“The first rule of glassblowing is do not get attached to anything because what you make breaks all the time,” says Kaelee Byrne ('24), a communication alumni who graduated from Westminster University in December 2023.
For Kaelee, the journey to discover art and glassblowing has been one full of healing and perseverance. Originally from Alta, Utah, she grew up in a small town, skiing in the Grand Wasatch Mountains. “I grew up surrounded by some beautiful art because my dad is an art collector, but I was an athlete, and I never felt like art was for me, ever,” she mentions.
However, upon coming to Westminster, Kaelee discovered her passions might go beyond athletics.
“I had these two traumatic events happen. And then, from there, I started to heal through art. It is like I fell down this rabbit hole, but it almost felt like I was falling intrinsically upwards because it opened my world to so much more,” she says. For Kaelee, art has been an outlet, and a relief from stress, but most of all, a newfound joy.
As a multimedia artist, Kaelee experiments with painting, graphic design, and sticker-making, but the world of glassblowing fascinates her. “I can make 50 stickers, and they will be all the same, but I cannot make 50 identical marbles in glass. Every piece is unique. A lot about glassblowing is the chemistry of the glass and what state of mind you are in when doing it,” Kaelee says.
Glassblowing is a complex form of art originating in the Middle East during the 1st century BC. It consists of inflating molten glass into a bubble with the help of a blowpipe or maneuvering a flame to fuse color rods to make pieces such as marbles and ornaments. “What I do is called marble-making with Millefiori, an old Italian technique, and it basically works like Laffy Taffy” Kaelee says. “For me, glassblowing is always challenging, but once you make something you are proud of, there is no feeling like it."
Nonetheless, there have been some roadblocks in Kaelee’s journey with glassblowing. “The glass community here in Salt Lake City is so small. I didn't take any lessons. A lot of it was learning from seeing, which is hard, especially when you are a woman in the field. There are very few women in this community that do it.”
Historically a male-dominated art form and with little resources in the area, glassblowing can be an unapproachable field. But for Kaelee, the feeling of showing up and making a change motivates her.
Despite the difficulties, Kaelee mentions that Westminster and the communication department have supported her every step of the way. “They have encouraged me to bring my art into the curriculum, not keeping it separate. Westminster has inspired me to keep going with my art because faculty encourages you to bring those passions into your major.”
As her graduation approached last December, Kaelee encouraged students to try out art and to persist. “Remember to persevere and persevere. You will not be constantly good at everything, and that is okay. I think in the future, I would love to do outdoor sculpture or dive into the next medium of art. There is painting, stickers, then glassblowing, what is next?” she says.
Kaelee reminds us it is never too late to pursue new passions and change your mind. “I love things that I thought I hated. That is something I learned about myself as an adult. That is, everything I thought I hated, I actually love.”
- Juanita Galvis ('25)
Kaelee Byrne ('24) glassblowing
Art made by Kaelee Byrne
Kaelee Byrne skiing
