GLASS ALUMNI
Kristin L. Deady
Glass Art (A.A.), 2005
Alumni Profile: Kristin L. Deady
April 30, 2024
Congratulations to 2024 Distinguished Alumna Kristin L. Deady!
Kristin received an Associate in Arts degree in Glass Art from Salem Community College in 2005, her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010 and a Master of Fine Arts at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 2014.
Before returning to SCC, Kristin was the Glass Technician at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, and taught in the glass departments at Tyler and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
In 2016, Kristin joined Salem Community College as the Glass Education Administrator, overseeing both the Glass Art and Scientific Glass Technology programs at the Glass Education Center in Alloway, N.J. In 2021, SCC promoted Kristin to Assistant Dean of Glass Education.
“Our former Director of HR, Barbara Quaile, once commented to me that I must bleed green,” said Kristin at the Awards Ceremony on April 17. “I thought that was a fair assessment. I am proud of this institution, proud of our community that works hard every day to make this a wonderful place to go to school and a great place to work, I’m so proud of our students and our graduates, and I am proud of the work I do here. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve in this position at SCC.”
In 2019, Kristin oversaw the glass programs’ move from Alloway to a new, state-of-the-art facility on the SCC campus. The following year, as the COVID crisis unfolded, her leadership was crucial as SCC safely reopened the Glass Education Center with strict health and safety standards, which became a model for other New Jersey colleges and universities’ reopening initiatives. During the pandemic, she also successfully pivoted to virtual open houses to promote the two glass programs and conducted virtual programs with distinguished artists that attracted international audiences.
As chair of the International Flameworking Conference (IFC), Kristin resumed the IFC with great success in 2022, following a two-year break due to the pandemic. Her dynamic leadership is also responsible for the expansion of community workshops, intensive weeklong workshops for professionals, and programs for high school students and educators. Kristin also collaborates with faculty, students and alumni on professional-quality exhibits at the GEC; organizes career fairs for current glass students; hosts an array of visiting artists from across the nation and around the world; and sponsors visits from other colleges, including Princeton University.
As a practicing glass artist for over 20 years, Kristin focuses on investigating the constructed nature of human perception. Among her achievements: Her works was selected for publication in the New Glass Review 34 and included in the 2015 Governor’s Island Art Fair in New York, and in the 74th Woodmere Annual in Philadelphia, where she was selected by the jurors to receive the Yvonne M. Kelly Prize for Mixed Media. Her work also has been exhibited at the Philadelphia International Airport. She also presented at the Glass Art Society annual conference in San Jose, California. Kristin was the Chair of Academic Seminars and Technical Demonstrations at the American Scientific Glassblowing Society’s 64th Annual Symposium and 2nd International Expo in Corning, N.Y.
In 2022, Kristin co-curated “Through A Glass, Darkly” with Associate Professor Jenna Lucente and Alexander Rosenberg at the Delaware Contemporary. The four-month exhibit included new and recent works by artists working with glass and glass-related materials and processes, exposing the material’s dual nature.
www.kristinleedeady.com
Alumni Interview: Kristin Deady, Glass Art, A.A., 2005
Story by Jaclyn Samuels, 2014
Photo by John Carlano
New York native Kristin Deady came to Salem Community College's Glass Art program after working as a production flameworker in California. While there, she set up her own flameworking studio in her garage where she could continue to practice flameworking.
Deady's co-workers exposed her to different flameworking techniques and the work of many glass artists. However, the company she worked for eventually closed. It was then that Kristin realized that she wanted to pursue a career in glass.
"My first thought was to look at artists I admired to see how they got to where they were in their glass careers. One of these artists was Paul Stankard," she recalled. "I saw that he not only attended SCC, but was teaching there as well. I signed up, packed my truck, and was off to New Jersey."
After graduating from SCC in 2005 with a degree in glass art, Kristin immediately began her own flameworking business, designing and producing her own line of flameworked jewelry.
In 2010, Kristin received a BFA in glass from Rochester Institute of Technology and four years later earned an MFA in glass from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia. Today she is a full-time glass studio technician at Tyler where she runs the daily operation of the glass studio and teaches Introduction to Glass. She also teaches at University of the Arts.
Kristin teaches students how to safely work within the studio and operate the equipment, and assists them with various challenges. "I believe that the idea is the most important factor in the creation of great work," she said. "I strive to give my students the tools necessary to bring their ideas to life." She works with the university's environmental health and safety office to ensure the studio is a safe working space.
Kristin said that her SCC education gave her a solid foundation as a glass artist and helped to give her life-changing experiences including attending the Glass Art Society (GAS) Conference through a student scholarship. "I encourage all young glass enthusiasts to become members of GAS. Students should take full advantage of each and every opportunity they are presented with," she said.
"Salem opened my eyes to the many possibilities in working with the material that I had not previously been exposed to," she said. "I was also educated more fully about the history of the studio glass movement, and the glass community at large."
Kristin frequently attends SCC's International Flameworking Conference. Her favorite part of the weekend is the community itself. "It's great seeing old friends and having the opportunity to make new ones," she said.