Claire Yuckert has made much of her living the last two years talking to people about glass.
And, because of the federal stimulus package, she’s still doing it today.
The Museum of Glass received a $50,000 grant from the federal recovery act last year to retain two part-time “educational interpreters” in the hot shop, the museum’s live glassmaking studio.
Armed with a microphone and vast knowledge of the world of glass, Yuckert acts as an emcee, explaining the glassmaking process to museum visitors who come to watch the artists at work.
“I get to watch glass get blown all day,” said Yuckert, a 27-year-old Tacoma native. “It’s a pretty sweet gig.”
The Museum of Glass stimulus award barely registers a blip in a list of multi-million dollar South Sound recovery projects, ranging from highway expansions to purchases of energy-efficient buses.
But it helped save two critical positions, said Susan Warner, the museum’s deputy director. A tight budget year in 2009 caused the museum to lay off six employees.
“The grant is to retain valued staff positions, and these are very valued staff positions,” Warner said. “They’re front-line people that really interact with our visitors, and our visitor experience is paramount to us.”
Yuckert, whose education is in film, said the job is fun but far from easy.
It’s a difficult enough position that the museum chooses to have two people fill it part-time rather than one person do it all week long. Yuckert emcees two days a week, while the rest of the week she runs the museum’s mobile hot shop program and coordinates educational activities there. The pieces add up to a full-time job for her.
“It’s exhausting because you’re on the microphone six hours a day talking to the audience,” she said. “You not only have to explain to them the process, but entertain them as well.”
Had the museum’s emcee positions been eliminated because of budget cuts, Yuckert probably would have had to find another part-time job, she said.
“It’s very difficult because we live in an economy that doesn’t support the arts,” Yuckert said. “Even with all the cuts that have happened, I still have a full-time job, so I’m very fortunate.”
But beyond providing a steady paycheck, the emcee job has helped her get over an intense fear of public speaking, she said. Before she started as a hot shop emcee, she managed the museum’s live video feed of the glassmaking studio – a much more solitary job. She took the emcee position to challenge herself, she said.
She’s now using her oratory skills to volunteer as assistant director of Tacoma Opera’s latest production, “The Marriage of Figaro.”
Her increased confidence is something she’ll take with her from her experience at the Museum of Glass, she said.
“This has been the biggest challenge of my life – it’s been like climbing a mountain,” Yuckert said. “I’m totally over my fears now, and I have the emcee position to thank for that.”
Melissa Santos: 253552-7058
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