Pocatello community creates glass hearts at Idaho Museum of Natural History

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – This past weekend, the spirit of Valentine's Day came down to being a fine art in Pocatello.

The Idaho Museum of Natural History created the opportunity to make your own glass heart. 

Local artist Melissa Neiers was on hand to help the community create a heart-shaped masterpiece. 

She says the activity is accessible to anyone. 

"You start with a piece of glass, then you put a little glue on it," Neiers said. "Then you start adding your stringers and your background colors, other little layers of glass."

She says the making of the hearts is simple, but their completion takes some work. 

"Fuzed glass is like stained glass, but you put the glass that's already made in a kiln and you melt it," Neiers said. "It's a specific kiln, and it goes up to about 1400 degrees."

Neiers says the making of this type of art requires specific equipment.

"It’s wonderful to share the art," Neiers said. "It's expensive for one person to get into it, because the kilns are anywhere from $1000 to $2,000 apiece."

By offering this art at the fraction of the cost, she says the intrigue has been high and plans to hold workshops in the upcoming months. 

"The museum wants to do more of these classes, so we'll be advertising those on the website and on Facebook," Neiers said.