Original glass art will be for sale from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday at the University Glass House. All the work for sale was made by ISU undergraduate and graduate art students.

The Glass House is just west of the corner of Willow and Main streets and north of Hancock Stadium.

During the sale there will be demonstrations done at three stations in the hot shop. Miller will be demonstrating glass blowing techniques along with his students.

“There’s going to be about 500 or 600 pieces of glass for sale for Christmas that’s functional stuff: ornaments, paperweights and then sculptures as well — anywhere from $10 to $3,500,” John Miller, associate professor and head of the glass program, explained.

“Some of the work has been from the class assignments and some of it is just based on production,” he added.

The program is considered a mixed media sculpture program specializing in glass. Glass classes have been filling up, and the program is now about four times larger than it has been in years past. A lot more students are also adding the glass program as a second major.

“[The glass program] was established in 1970 by Joel Meyers and moved in 1982 to the current building, which is the old agriculture building, and we’ve been here ever since,” Miller said.

“It’s focused in all types of glass artwork: glass blowing, hot sculpting, kiln casting and sand casting, and coal working,” he said.

“The interest has been great and we almost fill every class all the time. It just really depends on the flow of the students … We’re getting a lot of cross-over students too. A lot of double majors. Art education, glass double majors,” Miller said.

Students in the glass program are required to start by taking the 2-D and 3-D foundations classes. Then they can take the glass sequence, made up of Glass I, II and III. Students can then repeat Glass III as much as they want and complete independent studies focusing on the glass craft. Students are also encouraged to learn to use other materials with 3-D classes.

Minimally, the sequence takes two and a half years to complete. The program focuses on practice and getting students in the glass house as often as possible.

The glass program holds other sales throughout the year in the hopes of promoting their students and the program.

For more information on the glass program or the arts at ISU, visit FineArts.IllinoisState.edu.