Glass studio internship takes her to Thailand

By Elizabeth Wayne

What was your role during your internship?

I was an assistant glass blower, so my job was to assist the artists in BGC Glass Studio blow glass, help teach their workshops and help maintain studio equipment.

What was the best part of your experience?

Being able to work in a big group. Everyone was so helpful and generous. It really helped me work on bigger, more complex pieces.

Did the internship give you new means of creative inspiration?

My creative inspiration normally comes from experiences. I like [being inspired by] subjects that are important to me, such as culture, human emotions and experiences. BGC Glass Studio was a great source of inspiration for all those things, especially culture because I grew up in Thailand.

Were there any unexpected aspects of your internship?

I didn't expect to have another intern at the same time. It was a nice surprise to have someone my age also have an interest in glass art in Thailand. I also had to teach her how to blow glass, which made me realize that I really like teaching!

How did you find this internship?

Zac Gorell, the technical specialist in Glass at CIA, heard about this place and recommended that I apply for an internship because I'm Thai-American bilingual. This really helped out when it came time to exhibit at the Hotel Art Fair. I helped translate a lot of things for them: documents, emails, pamphlets, video captions, etc.

What’s one piece of advice for others seeking internships?

Apply early and keep in touch with whoever you want to intern with. Ask questions about when you should start and when a good time to end is. In my internship, I was lucky enough to schedule it during a flameworking workshop taught by some really talented artists, but I missed out on a glass-blowing workshop taught by Hiroshi Yamano that happened a week after my internship ended.