Off To SOFA Chicago!

The works are all finished and packed - and on their way to Chicago's Navy Pier for the huge arts fair: S.O.F.A. (Sculptural Objects and Functional Art)!

Michael Janis "When She Was There" detail, kilnformed glass, frit powder imagery

WGS' Tim Tate will have his new glass/video works on exhibit at Habatat Galleries (space # 1100); Michael Janis and Allegra Marquart will both be featured at Maurine Littleton Gallery (space #403).

Allegra Marquart "Cow Over The Moon", kilncast glass

Tim will also be part of a series of lectures and booth events. He will be part of the Saturday Nov 2 talk about developing new audiences, titled: "Through A Glass, Brightly" 
He also will be giving a booth lecture at Habatat's space titled "Video as the Next Craft Medium" on Saturday at 1:30 pm.

Tim Tate "Guardians of Nature", Cast Glass, Video

Glass Secessionism will have a talk hosted by William Warmus and Tim Tate in Room 323, from 3-4pm on Saturday. Titled 'The Gathering: Glass Landscape in the 21st Century', it will be a round table discussion centered on Post-Studio Glass and Glass Secessionism. For more info - check out the Facebook event posting online HERE.

SOFA CHICAGO opens Thursday, October 31 and runs through Sunday, November 3, 2013 at Chicago's historic Navy Pier.

DC Center for the Creative Economy Tables The Fulbright Experience

 

The Center for the Creative Economy is organizing a series of discussions via a new project called "The Communal Table at Eatonville". ReSourceArts and Artomatic are partners in this effort. 

Join Washington Glass School Co-Director Michael Janis and Flux Studio founder Novie Trump in a table discussion 'Fulbright Experience" at Eatonville restaurant in. Michael was named a Fulbright Scholar in 2012, and Novie was recently approved as a Fulbright candidate. 

Wednesday, November 13th, noon to 2 pm.

Eatonville Restaurant in the Zora Room

2121 14th St. NW
Washington, DC 20009
(corner of 14th and V Streets)

 

The Center for the Creative Economy is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting communication between the creative economic clusters in the city of Washington, DC (as defined by the Creative Capital report published by the WDCEP and DC Planning Dept.) Through this effort to unify the creative economic clusters, this organization will form a stronger voice for artists in the city, create strong bonds between the varying artistic groups in the city, and produce a reformed and more powerful asset to the economy of the city.
 

The mission of the Center for the Creative Economy is to promote community and interaction between the various creative economic clusters in the District of Columbia, thereby offering the city a more vibrant art scene. Although Washington, DC, has numerous participants in the fields of museums and heritage, building arts, culinary arts, performing arts, media and communications, and arts/crafts and design projects, these differing clusters have only a vague sense of community, both in their respective fields and outside of them. It is therefore the goal of the Center for the Creative Economy to foster a sense of community between the creative clusters in the District in the effort of creating a more cohesive, better funded, and more profitable creative economy. 

Syl Mathis @ Bethesda Row Arts Festival This Weekend

Syl Mathis

The Bethesda Row Arts Festival is this weekend - turning downtown Bethesda  into an outdoor art gallery featuring fine arts and crafts from 190 artists in the Bethesda Row area of Bethesda, Maryland. 

Syl Mathis

Our Syl Mathis is one of the featured artists in the show – with some spectacular new kiln cast glass sculptures.

Syl Mathis

SHOW INFORMATION

16th Annual 2013 Bethesda Row Arts Festival
Saturday, October 19th – 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, October 20th – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Admission is FREE.
The outdoor event is held rain or shine on Bethesda Row located on Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues, Elm Street. The festival is near the Bethesda Metro station.

Glass Tower by Jennifer Lindstrom

Grind, Jenny, Grind!

In a recent post, we showed Jenny Lindstrom working on a new mixed media artwork  - and that we'd post images of the completed work. Jenny's work often mixes found objects with cast glass and aluminum elements.

Jennifer Lindstrom's cast glass and mixed media sculpture in the 2011 WGS 10 Year anniversary exhibit at Longview Gallery. Photo: Pete Duvall.

Jenny often creates cast glass sculpture forms that resemble houses and plays off the rough and smooth finishes. Below are some of the photos by photog James Calder of her newest work to be part of her portfolio of work submitted to Penland :

Detail of Jennifer Lindstrom's cast glass house. Photo James Calder.

Tim Tate Talks About His Current Works

From glass and video sculptor Tim Tate:

Three Current Pieces That Discuss The Transition From Studio Glass To Glass Secessionism

I see my sculptures as self-contained installations. My current work chronicles the transition from the Era of Studio Glass to the new movement of Glass Secessionism.

Blending a traditional craft with new media technology gives me the framework in which I fit my artistic narrative; contemporary, yet with the aesthetic of Victorian techno-fetishism.

To see this chronology, I will discuss 3 of my recent artworks.

Tim Tate "Cowboy Luvin" blown and cast glass, LED lighting.

In Cowboy Luvin’ I reinterpret a millefiori lamp that belonged to my grandmother, though up date its narrative content and technology to LED’s. This was specifically made to show Secessionist roots in early glass.

Tim Tate "Smashing Blue" cast glass, video, electronics.

In the Smashing Blue piece, I use a time-based medium (video) to show a glass vase smashing, yet then reconfiguring again and again. This is intended to show that our definitions in the 20^th century ebb and flow towards what is and isn’t glass based, and how we are constantly redefining the present dialog.

Tim Tate "The Next 50 Years Begins Now", blown and cast glass, video, electronics, engraving

In The Next 50 Years Begins Now a video shows the smashing of a Chihuly-like glass piece, and then reconfiguring over and over. Inside the smaller dome are shards from the original piece. On top of that is a small man holding a large video screen, playing that video. The cast glass finial on top is a bust of Dale Chihuly. The surface of the outer dome has been etched with the history of Dale Chihuly, his importance to the Studio Glass and the artworld, and the text ends with his suing his former assistant for knocking him off.

This piece asks many questions:

Is this real?
    > A fake?
The culmination of 30 years of work?
    > Or just glass and 3 hours time?
The beginning of glass secessionism?
    > Is glass secessionism the right term?
Does this mark the end of technique driven dominance?
    > Or the beginning of ironic work?

Does breaking this piece add value to it? 
    > Or does it destroy it?

If this was a cheap knock off, who would be wielding that hammer?
 

Does questioning authority equal disrespect?

Could this be an act of construction, not destruction...just as I intended it to be?

To me, these works are phylacteries of sorts, the transparent reliquaries in which bits of saints’ bones or hair — relics — are displayed. In many cultures and religions, relics are believed to have healing powers. My relics are temporal, sounds and moving images formally enshrined, encapsulating experiences like cultural specimens. And perhaps, to the contemporary soul, they are no less reliquaries than those containing the bones of a saint.
 
With technology rapidly changing the way we perceive art, the current day contemporary landscape closely mirrors Victorian times in the arts. We marvel at and invent bridges between past and present in an effort to define our time and make sense of this highly transitory moment in artistic history. 

Tim Tate

Working in The Studio

While artists Tim Tate and Michael Janis getting their glass works ready for shipping to the huge Art fair "S.O.F.A. Chicago", the other studio artists are busy working on new directions and projects.  

Nancy Donnelly carefully cleans the plaster mold from her cast glass figure.

Nancy Donnelly creates new cast glass figures using the lost wax process. She also is working in ceramics - we are hoping to see many new mixed media works soon!

Nancy's desk always has fascinating elements in interesting compositions!

Also in the studio is Jennifer Lindstrom, as she toils away at her mixed media sculpture. Jennifer is working on her work as she submits for a core fellowship at Penland School of Crafts.

Jenny (aka Slam Grier in DC Roller Girls).

Jennifer grinds and polishes her cast glass house element.

The red cast glass swirls thru Jenny's house like a fire. Her roof is on fire.

 We hope to publish some finished works of the artists once they are completed!

Erwin Timmers in Baltimore's Case[werks] Gallery

Baltimore's gallery and showroom Case[werks] opens its October Exhibit, Product Lines: Art & Function Delineated, featuring works by eleven artists and designers. The exhibition opens on October 16 and closes on December 21, 2013. The opening reception is free and open to the public at Case[werks] Gallery on Friday October 18 from 5:00-8:00P.M.

Ceramics, furniture, glass, prints, textiles, and design samples will be displayed in tableaus. Designers featured in the exhibit include William John Gardner, Majer Metalworks, Emmanuel Nicolaidis, Andrea Pippins, Sarah Templin/Radica Textiles and Whitney Sherman. Sculptural works by David Hess, Brian Kain, Lyle Kissak, John Wise, and Erwin Timmers will also be featured. Some of Erwin's new glass sculptures made of recycled glass that have some great color effects will be unveiled.

Case[werks] Showroom & Gallery

1501 Saint Paul Street, Suite 116 B
Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Product Lines: Art & Function Delineated
October 16- December 21, 2013.
Opening Reception October 18 from 5:00-8:00P.M

Bullseye Glass Co. Announces Call For Its 8th Biennial Exhibition for Emerging Artists

Emerge 2014, Bullseye Glass' eighth international kiln-glass exhibition for emerging artists, is now accepting online applications. Students and intermediate-level artists and makers who are not represented by major galleries are encouraged to apply.

This biennial juried competition offers substantial prizes and representation in a full-color exhibition catalog. Artworks will be installed at Bullseye Gallery in Portland, where finalists will be recognized at a festive opening reception and awards ceremony. Selected award winners will be included in a national touring exhibition.

Jurors for Emerge 2014 are Kathleen Moles, Emily Nachison, and James Yood.

IMPORTANT DATES

December 6, 2013
Submission deadline

January 16, 2014
Finalists notified individually via email

April 8, 2014
Exhibition opens at Bullseye Gallery

April 12, 2014
Opening night reception and awards event at Bullseye Gallery

Click HERE for more info. 

History of Studio Glass: What Came Before

The audience gets settled into Flux Studios for the start of the history of American studio glass.

Professor Debra Ruzinsky's lecture on the history of the studio glass movement was a treat! Debra's slide lecture outlined the traditional lineage and then featured many of the artists and works not normally included in the standard time line history that starts in March 1962 and focuses primarliy on blown glass works. Deb's discussion included pre-'60s and '70s works, works by women, European glass artists, kiln casters, and narrative works - all the alternate viewpoints.

Debra Ruzinsky's lecture takes the students on a journey.

Novie Trump of Flux studios offered the use of their stunning space for the talk, and it was SRO - which is always heartening.

Tim Tate addresses the students from Salisbury University glass program that traveled hours to be part of the talk.

Assistant professor Steve Durow arranged for a group from the glass program at Maryland's Salisbury University to join the lecture and the students had a tour of the glass school. The idea that the young-un's (as well as us old coots) are getting a sense of the rich history of glass as the medium rushes forward into the 21st Century makes all of us at the Glass School happy.

Affordable Health Care and the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange

Want to know what is entailed in the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare?)
Gateway CDC will host a workshop on Thursday, October 24 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM

Location: 39th Street Gallery at 3901 Rhode Island Ave. (Second Floor 39th Street entrance) Brentwood, MD 20722

Have you always thought Health Insurance was beyond your reach? Please join the Gateway CDC's 39th Street Gallery and the Montgomery County Health Department for a workshop for artists and other underinsured in Prince George's County. Affordable Care Act and the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange (MHBE) has launched the Connector Program in Maryland, in accordance with the Affordable Care Act and Maryland law, to provide target populations with in-person education, eligibility and enrollment assistance.

The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Act of 2012 established programs to serve both the Individual and the SHOP Exchanges. Nearly 250,000 Marylanders are expected to become newly insured as a result of expanded Medicaid eligibility and the creation of subsidized health insurance product offered through Maryland Health Connection (MHC). To successfully enroll the State's uninsured residents in coverage options available through the Affordable Care Act beginning in October 2013, the MHBE has developed the Connector Program to provide robust outreach and enrollment mechanisms to help consumers learn about, apply for and enroll in an appropriate health insurance products, including Medicaid, the Maryland Children's Health Program, and subsidized and non-subsidized qualified health plans. RSVP by email to: artprograms@gatewaycdc.org Seating is limited. You will receive a reply email informing you of attendance confirmation. Gateway Community Development Corporation drives economic revitalization along the U.S. Route 1 Corridor through business and neighborhood development initiatives including promotion of the arts as a community building strategy. Gateway CDC works within the communities of Brentwood, North Brentwood and Mount Rainier, MD and in collaboration with multiple partners to ensure the success of the entire Gateway Arts District. Gateway CDC is a 501c3 non-profit organization located in North Brentwood, Prince George's County, Maryland. Gateway CDC, 4102 Webster Street, North Brentwood, MD 20722, www.gatewaycdc.org, 301-864-3860

Sean Hennessey Solo Exhibit @ DC's 'The Dunes' Opens Oct 4th

Sean Hennessy "The Luxury of Dreams"

The Luxury of Dreams is a series of artworks based on interpretations of dreams submitted to Sean by friends, colleagues, strangers, and social media connections. Using bas-relief cast glass, painting, drawing, and photography, Sean has created a strong and surreal body of works that takes his work to a new level. Based on the situation of the homelessness in DC, this exhibit of dreams will also serve as a fundraiser for charity organization Thrive DC, who perform services for those in need of our Nation's Capitol.

Sean Hennessey

Sean Hennessey’s “The Luxury of Dreams” came about after a personal experience with a neighborhood homeless man who, with help, was able to turn his life around. Using the crisis of homelessness in our cities came a desire to create an exhibition based on blankets, beds, and shelter. About this, Sean wrote: “I then wondered if the level of security of having a place to sleep affected how we dream. I was thinking about how we all enter the world of dreams, regardless of where we sleep. I thought that I would create a series of works based on the dreams of others. Through conversations … about art and social issues, my idea for The Luxury of Dreams series was born. I started soliciting dreams from friends, colleagues, collectors, other artists, and social media connections.”

Sean Hennessey

Sean works in glass, concrete, steel, light and video, creating narrative content from philosophical, mythological, historical and personal experiences.

Said Sean: “As I was dealing with an uncomfortable issue in the inspiration of this series, and a new way of developing content within my work, I wanted to take a new approach to the creation of the work itself. I decided that I would utilize photography and drawings into glass. After receiving many dreams from friends and strangers I began conceptualizing how I would approach the pieces. At first I thought I would layer photos and drawings with castings of glass Beds and Blankets. I may still create a series in that direction, but I decided for this first series based on dreams that I would pick imagery from the dreams that I felt most connected and relate it to my way of storytelling. Atypical of how I approach a series, each piece will feel different and have different shapes and sizes. I usually like for my series to read like a book, often with each piece the same size and scale; another new way of making work for me.”

The Luxury of Dreams

Opening: Friday, October 4, 7-10pm

Exhibition Dates: October 4-November 15

TheDunes

1402 Meridian Place, NW

Washington, DC 20010

The gallery is located on the second floor. It is 0.3 miles from the Columbia Heights Metro, and there is ample parking in the DC USA building. Click HERE to jump to the event Facebook page.