Entrepreneurial Experience

Fired Up! artists participate in a series of in-house and regional exhibitions. The Year culminates in a professional marketing experience at the Krasl Art Fair in neighboring St. Joseph, ranked in the top 10 art fairs in the nation. Fired Up! teens exhibit their work in their own booth and receive job skills training and proudly serve as cultural ambassadors for the community .

Teen artists also participate in area juried art shows and an annual field trip to experience other glass facilities and museums. Teens develop their marketing skills by writing professional artists’ statements, titling, inventorying, pricing and selling their work. These advanced requirements are geared to an early college level and set the program apart from the usual ‘make & take’ art-making experiences.

In addition to their individual work, each studio is collectively responsible for designing and producing a production item to be sold alongside their work at the Krasl Art Fair. Artists receive 70% from sales of their individual work and 30% goes for their material costs. 100% of their sales of production work is reinvested into the program. The teens are very proud of this “pay it forward” aspect of the program and set a goal of seating one new student in the program annually.