Christen Baker held a narrow tube of black glass over a flame. With one end of the tube in each hand, she began coaxing it into the shape of a cursive letter — until it shattered with a ping, sending shards tinkling to the floor.

But her teacher, Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez, reassured her that it’s all part of the process of learning to make neon lights.

“I remember being deterred from trying text for a long time because of people saying, ‘It’s really hard, and you’re just going to break a bunch of glass,’ ” Melendez said. “I hate this thing of, ‘Don’t even bother to try until you’re a master.’ Everyone has to start somewhere. If my word looks janky, who cares? I’m on that journey to perfection.”

Read the full article by Heather Kathryn Ross here.