Asheville, North Carolina’s Bender Gallery is hosting Artifacts and Contraptions, a two person exhibition featuring glass and mixed media sculptures by artists Peter Wright and Audrey Wilson. An opening reception will be held from 5-8 PM on August 1 in conjunction with downtown Asheville’s First Friday Art Walk.
Wright is inspired by indigenous art and utilitarian objects used by man throughout history. He takes a visceral approach to his work, creating vessels and sculpture rich in texture and color. Wright’s Mezcala sculptures are inspired by commonplace objects in pre-Columbian culture.
Audrey Wilson is an artist with a unique perspective on aesthetics and the conceptual narrative. Her multi-media sculptures are an amalgam of created and altered objects that explore the relation between man and technology.
Her body of work titled “The Aberrant Collection of the Spurious Calamus” investigates the role of invention in society. As she explains, “inventions are a continuous response to something that needs to be changed, a response to the needs of life. Without a brave, creative impulse, life would become a commonplace of interest. Yet, with just one thought many deficient prototypes are produced. Without these thoughts, advances could not be possible”.
Bender Gallery specializes in contemporary sculpture and is located at 12 S Lexington Avenue in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.
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DC Community Gateway Arch Dedication POSTPONED!
Due to the ongoing electrical issues at the building site – tonight’s DC Mayor public dedication of the DCCAH Community Gateway Arch at the Unity Parkside healthcare center has been postponed! New date TBD!
Sean Hennessey Glass For Steel Plate
Steel Plate, the new bar in the “hot” Brookland section of Washington, DC has opened. One of the trendy gastropub’s artistic flourishes is the cast glass entry – made by WGS Resident Artist Sean Hennessey. Sean (and his company Scenic Artisans, LLC) has been recently completing a number of site‑specific art and design commissions for architectural artwork in a variety of media for places that had a need to create a sophisticated and highly engaging artwork.
Detail of cast glass for Steel Plate gastropub in Washington, DC.
Steel Plate restaurant/bar is by the owners of Rustik Tavern in the Bloomingdale section of DC – where Sean’s architectural glass is also featured.
Cast Glass signage panel at Rustik Tavern. photo credit Robert Sullivan
3523 12th St NE, Washington, DC 20017
The restaurant serves a variety of American-style dishes. The pub promises to provide entertainment in the form of occasional jazz bands, solo artist, and DJ.
Washington Glass School invaded by Macedonians!
Audrey Wilson with Mimi and Janko Gogusevski.
Visiting Macadonian designers & glass artists Janko and Mimi Gogusevski were visiting in the US, when they got the fever. For glass. And the only prescription is more glass. Mimi and Janko are the owners of Skopje’s Studio Vitrum in Macedonia, and after a short visit to the Washington Glass School, decided to re-arrange their schedule to allow for a workshop in bas-relief kiln casting, headed by superstar instructor Audrey Wilson.
Mimi Gogusevski sets up the glass in the kiln.
Architect Janko Gogusevski looking quite the ženkar in his colorful apron.
Soon the phrase “Moeto letačko vozilo e polno so jaguli” was heard throughout the school.
Working with Audrey, the couple explored options in creating architectural glass panels that they will be producing from their European glass studio.
We hope the artists are happy with their works and that we team up again sometime in the future – “Washington Glass School Goes to Europe” is our dream!
Molds of sample patterns fill the kiln.
WGS Artist Cheryl P Derricotte @ HOME in CA.
Artist Cheryl Patrice Derricotte‘s new mixed media works are part of two venue exhibit “HOME” – at California’s Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA), and Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) – open thru July 26, 2014. The exhibit delves into the deeper meanings of the word “HOME” – how it resonates on cultural, emotional, intellectual, religious, philosophical, political and spiritual levels—as a place, a space, a myth, a source of identity, a promised land, a state of being, a war zone, an impossibility, and/or an inalienable right.
Artist Cheryl Derricotte at the OCCCA opening with her artwork “We Buy Houses,” handmade paper, ink
One of the Washington Glass School’s studio artists, Cheryl had moved to California’s Bay Area a few years ago, and became integrated into the West Coast arts scene – and her sculptural work in glass and other media has been exhibited widely Most recently, in addition to “HOME ,” at the OCCCA, her work was included in the 18th annual “The Art of Living Black” at the Richmond (CA) ArtCenter. Her work has been a juried inclusion in the “Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef” at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (2010-2011); “24th Tallahassee Invitational (2009)” and “Terrestrial Forces (2004)”, both at the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts; “Contemporary Glass (2005-2006)” at the San Francisco Airport Museum and Zenith Gallery Presents “Washington Glass (2007).” In 2005, Cheryl was the recipient of a D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities/National Endowment for the Arts “Artist Fellowship” grant.
Said Cheryl of her new works in the exhibit: “Identities shaped by home (or homelessness); natural beauty (or disasters), memories of happiness (or loss) inspire my artwork. Observations of current events, politics and urban landscapes are my entry into these issues and the resulting works on glass and paper.”
Cheryl is one of the few artists that has work in both venues – if you are out in Sunny CA – make a point to stop in! Congratulations Cheryl!
“HOME”
July 5 – 26th, 2014
Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA):
117 N. Sycamore, Santa Ana, CA, 92701
www.occca.org • info.occca@gmail.com
Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA):
1600 N. Broadway, Suite 210, Santa Ana, CA., 92706
www.vaala.org
or contact Cheryl direct:
Cheryl Patrice Derricotte
Cheryl@cityglassworks.com
DC Mayor Gray to Dedicate WGS Public Art Sculpture
The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities invites all to a Public Art Dedication of : The Community Gateway Arch
On Friday, July 18, 2014 come to the Unity Health Care’s Parkside Health Center, 7:00 – 9:00 PM at 765 Kenilworth Terrace, NE Washington, DC 20019
For more information contact: The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities:
202-724-5613 or tonya.jordan@dc.gov
Light refreshments will be served
Happy 4th of July!
The Washington Glass School and Studio Wishes a Happy & Safe Independence Day to All!
One of the glass elements in DC’s “Community Gateway” arch public art sculpture made by Washington Glass Studio and the Ward 7 community is a green Stars & Stripes
Washington DC Mayor Gray will be dedicating the new arch public artwork at the site: Corner of Hayes Street & Kenilworth Terrace, NE, Washington, DC 20019.
UPDATE! Power outtages at the healthcare facility have postponed the dedication ceremony. New date for dedication ceremony:Friday, 18 July, 2014; 7-9 pm.
Introducing Our Newest Arrival: Miles Lark
Miles Lark has hit the ground running – his first days were spent installing the DC Green Gateway Arch.
Join all of us at the Washington Glass Studio as we welcome our new studio intern: Miles Lark.
Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Miles is a painter and sculptor and has worked extensively in glass at Penland School of Crafts, Pilchuck Glass School and at glass sculpture workshops at the Toledo Museum of Art. He has worked/studied under glass notables such as Lino Tagliapietra, Paul & Dante Marioni, Fritz Dreisbach, Matt Szsoz, Bandhu Durham and Cappy Thompson.
Miles Lark’s sculpture at TRAC River Gallery (North Carolina) show in 2014.
Miles works with many different media, and while he is in the Washington Glass School, he is looking to explore the integration of steel and glass in his work.
The next time you are at the Washington Glass School – make sure you say Hi to Miles!
Washington Glass School Says Farewell to Nancy Donnelly
Artist Nancy Donnelly had many facets – sculptor, painter, bookkeeper, welder, printmaker; she is a Renaissance woman.
The Glass School says “So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good-bye” to one of our own – glass artist Nancy Donnelly – as she leaves DC for an extended holiday in Europe and then moves to the “other” Washington.
Nancy Donnelly gives a “bench blow” for her roll-up glass as she assists Michael Showalter at DC Glass Works.
Nancy Donnelly “Green Eggs & Ham”, Fused and blown glass.
Nancy has been working from the studio since 2007. Originally a painter, Nancy embraced all aspects of glass – blown, fused, cast; she sought out ever more directions in the medium. As she expanded her technical repertoire, she became a true mixed media sculptor. Her shows at galleries throughout the Washington, DC area began to be covered by the Washington Post art critic Mark Jenkins. In his review of Nancy’s recent “Transmission” show at Rockville, MD’s Common Ground Gallery, he said that her “striking sculptures” were “metaphors for creation and liberation, making them pertinent not just to one artist who has found her medium“.
Nancy Donnelly made the aprons for the cold shop – and everyone at the Glass School became Fashion-Forward models
Nancy also worked in the studio as the bookkeeper and organized many aspects of the school, including the course schedules and flyers. She kept the many studio resident artists in line and looked out for the welfare of all.
As Nancy transitions into the next version of uber-artist and world traveler, all of us at the Glass School will miss her terribly! Come back often to visit!
Nancy Donnelly talks about her glass artwork with WGS’ Tim Tate.
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu – Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu
The Process: Public Art and Placemaking
DC Ward 7 Green Community Arch sculpture located at the new Unity Healthcare Building.
One of the Washington Glass Studio’s most ambitious public art projects has just completed installation. The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities commissioned the sculpture for the new Unity Healthcare facility in Washington, DC, and the glass-and-steel artwork was installed without a problem this week.
Michael Janis bolts the panels to the top of the public art sculpture before the work is hoisted into place.
Concept design for the Green Community Gateway Arch
The public artwork concept was designed and engineered to a high level.
The design of the public artwork was intended to mark the symbolic entrance to the Kenilworth / Parkside section of DC’s Ward 7. This area (near Caeser Chavez charter school, the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and the Anacostia Freeway) was recently identified as a DC Promise neighborhood – and its experiencing a renewed investment in neighborhood revitalization. After meeting with community representatives, the WGS team focused on themes that were strongly held. A “Community Gateway Arch” became the vision for the placemaking sculpture that would help identify the new environment. The glass panel insets in the 16′ tall sculpture would be made with the help of the neighborhood residents, students of the high school, and the staff of the new Unity Healthcare facility. The Washington Glass Studio worked with the DC Creates! Public Art Program selection committee, the DCCAH Council, Unity Parkside Health Care, the Ward 7 ANC and the community and held a series of glass “quilting-bees” and made a communal environment where community and art were not separate.
Artist Erwin Timmers oversaw the structural integration of support framework, LED lighting and glass panel insets.
The 16′ high x 14′ wide sculpture lit internally with LED lighting was one of the largest outdoor artworks installed to date for the Washington Glass Studio, and much went into the design, engineering and the fabrication of the steel framework.
DCCAH invitation to Ward 7 to make glass at WGS
In early 2014, with the structural foundation for the artwork finished and the steel framework underway, the call went out to the community to come make glass. By directly involving the public in the creation of the new landmark, the space would resonate because the artwork would have meaning to all – as everyone had the chance to tell their story. The glass workshops were packed. Many of the people that came to work in glass returned to each of the scheduled dates – they loved working in glass and wanted to see how the artwork changed once fired.
DC ANC Ward 7 Commissioner Willie H. Woods, Jr and DCCAH Exec Director Lionell Thomas were among the community enlisted to interact with the glass artwork.
By having many area residents making the glass art insets, the sculpture has an increased sense of local identity. The artwork arch stimulates curiosity, inspired some of the budding artists to consider new artistic avenues and on occasion, create a smile.
Many voices told many stories in the inset panels that made up the glass quilt archway.
Opposite view of Washington, DC’s Green Community Arch.
The formal opening ceremony of the Anacostia Arch with DC Mayor Gray is now being scheduled. We will update on the school’s FB page and on the blog!
Project Details
- Location: Corner Hayes Street & Kenilworth Terrace, NE; Washington, DC 20019
- Washington Glass Studio Public Art Team: Michael Janis, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers, Audrey Wilson, Derek Thomas, Miles Lark, Cris Chaney and Robyn Townsend
- Structural Engineers: Holbert Apple Associates, Inc and Wolfman and Associates
- Structural Steel: Iron Kingdom
- Number of Glass Tile Insets: Over 300
- Weight of Sculpture: 2000 lbs