Craft Futures 40 Under 40 at Smithsonian Renwick

40 under 40:Craft Futures features forty artists born since 1972, the year the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s contemporary craft and decorative arts program was established at its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery. 

Opening July 20, 2012, the exhibition investigates evolving notions of craft within traditional media such as ceramics and metalwork, as well as in fields as varied as sculpture, industrial design, installation art, fashion design, sustainable manufacturing, and mathematics. The range of disciplines represented illustrates new avenues for the handmade in contemporary culture.

Matthew Szösz, b. 1974

All of the artworks selected for display in the exhibition were created since Sept. 11, 2001. This new work reflects the changed world that exists today, which poses new challenges and considerations for artists. These 40 artists are united by philosophies for living differently in modern society with an emphasis on sustainability, a return to valuing the hand-made and what it means to live in a state of persistent conflict and unease.

Nicholas R. Bell, The Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator of American Craft and Decorative Art at the Renwick Gallery, organized the exhibition. The museum hopes to acquire works by every artist featured in the exhibition to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Renwick Gallery. 

Matthew Szosz Untitled (Inflatable no.46p)
Matthew demo'd his technique at the Washington Glass School - click HERE to jump to description and video.

Click HERE to jump to the list of the youngsters in the show.

40 under 40: Craft Futures July 20, 2012 – February 3, 2013
1st floor, Renwick Gallery (Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street N.W.) Washington, DC

JRA Announces "Masters Of Medium"

 The James Renwick Alliance has announced the winners of their "Master of the Medium" award for 2013. The Masters of the Medium award recognizes artists of consummate craftsmanship who have contributed to and influenced their chosen fields. The Masters of the Medium awards were initiated in 1997 on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of the James Renwick Alliance and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Renwick Gallery. The Masters of the Medium Awards are given biennially in odd numbered years. 
The 2013 winners are:

Glass- Paul Stankard

Paul J. Stankard "integrates mysticism with botanical realism giving the glass organic credibility".  His work celebrates the beauty of nature on an intimate level.  His work is in 38 museum collections, five books and documentaries are published about his work, has been shown in too many exhibitions to count.  He has helped advance flame working by teaching at seven master classes, including in Japan and Scotland.  He supports the Creative Glass Center of America as a board member since its founding in 1983 and as president for three years.

Jewelry/Metal - Bruce Metcalf

“Jewelry is interesting because it is one of the last portable art forms.  Carried on the body, jewelry intrudes into public space at the same time it represents the persona of the wearer.  The more unusual the ornament, the more disturbing the intrusion, and the more radical the representation.  Wearing my jewelry requires either a great sense of adventure, or a total disregard for potential ostracism.” – Excerpt from Artist Statement, 1991

Wood - William Hunter

William Hunter masterfully turns and disc cuts wood to create precise and polished spirals and helixes which open up the vessel with contrast between inside and outside, shadow and light, matter and empty space. He  rewards us with unique and innovative vessels and sculptural forms.  His work is in 23 museum collections, featured in 28 books of sculpture and woodturning, and has been shown in over 60 exhibitions. 

Fiber - Mary Giles

Mary Giles resides in St. Croix, Minnesota.  In the early 1980’s she participated in shows with other influential basket artists. She creates mixed – media coiled baskets that are very sculptural in nature. Her choice of fine waxed linen and metal attached shapes go far beyond the traditional basket. The forms take on a surprise element. She says this about her work, “Today, I am very concerned about the environment and try to capture the forms, textures and light found in nature.”

Clay - Adrian Saxe

Adrian Saxe, a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, has been named, “the most significant ceramic artist of his generation” by L.A. critic, Chris Knight.  A California artist and influential teacher for more than 30 years – another critic sums up his work thus,” Saxe is a virtuoso…spectacularly skilled”.  His ornate, and humorous vessels make reference to traditional vessels and become objects of rare originality and beauty at the same time.  

The winners will receive their awards during Spring Craft Weekend, April 5 to 7, 2013.

Emotional Leak

The UK has some great glass artists - ones that are moving narrative or content driven glass forward. Erin Dickson and Jeffrey Sarmiento are two such artists, and they had collaborated on this work titled "Emotional Leak". Both artists work out of England's University of Sunderland, and with access to waterjet cutters, have exploited that resource to their artistic end. From Erin's artist statement: "my works takes on...the intersection of glass and architecture. As an architect by training, and more recently a glass designer, I use my own experience to evaluate how glass can be manipulated to suit both intentions. When glass is used in architecture, it is too often viewed as a separate component passed to glass ‘specialists’ or artists for manipulation, it is allowed to become a dissected part of the building. My aim is to remove glass from being just a ‘window’ and enable it to become an architectural design element of its own. My work looks at non-traditional methods of using space and light, using glass to manipulate a viewer’s experience of place."

 Dickson/Sarmeinto, Emotional Leak, 2011: waterjet cut glass with steel and rubber base about 9.5 x 4 x 4 ft 
Below is a video of the construction of Emotional Leak - 

Emotional Leak Construction from Sarmiento Glass on Vimeo.

Happy 4th of July!

Tim Tate's lost wax cast glass creates a floral Stars & Stripes.

Wishing everyone a great Fourth of July and every other day of independence throughout the year!

Hot Times At Glass School

The thermometer might be reading in the triple digits (upper 30's for the C° crowd ), and there may be powerful storms that have knocked out power for many in the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland & Virginia) but there are those that come to the glass school to chill. 
Here are some shots taken on a hot weekend:

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Associate Professor Susan O'Brien has come to the glass school to work in glass, as a change from ceramics. Susan here talks about her composition with artist Michael Janis.

Susan explores integrating decorative patterns into her fused glass

Artist John Henderson removes his castings from the kiln.

John is preparing artwork for a new mixed media series he is developing.

John's new "Shield" series incorporates cast glass African imagery with metal and fused glass elements. And working with a water-cooled chop saw helps cool him down. 

Nancy Donnelly works with glass frits to create a lovely floral backdrop.

Stay Cool Peeps! 

Glass BLAST! in London

Cate Watkinson

BLAST! 2012

COHESION GLASS NETWORK'S 10th ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION

July 6 – August 8, 2012

Joanne Mitchell

London, England's ZeST Contemporary Glass Gallery is hosting BLAST! 2012, the 10th anniversary exhibition of Cohesion Glass Network. Cohesion Glass Network is an initiative supported by the UK's Sunderland City Council as a way to create a business network for glassmakers and artists. 

Tim Tate

To celebrate this landmark, ZeST Gallery has invited eight of Cohesion’s founding members to exhibit their latest artworks and provided the opportunity to select an artist to be a “partner” and show work alongside them.

Roger Tye

These eight artists are Criss Chaney, Dominic Fonde, Zoe Garner, Ruth Lyne, Joanne Mitchell, Claudia Phipps, Roger Tye and Cate Watkinson.  They have selected partners whose work they admire, or find complementary to their own, or in some cases they have joined forces to create unique collaborative work, exploring and developing themes and concepts held in common. Some, but not all, of the partner artists are Cohesion members, and all but one of the partners are artists working in glass.

Michael Janis

Cohesion artist Joanne Mitchell chose Washington Glass Studio artist Tim Tate. Cohesion’s Roger Tye is paired with WGS’ Michael Janis. Michael and Tim were both at Cohesion's studios while in the UK on their Fulbright assignment.

The exhibition features a diverse selection of glass art, including wall-mounted and installation artwork, as well as vessels and sculpture, and embodies a broad spectrum of processes and techniques. The pairings within the show create an exciting dynamic of glass, artistic and otherworldly narratives.

Carrie Fertig

Artist pairings include:
Criss Chaney with Robyn Townsend

Dominic Fonde with Chua Teng Yeow

Zoe Garner with Carrie Fertig

Ruth Lyne with Rachel O'Dell

Joanne Mitchell with Tim Tate

Claudia Phipps with June Kingsbury

Roger Tye with Michael Janis

Cate Watkinson with Emma Hollins

Blast! 2012

July 6 – August 8, 2012

Zest Contemporary Glass Gallery

Roxby Place (end of Rickett Street)

London SW6 1RS

In The Studio, Casting Some Flowers

Gaffer Glass Crystal casting billets being set out for  kiln firing into lost wax molds.

It is great to see Robert Kincheloe working from the Washington Glass Studio, making some lost wax components. Here are some photos of Rob at work, creating many little flowers in the lost wax process.

Rob makes new elements by pouring melted wax into the silicone rubber  forms and letting the was set.

After the wax sets up, Rob pours a plaster/silica mix around and after the plaster hardens, he melts out the wax. The forms are then cleaned and glass is placed into the reservoir and are shown here inside the kiln, awaiting their fate once the kiln heats up.

Rob recounts his adventures & triumphs at Artomatic.

Art, Work, Love and Other Basics

Art, Work, Love and Other Basics. A panel presented by The James Renwick Alliance 

Date & Time:

Tonite Friday, June 22, 2012 - 8:00pm - 10:00pm

Location:

Renwick Alliance Room – 11^th Floor Artomatic

Art, Work, Love and Other Basics will be presented by the James Renwick Alliance on June 22 at 8 PM at the JRA Education Room, 11th floor.

The moderator of the panel will be the sculptor and educator Rick Wall, and the panelists will be Brad Taylor, Donna McCullough, Julia Bloom, Matt MacIntire, and Michael Janis, recognized by the JRA for their outstanding work.
 The artists will be discussing their creative processes, the body of their work, their interests, and their inspiration. FREE and Open to the Public. 

The Art Fair is almost over - if you have not yet made it over to see the exhibits - here's another invitation!

Artomatic 

1851 S. Bell Street

Crystal City, Virginia

Yellow Line Metro Stop: Crystal City

New Technologies In Glass

Vanessa Cutler's new book: New Technologies in Glass is a vital text for any glass artist wishing to expand their toolkit and challenge the possibilities of the medium

The world of the glass artist is changing. Emerging technology for the cutting, engraving, and printing of glass is opening doors for those who want to work more quickly, more accurately, at larger scales and in multiples, and is stretching the boundaries of innovation.

The Washington Glass School was first introduced to Vanessa Cutler's waterjet glass artwork in the groundbreaking "Glass 3" exhibit held in Georgetown in 2008 with artists from the UK, Washington, DC and Toledo, OH. The art critic of DCist wrote of her work "Some of the artists are actually experts in glass theory with Ph.Ds and have developed techniques that not only create beautiful art, but have revolutionized architecture and other uses for the medium. Vanessa Cutler is one of those artists. She uses waterjet technology to create pitch-perfect cuts and holes in glass."

Dr Vanessa Cutler is a Research Co-ordinator at the Welsh School of Architectural Glass, Swansea Metropolitan University, as well as a lecturer, craftsman, designer, consultant, recognised glass artist and authority on waterjet cutting of glass, and she has presented papers in Europe, UK and America on creative applications of using such technology for the creative and industrial sector. 

Spinal Wave - Waterjet cut & kiln-formed float glass 

Detail - Spinal Wave

Dr Cutler's new book  "New Technologies in Glass" is now out . Using straightforward language, she introduces the digital tools that are becoming an essential part of an artist's toolkit, and describes the application of new technologies, from cutting and engraving machinery to rapid prototyping.

Dr Cutler loves glass. Here she smooches with her work exhibited at Chicago SOFA's  BIGG (Breakthru  Ideas in Global Glass), 2009.

Vanessa trained in Architectural Stained Glass at the UK’s Swansea Institute and completed a Masters at University of Wolverhampton, before setting set up a studio undertaking a variety of commissions ranging from church restoration to contemporary interiors. In 2000 she moved to Sunderland, England to undertake research looking at creative uses of waterjet cutting. Vanessa was until recently an architectural glass artist living and working in, the North East employed as a Research Fellow at the University of Sunderland, completing her PhD in 2006. She now lectures at Swansea School of Architectural Glass, Swansea Metropolitan University, Swansea Wales.

Click HERE to jump to the publisher info about the book.