Lost Wax - Found!

Debra Ruzinsky's great Lost Wax Casting class finished up their projects in the cold shop. Here are some images of the students and their work.

Escaping the Lure of Black Friday

The Glass School provided a much needed respite for a number of artists after Thanksgiving.
Instead of hitting the malls, glass artist Teddie Hathaway hit the diamond lap wheel.

Teddie Hathaway cleans her bas-relief glass panels.

Nancy Donnelly unloads her glass castings.

Escape to the Washington Glass School.

Talking Turkey

The Washington Glass School wishes everybody a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Get Ready for the Washington Glass School Holiday Sale!

It may be cold and nasty outside - but it is warm & toasty at the Glass School.
The Washington Glass School annual Holiday Sale is coming soon!
So many of the Glass School artists and instructors will have their work available - artwork for sale in many styles and media; beautiful jewelry & craft.

Plus the surrounding artist studios (ceramic studios like Red Dirt & Flux Studio, art studios like Ellyn Weiss', Alec Simpson's, Janis Goodman's) will be open.
The Gateway Arts District will have their Fine Art and Craft Sale along Route 1 / Rhode Island Ave - make it a day of art.
Mark Your Calendar At Once!

Washington Glass School Holiday Sale

Saturday, December 12, 2009

2 - 6 pm

Food, Music, and Glass, Glass, Glass!

Washington Glass School Going South

This December, the entire art world turns its focus to Miami. Anchored by Art Basel Miami (the sister event of Switzerland's Art Basel, one of the most prestigious art shows worldwide for the past 40 years), there is a convergence of art, celebrities, sunshine and over-the-topness, creating a cultural and social highlight for the Americas. The success and prestige of Art Basel Miami has created satellite art shows, including Art Miami and Red Dot Art Fair - all located near or adjacent to each other.The simultaneous art fairs create a combination of an international selection of top galleries with special exhibitions, parties and crossover events featuring music, film, architecture and design. Tourists, art collectors, curators and art lovers come from around the globe to attend this annual art frenzy.

Artists from the Washington Glass School will be showing at this year's art explosion that is Art Basel Miami. Mayer Fine Art is one of the galleries showing at Red Dot, and they will showcase the work of the Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers and Michael Janis. If you are getting your tan on - come and get your art on!

RED DOT ART FAIR HOURS:

Dec 2 -6, 2009

Wednesday, December 2nd,
VIP and Press Preview, 5 – 6 PM
Opening Reception, to benefit GreenMiami, 6 – 9 PM
General Admission:
Thursday, December 3rd, 11 AM – 7 PM
Friday, December 4th, 11 AM – 8 PM
Saturday, December 5th, 11 AM – 8 PM
Sunday, December 6th, 11 AM – 6 PM

LOCATION:
Wynwood Art District
NW 31st Street and NE 1st Avenue (Midtown Blvd), Miami, FL 33137

Booth B105

Artist Salon @ Washington Glass School

L-R: Phil Davis, Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission; Mary Resing, Active Cultures Theater; Erwin Timmers, Washington Glass School; Tim Tate, Washington Glass School; Alec Simpson, Artist; Chris Shea, Artist/Blacksmith

The Prince George's Arts Council held its latest 'Artist Salon' at the Washington Glass School - a spirited meeting of artistic minds held over wine and nibbles. Artists from the theater, dance and visual arts community mixed it up with musicians and government organizations.

Prince George's Artist Salon @ Washington Glass School

Prince George's Arts Council invites you to join in Arts Buzz in Prince George’s County: Join in a gathering about art… your art, others’ art, the world of art,
November 17, 2009, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.,

Washington Glass School

3700 Otis Street, Mount Rainier, MD 20712

Prince George's Arts Council is supported by:

Inside The Kiln: Lost Wax

Erwin Timmers checks out the lost wax firing

Debra Ruzinsky's "Introduction to Lost Wax Casting" class started off with great success - the art works will continue firing and annealing in the kiln until Wednesday. Shown here is Erwin Timmers as he checks on the work to ensure the integrity of the plaster casts and the glass levels in each mold during the process. Although the mathematics to determine of the amount of glass needed to fill the molds were practiced - some were more precise in their calculations than others.

The inside of one very hot kiln.

Lost wax class with Debra Ruzinsky

Today was the second class with Debra Ruzinsky, where we got down and dirty with plaster and wax.



You take your carved wax model, and cover it in plaster...



... then the wax is boiled or steamed out of the mold...



It's called lost wax, but I still see it... everywhere!



And then it all goes into the kiln. Next week we see the results.

Food & Friends 'Friendship Wall'

The charity organization Food & Friends had commissioned the Washington Glass Studio to create its outdoor donor wall, located in the park adjacent to its Northeast Washington, DC facility. The wall is made of bas-relief cast glass, made in muted autumnal Bullseye glass colors, and set in a steel framework. The donor names are engraved on metal inset panels. The translucent panels allow for light and color to pass thru the memorial.

Food & Friends was founded to serve a distinct need in the community -- feeding those who are sick. This need persists and continues to grow. For more than twenty years, Food & Friends has been the only organization in the Washington metropolitan area to provide life-sustaining nutrition to our neighbors in need. For more information on Food & Friends and how you can help out - click HERE .
To order a delicious Thanksgiving Pie from Food & Friends - click HERE

photos by: Anything Photograhic

The Friendship Donor Wall opened this past September. Check out some of the architectural projects by the Washington Glass Studio - click HERE.

Washington Glass Rocks SOFA Chicago 2009

Allegra Marquart discusses her work on opening night.
Originally uploaded by sofaexpo

The international art show SOFA Chicago was held at Navy Pier in Chicago, with the Washington Glass School represented by Tim Tate, Allegra Marquart and Michael Janis. The 4 day gala had 68 galleries from 10 countries and viewers in the tens of thousands.

Washington, DC's Maurine Littleton Gallery had a great show, showcasing artworks of glass icons Harvey Littleton, Richard Marquis, Judith La Scola, Therman Statom, John Littleton, Kate Vogel and Colin Reid along with WGS artists Tate, Marquart and Janis.

The three DC artists had a great year, with a lot of interest from collectors, curators and other glass artists!

View of Maurine Littleton Gallery @ SOFA

One of the Tim Tate exhibition areas

Michael Janis' fused glass powder drawings

l-r John Littleton, Tim Tate, Ginny Ruffner, Cappy Thompson, Michael Janis

Therman Statom constructs his artwork in situ

WGS welcomes a new neighbor with Dutch treat

Our lovely neighbor, Margaret Boozer from Red Dirt Studio, visited with her new baby, and we treated her to an old Dutch tradition.


Nancy, Tim, Margaret, Kyle, Nicole and Erwin enjoying "beschuit met muisjes", basically zwieback and sugar covered anise seeds with plenty of butter to hold it all together.