The Washington Glass School in Mount Rainier will work with veterans and active-duty military this winter to help address post-traumatic stress.
Under the innovative Hot Shop Heroes program, current and former members of the military will be able to take glassmaking classes at no cost, allowing them to develop their art, overcome stress or learn new job skills.
Co-director Erwin Timmers said that the intense concentration and camaraderie required for glassmaking can be “profoundly therapeutic” for combat veterans, especially.
The program started at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Wash., in 2013 and has helped more than 750 servicemembers since then. The collaboration with the Washington Glass School is its first expansion outside Washington state.
The eight-week program will end with a special exhibition of the artwork at the same time as the Washington Glass School Holiday Open Studio on Dec. 9.
The Mount Rainier nonprofit has long had a therapeutic undertone. It was founded in 2001 by glass artist Tim Tate, a former therapist who got into glass art when he learned he was HIV positive.
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