On June 19, 1865, Black Texans in Galveston, still living in slave conditions, finally learned that Abraham Lincoln had abolished slavery two years previously.
Let’s make Juneteenth a commemorative, not of the horrific institution our country embraced, but rather as a showcase of the strength in the American spirit to recognize wrong and set about making it right. In this same spirit America moves ahead today in leveling playing fields and achieivng ever greater equality. Let us celebrate all that Juneteenth teaches us about our country’s greatness in our use of the heart to hear and to learn and to work together for all that is good and just.
Saturday, June 5th, 2021, the Annual American Glass Guild (AGG) Conference starts – all online this year! WGS Co-Director Michael Janis is the keynote speaker; at 3pm (EDT) he will talk about how Washington Glass Studio approaches their Public Art projects.
Please welcome Washington Glass School’s new Studio Coordinator – Christina Helowicz!
A graduate of Salisbury University, Christina brings a new vitality and freshness to the Washington Glass School. She has an impressive background in coldworking and casting, as well as teaching. She will be working at tweaking the School’s glass program soon!
Tim Tate reviews the latest castings out of the kiln with Christina Helowicz.
We bid a fond farewell to our Studio Coordinator extraordinaire – Teri Swinhart – moves out West, to sunny Los Angeles. We will miss her skills, knowledge of glass and casting, and her unique charm!
Best of Luck to Teri and Derek Swinhart! Come back and visit often!
Michigan’s Habatat Galleries Hosts ZOOM award presentation Saturday, May 1st, 2021.
Saturday, May 1st, @ 1pm ET, Habatat Galleries will present a zoom presentation of works selected for “Viral Glass”. This on-line exhibition looks specifically at how glass artists around the world are responding to the Pandemic. While some have focused on the virus itself and the fear it instills, others have explored the depth and intensity of world-wide isolation. Other creative individuals have focused on how this disaster can bring communities together, or how it has torn us apart. In any case, artists in every field have contributed to keeping the world moving.
This show will mark the long anticipated return of David McFadden, who was Chief Curator of the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC for 16 years, to our field as guest curator for this show.
RSVP for a Habatat-Zoom presentation this Saturday, May 1st at 1:00 p.m. ET. for a Zoom with the attending artists. Click HERE for more info and to RSVP. Habatat and David preview the works in the Viral Glass 2021 exhibition and speak with each artist about their work and inspiration.
VIRTUAL CRAFT TRIP TO WASHINGTON, DC APRIL 27 – 28, 2021 | 6:30 – 8PM MEMBERS: $60 | NON-MEMBERS: $75
Visit the Washington Glass School with Co-Directors Tim Tate and Michael Janis
The James Renwick Alliance for Craft will host a unique virtual craft tour featuring some of the most important craft destinations in the DC region. One of the tour stops is – The Washington Glass School!! Join us as we visit our studio, Margaret Boozer’s Red Dirt Studio, The Renwick Museum, Howard University’s ceramics collection as well as some collector homes!
Michael Janis and Tony Porto glass/mixed media exhibit has dominated Michigan’s press as the news agencies and tv shows all feature works by the artists and their story.
Detroit News loves the new glass/mixed media works by Michael Janis and Tony Porto!
Local Fox News – Fox 2 – sent reporters into the gallery to interview Director Aaron Schey and get the story on the Not Grandmas Glass (NGG) exhibit and competition as well as an eyeful of the artworks. Click here to jump to one of the three interviews by Fox.
Fox 2 Detroit interviews Habatat Galleries’ Aaron Schey to dish about NGG and works by Michael Janis and Tony Porto.
“Friendship is Magic” and “Say Your Prayers and Take Your Vitamins” glass/mixed media artworks by Michael Janis and Tony Porto are on exhibit at Royal Oak gallery.
Click Here to jump to article about the Janis/Porto exhibit in the Oakland Press.
WGS Co-Director Michael Janis has collaborated with Chicago-based artist Tony Porto on a new series of glass/mixed media sculptures – making their debut solo show debut in Habatat Galleries’ “Not Grandmas’ Glass” (NGG) exhibit/competition. NGG is new and groundbreaking competition, held over 12 months featuring 12 artists that the gallery feels are pushing the medium beyond the norm. The premise of the exhibit is to showcase works that are outside “traditional” studio art glass, where the artists were challenged to make works that would be in a contemporary museum.
Michael Janis and Tony Porto “Lunchtime With Darth Vader”; 2021, cast glass, mixed media, 24″ x 24″ x 9″
Habatat director Aaron Schey said of the NGG show concept: “These artists are extremely innovative and I propose that they will all be important in the future of the glass medium. Creating work that is probably not in Grandma’s art collection…..yet.”
Michael Janis and Tony Porto, “Friendship is Magic”; 2021, kilncast glass, mixed media, 22″ x 22″ x 9″
Paying homage to the underdogs of pop culture – the cartoons, action figures, and toys of childhood, Janis and Porto incorporate figures as diverse as Batman, Darth Vader, My Little Pony, Wonder Woman, Hulk Hogan in their evocative narratives that are at once whimsical and distressing, capturing their complexities and outlandishness.
Michael Janis and Tony Porto “Call For Bruce Wayne”; 2021, cast glass, mixed media, LED, electronics, wood, 20″ X 24″ X 10″
In the works, they walk a really fun line between taking this stuff seriously and also being able to laugh at it all.
Michael Janis and Tony Porto delivered a fantastic online artist talk – hosted by Michigan’s Habatat Galleries (click HERE to jump to YouTube link.)
Mike and Tony outlined their collaborative works, their meanings, and how they managed to work together during the pandemic.
The Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) has a special exhibit titled “Identity” featuring of the 60 artists exhibited in special show by Maryland State Arts Council. From the MSAC exhibit catalog:
“A person’s identity is constantly evolving and can include their cultural identity, social identity, gender identity, racial identity, and the intersection of multiple identities to form one’s whole self. The Maryland State Arts Council is reflecting self-reflective art that expresses and explores how the artist perceives themself through this online exhibition.”
The artwork is in online gallery in the by Kunstmatrix which allows one to “walk” thru a show). The show runs February 5th thru April 6th, 2021.
Max DeMulder ; “Nonexistence”, 2020; 14 x 10.3 inch; Watercolor & Ink on Paper
CALL FOR ENTRY “VIRAL GLASS: Artists Responses to COVID-19”
The past year has been devastating for everyone around the world. While the medical and social impact of Covid-19 are undeniable, this pandemic has also deeply influenced the making of art in every area of creative initiative.
This on-line exhibition looks specifically at how glass artists around the world are responding to the Pandemic. While some have focused on the virus itself and the fear it instills, others have explored the depth and intensity of world-wide isolation. Other creative individuals have focused on how this disaster can bring communities together, or how it has torn us apart. In any case, artists in every field have contributed to keeping the world moving. What has your pandemic artwork centered on? Viral Glass, a new web-based virtual exhibition will focus on the incredible work of international glass artists showcasing their creativity and resourcefulness during the Coronavirus pandemic. This show will mark the long anticipated return of David McFadden, who was Chief Curator of the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC for 16 years, to our field as guest curator for this show. In addition to being an international forum for artists to share their concerns and visions, cash prizes will also be offered.
Habatat Galleries in Royal Oak, MI will be managing the logistics for this project, scheduled to open on-line on May 1st, 2021. If you would like to be considered for inclusion in this show, please send up to 3 images, a CV, and a brief description of technique and what this piece means to you to ViralGlass2021@gmail.com. Deadline for images will be March 19th. All artists will be notified before April 15th.
Each artist will be invited to create their own virtual experience online that will be shared through the www.viralglass.org website.
