Bringing Light To The Dark Side

Novie Trump is a world renown ceramic artist, working from Flux Studios, located right next door to the Washington Glass School. Her poetic sculptural work often involves depictions of nature - presented in unexpected and captivating ways. 

Novie Trump Escape Installation of porcelain butterflies and ceramic book
Ceramic, Acrylic Rods, Steel 60” x 60” x 24”(variable)

Novie is working on a commissioned artwork piece that came to her via Project 4 Gallery: to create large scale installation that will be located in the new Farmers & Fishers restaurant now being built at the Georgetown waterfront.

Her artwork design calls for many porcelain bees to be clustered around illuminated hives are various locations. The design of the beehive has brought her to the glass studio - and it is a chance for the glass artists to bring Novie over to the dark - or rather - the glassy side.

Erwin Timmers offers some adventurous suggestions to Novie, but from the expressions on both her and Tim Tate's face, they seem unlikely to be incorporated. 

A sample of Novie Trump's porcelain bees

Novie chose to work with illuminated glass - creating a pattern of cellular hive divisions with frit powder fused to glass, and slumped over a tapered form. The WGS fritmaster - Michael Janis - offered Novie some pointers on how to manipulate the powder.

Novie Trump and Michael Janis share a laugh as they work

Novie sifts glass powder onto a sheet of glass

Manipulating frit powder is a delicate operation

Novie Trump and Michael Janis evaluate the glass' progress prior to loading the layer in a kiln for firing

After fusing, the samples are compared by Novie Trump for her preferred selection of color and texture combination 

Novie made many studies of the color and textures and tested the samples with light source alternates.

The glass will later be slumped and a housing for the lighting made in the glass school's welding shop. Novie will be making the rest of her porcelain swarms and fusing the glass in the next few months, and she promises to send us photos of the finished work.

A Bit of A Tease

Next month, the LongView Gallery will present : "Artists of the Washington Glass School - The First Ten Years". In bringing The First Ten Years to Washington, DC, LongView Gallery asks artists and audience alike to cast aside traditional notions of glass art and participate in a new form of dialogue; one that looks to the future and not the past. This exhibition is still in the process of being curated by the gallery, but one of the works submitted is so amazing, below is a sneak peak of the show.

Elizabeth Ryland Mears and William "Tex" Forrest have created a collaborative sculpture piece. The illuminated work is over 6' tall, made of flameworked glass, steel wire & fabric.

Liz Mears & Tex Forrest' design sketch

Full-size sample

Liz & Tex at the glass school for a photo shoot of the finished sculpture

Elizabeth Mears shows the tactile detail of the glass...."embellishments"

The finished work - photography by Anything Photographic.
Detail of the lampworked glass

The First Ten Years is intended to celebrate – and instigate– the new directions contemporary glass is exploring through various artistic metaphors. Featured artists include: Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers, Elizabeth Mears, Syl Mathis, Lea Topping, Robert Kincheloe and others.

Washington Glass School: The First 10 Years

LongView Gallery

1234 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC
May 19 - June 19,2011

Artist Reception, May 19th, 6:30-8:30 PM