The Washington Glass School’s 25th Anniversary Exhibition continues at Brentwood Arts Exchange, and now it’s time to hear from the artists themselves!
Join us Saturday, October 17, from 2–4 PM for an afternoon of art, conversation, and stories from the creative community that has helped shape the Washington Glass School over the past quarter-century.
From experiments and collaborations to unexpected discoveries, there’s plenty to talk about after 25 years!
Artist Talk | Saturday, October 17, 2–4 PM Brentwood Arts Exchange 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, MD 20722
Come for the art. Stay for the stories. Celebrate the community.
After 25 years of glass, kilns, public art, questionable decisions, heroic amounts of plaster, and somehow keeping the Washington Glass School going through it all, WETA Arts has turned its cameras on us.
DC’s PBS WETA crew has been filming at the School and following the Washington Glass School’s 25th Anniversary exhibition at Brentwood Arts Exchange — talking with artists, looking at the work, and documenting the strange little experiment that Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers and Michael Janis started a quarter-century ago.
Think Ken Burns documentary, only with fewer Civil War letters, considerably more glass, and some artists who probably should not be trusted with this much screen time.
We’re thrilled — and perhaps slightly terrified — to see how it all comes together.
WETA Arts Monday, November 9, 2026 | 9:30 PM EST Featuring the Washington Glass School 25th Anniversary
Add it to your watchlist. Alert the relatives. Prepare the popcorn.
Our secret history is about to become public television. Get ready to binge.
Twenty-five years calls for a little conversation.
Brentwood Arts Exchange Gallery
On Saturday, October 17, join us at Brentwood Arts Exchange for Washington Glass School at 25: Artists in Conversation, presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Washington Glass School: 25 Years.
The afternoon brings together artists from the exhibition to talk about their work, their connections to WGS, and the experimentation and exchange of ideas that have shaped the School since 2001. Over those 25 years, WGS has grown from a small Washington-area glass program into a broad community of artists working across glass, sculpture, mixed media, public art, recycled materials and new technologies.
When the art is so good, you have to get the shot. 📸
Rather than a formal history lesson, expect stories, different perspectives, and a look at how this rather unconventional glass community came together—and where it might be headed next.
And judging by some of our younger visitors, the exhibition is already inspiring some serious art documentation.
Washington Glass School at 25: Artists in Conversation Saturday, October 17, 2026 From 2-4PM Brentwood Arts Exchange 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, Maryland
The Washington Glass School: 25 Years continues through October 31, 2026.
🎃 Wanna let your ghouls and goblins out? This class will shed some light on the scary world of glass. Bring friends and family alike and make 2 lights each. Your lights will ready in time for All Hallows’ Eve itself! 🎃 Boo!
It was a special moment this week when Jude Andreasen stopped by the Washington Glass School and handed me a copy of Cleve Overton – His LifeandArt, the beautiful new book she has created about the life and work of her late husband and my friend, artist “Cleve” Overton.
Cleve Overton – His Life and Art
I was honored to write the introduction to the book, but holding the finished volume—with 260 pages and more than 200 images of Cleve’s work—was something else entirely.
Cleve was an artist, author, educator, welder and social activist whose practice ranged from woodcuts and ceramics to sculpture and mixed-media assemblage. He had an extraordinary ability to see possibility in things other people discarded, transforming scrap metal, electronic components, tin cans and other found materials into work that could be playful, beautiful and pointed.
That sensibility made Cleve very much at home at the Washington Glass School, where he took welding classes. Our friendship extended well beyond the studio. We talked frequently about public art, fabrication and, particularly, how monuments and civic artworks tell history: who is represented, whose accomplishments are celebrated, and whose experiences can disappear from the story.
Michael Janis and Cleve Overton, Sarasota, FL, 2020
I encouraged Cleve to participate in the 2012 Artomatic in Crystal City, and we remained friends through the years. His commitment to making art from reclaimed materials, to questioning accepted narratives and to using art as a means of engagement feels especially connected to the values that have shaped the Washington Glass School.
Jude’s new book brings the remarkable breadth of Cleve’s work together for the first time. I’m grateful to have played a small part in it—and very happy to finally be holding a copy in my hands.
Glass has a timeless beauty perfect for a centerpiece display. You can explore our selection of glass elements, cut your own and learn how to compose them into a large centerpiece wreath that reflects your personal aesthetic.
Whether your style is minimalist and modern, richly layered, or softly organic, your finished wreath will be a distinctive work of art—beautifully designed by you.
Jennifer Lindstrom cold works her cast glass ‘birdhouse’ at WGS, circa 2010
For nearly two decades, Jennie Lindstrom has been part of the extended Washington Glass School family—as an artist, teacher, collaborator, and, in her own words, sometimes its “prodigal daughter.”
Her creative life has taken plenty of turns along the way. She has worked in glass and wood, taught community workshops and Hot Shop Heroes, studied at Penland School of Craft, sold jewelry at Eastern Market, kept bees, coached, played roller derby, run marathons, and trekked Kilimanjaro.
But Washington Glass School has remained a place she can come back to.
Do you remember your first encounter with Washington Glass School?
My first experience with Washington Glass School was at the Half Street location. I don’t remember how I heard about you all, but from that very first class I was hooked on glass!
What was it about glass that hooked you?
Working with glass is magical. There are so many different techniques to use that make glasswork an art and a science. I love the way light affects a piece and how glass can seem delicate and light as air or as heavy as lead depending on the techniques and colors used.
Jennie Lindstrom at Washington Glass School Open House, circa 2009.
You’ve worked in glass, wood, and other materials. What draws you to combining them?
I love the juxtaposition of organic and inorganic qualities. I’ve primarily combined wood with glass or wood with metal. The warmth of wood can have a grounding effect on the glass elements.
It also represents our interactions with nature and how we incorporate the built environment into the natural environment, at which we’re not always successful. My hope is that the way I combine wood with glass and metal represents a relationship that enhances both materials rather than one taking from the other.
You’ve been part of WGS for nearly 20 years. What has kept you connected?
The WGS community is incredibly welcoming and meets me where I’m at. I feel welcomed in the studio no matter how many months or years I’ve been away.
I joke about being the prodigal daughter because at times I have spent years away, only to come back to open and encouraging arms. Washington Glass School is one of the most welcoming and accepting communities I’ve ever been part of.
I enjoy going back to catch up, see what folks are working on, and, when I feel inspired, getting support to make my inspiration a reality.
What memories stand out from those years?
So many things. I loved joining a Washington Glass School trip to the Penland School of Craft for a “quick and dirty” glassblowing weekend. That was my first experience of Penland, and I fell in love immediately.
Then I got the opportunity to go back to assist Tim and Mike in a week-long Dry Plaster Casting class. That was an incredible experience with too many memories to share here.
Jennie Lindstrom (R) assists Penland student Helene Safire (L) in casting, 2008.
One of my favorite memories was after I participated in a two-month woodworking concentration at Penland. I delayed looking for a job and focused on making glass jewelry to sell at Eastern Market. I was at WGS every day, and one day a decision was made to buy a grill. I spent the summer grilling about once a week.
It was such a fun time!
Jennie Lindstrom at Penland woodshop, circa 2012.
What do you hope people take away from making something with their own hands?
I hope people take away the knowledge that we are all creative and that when we work with our hands, we connect to our deepest selves.
I also hope taking a class will spark their curiosity to continue exploring other ways of connecting to their innate creativity and the tactile world.
What have you learned from the artists around you at WGS?
Every technique I’ve used in my work, I learned from artists at WGS. When I first started working with glass, I mainly created decorative pieces. As I spent more time at WGS, I started leaning into more narrative work.
Where does your work begin?
My work begins either with an image in my mind, a feeling I’m experiencing, or sometimes a particularly interesting piece of wood.
Artist, teacher, coach, beekeeper, roller derby—are these separate worlds?
The connection I see between all these activities is that they connect me to all of my senses and help me make connections or solve problems more creatively.
At times they influence each other, such as my interest in using beekeeping to provide a more powerful coaching experience, or a curiosity I have about using honeycomb in artwork.
Teaching has been a throughline in all these activities. One of my favorite things is sharing information about subjects I’m passionate about.
Jennifer Lindstrom joined the DC Rollergirls league in 2011, adopting her roller derby name “Slam Grier”, circa 2011. Photo: Pablo Raw / Pablorawphoto.com
After nearly two decades, what does being part of WGS mean to you today?
Though I spent more time with WGS in the first ten years than in the last, knowing this community is there means I always have a creative home, where I always feel welcome.
What’s next?
I’m excited to find ways to incorporate honeycomb or beeswax into my artwork. I’m not sure what I might create, but I’m looking forward to experimenting.
What would you tell your younger creative self?
Always find ways to be creative and follow your creative urges. It doesn’t have to be grand, just consistent.
If you prioritize creativity in your life, you will feel more fulfilled and always be around interesting people.
And finally…
Something people at WGS might not know? I trekked Kilimanjaro for my 50th birthday! I also hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and I’ve run seven marathons.
Jennie Lindstrom (far left in black tee) at Machu Picchu, circa 2025.
Favorite WGS studio sound? The ripping sound of the glass cutter as it etches a line in a piece of plate glass. So satisfying!
Glass studio or roller derby track—which has more drama? They have different kinds of drama.
Jennifer “Slam Grier” Lindstrom (in red) waits at the starting line, focused and ready to jam for the DC Rollergirls. Photo: Pablo Raw / Pablorawphoto.com
Harriet Tubman Elementary School in DC features new sculpture at entrance, titled Enduring Dreams of Home, by WGS.
A new 11-foot Corten steel sculpture now stands at the entrance to the newly rebuilt Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Columbia Heights. Enduring Dreams of Home, designed by Washington Glass School artists Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers and Tim Tate, brings together the history of the neighborhood, the legacy of Harriet Tubman and the future of a new generation of Washington students.
The sculpture began with the history provided in the DC Department of General Services’ (DC DGS) call for artists. The site had once been occupied by Washington rowhouses, and the original school was built in the 1960s after the District acquired and demolished homes on the block. That history of architecture, displacement and neighborhood change became an important point of departure for the design.
From original DC DGS call for artists brief to create new sculpture in DC’s Columbia Heights.
Responding to the brief, the artists fragmented a three-dimensional composition of rowhouses, windows and structural forms. At the center is a stylized image of Harriet Tubman. The architectural fragments appear to pull apart around her, suggesting both the physical transformation of the neighborhood and the larger ideas of movement, freedom and change associated with Tubman’s life.
The design evolved considerably during the process. Early studies explored different approaches to Tubman’s portrait, architectural forms and the relationship of the sculpture to the school. An early concept also considered pairing Tubman with Washington figure Mary McLeod Bethune before the design was ultimately refined around a single Tubman figure.
Preliminary design studies for Enduring Dreams of Home
The final sculpture is deliberately open. The Corten steel is cut through in places that allow the viewer to see the school and the surrounding architecture beyond the work. As viewers move around the sculpture, the relationship between Tubman’s face, the fragmented houses and the brickwork behind it continually changes. The sculpture can be seen as both an architectural object and a kind of visual lens into the landscape beyond.
That transparency was an unexpected but important part of the final design. Washington Glass School is known for working with glass, but the artists were drawn to the strength and material character of Corten steel for this project. The steel was approached almost like an opaque panel, with the artists cutting, opening and layering the material until the solid surface became visually transparent. The result connects the material thinking of the glass studio with the physical presence of a large-scale steel sculpture.
Fabrication was completed by Tim Scofield, followed by the complicated task of transporting and installing an 11-foot steel structure in the city. The sculpture had to be maneuvered through narrow Washington streets and carefully positioned on the school grounds. Once installed, the Corten surface began its own transformation, with the steel continuing to weather and develop its characteristic patina over time.
Enduring Dreams of Home now stands outside a school filled with images and stories of Harriet Tubman. Here, however, her image takes on a different form. Rather than a conventional heroic portrait, Tubman is integrated into an architectural landscape that connects the memory of what once stood on this site with the school that stands here today.
Detail of Tubman portrait that is both solid and open. One can see through it to the school and neighborhood beyond.
The sculpture is ultimately about more than a historical figure. It is about home, displacement, transformation and the possibility of a future shaped by the generations who come next.
Tubman’s image becomes a lens through which the viewer experiences the architecture and landscape beyond.
Enduring Dreams of Home Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers & Tim Tate Washington Glass School Corten steel, 11 feet Harriet Tubman Elementary School 3101 13th Street NW, Washington, DC 20010
DC Mayor Bowser, DGS, and DCPS are scheduled to formally dedicate the new Harriet Tubman ES on September 28th at 11:00 AM.
As the Washington Glass School celebrates its 25th anniversary, we’re looking back with the artists who helped shape its earliest years—and whose own practices grew alongside the School.
Cheryl Derricotte in her studio space at the Washington Glass School, circa 2009
Originally from Washington, DC, Cheryl came to glass after studying ceramics and sculpture at the Corcoran School of Art. What began with the confident assumption that making a glass bowl couldn’t be that different from throwing one in clay quickly turned into something much bigger: a new material, a new artistic language, and ultimately a lifelong practice.
Today, based in San Francisco, Cheryl works across glass, paper, textiles, and public art. Her research-driven work explores history, race, memory, power, identity, and place—using art to create what she calls a “brave space” for conversations that can be difficult, necessary, and transformative.
For WGS’s 25th anniversary, we caught up with Cheryl to talk about those earliest days at the School, finding her place in the larger glass community, the importance of representation and historical truth, and why glass still has the power to make her wildest dreams come true.
Beginnings
WGS: You were one of the first studio artists at Washington Glass School. What do you remember about those early days, and what drew you to become part of the community?
Cheryl P. Derricotte: I always say that I came to glass from arrogance!
In 2002, I was finishing a certificate in Ceramics and Sculpture at the former Corcoran Museum’s College of Art and Design, shortly after the Washington Glass School opened. I thought, “If I can throw a clay bowl, I can make a glass bowl—no problem!”
Glass got the last laugh, as it always does, as I barely finished my first glass bowl by the time everyone else had finished two!
The next glass class I took was a lighted sculpture course. I found my calling and continued to fall in love with glass.
Workshop at Washington Glass School, circa 2009. L-R Cheryl Derricotte, Dave Cool, Nicole Puzan.
WGS: Looking back, how did that early studio environment influence your artistic voice?
CPD: From its inception, the Washington Glass School was equally interested in the visual storytelling properties of glass practice as well as bringing finely crafted contemporary art into the world.
This tandem focus was a great environment for me to combine my activist voice with a new sculptural practice in glass.
Cheryl Derricotte at opening of exhibit at Foundry Gallery, DC in April, 2009.
WGS: Was there a particular moment at WGS that changed the way you thought about yourself as an artist?
CPD: When co-Director Tim Tate suggested I go to the Penland School of Craft to study with Therman Statom—the most famous Black glass artist on the planet, who was also from Washington, D.C.—I began to see that there might be a place for me in the larger glass community.
I should also note that during that trip to Penland, I met Washington glass artist Jeff Zimmer. Upon our return, we had a standing “Tuesday Studio Date Night” that furthered my practice.
The studio was in a remote location in those days, so having an artist-buddy who would walk me to the Metro to go home on Tuesday nights was wonderful. I am forever grateful to Jeff for his friendship in those early days of our careers.
Material & Meaning
WGS: Glass remains at the heart of your practice, even as you’ve expanded into paper, textiles, and public art. What continues to draw you back to glass?
CPD: I love working with glass, as it has the most expansive interplay of color and light of all the mediums, in my opinion.
WGS: Your work often explores identity, memory, and social history. When did you realize those themes would become central to your practice?
CPD: In the first sculptural workshop I took at Washington Glass—a lighted glass sculpture class—I decided to make a work about global poverty entitled Shed Some Light.
So, very early in my career, I was exploring my contemporary political concerns through my art practice. These concerns have continued to this day.
WGS: How do you decide which material is best suited to tell a particular story?
CPD: In my own work, I always reach for glass when the subject is portraiture, as I enjoy being in conversation with the history of photography, specifically daguerreotypes.
“Freedom’s Thresholds” sculpture unveiling ceremony, Gateway at Millbrae Station, 2023. The artwork contains more than 30 glass tiles. (Photo: Bevan Duffy/Twitter)
Public Art & Community
WGS: Your recent public commissions invite people into conversations about history, belonging, and shared space. What have you learned about making art for communities rather than galleries?
CPD: My public art commissions have allowed me to make work at a larger scale that will resonate with a wider audience.
I enjoy the fact that public art is free for anyone to view, and I have been fortunate that my sculptures to date have been placed in spaces with high pedestrian interaction.
WGS: How is designing a permanent public artwork different from creating a studio piece? What have you learned about balancing artistic vision with collaboration?
CPD: There are a lot of cooks in the kitchen of public art!
While I create the vision and overall design of a piece, there can be layers upon layers of opinions and reviews by community groups, nonprofits, and government agencies.
While sometimes this is more challenging than others, I consistently enjoy the partnerships I develop with metal fabricators to realize sculptures centering glass at a monumental scale versus a gallery-wall scale.
This combination of enjoying making the work and knowing that ultimately it will be free for anyone to see is what has kept me coming back to public art practice.
WGS: Projects like Freedom’s Threshold honor individuals whose stories continue to resonate today. What responsibility do artists have when interpreting history through public art?
CPD: Even though it is a big word, I stand on truth.
My research-based practice extends to my public artwork, as I use critical biographies and first-person interviews if available.
I have found that most of the historical figures I have worked with in my art practice—Harriet Tubman, John Brown, Mary Ellen Pleasant, James and Sally Hemings, to name a few—have interesting factual stories for me to tell without succumbing to mythology or sensationalism.
I often look at historical news stories as well, and sometimes they were highly sensational!
WGS: Your career has taken you from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco, with work now reaching audiences across the country. Looking back, what experiences most shaped your path?
CPD: Growing up in Washington, D.C., I was aware that I lived in the last colony on the mainland of America. So, it was always important to me to learn what a state was and how it worked.
Going to school in New York, living for a while in Washington state, and ultimately my life in California gave me this knowledge.
These experiences also taught me how to travel, and as an artist this skill has helped me immensely! I am very comfortable with moving my body and/or my art to locations across the country and, increasingly, in Europe.
Cheryl Derricotte working at the Studio at Corning (Photo: Jeffrey Foote Photography)
WGS: Is there a project that surprised you by changing your own perspective as you made it?
CPD: In 2022, I was invited by HABATAT to do an online solo show as part of its Not Grandma’s Glass exhibitions.
I made a series of work entitled Glass Boys: Portraits from America’s Factories that centered Black children working in glass factories—including those in Alexandria, Virginia—in the 1920s.
While Tim Tate understood that representation mattered and wanted me to meet Therman Statom right away in the early days of Washington Glass, working on the Glass Boys series allowed me to understand that I was part of a much longer lineage of Black glass artists.
Since creating this work, I have also seen images of Black women working in the factories. I keep an image in my studio of a Black woman holding a mold on the hot-shop floor that someone sent me after seeing my series.
Two pieces from my Glass Boys series were exhibited as part of the groundbreaking exhibition A Two Way Mirror: Double Consciousness in Contemporary Glass by Black Artists, curated by Jabari Owens-Bailey for the Museum of Glass.
The exhibition is currently on tour and can next be viewed at the Wichita Art Museum, January 16–June 6, 2027.
WGS: What role did Washington Glass School play in your development as an artist?
CPD: Washington Glass School introduced me to the medium that has been a constant companion in my art practice over the last 25 years.
WGS: What made the community at WGS different from other studios you’ve worked in?
CPD: Washington Glass School’s commitment to the narrative qualities of glass, and to glass as a sculptural medium, distinguishes it from other studios.
WGS: What do you think has allowed Washington Glass School to thrive for twenty-five years?
CPD: Washington Glass School has thrived for twenty-five years because of its attitude toward competition: A rising tide floats all the boats.
It is one of the most supportive places for artists, as Tim, Erwin, and Michael genuinely want everyone to do well!
2020 visit to Washington Glass School. L-R Cheryl Derricotte, Michael Janis, Tim Tate, Nancy Kronstadt, Teri Swinhart, Erwin Timmers.
Looking Ahead
WGS: What subjects or ideas are you most excited to explore in the years ahead?
CPD: I have three long-term projects that were originally started on residencies, and I am excited to bring them to fruition!
Having recently finished the bulk of the work with support from the Howard Foundation and a generous anonymous donor, my conceptual glass portraits of James and Sally Hemings are hopefully going to be exhibited in late 2027 or early 2028.
I am continuing my work about an Indigenous California tree, the Desert Fan Palm, which has more oases in Joshua Tree than anywhere else in North America.
I am also continuing my work on the bison who live on islands in the U.S.—in Alaska, California, and Utah.
Nothing would make me happier than reporting that all three of these projects have been completed and exhibited by 2030!
WGS: How do you hope artists will continue to push the boundaries of glass as a contemporary art medium?CPD: I hope that artists continue to look for ways to exhibit glass in all the places—contemporary art galleries, libraries, public art—not just medium-specific galleries and museums.
WGS: What advice would you give to emerging artists who want to build meaningful, socially engaged careers?
CPD: The most important thing you can do is decide what interests you and pursue it unapologetically!
When people look at my work, it doesn’t matter if it is a historical Black figure, a house, a tree, or a bison—there is a through-line of people, politics, and place that is immediately recognizable.
Closing Reflection
WGS: If you could revisit your younger self in the Washington Glass School studio twenty-five years ago, what would you tell her?
CPD: On the practice side, I would tell my younger self to prioritize getting her own equipment sooner rather than later.
On the visionary side, I would tell my younger self that glass is the thing that will make your wildest dreams come true.
WGS: As Washington Glass School celebrates its 25th anniversary, what are you most proud to have been part of?
CPD: I am so proud to have been in Tim Tate’s living room when the conversation about the structure for the School was taking place.
I was the one who explained all of the challenges of being a nonprofit and suggested that the School remain an LLC and work with fiscal sponsors when needed.
Ultimately, this decision served the Washington Glass School, and later the Washington Glass Studio—the public-art arm—very well, while preserving the co-directors’ control and vision.
WGS: Your work often creates spaces for reflection, dialogue, and healing. What do you hope people carry with them after experiencing one of your artworks?
CPD: I work intuitively, so seemingly random observations of current events and landscapes—including the political ones—often lead me to the economic and environmental concerns that guide my art practice.
Historical portraits and stories weave through my wall work and sculptures. My recurring themes are home, memory, place, and spirit.
When people view my work, I always want them to be intrigued to learn more about the topic and have conversations about it.
I believe that the gallery and museum are the brave spaces to hold difficult conversations.
Art is the perfect vehicle to lead us into the kind of discussions we would prefer to avoid—and bring us out on the other side in a place of deeper understanding and connection.
Twenty-five years after Cheryl first discovered that glass was considerably less cooperative than clay, that stubborn material remains her “constant companion.”
From Shed Some Light to Glass Boys, from intimate portraiture to monumental public commissions, her work embodies an idea that has been central to the Washington Glass School from its earliest days: glass can do more than demonstrate technique. It can carry narrative, recover history, provoke conversation, and connect people.
And perhaps Cheryl’s own journey offers the perfect anniversary reflection: sometimes the material that humbles you at the beginning turns out to be the one that makes your wildest dreams come true.
