Author Archives: Michael Janis

Elizabeth Ryland Mears

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Elizabeth Mears is an award winning artist who creates objects in glass and mixed media primarily through the glass blowing technique of Flamework. She studied at Penland School of Crafts, Pilchuck Glass School, and the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, receiving scholarships and eventually teaching at those same venues, as well as others. Her book, FLAMEWORKING, was published in 2003 by Lark Books, and she is a contributing author to PENLAND BOOK OF GLASS published in 2008 by Lark Books. In 2009 Mears was named a Master Artist for the state of Virginia, and she was one of four artists chosen to install work in the Capitol Hill office of Senator Mark Warner to represent the arts in Virginia
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Living in northern Virginia, she is inspired by nature in all seasons and forms.

Liz utilizes the forms of nature to create works of glass, which reflect her relationship to both her inner and her outer worlds. The glass is first worked in the mesmerizing flame of a bench torch then often is combined with other materials to become the exquisitely crafted and nationally exhibited objects for which she is known. Liz’s creations are represented by galleries throughout the nation and are included in numerous private, corporate (Mellon Bank Headquarters), and museum collections (Racine Art Museum, LOWE Museum) and have also been included in numerous magazine articles focused on contemporary glass art and books including: Women Working in Glass, Formed of Fire, 500 Glass Objects, Contemporary Lampworking, and Etched Glass.

Liz will be teaching two spectacular lampworking classes here at the Washington Glass School, where her love of nature and glass come together!

Class 1036 – Lets Make Leaves! with Elizabeth Ryland Mears
Why leaves you may ask. We will pay homage to Nature’s small factory (Bio 101…CO2 + chlorophyll, + sunshine = sugar and O2) while we learn to control the bench torch, manipulate hot glass, direct the heat, use tools to create shape and texture, and work with different sizes of clear rod and tube. The focus of our endeavors will be to make “parts” which can be incorporated into larger sculpture at a later time.
Dates: October 23/24, 10am til 1 pm, $350

Class 1037 – Building Flowers With Bridges! with Elizabeth Ryland Mears
“Bridges” are to Flameworking what exoskeletons are to beetles…they hold everything together. We will use the technique of “bridging” to make a daisy-like flower. We will make the flower then add the bridging to hold all the parts in place while we thoroughly fuse the glass together in the flame of the bench torch. This technique is invaluable when larger sculpture is created, so we will practice on a smaller object. The instructor will guide you step by step through the process. The bridging is temporary so will be removed to reveal a small object ready for further creative use.
Dates: November 06/07, 10am til 1 pm, $350

Click HERE to get more information about her classes at the Washington Glass School.

Liz will be teaching for a week next spring at Penland and a week at the Pittsburgh Glass Center in June 2011, and had just completed a Professional Artist in Residence (PAiR) at Pilchuck.

Posted in classes, cool class, elizabeth ryland mears, flamework, lampworking, liz mears, sculptural flamework

Call For Entries St Louis Craft Alliance

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Gregory Grennon oil on glass

Saint Louis’ Craft Alliance has announced a national invitational and juried exhibition titled “Identify Yourself” – exhibition dates are May 20-July 3 , 2011.

The theme of the show is, “Who are you? What is your history and what makes you, you?” The curator/juror, noted gallery owner Duane Reed, will be choosing work that explores ideas pertaining to cultural identity, psychological identity or personal narrative.

Some of the invited artists include Sonya Clark, Gregory Grennon, Elizabeth Lo, Mark Newport and Joyce J. Scott. The exhibition will be at the Craft Alliance DELMAR LOOP location: 6640 Delmar Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63130.

All featured works must be made of clay, glass, metal fiber or wood.

Entry postmark deadline is MARCH 25, 2011.

Click HERE to jump to prospectus.

Posted in call for artists, call for entries, craft alliance, delmar, duane reed gallery, glass, saint louis

Michael Mangiafico Flamework Workshop

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Michael Mangiafico works thru the detailed steps to create incredibly articulated lampworked sculpture.

Michael Mangiafico (aka ‘Fig’) has been working thru an awesome workshop at the Washington Glass School this weekend, taking students on a journey thru the insect world, working with them to make glass bugs.

Fig shows how to do an ant right.

Soon glass ants are everywhere!

And they became unintentionally irradiated and thus become THEM!

Posted in fig, flamework, glass entomology, lampwork, michael mangiafico, torchwork

Boro Casting

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A casting kiln loaded with boro.

Robert Kincheloe has been developing a method of casting using borosilicate glass (aka “hard” glass or 33 C.O.E or Pyrex) and creating components that can later be assembled into Flameworked sculpture.

Rob Kincheloe prepping the glass to be invested into the molds.

Here Rob had made plaster/silica molds via the “lost wax casting” process, and is now loading into the kiln, investing with boro glass.
His process of merging warm and hot glass practices creates one of a kind sculptural works of art.

Rob arranging the molds inside the kiln – ensuring even heating.

Placing the “hard” glass into the molds

Rob documents each step of the process for his posting online.

“Crashing” the kiln to take the glass out of devit range.

The red-hot glass at 2100º F

Some of the cast boro elements – showing the translucent colors. These elements will later be flameworked into sculpture.

Posted in borosilicate, borosilicate glass casting, hard glass, kilncast, lost wax casting, northstar, pyrex, robert kincheloe

Inspired By Nature – Glass BUGS!

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Glass Insects by Michael Mangiafico

Michael (Fig) Mangiafico graduated with a BFA in glass art from Carnegie Mellon University in 1985. He has been teaching torchworking and glass blowing for over 20 years. He owns and operates his own glass studio in Pittsburgh, PA and has exhibited and taught across the US. Fug is member of the Glass Art Society, The International Society of Glass Beadmakers, and The Pittsburgh Craftmen’s Guild. His work is available in galleries nationwide and has been featured in numerous art magazines and publications – his glass insects are some of the finest examples of lampwork worldwide.

Fig will be one of the superstar lampworkers that will be teaching in the new lampworking program this fall at the Washington Glass School. The weekend class will be held October 9 & 10.

Inspired by nature, Fig will cover covers techniques for sculpting various insects from torchworked glass – both literal renderings of insects and more abstract interpretations.

Students will learn to work with soft glass while observing nature. Students will explore heat control, cane pulling and the basics of soft glass sculpting.

Michael Mangiafico working a demo during the recent ISGB conference in Rochester, NY.


For more information on the upcoming lampworking class click HERE.

Click HERE to jump to Fig’s website.

Posted in bugs, fig, glass bugs, glass entomology, glass insects, michael mangiafico, sculptural flamework, torch work, torchwork

Spotlight on Susan Taylor Glasgow

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Susan Taylor Glasgow ‘You Are My Sunshine’.

On of the features of the blog is to showcase the work of favorite artists. One of the contemporary leaders of narrative glass is Susan Taylor Glasgow. Susan will be in the DC area soon, teaching a workshop at Weisser Studios.

Susan Talor Glasgow ‘Eve’s Penance’.

Susan Taylor Glasgow is represented by Heller Gallery, NY, and is exhibited throughout the United States. Her ‘Sewn Glass’ technique embraces the domestic act of sewing in an unexpected medium. Combining text with 1950’s imagery, Susan explores the “complex dichotomy of women’s roles within the household”. Each sewn glass sculpture starts out as a flat sheet of glass.

Susan says of her work “In my previous life I was a professional dressmaker and seamstress, so I have a comfortable understanding about how to take a flat sheet of material and give it form. Each panel is cut from a pattern designed to match the form I’ve made for it.”

To establish the three-dimensional shape and holes, each section of the glass is kiln-fired several times. The imagery is imbedded into the glass by sandblasting, and then by rubbing glass enamels into the blasted area to create the black and gray “photo”. The components are then re-fired to melt the enamel into the glass. Once cooled, the sections are finally sewn together. Depending on the complexity of the vessel or sculpture, the entire creative process may take two to four weeks to complete.

Susan Taylor Glasgow ‘Glamour Legs Model #121757 Set’.

Susan’s studio is in Missouri, in an old 1930’s house in downtown Columbia that she and her husband rescued from demolition. She is a 2002 recipient of Pilchuck Glass School emerging artists grant, and a Wheaton Arts fellow in fall of 2003, and most recently a resident artist at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. Susan’s work has earned numerous awards and she has work included in the permanent collection of the Carnegie Museum, Chrysler Museum, Museum of American Glass, and several others.

Click HERE to jump to Susan’s website.

Susan’s work will be part of a group show titled “Domesticity: How We Live” at Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA, opening in October.

Susan also has a solo show at Gallery One One titled ‘Refuge’ now on exhibit at Brazee Street Studios in Cincinatti, OH, with the closing reception on Oct 8th.

Ms. Glasgow is also a chair at the upcoming Pittsburgh Glass Center Benefit Auction to be held Oct. 15th in Pittsburgh, PA.

Posted in glass, narrative, sewn glass, studio glass, susan taylor glasgow

NoVA AIA PK Night

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The designers are doing it again! The Northern Virginia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects will have a Pecha Kucha mashup (a series of short slide presentations – approx 6 minutes each- on cool, entertaining topics held where conversation, ideas and drinks can flow) talking about art, architecture and design . Speakers include engineer / metal sculptor Michael Enn Sirvet & ceramic sculptor Leila Holtsman. Other speakers include:Anh Tran, Edna Johnston, Gregory Rubbo and Rado Ivanov.

Come on in for the event! – A great way to meet other artists, architects and designers – @ the Light Horse Restaurant in the Old Town section of Alexandria.

What: NoVA’s AIA PechaKucha 20 x 20 Night
When: September 21st
Doors open at 6:00p with presentations beginning at 7:00p
Where: Light Horse Restaurant & Bar, 715 King Street Alexandria, VA.

Enjoy food and drink and discover a fun way to share ideas and experiences as presenters illustrate something they are passionate about with only 20 images, shown for 20 seconds each. The event is free, although attendees will be purchasing their own refreshments. Reservations are not required.

Posted in AIA, nova, pecha kucha, pk

Tom Wolff @ 39th Street Gallery

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The artist reception for photographer Thomas Wolff’s show of new works is this weekend at the 39th Street Gallery at the Gateway Arts Center. His show, titled: CENSUS: A PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY includes portraits of the Gateway Arts District artists, business owners and citizens.

Tom has said of his portraits: “I always like the idea of an almost life sized image of the subject for close scrutiny and finally for the love of their humanity. I almost always come away from my portrait sessions with gratitude and affection for the subjects. They are my collaborators, my co-conspirators. I leave exhausted and dry-mouthed from talking so much; like a one night stand.”

Tom Wolff studied painting at the Art Institute of Boston and Arts Students League in New York, and studied photography at Geo. Washington University and Photoworks at Glen Echo Park. Thomas is a freelance photographer; and adjunct professor at Shepherd College (now university), Shepherdstown, W.Va. 1988-89 and at Photoworks Glen Echo Park 1977-2005. His work has been published in Washington Post Magazine, House & Garden, Garden Design, Smithsonian, Audubon, and New York Times Magazine/Sophisticated Traveler.

Kyle Boozer-Strother & Margaret Boozer

CENSUS: A PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY

39th Street Gallery
Gateway Arts Center, Level 2
3901 Rhode Island Avenue
Brentwood, MD 20722
Sept 9 – Oct 29, 2010
Artist Reception: September 18, 5-8 pm

Click HERE to jump to Tom’s website.

Posted in 39th street gallery, gateway arts center, photography, tom wolff

Congrats To Teddie Hathaway

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>Washington Glass School resident artist Teddie Hathaway’s work was juried into an exhibiton of contemporary glass art from an array of local, regional, national and international artists, selected by a jurying committee that is part of “The Glass Art Festival” held every year in Sequim, Washington.
The juried exhibition was for artwork in any area of including, but not limited to, blown, cast, fused, kiln-formed, torchworked, pate de verre, stained, mosaic, and sand-carved glass.

Teddie Hathaway “WaterSong Triptych“, mixed media; recycled glass and slate, 2010.

In her artist statement, Teddie talks about her love of “…the interplay of color and textures, contrasting matte finishes against glossy surfaces and opaque with clear and translucent. All of this is possible with glass, which is why I was attracted to the medium in the first place. I often use recycled glass as a major component in my work; although it can be a challenge to work with I find the transformation in this material exciting and the artwork becomes a reference to our shared environment…”.

The Glass Art Festival features an array of events during the month of September. These include glass demonstrations, artist talks, workshops and glass-centric events throughout the picturesque town of Sequim, WA.

Transcendence – The Magic of Glass. MAC Exhibit Center, 175 West Cedar Street, Sequim, WA. September 1 through 25.

Congratulations Teddie on the show selection!

Click HERE to jump to pdf file of the Festival events.

Posted in sequim, Teddie Hathaway

Artists Covenants

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Surrealist artists at Peggy Guggenheim’s New York apartment, 1942.
Front Row: Stanley William Hayter, Leonara Carrington, Frederick Kiesler, Kurt Seligmann. Second Row: Max Ernst, Amedee Ozenfant, Andre Breton, Fernand Leger, Berenice Abbott. Third Row: Jimmy Ernst, Peggy Guggenheim, John Ferren, Marcel Duchamp, Piet Mondrian.

Prof Tim Tate was asked by an arts magazine to write an article about how artists work and how they can support each other – we will have a link when the article comes out.

Below an excerpt from Tim’s article on how the Washington Glass School artists work.

While reading the original article dealing with virtual guilds, it reminded me of the “Artist’s Covenant” that we follow here in our extremely busy working studio. We have almost 20 artists working out of this space – most as resident artists. We also just admitted our 4000th student in 9 years. This is an extremely active artist collective.

The over-riding manifesto in this space is the “Artist’s Covenant”. This is an intrinsic agreement by all artists utilizing our space. No one is admitted without committing it. In our case the pledge is as follows: “A Rising Tide Raises All Boats”.

To become a member here at the Washington Glass School, you must first agree to be happy for everyone’s success, not just your own. This fosters a positive air in the work environment. Jointly, each artist agrees to not only look out for their own opportunities, but also to promote the other artists in the covenant.

If there is an article being written about you, can you mention another of the studio artists? If you have a museum show, can a piece or two be a collaborative work with another studio artist?If a show opportunity comes along, can you let others know in the collective if their work is appropriate? If a collector comes and buys one of your pieces, can you then show them around the studio and introduce them to work by other artists?

None of these things costs the original artist anything. They still would have the press, still have the museum show, still have the sale, etc.They simply have increased someone else’s opportunities.

The reason for doing this is simple, beyond the pay-it-forward kismet. As each of the artist become progressively more successful, the opportunities ascribed to the entire collective also increases in number and stature. Eventually, all begin to move up the art world ladder.

Historically, there have been many such covenants; such as the groups that surrounded artists Georgia O’Keefe and Joseph Cornell (though he seemed to incidentally benefit from the New York Surrealists movement).

To stay completely positive towards all others successes when we ourselves are not moving forward is tougher than it may seem. Without these unwritten contracts, artists can fall too easily into a solitary guarding of personal turf.

The benefits to this approach are immediately evident in the feel of the working studio…where all things are possible and the sky’s the limit. Being connected to a group like this provides a sense of community within a profession that is inherently individualistic. The long term benefit is the synergy created accelerates the success its members.

 

Posted in artist covenant, artist movement, collaborative, synergy