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The DC Shorts Film Festival – the largest short film event on the East Coast. This is the festival’s 9th year, they are showing 140 films from 27 nations — and expect hundreds of filmmakers and thousands of audience members to mix, mingle and explore the art of short cinema. The festival is the largest audience-driven collection of short films in the USA. The DC Shorts Film Festival turns the spotlight on truly independent short films, created by new and established filmmakers in an era when the art of filmmaking is opening to all.
The Washington Glass Studio makes the glass awards given to the winners of the competition, and the steps to make the award are the subject of today’s posting.
Based on the film festival logo, the imagery is drawn in frit powder onto flat glass sheets.
The pattern made of glass powder is kiln-fired to the glass surface.
Rob Kincheloe sets up a precise angle within the kiln for the previously fired glass to slump over.
The slump drop of the glass creates one piece award that has the base integrated.
Audrey Wilson rubs enamel paint into the white kilncast film reels to bring out the texture of the glass.
The slumped awards are ready for the cast glass elements to be attached with UV glue.
The production of the awards fill the tables of the studio. The finished awards are boxed and mad ready for delivery to the festival HQ.
Debra Ruzinsky Solo Show at VisArts Gallery
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| Debra Ruzinsky at her show opening at the Brattleboro Museum. Images of Deb’s work are also featured in the book ” New Technologies in Glass“, by Dr. Vanessa Cutler. |
Debra Ruzinsky – one of the DC area Master Casters, has a solo show at Rockville’s VisArts Center set to open September 14, and run thru October 20th, 2012. Deb’s artwork that was featured in the Long View Gallery 2011 exhibit of artists of the Washington Glass School had the critic for the Washington Post question his previously held beliefs on what contemporary art should look like, as he stood in front of her work “Staring at it [Debra Ruzinsky’s cast glass], I feel like a monkey in front of a ball of shiny, shiny tin foil.” By Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post, Thursday, May 26, 2011
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“Sight”, 2012, kiln cast glass
8” x 8” x 8″
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Debra works in kiln-cast glass and mixed-media, producing objects that mix distopian and utopian visions, investigating belief and meaning. Her new series that takes an oblique look at objects imbued with personal meanings. Referencing memorabilia, collectibles, and luxury goods for display, these objects form a fragmented portraiture, with discrete elements creating implications of a whole.
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“Detached” , 2012, kiln-cast glass and mixed media
7”h x 24”w x 1-3/4”d
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Portions
Solo show, opens September 14
at VisArts – Common Ground Gallery.http://www.visartsatrockville.org/exhibi
VisArts
155 Gibbs Street, Rockville, MD 20850
Not Just Another Stained Glass Piece
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There are over 30,000 works of art are at the museum, and many spend time in storage.The Picasso wouldn’t have been there so long if the museum would have known it was a Picasso to begin with. Museum officials say it was cataloged as art inspired by a design for a Picasso painting but credited to an artist named Gemmaux. That name turned out to be plural for “gemmail,” which is the type of glass used in the work.
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| Pablo Picasso’s “Seated Woman with Red Hat” Donated to the museum in 1963, the painting had been misidentified as another stained glass piece – by an artist named ‘Gemmaux’, and kept in storage for 50 years. |
“When the piece came in, the documents associated with the gift indicated it was by an artist named ‘Gemmaux’, and it was from a design inspired by a Picasso oil painting,” said museum curator Mary Bower.
It wasn’t until this past February, when a
Picasso discovered the Gemmail in 1954 through Jean Cocteau at the Malherbe art studio. Fascinated by the light, the material and the transparency, Picasso contemplated the offer to illuminate all his master pieces. He made his first Gemmail art work “Femme dans un fauteuild’osier” in 1954.
Picasso shared his discovery and his creations with George Braque. The two artists had tried to introduce volume and a new perception of shapes through cubism. Braque who was always looking for new artistic techniques and materials was won over by the Gemmail and created several works himself. He stated : ” If I were thirty years old, I would be known as the Gemmist Braque.”
The
“In the history of our museum, this is the most important moment,” said museum director John Streetman. “This is the biggest thing that’s happened to the museum or probably will happen to the museum. It’s enormous.”
Enormous is also a way to describe the price tag that museum officials say would come with keeping the art safe it if was put on display.
“The value of the piece makes it prohibitive for us to insure it. Then we would have all sorts of considerations about staffing all sorts of electronic additions, to what we do with our facility that just makes it impossible to keep, and we’re so sad about that,” Streetman said.
Penland Auction & Tour
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| The Penland 2012 auction tent as lighting lights up the sky. The central focus of the trip was built around attending Penland’s Annual Benefit Auction featuring the sale of over 200 craft items, and it was a wonderful opportunity to interact with fellow craft enthusiasts. |
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Michael Sherrill’s incredible studio |
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| Michael Sherrill’s ceramic artwork |
Ceramist Michael Sherrill has been making pots for more than twenty years. Originally, his work was completely functional, but it has evolved into work that is now wholly sculptural. He is one of the most thoughtful and articulate sculptors of our time.
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| Michael Sherrill talking about his work |
Hoss Haley has worked in metal for over twenty years, creating sculpture, paintings, and public art. Hoss’s work is in several collections including Lowes Corporation,
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| Hoss recycles objects like washing machines and cars – often crumpling them into ball shapes mounted to walls or stacked. |
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| Christina Cordova talks about her recent works. |
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| Christina Cordova’s work is awesome. |
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| Pablo De Soto charms Fred and Susan Sanders |
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| Alex Bernstein talks to the JRA at the Asheville Art Museum. |
Dan Essig’s wordless works of art are sewn, woven and carved into magnificent artists’ books and sculptures. Dan’s works incorporates so many things -fossils, shells, coins and old nails—into his artwork.
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| Dan Essig talks of his work |
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| A view of the Blue Spiral 1 Gallery. |
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| Stoney shows some of the special woods that Fleur Bresler had sourced. |
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| Stoney talked of his process to the tour. |
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| The big show was the drama, anticipation and socializing at the Penland Auction. |
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| Glass sculptor Beth Lipman chats with Susan and Fred Sanders |
Dan Clayman with the proud owners of his Penland auction piece….Giselle and Ben Huberman
A Visit From Penland
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| L-R Glen and Florence Hardymon chat with ceramic artist Novie Trump at Flux Studios |
Glen Hardymon – Penland School of Crafts Chairman of the Board of Trustees and his wife Florence were visiting Washington, DC, this week and they made a trip out to see the Washington Glass School.
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| Sean Hennessey, Tim Tate together with Glen and Florence Hardymon expound on the lighter side of the arts. |
Glen and Florence were able to chat with a number of the artists working in the studio, and were able to stop at the ceramics studio next door Flux Studios for a visit with Novie Trump.
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| Michael Janis (center) shows how he gets layered fused glass imagery. |
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| Novie Trump describes artist Tamara Laird’s motifs. |
In August, Tim Tate is leading a tour thru Penland and nearby Asheville, NC as part of the annual Penland Auction – held to raise funds supporting Penland’s educational programs.
Michael Janis Does (Hot Glass) Houston
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| Michael Janis exposed all his secrets during his weekend review at club Hot Glass Houston. He happily line dances and pole dances (where he got the nickname “Magic Mike”), yet remains mum about what happened at the HGH karoke night… |
Michael said there were many ‘naturals’ in the class that took to the sgraffito technique instantly, and HGH’s Bob Paterson sent some photos from the class –
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| Michael Janis outlines frit powder sgraffito process to the class. |
In the three-day workshop, the artists created imagery using frit powder, enamels, image transfer, stencils, high-fire pens and paints, and later worked at creating depth by kiln-forming a stacked image panel.
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| TA Cynthia Gilkey sifts frit powder to recreate her puppy Bob in glass. |
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| Bob after his time in a kiln. |
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| Michael demonstrates how to manipulate frit powder. Its so easy! |
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| Hot Glass Houston kilns fill with image laden sheets of glass. |
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| Lynda Stoy’s frit powder sketch awaits kiln firing. |
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| Layered panel component sheets by Marilyn Dishman, Lynda Stoy and Deborah Enderle are fired to fix the frit powder on the glass and allow for further embellishment. |
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| The class dams each layered imagery panel prior to full fuse firing. |
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| Catherine Coffman assembles her layered panel in the kiln and creates a dam surround. |
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| After firing. |
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| Brooke Colvin’s romantic panel after clean up. |
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| Liz Paul’s glass artwork references a walk thru the woods. |
Michael said he had a great time in Texas, and he enjoyed hanging out with the owner Bob Paterson and TA Cynthia Gilkey – although he mentioned a karaoke night debacle, he refused to give details. Click here to jump to Hot Glass Houston’s facebook page. Click HERE to jump to Hot Glass Houston’s website.
Sunderland, England Visits Washington, DC
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| clockwise from left: Novie Trump, Tim Tate, George Koch, Oliver “Skip” Dulle, Tom Hurst, Catherine Auld and Erwin Timmers talk about the prospects for an international exhibition of glass and clay. |
Based on the aftermath of Tim Tate & Michael Janis’ successful Fulbright Scholarship assignment to the University of Sunderland, representatives from DC’s sister city (which is Sunderland, England) popped in for proverbial “spot of tea and a bit of a chat” – re: the possibility of another international glass exhibition to be held in DC in Spring 2013. (One may remember the fabulous Glass 3 exhibit hosted by Artomatic in 2008.)
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| George Koch, founder and board member of DC’s Cultural Development Corporation, chats with WGS’ Tim Tate |
This time the arts organization is proposing to expand the format to include ceramics and possibly another international partner; all together exhibiting at a downtown DC gallery space. Discussions included international workshops, marketplace events and how cultural tourism could be integrated. The representatives from the UK met at the Washington Glass School and at Flux Studios.
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| Artist Novie Trump explains the process of a commissioned ceramic installation to the Sunderland delegation. |
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| Dr David Smith, Chief Executive, Sunderland City Council and DC Mayor Vincent Gray sign the Sunderland, UK / Washington, DC Sister City Agreement, February 22, 2012,
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We don’t want to jinx the procedures and process at this early stage, but we are excited at the prospect of such an event!
Brentwood Arts Exchange Call for Proposals
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Call for Proposals and Exhibition Applications
Deadline: Aug 31, 2012
- An artist/curatorial statement that is no longer than one page.
- A résumé or Curriculum Vitae
- A CD/DVD containing 15-20 images of work samples; OR 2-5 segments of audio and/or video, each no longer than five minutes in duration; OR an appropriate combination of images, video, audio and web-based work.
- A list of works/images that includes titles, media, size, and dates created.
- An SASE for the return of materials. Materials will not be returned unless an SASE with adequate postage is provided.
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
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| 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!
Washington Glass School/Studio is Seeking a Studio Coordinator and Production Manager.
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This is a very integral position within our community. You will be responsible for coordinating equipment usage in the studio, be responsible for organizing and keeping the studio clean, assisting the principle artists, packing and shipping artwork, overseeing some large scale projects and (eventually) teaching some classes. Experience in glass is helpful, but not necessary, as we will train.
There will be heavy lifting; plaster mixing and mold making, and mold steaming as well. Some exhibition and project installations will require assistance. The schedule is flexible; the studio is typically open from 10am to 6pm M-F, but your hours are based on workload. We are open to unusual scheduling. There are also some evening and weekend classes.
While this is a demanding job, it also can be an extremely educational and rewarding one. Besides being part of a vibrant and successful studio, you will have your own workspace and will be encouraged to make your own artwork and to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that pass through our doors. The pay is $10 per hour to start with a salary evaluation after 90 days.
You will receive additional pay for every class you teach. We are particularly interested in a person who would truly benefit from this position, both personally and artistically. Many opportunities come through our studio…we encourage you to take advantage of them. Our school is based on the premise that everyone here will be happy for everyone else’s success, thereby fostering a nuturing and non-internally competitive work place. We are looking for just the right person for the long term.
Care to join us?
Call Tim Tate/
202-744-8222
timtateglass@aol.com
Located about 4 miles from