NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A group of kids just couldn't look away from the work of a very special guest at school this week. That guest said whatever your passion in life, you remember the people who helped ignite it.
"I'm really digging the snakes," said Trent Boysen, looking over some glass sculptures on display. "You see the flowers mixed with the snakes. To me, I really gel with that. It's just mind blowing."
Boysen's goal is to find a way to spark a lifelong passion for art in his students. He's the head of visual arts at University School of Nashville. He spoke while looking at the intricate, detailed work of a former student.
"Yeah, I feel pride in that," Boysen smiled.
This week, that student is back.
"You guys ready?" Grant Garmezy asked a group of 4th graders.
"YEAH!" they shouted back.
"All right! Have you guys seen glass blowing before?" he asked, beginning a demonstration. "Awesome! Like I said, the glass is extremely hot."
Garmezy remembers his creative upbringing, the charcoal prints he made while a student at USN.
"Grant was always this very intent worker, and he was very curious," said Boysen. "That experimentation, that drive, and that focus on material is something Grant has always displayed."
"I was immediately hooked by the heat and the energy that is glass blowing," said Garmezy. "You can't touch it. It's 2,000 degrees. You gotta use these crazy tools."
Watching Garmezy's work take shape was the fourth grader Allie Jackson.
"I was like, 'how did he do that?'" she laughed. "That is awesome, just whoah. It was so wow!"
"Let's carve in some wings," Garmezy said, continuing to work on a piece in front of the students. "This is looking beautiful!"
He revealed the glasswork to be a bluebird.
There's something so full circle about this day for Garmezy, being around the teachers who helped to inspire him and now hearing the thoughts of the students.
"I could picture myself doing that, and I think it would be awesome!" Allie said. "For now, I'd like to stick with clay and stuff instead. I just never knew that was possible."
"If I found out 10,15 years down the road that one of these kids was inspired by something that was demonstrated here, that would just mean the world to me," said Garmezy.
University School of Nashville is hosting its Artclectic show this weekend. Approximately 44 artists — including Garmezy — will be there. Money raised will go toward an excellence in teaching endowment.
