Sabrina Kennedy, a senior at The Hill School in Pottstown, spent over an hour balancing about 12 pounds of glass on the end of a 5-foot pole to create a red-and-white bowl she calls “Phoenix.”
Temperatures in the furnace at the Taylor Backes studio in Boyertown, where she works, reached as high as 2,200 degrees. The bowl looks like a fireball. It has a 12-inch diameter and stands 9 inches tall.
“I wanted it to look like fire because I’m a glassblower,” said Sabrina, who lives in Emmaus. “I’m around fire a lot and thinking about what it can do a lot.”
Creating the piece was a long and physically challenging process, especially for someone who’s just over 5-feet-tall.
But her hard work has paid off. Sabrina recently won a gold medal in the ceramics and glass category of the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. More than 300,000 students submitted work, and fewer than 1 percent received a national award, according to contest organizers.
Sabrina’s piece will be on display with other winners in June at Parsons The New School for Design in New York.
“It’s a pretty impressive award,” said Headmaster Zachary Lehman. “Sabrina is a pretty impressive artist. It’s wonderful to see our students achieving at all levels of The Hill experience.”
The Hill School does not have a glassblowing studio on campus but allows Sabrina to spend a few hours a week at Taylor Backes through an afternoon arts program.
She has become an apprentice to Dan Alters since she started working at the studio four years ago.
Will Dexter, owner of Taylor Backes, said he’s impressed with Sabrina’s organization.
“She always comes in with a plan,” Dexter said. “She doesn’t have all the time in the world here, and she’s very efficient with her time.”
Sabrina also works with clay and wire to make three-dimensional art for a portfolio she will submit as part of her advanced art class, taught by Ellen O. Nelson at The Hill.
“One of the things I enjoy about Sabrina is the fact that she has so many gifts,” Nelson said. “I think of her as a Renaissance woman. She is just a powerhouse in terms of not being limited.”
Sabrina’s other hobbies include piloting small aircraft and archaeology, which she plans to study in college.
Before graduating from The Hill, Sabrina will create a glass bowl as a gift to Lt. Melissa G. Dillard, a Navy pilot and Hill graduate who will deliver this year’s commencement address.
“It’s a great honor to be asked to make something,” Sabrina said, “especially something that represents the school.”
Contact Paige Cooperstein: 610-371-5021 or pcooperstein@readingeagle.com.
