outside of beads...

As a result, our enrollments in the local area stay high.

I have a number of shows coming up this summer so it will be interesting to see how business atually performs due to inflation, gas prices, etc.

If business is down for glass artists, we may see a decline in the number of artists who stay active ( something I read somewhere else as well).

I don't expect the classes at the college to see a decline in the enrollments since there has been a waitlist for them for over 4 years now ( one of the advantages, or disadvantages if you are trying to enroll, of living in a small town of approx 50,000)

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failing enrollment syndrome

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