Author Archives: Chip Montague

Head For Art Interviews Lenny Campello

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Head for Art‘s Aleid Ford interviews Lenny Campello of DC Art News about his upcoming 100 Washington Artists book.
Since Lenny has announced his work on the book and the artists included, a lot of interest and commentary has erupted – who is included, who should have been included, snarky gripes and complaints left and right. Aleid held the interview with Lenny at the Washington Glass School. (Full disclosure – WGS directors Erwin Timmers, Michael Janis and Tim Tate are all included in the initial 100 Washington, DC artists book).

click on photo to jump to video interview

Posted in 100 washington artists, f lennox campello, Lenny Campello, schiffer books

SOFA Chicago Preview Oct 2nd

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Join the James Renwick Alliance members for a sneak peek of work made for the upcoming international shows SOFA Chicago and Art Basel Miami by glass artists Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers and collaborative work by Tim Tate and Marc Petrovic: Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Waking Dreams. * Just added * click HERE to jump to American Craft Magazine article on Tim & Marc's work.

Marc Petrovic & Tim Tate The Seven Deadly Sins

The adjacent Flux Studios is also hosting a preview showing of work by its renown artists.

SOFA CHICAGO 2010 PREVIEW

WASHINGTON, D.C., ARTISTS

Washington Glass Studio

AND

Flux Studios Artists New Work

Saturday, October 2, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Flux Studios

Fall Preview

Works of Novie Trump, Laurel Lukaszewski, Jessica Beels and Judit Varga.

3700 Otis Street Mt. Rainier, MD 20712

202-744-8222- Washington Glass Studios - 703-346-5284-Flux Studios

Posted in art basel miami, fall preview, james renwick alliance, JRA, s.o.f.a. chicago, sofa chicago

Sculptural Flameworking Class

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The Sculptural Flamework class and the Flamework Club got a great start to the fall semester here at the Washington Glass School. Above photo shows the weekend class completely engrossed in their works in the new lampworking stations.
Instructor Robert Kincheloe has advised that there is still space available in the next beginner class coming up in October and the Club is going strong on Saturdays.

Some killer flamework classes with superstars Liz Mears and Michael “Fig” Mangiafico are coming up real soon!

Posted in flamework, lampwork, robert kincheloe, sculptural flamework, torch work

Photos from Glass Festival in Sequim, WA

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Nancy Donnelly sent a quick report of the glass exhibit “Transcendence – the Magic of Glass” that is part of the Glass Festival now going on in Sequim, WA. Washington Glass School’s Teddie Hathaway was juried into the show, outlined in an earlier posting.

Nancy writes that the museum show is at Sequim’s “MAC”, where the letters MAC stands for “Museum & Arts Center in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley” in Washington. Nancy also advises that the correct pronunciation of Sequim is closer to “Skwim”.


The Sequim show is a large show, with some 50 artists participating. Many are from Washington State, but also from Toronto, L.A., Greece,Turkey, New York, and Arizona. This exhibition is part of Washington’s Glass Festival, and is accompanied with workshops and artist talks throughout the month. Some of the artists speaking include Michael Dupille and Delores Taylor.

Nancy writes that the show is well displayed and the work is quite good. They had numerous pieces of cast glass, and she sent some snaps of the exhibit.

photos by Nancy Donnelly

Link to MAC website – click HERE

Posted in mac, Nancy Donnelly, sequim, Teddie Hathaway, transcendence

Arts On Belmont

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Adams Morgan Day Festival — Sep 12, 2010 12:00pm to 7:00pm

The Longest Continuous Neighborhood Festival in DC! First held in 1978, this nationally known regional event showcases the international and cultural diversity and creativity that is the hallmark of Adams Morgan. This Festival celebrates the dynamism and innovation that arises from the melting pot of cultures and their interaction together.

The Adams Morgan Day Festival is characterized by two large signature music stages and other innovative & dynamic cultural, music, arts and dance activities. The famous Columbia and Florida Stages feature live music acts from all genres from Central and South America, Latin rock, salsa, jazz, to soul, funk and American rock.


Arts on Belmont (between 18th St. and Columbia Rd.)
The beautiful tree-lined Belmont block is filled with artists who work in a wide variety of styles and mediums. Glass, oils, watercolor, textiles, sculpture, and more.
The Washington Glass School will have a booth at the street fair – come on by!

Posted in adams morgan day, arts on belmont, street fair

Glass Meets Art @ the Ratner Museum

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INTERSECT: Glass Meets Art
In-ter-sect: (in-ter-sekt) To cut across or overlap each other, to have one or more points in common.

A glass exhibition with a number of Washington, DC area glass artists is opening this weekend at the Ratner Museum in Bethesda , MD.

The eight artists in this exhibit have each been on an artistic journey and perhaps, still are. Their travels have taken them to different places and each unique journey distinguishes each artist from the other. Most of them have crossed paths at some point. In this exhibit, the artists, all independently chosen, converge for INTERSECT: Glass Meets Art. Glass and art are the points they have in common.

Some of the artists exhibiting are Washington Glass School favorites, including works by:

Sean Hennessey, a sculptor and painter, currently working in glass and concrete, creating narrative works inspired by artifacts, mythology, and common everyday objects.
Robert Weiner’s Colorbar Murrine Series, affords him the opportunity to experiment with color, fusing temperatures, and to express a personal style that reflects simplicity with a close attention to detail.
In her dynamic glass and mixed media creations, in which depth and contrast are dominant, Anne Elise Pemberton explores the relationship between plant, human, and atomic structures.
Nancy Weisser is an award winning multimedia artist with a focus on glass since 1980. As owner of Weisser Glass Studio, Nancy has made a substantial contribution to the dynamic growth of the Washington glass community.

Other artists in the diverse show include, Jill Tanenbaum, Judith Busby, Kari Minnick and Benjamin Bornstein.

Dennis and Phillip Ratner Museum

10001 Old Georgetown Road

Bethesda, Maryland 20814

Phone: 301.897.1518
Artist Reception, Sunday, September 12, 2010
1:30 – 3:30 pm

Glass Fun Facts

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Franz Adolf Berwald

Franz Adolf Berwald (July 23, 1796, Stockholm – April 3, 1868) was a Swedish Romantic composer who was generally ignored during his lifetime. Due to this, he was forced to make his living as an orthopedic surgeon and later as a glass blower.

This must be one of the few times that one could make a better living as a glass blower, rather than as an orthopedic surgeon.

In the early 1850s, a German music critic asked Berwald if he was still a composer. His surly reply was, “No, I am a glass blower.”

His Piano Concerto, finished in 1855, did not see the light of day until 1904, when Berwald’s granddaughter Astrid performed it at a Stockholm student concert. Particularly in its last movement it may be compared to Robert Schumann or Edvard Grieg.

Berwald’s music was not recognized favorably in Sweden during his lifetime, even drawing hostile newspaper reviews, but fared a little better in Germany and Austria. The Mozarteum Salzburg made him an honorary member in 1847.

When Berwald returned to Sweden in 1849, he managed a glass works at Sandö in Angermanland, owned by Ludvig Petré, an amateur violinist. During that time Berwald focused his attention on producing chamber music.

Berwald died in Stockholm in 1868 of pneumonia. The second movement of the Symphony No. 1 was played at his funeral.

Click on the YouTube link below to sample Berwald’s music – his Symphony No. 3 in C Major, ‘Sinfonie Singulière’.

Art Glass Today

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>As mentioned in an earlier post, Schiffer Books is Pennsylvania based publisher specializing in books about architecture and design, arts and crafts, and collectibles.

Their newest book “Art Glass Today” features a number of works by Washington Glass School artists – Erwin Timmers, Tim Tate & Michael Janis. The handsome book – edited by Jeffery Snyder – features over 60 contemporary, international glass artists and has over 350 color photos of artwork. Besides a strong showing from the Washington Glass School, a number of NCAGG artists are also included in the book.

Other notable glass artists in the book include Christopher Ries, Jamie Harris, David Reekie, and many more.

Posted in art glass today, schiffer books, schiffer publishing

Art and Architecture: Public Art Project

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Safeway Bethesda
Rounds VanDuzer Architects

Safeway has started construction of a new supermarket in Bethesda, MD. The new store will be a LEED certified supermarket as Safeway is committed to the greening of its stores. Besides going green, the supermarket will be built to what Safeway calls the urban “lifestyle” market, with high-quality urban design. Safeway is one of North America’s largest supermarket chains with more than 1,700 stores.

As part of the project, Safeway commissioned the Washington Glass Studio to integrate artwork into the architectural façade of the building. The wall of artwork will activate the street along the Bradley Street façade, and marks the first public artwork commission by the national supermarket chain for its stores.



The cast recycled glass and steel artwork is integrated into the architectural façade.


Over 30 feet long and 9 feet high, the glass and steel artwork will be a strong element located in Bethesda. The new building design will act as a “civic gateway” to Bethesda‘s Central Business District (CBD).

Responding to the architectural design by Rounds VanDuzer Architects the large scale artwork will feature colorful cast recycled glass made from glass salvaged from the original Safeway supermarket on the same site. Ecoartist Erwin Timmers had slogged thru the site demolition, removing glass for the artwork. Erwin’s integration of reconfigured and recycled components has made him a leader in sustainable design and he continues his work in multidisciplinary LEED projects.


Cast recycled window glass sample of custom “fresh herb” design for Safeway.

Above is the “bay leaf” pattern.


UPDATE: Click HERE to jump to images of finished project.

Posted in architectural application glass, cast recycled glass, eco-friendly glass, erwin timmers, LEED certified art, Public Art, recycled glass art, safeway, safeway bethesda, sustainable design