Author Archives: Michael Janis

Fulbright Travelers Check In

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University of Sunderland poster for the visiting Fulbright Scholars.

Tim Tate and I have been powering through our stay here at the University of Sunderland in the beautiful northeast of England. This is a blog update of some of the adventure we have participated in whilst on our Fulbright Scholarship to the UK.

The University of Sunderland Glass Centre and the glass roof deck.

Kevin Petrie, Head of the Glass & Ceramics Department

We arrived on Thursday, met at the airport by the University’s head of the Glass and Ceramics Department, Kevin Petrie. Kevin took us on a whirlwind tour of the massive building complex. The centre, built in 1998, has a glass panel roof – where one is invited to walk across and watch the blowing facilities down below.

Tim Tate takes a walk on the glass.

The size, equipment and state-of-the-art facility was overwhelming. It was great to see some old friends that had come to DC in years past waving a welcoming hello from across the acreage of studio space. We would be coming back to the University after a couple workshops in town.

Some of the many huge kilns at the university.


Here I am wandering thru one the centre’s exhibition halls.

The beach in front of the hotel in Seaburn.

Our hotel could not have been better – sweeping views across the North Sea, with Seaburn beach in front of our hotel. Nice.

Creative Cohesion’s new studio and exhibition center in Sunderland.

The arts organization, Creative Cohesion, held a cocktail reception to welcome us and inaugurate the new hotshop at their new facility in Sunderland city centre . For those of you from DC, you might remember the organization and its many talented artists that participated in the 2006’s Glass 3 exhibit in Georgetown, organized by Artomatic. In 2009, many more artists from Sunderland participated in the Artomatic held near the Navy Yard/near the new Nationals Ballpark. The non-profit arts organization began over 10 years ago, initially designed as a way to help for glass artists coming from the university mature into professional artists. The success of the organization’s mission has expanded and now includes ceramic and visual arts, performance artists, and poets in its umbrella of services.

Our arrival coincided with the center’s celebration of the opening of their new hotshop – our workshop would be the first for the glass shop. Upon arrival – we see a familiar face – a poster of the UK artists working in Dave D’Orio’s DC Glasswork’s hotshop is in the window.

We saw some old friends in unexpected places…

Tim and I planned to do a few workshops to allow for collaboration between the DC & UK artists. The first up workshop was creating fused glass rollups.

The artists from Sunderland listen with intent.

The big burly electrician Richie tries fusing for the first time. And shows real talent.

The next day, the glass panels are placed onto the pastorellis and artist Roger Tye works the Bulls-eye glass into a rollup.

Roger Tye gets the glass into shape.

Click HERE to jump to video of the roll-up process by Jo Howell Photography and Maverickart

The next day, Tim Tate and I were welcomed at the University of Sunderland. We first gave a lecture about our work, the Washington Glass School & Studio and the Glass Secessionism movement.

Professor Tim Tate speaks about his work and influences.


Coming up soon – a posting or two about the workshops at the National Glass Center, touring around the area and the London Affordable Art Fair! Stay posted!

Posted in england, fulbright, michael janis, scholar, sunderland, Tim Tate

Welding Class Just Added!

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The welding class has become one of the most popular classes at the Glass School (go figure!).
To keep up with the demand – we have just added another welding class to the schedule:

Class 1203-B – Beginning MIG Welding

Ever wondered about learning to weld? Want to impress your friends, your older brother and that cute bartender? It’s easier than you think! In three evenings you will learn how to lay a bead, and handle all sorts of sharp and dangerous tools. You will be able to complete a small project and leave with lots of ideas and know-how for other projects. This class will teach you the basics of welding, metal work and design, joining, bending and finishing. And you will get dirty!

Instructor : Erwin Timmers

Dates : Wednesday evenings in May (2, 9, 16)

Time : 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm

Tuition : $325 per student

This class does not have a paypal button…..contact Erwin directly at 202-744-8222 to register, or email to: washglassschool@aol.com

Posted in erwin timmers, metal, MIG welding

Ginny Ruffner: A Movie & A Show

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>Multimedia artist Ginny Ruffner‘s artwork is an exuberant, mind-blowing party. No matter whether her medium is glass, paint, metal, or paper, the result is a kaleidoscopic explosion of color and form that blurs the lines between indoors and out, natural and mechanical, dream and waking.

Ginny lives and works in Seattle, WA. Despite a life interrupted by a near-fatal auto accident in 1991, Ginny’s years of painstaking recovery have been richly productive.

On Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 12:00 noon the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum will screen “Ginny Ruffner: A Not So Still Life ”, a movie that peers into the kaleidoscopic mind of American glass artist Ginny Ruffner. The documentary explores Ruffner’s journey from her childhood in South Carolina to her emergence as a world-renowned artist. The film also highlights her influences, including Dale Chihuly, Graham Nash, and Tom Robbins. The film is 80 minutes in length and was directed by Karen Stanton.

The event will take place at the Grand Salon of the Renwick Gallery and admission is free. After the screening, Ginny will participate in a discussion about the film and sign copies of the DVD that will be available for purchase on site.

Ginny Ruffner: Works On Paper

Following screening of the film, Maurine Littleton will feature an exhibition of Ginny’s new work, including Ginny’s new works-on-paper at the gallery.

The gallery event will begin at 2:00 PM and Ginny will be present. The Maurine Littleton Gallery is located at 1667 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington DC.

Also on exhibit are Jeff Zimmer‘s new layered glass works in the upper level gallery space.

Posted in "maurine littleton", a not so still life, ginny ruffner

Kiln-formed Glass & The American Studio Glass Movement – A Parallel History

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Part 1 The Glass Pioneers

Frances Stewart Higgins

fused crushed glass and enamel vessel, 1958-1959.

2012 marks the 50th Anniversary of the American Studio Glass Movement, and its celebration will be marked with many events and exhibitions. The focus of the anniversary celebrations will mainly be on hot-glass and taking glass making from the factory to the artist’s studio, using the 1962 Toledo glass workshop as the birth date.


Toledo glass workshop in the spring of 1962

As the Washington Glass School features kiln-formed glass, we wanted to join the celebration by outlining the parallel and often co-dependent history of the kiln-formed glass section of the movement (aka warm glass, or fused glass). This series of postings – often based directly on writings by glass artists Richard LaLonde, Boyce Lundstrom, Dan Schwoerer, Bert Weiss and Corning Museum of Glass’ history information online. It also strongly references Martha Drexler Lynn’s seminal study “American Studio Glass 1960-1990“. Thanks also to Chip Montague and Betty Py for sourcing images and backgrounds on the featured artists.

Shifts in art practice after WW2 opened the door for materials not previously considered.The popular story about the origins of the American studio glass movement casts Harvey Littleton as its Prometheus. Littleton and his teaching had a significant effect on the evolution of studio glass. His work, and that of his students and their followers built a basis for the current glass art scene. While

Littleton’s passion for hot glass originally led him to define “studio glass” to that blown or worked in a hot-glass studio – his later works included kilnformed plate glass and printing on glass plates, a new concept that he called vitreography.

Horizontal/Vertical, 1974. Harvey Littleton. Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, Wisconsin

Early Fused Glass

While the precise origins of glass fusing techniques are not known with certainty, there is archeological evidence that the Egyptians were familiar with basic techniques. Some historians argue that the earliest fusing techniques were first developed by the Romans, who were much more prolific glassworkers. Fusing was the primary method of making small glass objects for approximately 2,000 years, until the development of the glass blowpipe largely replaced fusing due to its greater efficiency and utility.


Vase, 1923.François Emile Décorchemont. pâte de verre

Two government actions helped to propel crafts to greater acceptance in the 1930s and 1940s, the Works Projects Administration Federal Arts Project (later WPA) created employment for the approximately five thousand artists and craftsmen. Another consequence of the war that contributed to the emergence of studio glass was that as returning veterans’ formed new families, they required housing and furnishings. This fostered a trend toward mass-produced anonymous objects. Handcrafted items, in contrast, were refreshing and capable of expressing individuality. Crafts were seen as an antidote to the suburban Levittown and as a means to creating a sense of individuality in the new American suburban tract house.

Sept/Oct 1959 issue of Craft Horizons Magazine. The cover shows images from the 1959 Corning International Contemporary Glass Exhibition. The magazine changed its name in 1979 to American Craft.

In the late 1940’s and 50’s glass pioneers set up studios to experiment, and made functional household objects like plates, bowls, jewelry and the occasional art object or hanging mobile. Their success often came from the transfer of ceramic and other craft techniques to glass. These artists fused enamels that were created for metal enameling on and in between pieces of window glass in electric brick kilns used for ceramics.

Glass Artists of the Post War Era – an outline of a few of the pioneers:

Maurice Heaton, a designer of stained glass, became adept at slumping flat sheets of hot glass into or over a mold to form vessel shapes. Born in London, he was the son of an Arts and Crafts cloisonné enameller and the grandson of a stained-glass maker. He moved to New York in 1914. His work is characterized by detailed, linear patterns created by fusing crushed, brightly colored enamels onto the surface of the glass.

Africa, 1948. Maurice Heaton

Kilnformed glass, powdered glass, enamel.Corning Museum of Glass

Fish Platter, 1940’s. Maurice Heaton

Kilnformed glass, powdered glass, enamel.
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Michael and Francis Higgins in the 1950’s

Michael and Francis Higgins’ were a husband-and-wife team who produced commercial tableware for Dearborn Glass.Both studied at the Chicago Institute of Design. The couple individually created unique hinged boxes, mobiles, flat panels and vessel forms that were distinguished by bold geometric patterns and innovative techniques that retain their freshness with their delicate designs.

Vessel, 1958-1959 Frances Stewart Higginsfused crushed glass and enamel. Corning Museum of Glass

plate, 1960’s Michael & Frances Higginskiln-formed glass
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Edris Eckhardt, a well known Cleveland School artist, is recognized for her virtuosity in ceramics, enamels, and glass work, invented her own glass formulas to create her sculpture. She may have been the first American studio glass artist to formulate her own batch instead of simply melting cullet. Eckhardt changed her first name to Edris, after a genderless angel, after being declined for an art school scholarship based solely on her gender.


Archangel, 1956. Erdis Eckhardt
cast glass. Corning Museum of Glass


Uriel, 1968. Erdis Eckhardt
cast glass. Corning Museum of Glass

This year, the Museum of American Glass at WheatonArts has the above artists featured in an exhibit titled “Pioneers of American Studio Glass“, now thru 12/30/2012.

Early Writing About Studio Glass

For the glass practitioner, collector or scholar, there were few published information sources were available, beyond meeting the artist in person. Teaching about glassmaking – or “glass technology” would, at best be taught in a school’s manual arts curriculum or as a hobby. First published in 1942, the craft magazine Craft Horizons provided limited information about glass techniques, but typical of the focus on the arts, it had three times more information about other craft media as on glass. The magazine later became American Craft in 1979 and was redesigned with an expanded awareness of studio glass.


1944 Craft Horizons and 2012 American Craft Magazine


Early books about glass offered technical advice, a general history of glass, or the occasional survey of contemporary work. Information about glass was available only in industrial manuals, amongst them “The Art of Glassmaking” (1947) by Sydney Waugh, a designer for Corning Glass. Waugh’s book included declarations that glass could only be made in large factories.
California artist Kay Kinney studied glazes and ceramics and later experimented with glass in the early 1960’s. Kinney’s book “Glass Craft: Designing, Forming, Decoration” (1962) was written long before the “fusing-compatible” era. Her book has information about mold-making, fusing and slumping projects utilizing window glass, bottles, and other types of glass.


Kinney’s book was written for glass novices, with simple, straightforward instructions on cutting and fusing.

The Toledo Workshops were indeed a watershed. After the workshops, glassmaking programs entered the college, university and fine arts programs. Other venues for glass study began opening up, and established regional craft centers like Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland School of Craft had more intensive learning opportunities. By 1973, glass programs had penetrated the university and craft world to the extent that Glass Art Magazine listed seventy educational programs. This expansion had a profound effect on the establishment of the critical mass of artists devoted to learning about, producing, and promoting studio made glass. Additionally, the G.I. Bill, started in the 1940’s, had a strong effect on the lives if the returning veterans. That bill, (as did the later, similar Veterans Acts under the Johnson, Nixon and the Ford Administrations) through the mid 1970’s – offered veterans a college scholarship to any college of their choice. As it turned out, art school was very attractive and glass blowing extremely attractive. There were glass programs across the country. By the time the GI Bill was gone, so were the glass programs.

Click HERE to jump to Part 2 Exploring Technique and Content – the ’60’s, ’70’s & ’80’s

Posted in american studio glass, craft horizons, erdis eckhardt, fused glass, higgins glass, history, kiln-formed glass, kilnformed, maurice heaton, part 1, studio glass movement, warm glass

♪ Happy Birthday, Mr President ♫

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All Hail To The Chief(s)!

Fun Facts about George & Abe:



George Washington’s dentures

George Washington FUN FACTS

–Admiring biographers make much of the fact that Washington turned down a salary from the Continental Congress and asked instead that he be paid only for his expenses as commander-in-chief. As it turns out, the general made a sound financial decision. If he had accepted the salary ($500 a month) he would have received a total of $48,00 for his service. As it was, his expense account during 8 years of war came to $447,220, according to the smallest estimate. Included in this total were sums for a new carriage, expensive saddles, and imported wines for his headquarters.

–When the capital was moved from New York to Philadelphia, Washington, who had been disappointed in the food that he had been eating as President, brought his black slave Hercules from Mount Vernon to serve as cook. Pennsylvania law provided that slaves be given their freedom after 6 months’ residence in the State. To avoid the possibility of losing the services of his master chef, Washington would send Hercules back to Mount Vernon just before the 6 months were up. Then, several weeks later, he would have him returned to the capital. Hercules, who soon won a reputation in Philadelphia as a flashy and colorful dresser, was much too smart to stand this arrangement for long. One night before the end of Washington‘s term he disappeared and much to the President’s disappointment was never heard from again.

–One of the most seriously misleading of the Washington legends is the story of the pious general kneeling in prayer in the snow at Valley Forge. Not only is there no evidence to support this tale, but Washington was notorious in his parish church for his refusal to kneel at any of the customary moments in the Episcopal service. As his minister declared disapprovingly after the President’s death, “Washington was a Deist.” Although Martha was a devout churchwoman, George never shared her enthusiasm. On communion Sundays he always walked out before taking the eucharist, leaving Martha to participate in the service alone.


In 1842, Abe was challenged to a duel. Abe won.

Abraham Lincoln FUN FACTS

—Lincoln was never associated with any organized church, and as a young man in New Salem he had a reputation as an outspoken nonbeliever. Having read Thomas Paine, he liked to argue with friends against the tenets of conventional religion. In his 1846 congressional campaign, Lincoln’s unorthodox position became a campaign issue, and he offered the only public statement of his career on his religious convictions: That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general or of any denomination of Christians in particular.

–In 1842, Lincoln accepted a challenge to a duel from James Shields, the Democratic State auditor. Shields was furious over a satiric letter in a local paper. Actually, the letter had been written by Lincoln‘s fiancée, Mary Todd, but Lincoln willingly took responsibility. Since he was given the choice of weapons, Lincoln, with typical cunning, selected broadswords–with his 6’4″ frame and his enormous arms, Lincoln had an insurmountable advantage over his diminutive opponent when it came to dueling with swords. Shields wisely decided to make up his differences with Lincoln and the scheduled duel failed to take place.

–The clutter in Lincoln‘s law office was notorious, and a continual source of irritation to his partner, William Herndon. On his desk, Lincoln kept one envelope marked “When you can’t find it anywhere else, look into this.”

–Frederick Douglass, the celebrated black abolitionist and former slave, was invited by Lincoln to the inaugural reception in 1865, but when Douglass tried to enter, policemen man-handled him and forced him back out. Making his way in again, he managed to catch Lincoln‘s eye. “Here comes my friend Douglass,” the President exclaimed, and, leaving his circle of guests, he took Douglass by the hand and began to chat with him.

–Once, shortly before his election to the Presidency, Lincoln reported that he was startled by a vision. As he lay down to rest, weary over a hard day of politics, he caught a glimpse of his face in a mirror–and was startled to see a double image of himself. The 2nd image in the mirror was pale, “like a dead man’s.” After a few days, when the same pair of images reappeared, he discussed the phenomenon with his wife. She interpreted it to mean that Lincoln would be elected to 2 terms as President, but that he would die during his 2nd term.

Presidential trivia facts from: www.trivia-library.com

Posted in abraham lincoln, george washington, president's day, usa

Recycled Glass: Sculpture and Design

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Schiffer Publishing has a new book out that has a focus on artists that use recycled glass as the raw material for their artwork and sculpture. Written by artist/author Cindy Ann Coldiron, the book, Sculpture and Design with Recycled Glass, features a number of area artists that utilize glass diverted from the waste stream.

The book also contains an overview of technical issues on the use of recycled glass, and features artwork and projects made from recovered glass from around the world.
There are some great works and images of projects, including works by DC area artists Nikki O’Neill, Bill Hess and Cindy Ann Coldiron.


Some of the notable works included in the book:


“Glass on Stone”
Erwin Timmers, 120″ x 20″ x 2″, kiln cast recycled window glass
photo by Anything Photographic


Our Erwin Timmers‘ environmental themed artwork has an attractive spread in the book. Erwin’s work has been in a number of art book publications this past year – his work has become increasingly popular. Erwin will be showing at Cincinatti’s Brazee Street Gallery in March.

Australian artists that work in recycled glass are also featured in the book – including some spectacular projects by Mark Wotherspoon. Mark reclaims glass from television tubes and creates evocative figures from the hard glass.


“Revelation of Death”
Mark Wotherspoon, 6′ x 8′ x 8′, kiln-cast television screen glass


Have a look at this fascinating look at artists that are looking to create environmentally sustainable artwork.

Posted in cindy coldiron, erwin timmers, recycle glass sculpture, recycled glass art, schiffer books

The Process – Erwin Timmers Cast Glass Bottles

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From This:


To This:

artist: Erwin Timmers; materials: cast recycled glass


As part of the ongoing series titled ” The Process” that documents the methodology of an artist or technique – the work of Erwin Timmers is the feature of today’s pictorial.

Eco-artist Erwin Timmers creates artwork with environmental themes, and he works with materials that are diverted from the waste stream. As he prepares for the upcoming Smithsonian Craft Show, he invited us to have a look at how he starts the casting process as he creates his beautiful glass sculptures.

Working within his concepts of sustainable design and art, Erwin sourced glass from the US Probate Courthouse, in Greenbelt, MD for his artwork that was slated to end up in the trash dump.

Using plastic bottles cleared from the Anacostia River watershed (of which there was plenty to choose from), Erwin coats the bottles with a plaster/silica coating.

Using plastic bottles cleared from the Anacostia River watershed (of which there was plenty to choose from), Erwin coats the bottles with a plaster/silica coating.

Erwin then fires the molds upside down in the kiln, melting out the plastic bottles.


Erwin extracts the remains of the plastic bottles from the molds.

Erwin then takes the cleaned molds and sets them in a bed of sand inside the glass kiln.

Erwin prepares flower pots act as reservoirs to hold the recycled tempered glass during the firing process.


Erwin loads the cleaned glass into the reservoirs and sets the kiln.

After the firing, the glass is divested from the plaster and polished.

Look for Erwin’s artwork at the Smithsonian Craft Fair – April 19-22, 2012.

Posted in art from recycled material, cast float glass, cast recycled glass, contemporary art glass, the process

Flameworker Simone Crestani

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Them!

Italian flameworker Simone Crestani will be teaching workshops at the new Chrysler Museum of Art Glass Workshop. Simone has been working at Rob Kincheloe’s new torch studio out in Virginia.

Simone Crestani


The glass bug has bitten many – and to make fact clear, Simone has made the bug physical.


The glass will ultimately be filled with neon and charged.


The glass bug anneals at the glass school – shown here sleeping on a nice soft bed of fiberfrax blanket.


Things are all great – until the bug gets all aggressive and charges Rob. Oh, the humanity!

Posted in robert kincheloe, sculptural flamework, simone crestani, the heat sink, torchwork

Class Photo: Intermediate Glass Course

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The “Next Step” fused glass class is well underway, with the students going large. This week, the artists were engrossed in making pattern sheet elements for a large panel fused work. Balance of color, reactions within colors, working with frit powders, stringers and sharpened cutting skills are the mainstay of the class.


Sifting frit glass powder onto glass allows creation of very detailed glass elements.


More of everything is the class motto!.


The day’s work is loaded into the kiln.


Next week’s installment includes creating even larger panels, as well as cutting perfect circles in glass. Can’t hardly wait!.

Posted in bullseye glass, fused glass class, next step, pattern sheet, washington glass school