The Glass and Sculpture (G.A.S.) Club at the University of Nebraska Kearney hosted their annual glass blowing open house and glass sale on Saturday. For four hours in the glass studio, called the UNK Hot Shop, students and their professor demonstrated glass blowing and had tables full of glasswork for sale.

Justin Thorman, a student with five semesters of glass blowing, said the funds for the sale help the classes purchase supplies, such as glass colors, that their lab fees might not cover. However, the open house and sale also serve another purpose - to let the campus and the community know that they're there.

"That's our goal: to make Kearney and UNK aware of what we have and what we're offering," Thorman said. "A lot of people don't even know this shop exists in Kearney, and we feel very privileged to have it. There's only a few glass studios in the state, and we want to keep this one alive."

Other schools such as Chadron State and Hastings College also have glass studios, but glass blowing is not a staple at every university.

At least two dozen people were in the Hot Shop as the demonstrations wound down Saturday afternoon. Thorman said last year their open house attracted a "decent" crowd, but this year there were even more people.

"I was the first one up to demonstrate, and there were only a few people here," he said. "[Then] I turned around and there was a lot of people behind us, and that's what we're looking for."

Thorman said the G.A.S. Club targeted the holiday season with their open house by making ornaments, as well as other pieces, to sell. He said pieces can take anywhere from an hour to two and half hours to make, depending on complexity and size.

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