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| Robert Bender‘s cast glass sculptures. |
A number of venues around the country are hosting exhibitions this year in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Studio Glass Movement (including one at the
Stepping outside the gallery’s standard focus on southern artists, this national invitational centers on Glass Secessionism – on view through July 28, 2012.
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| Works by Sean Hennessey and Christina Bothwell. |
Often incorporating other media, work by Glass Secessionists is predominantly narrative or conceptual. Noted in the group’s description, “The intent of the (Glass Secessionism) group is to underscore and define the twenty-first century Sculptural Glass Movement and to illustrate the differences and strengths compared to late twentieth century technique-driven glass. While the twentieth century glass artists’ contributions have been spectacular and groundbreaking, this group focuses on the aesthetic of the twenty-first century.”
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| Tim Tate‘s treats in glass. |
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| Thor & Jennifer Bueno and Christina Bothwell ‘s artwork make striking juxtapositions. |
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| Marc Petrovic‘s amazing sculptures. |
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| The bold sculptures by Marc Peiser provide a counterpoint to Susan Taylor Glasgow‘s domestic icons in glass. |
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| Michael Janis‘ drawings in glass. |
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| Artwork by Michael Janis, Ken Carder and Christina Bothwell in the front window of the gallery. |
The story may be poignant or provocative; the imagery haunting or humorous, but whether they lean toward edgy or whimsical, a growing number of glass artists have something compelling to say. Many share the sentiment that the medium offers more than dazzling effects, desiring objects that transcend materiality and stir something within us.
Glass Secessionism includes work by Rick Beck, Robert Bender, Christina Bothwell, Thor & Jennifer Bueno, Ken Carder, Susan Taylor Glasgow, Sean Hennessey, Michael Janis, Mark Peiser, Marc Petrovic, Sally Rogers, and Tim Tate. The exhibition opened June 7 and will continue through July 27 in the Showcase Gallery on Blue Spiral 1’s main level and extends through the month of August upstairs.
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| Works by Christina Bothwell, Rick Beck, Sally Rogers and Robert Bender. |
Sgraffito Glass Technique @ Hot Glass Houston
>Michael Janis gets his glass to Texas.
Hot Glass Houston, a glass facility that encourages exploration and good times has a great assortment of classes and supplies to provide the people of the Houston area with everything they need to do everything with glass. And they’re a Bullseye Resource Center. Hot Glass Houston is hosting a 3-day workshop with Michael as he divulges his secrets on getting imagery in glass – “Visualizations in Glass” July 13, 14 & 15, 2012 – Friday, Saturday, & Sunday – 10- 4 each day. Erwin Timmers had taught a Recycled Glass class there and really enjoyed the place!
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| Famous Texas Icons: Texas Rangers, Oil, Armadillos, Big Hair |
Click HERE to jump to Hot Glass Houston’s info on the class.
While in Texas, Michael said he wanted to check out all the Texas-isms he heard about from his Texas-born wife. The “Don’t Mess-With Texas” attitude, Big Country, Big Hats, Big Shoes, Big Mosquitoes. BBQ. Michael also said that he plans on re-enacting key scenes from Pee Wees Big Adventure that was partly set in Texas:
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| Being cheeky in Texas can end in tears. |
Prince George’s County Buys Artomatic Artwork
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This past Saturday at Artomatic,
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| Ronnie Gathers, Director, Prince Georges County Department of Parks and Recreation announces the artwork selection. |
Below lists the 11 works purchased – the artists below deserve well-earned congratulations!
2012
Ellen Cornett “No Puppets” Pastel on paper
Matt Deal “Machinery” Blown glass
Eric Eldritch “Elementals I” Acrylic on sandpaper
Eric Eldritch “Elementals II” Acrylic on sandpaper
Rania Hassan 6 Panels from “Knit Dress” Acrylic & Fiber on Canvas
Sean Hennessey “Hopes and Dreams” Glass, Concrete, Paint, Steel, LED
Jessica Murray “Untitled” Mixed media on paper
Bert Pasquale “Final March” Photograph
Bert Pasquale “Final Flight” Photograph
Ishmail Reaves “Microphone” Acrylic on canvas
Ronnie Spiewak “Landfall” Collage
Curtis G. Woody “Just Beyond the Sunset” Mixed media collage
The Process: Taking a Mold From Historic Bronze Doors
With the Memorial Day Weekend here, a blog posting that touches on themes of American Art & history is in order.
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| Library of Congress, Washington, DC, Adams Building |
The Process looks at how the Washington Glass Studio artists are recreating the original, historic bronze doors from the Library of Congress (LOC) Adams Building in kiln-cast glass.
As mentioned in an earlier post, the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) oversees this landmark building, and they sought out ways to provide up-to-date functional aspects for their structures, all while balancing the requirement for maintaining the artistic legacy of its buildings – a daunting task in an ever changing world. Their design for the LOC Adams building was to have the historic bronze entry doors (that could not be brought up to code) set in the “open” position, and install new code-compliant functional glass doors for the public access – with the glass doors designed to reference the original door sculptures. (Click HERE to jump to link post of sculpted bronze door features.) Washington Glass Studio is creating the new cast glass panels, and this edition of The Process looks at how the molds are being taken from the original doors in-situ.
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| Sean Hennessey, the master caster, sets up his mold making equipment and preps the doors. |
The LOC was very concerned that the mold taking process could adversely impact the patina of the bronze doors, so before any work on the doors was completed, testing of the materials and release agents were conducted on an inconspicuous section of the backside of the doors.
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| A section of the door backside was tested for any reaction to the materials. |
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| The sample came off with no residue or impact to the original bronze finish. |
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| Given the go-ahead, Sean enjoys a day in the sun. |
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| The bronze door area surrounding the bas-relief is masked off. |
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| Care is taken for the surrounding area. Sean shown here assisted by Erin Cumbo. |
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| The layering of the silicone rubber mold material starts. |
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| The mold is allowed to set-up until firm, and then peeled off. |
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| “Mother Mold” material is added to give structural strength to the casting. |
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| The finished rubber mold. |
The molds will later be used to create the original forms for the kiln-casting process – more about the glass casting process in later postings!.
Glass Art Magazine features Fulbright Scholars Michael Janis & Tim Tate’s UK Assignment
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The Fulbright Commission US Scholar Awards for 2013-14 are now open. The US Scholar Awards offer US academics and professionals the chance to undertake research and/or teaching at any accredited UK higher education institution. Opportunities are available for college and university faculty as well as for professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, independent scholars and many others. As well as an All-disciplines award they also have specific partner awards.
US Library of Congress’ New Cast Sculptural Glass Doors
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| Aerial view of US Capitol on the Mall, Washington, DC. Library of Congress is center bottom of photo. |
The Washington Glass Studio (WGS) has started the creation of the new cast sculptural glass doors for the Library of Congress (LOC) in Washington, DC. The design of the project started in 2004, when the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) first asked WGS about advise on their initial proposal to replace the original historic bronze doors of the LOC Adams Building, as the doors required security and changes to be code-compliant. The AOC also sought to reference the artistic heritage of the original doors in this important United States building.
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| One of the original bronze door pairs by sculptor Lee Lawrie |
The original (11′-0″H) bronze doors had functional issues and will be retained in their present hold-open position, recessed into architectural niches. The 16 sculpted bronze doors feature high-relief sculptures by American artist Lee Lawrie, whose best known work is the architectural sculpture on and around New York’s Rockefeller Center. Lawrie’s bronze doors were designed to commemorate the history of the written word, depicting gods of writing as well as real-life Native American Sequoyah.
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| Lee Lawrie, 1877-1963, American sculptor, best known for his architectural work at NY’s Rockefeller Center, especially for the free-standing “Atlas” sculpture. |
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| Ogma and Sequoyah, sculpted bronze figures by Lee Lawrie. Door detail, Library of Congress John Adams Building, Washington, DC. |
- Hermes, the messenger of the gods
- Odin, the Viking-Germanic creator of the runic alphabet
- Ogma, the Irish god who invented the Gaelic alphabet
- Itzamna, the Mayan god
- Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god
- Sequoyah, a Native American
- Thoth, an Egyptian god
- Ts’ang Chieh, the Chinese patron of writing
- Nabu, an Akkadian god
- Brahma, an Indian god
- Cadmus, the Greek sower of dragon’s teeth
- Tahmurath, a Persian hero
The new door design incorporates cast glass panels mounted within a bronze framework, incorporating current egress and security requirements. The kilnformed sculptural glass will be made from molds taken off the original door sculptures. Using clear Bullseye glass to cast, the sculpted glass panels will then be laminated to tempered glass for safety. The new glass doors will create a contemporary luminosity to the building entrances, while keeping the character of the historic landmark structure.
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| original bronze doors – east side (top) Design of new bronze and cast glass doors – west side (bottom) |
The scale of the project has prompted a collaboration between Washington Glass Studio and Fireart Glass Studio in Portland, OR. The project “dream-team” includes (Bullseye Glass co-founder) Ray Ahlgren, Erwin Timmers, Michael Janis, Tim Tate and Sean Hennessey.
Master mold caster, Sean Hennessey, has started the project, creating the molds from the existing bronze doors in-situ. Some photos of that process will be posted later.
Artomatic Gets Ready = Get Ready for Artomatic!
Artomatic is a multi-week, multimedia arts event held in the Washington, DC area since 1999.
Washington Glass School has a long relationship with the DC-area arts showcase of visual art, music, film, performance, poetry and fashion. Tim Tate’s artwork at Artomatic 2000 was seen by the curator of the Smithsonian’s Renwick Museum, and that show both got his work into the Museum’s permanent collection, and his sales at the show provided the seed money that started the Washington Glass School. Artomatic at Tenleytown’s old Hechinger’s space is where Tim Tate first saw the sculpture work of Erwin Timmers and they later teamed up to start the School & Studio.
Michael Janis’ first showing of his glass artwork was at the glass room at Artomatic 2004, where the Washington Post’s art critic Blake Gopnick slammed the show in his review “Hanging is too Good For It” – but noted about the glass: “Some of the glasswork looked all right. (Glass is such a gorgeous medium it’s hard to screw it up, and you need some basic training even to begin to work in it.)” High praise indeed.
In 2007, the show was held in Crystal City, VA, in the old Patent Office. As a result of this Artomatic, Maurine Littleton Gallery began showing Michael’s artwork.
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| Photographer Tracy Lee captured the essence of the Artomatic mystery. |
At that Artomatic, drama ensued after Tim Tate’s artwork “The Rapture” disappeared under mysterious circumstances. After the Washington Post “Reliable Source”reportedthe disappearance of the artwork, and newspaper reporter Amy Argetsiner, was sent a ransom demand ($10,000 in monopoly money) from someone named “The Collector ” – along with a “proof of life” photo of the rocket from the artwork in front of the previous day’s newspaper. The reporter went to the late night ransom drop in a city park and tried to catch the perpetrator as it all went down. In the next day Washington Post, the story was almost full front page of the Style section, along with their prime suspects.
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| The Artomatic ransom note sent to the Washington Post’s Reliable Source |
The Post cast dispersions (along with thumbnail mug shots) onto : “Tim Tateglass sculptor, original victim
Why him?: With a well-known flair for publicity, Tate was suspected by many at Artomatic of faking his own sculpture’s disappearance.
He says:”I categorically deny it.”
Alibi: Tate was by our side when we met The Collector at the ransom drop last year, so unless he’s part of a broader conspiracy . . .
Michael Janis glass sculptor, friend of Tate’sWhy him?: Artomatic gossips theorize that Tate’s Washington Glass School colleague may have helped pull off the stunt.
He says:”I’m denying any kind of involvement.”
Alibi:”Michael is too serious” for pranks, says DCArtNews blogger Lenny Campello.
Jesse Cohen art photographer, overseer of the Artdc.org forumWhy him?: Like the author of The Collector’s manifestos, a big booster of the local arts scene; resembles the man at the ransom drop (young white guy, dark hair).
He says:”No . . . I thought it was really crappy of anyone [to take Tate’s art].”
Alibi: Skinnier than the man we saw.
Kirk Waldroff printmaker and glass artist, colleague of Tate ‘sWhy him?: Has The Collector’s build, coloring; his voice mail sounds like the man we talked to on the phone; Tate is a little too insistent that Waldroff can’t be The Collector.He says:[In a voice mail message] “No, I’m not The Collector”; says he’d be glad to talk more but he’s leaving town in a few minutes. (Hmm, getting too hot around here?)Alibi:”He seems too cool to be pulling stuff like that,” says a fellow artist. “He’s in a band.””
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Tim Tate created a new sculpture from the returned component, and the work was auctioned for the benefit of Artomatic.Tim Tate later created a new sculpture made from the remains of the old, and it was auctioned for the benefit of Artomatic; the drama of “The Collector” was never solved.
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| UK artist Stephen Reveley’s fused glass, photo by Caroline Angelo |
In 2009 the Artomatic was held at a new building near the new Nationals Baseball Statdium near Navy Yard Metro. This exhibition featured many glass artists from England. That year the Sunderland City Council had sponsored artists represented by Creative Cohesion to show glass, ceramics, paintings, bands and more, as part of the Sunderland, UK / Washington, DC Sister City agreement.
Washington Glass School Open Studio Saturday, May 12, 2012
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The Gateway Arts District is just over the DC/MD border of Eastern Avenue, along Route One.
Click HERE to jump to the Gateway Open Studio website.
WGS Scores a Double in Glass Art Magazine: Michael Janis and Erwin Timmers Featured Artists
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| Michael Janis’ narrative imagery made from crushed frit powder is the cover story in the May/June issue of Glass Art Magazine. |
The May / June issue of Glass Art Magazine features a WGS two-fer, with a feature on the ecologically sustainable designs by the “King” of recycling, Erwin Timmers, AND a cover spread on the dreamlike glass panels by Michael Janis.
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| The Erwin Timmers’ review delves in depth into how Erwin makes sculpture from recycled and diverted waste materials . |
“Working Green“, the article by Colleen Bryan, features the leader of the eco-art movement Erwin Timmers , and reviews his environmental philosophy and how Erwin practices his passion in his approach to his artwork and medium. Some great photos by Pete Duvall of Anything Photographic of Erwin’s beautiful glass sculpture work are showcased among the 5-page spread.
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| Glass Art Magazine Editor Shawn Waggoner writes about Michael Janis’ artwork in the latest issue. |
In the cover article “Pushing Powder – Michael Janis’ Glass Frit Drawings“, editor Shawn Waggoner writes about how Michael Janis‘ imagery touches on the subconscious, and that his narrative glass artwork seems to ask questions rather than answer them. Her article also discusses how Michael was able to have his work became part of the US Art in Embassies permanent collection (now on exhibit in Europe), comments about his work from Corning Museum’s curator of Modern Glass, and Michael’s recent Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Sunderland, England, where, as a Fulbright Specialist, he was teaching at the UK’s National Glass Centre.
Click HERE to jump to the Glass Art Magazine website.
If you sign up as a subscriber to Glass Art Magazine – there are subscriber benefits – such as links to articles online on how Michael Janis’ and Tim Tate’s Fulbright Scholarship to the UK’s University of Sunderland worked out and more! Click HERE to jump to the online magazine.
Habatat Galleries Michigan 40th International Invitational
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April 26 to May 26, 2012
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TIM TATE Mermaids Past Their Prime Blown & Cast Glass, original video |
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| SUSAN TAYLOR GLASGOW Chandelier Dress II |
In its “Off” position, the chandelier dress rests on a chrome dress form stand and it is lit by 8 bulbs around the skirt, as well as one bulb at the finial.
Habatat Galleries