The Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s annual Summer of Glass exhibition returns this season with the opening of the Habatat International Glass Invitational, now in its 54th year and recognized as the oldest and largest annual contemporary glass exhibition in the United States.
Presented at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art in Indiana, the exhibition gathers leading contemporary glass artists from around the world whose work expands the possibilities of the medium through new forms, techniques, and ideas. Organized by Habatat Galleries, the invitational has long been regarded as one of the major surveys of international studio glass.
Among the artists selected for this year’s exhibition is Washington Glass School Co-Director Michael Janis, whose cast glass artwork A Secret Place I Go was chosen for inclusion in the juried exhibition.
Janis’ work — known for its layered figurative imagery, narrative complexity, and technically innovative kiln-formed glass processes — continues his exploration of memory, identity, and psychological space through contemporary glass art. The selected piece reflects the artist’s signature approach of combining sculptural depth with painterly imagery embedded within translucent glass.
The exhibition was juried by Brit Micho, Curator of Exhibitions at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art; James Gerhardt, AACG President and Guggenheim Museum Officer; and Sharon Karmazin, theater producer, arts supporter, and noted glass collector.
Artists included in the 2026 exhibition represent an international cross-section of contemporary glass, including Lino Artists included in the 2026 exhibition are Rick Allen, Shelley Allen, Alex Bernstein, Michael Behrens, Geoffrey Bowton, Wendy Saxton Brown, Nancy Callan, Ekin Aytec & Josh Davids, Bandu Dunham, Philip Baldwin & Monica Guggisberg, Willfried Grootens, Michael Janis, Claire Kelley, John Kiley, Laura Kramer, Lucy Lyon, Crista Matteson, Stephen Powell, Toland Sand, Carrie Seid, Lino Tagliapietra, Sarah Vaughn, Littleton Vogel, Brent Kee Young, and Public Choice artist Trina Urrata Weintraub.
Habatat Galleries co-owner and director Aaron Schey described the current moment in contemporary glass as a period of rapid growth and renewed energy:
“I think contemporary glass is experiencing a rebirth. The community is growing, new talent is appearing every day, and artists are sharing ideas and techniques in ways that were never possible before.”
Schey emphasized that increased museum visibility and public engagement remain essential to the future of the medium:
“Glass elevates every space it enters. It interacts with light, architecture, and the viewer in a way few materials can.”
The 54th Annual International Glass Invitational is on view at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, 311 E Main Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana, from June 20 through August 23, 2026.
About Michael Janis
Michael Janis is a contemporary glass artist, architect, educator, and Co-Director of the Washington Glass School in Washington, DC. His internationally exhibited artwork combines kiln-cast and pâte de verre glass techniques with figurative imagery influenced by printmaking, street art, and narrative painting. Janis’ work has been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide and is included in numerous public and private collections.
Community Glass Public Art Sculpture Completed in Kempsville, Virginia
Harbor of Stories public art sculpture by Washington Glass Studio and the Kempsville community in April, 2026
The Washington Glass Studio has completed Harbor of Stories, a major new public art sculpture for the Kempsville area of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Rising nearly eighteen feet high at the intersection of Princess Anne Road and Witchduck Road, the sculpture combines steel, cast glass, fused glass, and LED illumination into a landmark artwork shaped by community participation and layered local history.
Modeled after a stylized sail, the sculpture references Kempsville’s historic relationship to waterways, trade, movement, and cultural exchange. By day, sunlight activates the colorful glass surfaces; by night, integrated lighting transforms the work into a glowing beacon within the surrounding streetscape.
But Harbor of Stories was never intended to function as a traditional monument.
Instead, the project asked a more complicated question:
How can public art hold many histories at once?
Designing a Collective Portrait of Place
The RFQ for the Kempsville public art project stood apart from many civic commissions because it did not seek a single heroic narrative.
Early concept massing sketch exploring visibility, movement, and sightlines along Witchduck Rd.
The project called for artwork that could acknowledge overlapping histories connected to Indigenous communities, colonial settlement, Revolutionary War events, ecology, segregation, architecture, waterways, and contemporary neighborhood identity.
WGS sought to include many references to Kempsville’s layered cultural and maritime history.
For artist Michael Janis and the Washington Glass Studio team, this became an opportunity to explore how glass can carry layered narratives simultaneously.
The final design uses a sweeping sail form as both visual landmark and metaphor. The structure references Kempsville’s history as a working port while suggesting movement, migration, exchange, and shared memory.
Rendering of the evolving sail-form sculpture design for Harbor of Stories, integrating glass narrative panels within a steel framework.
Embedded throughout the sculpture are narrative glass panels created through multiple processes.
Clear cast glass bas-relief panels designed by Washington Glass Studio reference Indigenous presence, the Powhatan Mantle, the yehakin, local plant and aquatic life, colonial history, and the Battle of Kemp’s Landing during the American Revolution.
Cast glass bas-relief panels created by Washington Glass Studio depicting historical narratives integrated into Harbor of Stories.
These imagery-rich cast panels are interwoven with vibrant fused-glass panels created directly by community members during a year-long series of public workshops.
Together, the sculpture becomes less like a single memorial object and more like a collective portrait of place.
Community Collaboration Through Glass
A central component of Harbor of Stories was public participation.
Washington Glass Studio held hands-on workshops at the Kempsville Community Center and the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (Virginia MOCA), inviting local residents to create fused glass panels based on personal memories, experiences, and connections to the area.
Virginia MOCA announcing glass-making workshops for the community art project.
Participants translated family stories, neighborhood imagery, landmarks, symbols, and aspirations into colorful glass compositions that now fill the sail structure.
Public workshop flyer at the Kempsville Community CenterMichael Janis and Erwin Timmers at Community Workshop
For many participants, this marked their first experience working with glass as an artistic material.
What emerged was not simply decoration, but authorship.
Community Participants with Completed Glass Tiles
Each individual panel is modest in scale, yet together the hundreds of handmade elements create a unified visual voice that physically embeds community participation into the sculpture itself.
This process reflects one of Washington Glass Studio’s continuing interests within public art practice: creating projects where communities actively shape the artwork rather than simply receiving it after completion.
The Challenges of Public Art Fabrication
Like many large-scale public art projects completed in recent years, Harbor of Stories faced dramatic material and fabrication challenges during production.
As the project moved through engineering, approvals, and construction phases, steel prices rose substantially beyond earlier projections.
At one stage, the structural steel alone threatened to consume nearly the entire project budget.
Engineering plans and early steel fabrication process in shop.
Working closely with structural engineer Sante Taroli of Greenman-Pedersen, Inc., along with fabricators and city representatives, the team redesigned portions of the internal framework while preserving the sculpture’s outward appearance and structural integrity.
The project ultimately benefited from partnerships with fabricators more commonly associated with Defense Department construction work, including VTG Defense, whose expertise helped realize the complex steel structure.
The sail-shaped steel sculpture structure fully assembled inside a fabrication shop.
The experience reinforced an important aspect of contemporary public art practice: successful civic artwork depends not only upon artistic vision, but upon sustained collaboration between artists, engineers, fabricators, architects, and public agencies.
Light, Glass, and Living Narratives
Back at the Washington Glass Studio, fabrication of the cast glass narrative panels continued simultaneously with construction of the steel armature at the metal shop.
Erwin Timmers securing modular glass grid assemblies onto the sail structure during final installation.
For Washington Glass Studio, glass remains uniquely suited to commemorative and civic artwork because of its ability to hold texture, imagery, transparency, and light at the same time.
As sunlight passes through the sculpture, the embedded imagery continuously shifts throughout the day. Reflections, shadows, and transparency create an artwork that changes according to season, weather, and viewing position.
Artist Erwin Timmers carefully positioning a colorful fused glass panel into the steel framework.
Rather than functioning as a static monument, the sculpture behaves more like a living visual environment.
Artist Michael Janis lifting a cast glass narrative panel into place during installation of the Kempsville public art sculpture.
This relationship between light and narrative has long been central to Washington Glass Studio’s public art practice, particularly in projects involving memory, identity, and collective history.
Installation and Dedication
Installation of Harbor of Stories took place over multiple phases as the steel framework, glass components, lighting systems, and structural elements were assembled on site.
The public dedication was held in April 2026.
Community leaders, artists, and residents gather for the official ribbon cutting dedication of Harbor of Stories on April 18, 2026.
For the artists and collaborators, the most rewarding moment came when local residents began recognizing their own contributions within the finished sculpture — locating individual glass panels while experiencing the larger artwork as a shared civic space.
Kempsville residents search for and proudly identify their handmade fused glass panels within the completed Harbor of Stories sculpture.
The sculpture now stands not simply as an object placed within the neighborhood, but as a work grown directly from community participation and local history.
Upward view through the illuminated glass and steel sail structure revealing layered transparency, color, and light.
Project Team
Artists: Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers, Tim Tate, Arden Colley, and Ladan Ebrahimian
Structural Engineering: Sante Taroli / Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.
City of Virginia Beach Cultural Affairs and Public Art: Chad Clark and Emily Labow
Fabrication Partners: Thomas Willis / Production Welding and Fabrication; Randy Williams and Stephen Bittner / VTG Defense; Nick Lotuaco / L4 Builders
Washington Glass Studio artists L-R Ladan Ebrahimian, Arden Colley, and Erwin Timmers relax at Harbor of Stories.
About Washington Glass Studio
Washington Glass Studio, based in Mount Rainier, Maryland, creates contemporary public art, architectural glass, sculpture, and community-engaged projects that integrate fine art, narrative imagery, and innovative glass techniques.
The studio’s public artworks frequently combine cast glass, fused glass, steel, and community participation to explore themes of history, identity, environment, and collective memory.
As the year draws to a close, we want to pause and say thank you to our extraordinary community — our artists, students, instructors, collectors, collaborators, and friends. Your curiosity, generosity, and creative energy continue to make Washington Glass School a place of discovery, connection, and shared brightness.
This year was filled with melty moments, quiet breakthroughs, bold experiments, and the simple joy of working side by side in the studio. We’re deeply grateful for all of it.
Looking ahead, 2026 marks a major milestone: 25 years of Washington Glass School. What began as a small but determined idea has grown into a vibrant center for glass, craft, and community — and we’re just getting started. Next year will bring special exhibitions, events, and projects that honor our past while looking forward to what’s still possible.
Until then, we wish you a season filled with warmth, inspiration and lots of glass — and a new year full of creative promise.
WGS artist Michael Janis’ new works are featured int Glass 53. Image by Pete Duvall.
Glass53 is the largest and oldest annual glass art experience in the world. Now in its 53rd year, Habatat Galleries in Royal Oak, Michigan, presents an extraordinary gathering of the work of over 100 artists from over 30 countries. Each artist is a visionary whose mastery of glass transcends mere materiality to embody light, texture, and form in ways that captivate the soul. Habatat seeks to honor not only the works themselves but also the journeys of those who create them. This year’s exhibition is not just a showcase; it’s a living narrative of glass as an ever-evolving art form. From the grand halls of the world’s most prestigious museums to the cultural zeitgeist, glass has emerged from the shadows of traditional craftsmanship into the forefront of contemporary discourse. The featured artists are pioneers and storytellers, each bringing a unique perspective to the medium through bold abstraction, intricate realism, or conceptual deconstruction.
Glass53 Booklet (learn all about Glass53): Click HERE
Glass 53 Invited Artists: Shelley M. Allen, Anthony Amoako-attah, Herb Babcock, Michael Behrens, Alex Bernstein, Martin Blank, Jen Blazina, Christina Bothwell, Geoffrey Bowton, Jannah Bowlus, Latchezar Boyadjiev, Peter Bremers, Karen Browning, Nancy Callan, Eunsuh Choi, Deanna Clayton, Amber Cowan, Simone Crestani, Christopher Day, Cheryl Derricotte, Minhi England, Hannah Gibson, Susan Taylor Glasgow, Wilfried Grootens, Baldwin & Guggisberg, Kim Harty, David Huchthausen, Krista Israel, Tim Jaeger, Michael Janis, Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen, Richard Jolley, Brent Kee Young, Claire Kelly, Kelly O’Dell, Steve Klein, Vladimira Klumpar, Eriko Kobayashi, Laura Kramer, Jiyong Lee, Steve Linn, Littleton & Vogel, László Lukácsi, Boldizsár Lukácsi, Lucy Lyon, Dylan Martinez, Robert Mickelsen, John Miller, Lukas Mjartan, James Mongrain, Karin Mørch, Josepha Gasch-Muche, Kathleen Mulcahy, Barbara Nanning, David Patchen, Maytas Pavlik, Sibylle Peretti, Pohlman & Knowles, Stephen Rolfe Powell, Colin Reid, Kait Rhoads, Bruno Romunelli, Marlene Rose, Martin Rosol, Richard Royal, Toland Sand, Thomas Scoon, John Sharvin, Judith Schaechter, Jeremy Sinkus, Paul Stankard, Ethan Stern, April Surgent, Lino Tagliapietra, Takizawa Kazuki, Michael Taylor, Bensen & Theofanous, Stephanie Trenchard, Carmen Vetter, Elliot Walker, & Trina Urrata Weintraub.
53nd Annual International Glass Invitational Award Exhibition GLASS53
May 3, 2025 – Sep 19, 2025
Habatat Galleries 4400 Fernlee Ave Royal Oak, MI 48073
The recent order from President Trump to rescind DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs has led to a noticeable downplaying of Black History Month across government agencies. The U.S. State Department, for instance, has prohibited public events or messages celebrating the month, which has been a staple of American culture since the 1970s.
Michael Janis’ design for DC Ward 5 Memorial
In contrast, local organizations in Washington, DC, are stepping up to honor Black history and contributions. The Lamond Riggs Library Friends, in collaboration with the DC Office of Planning, is hosting Foundations of Freedom: Recognizing the Enslaved People Who Built the U.S. Capitol. This special event will introduce WGS Director Michael Janis’ design for a new DC Memorial to Honor the Enslaved People Who Built the U.S. Capitol for Ward 5. Along with DC’s Office of Planning staff, Michael will offer an overview of a public art proposal. The program will include storytelling, a discussion of the design process, and a Q&A session to engage the community.
Thursday, February 6, 2025 from 1 pm – 3 pm @ Lamond-Riggs DC Public Library, 5401 South Dakota Ave NE, WDC.
Washington Glass School ca 2004, located in the Washington Sculpture Center in SE DC.
In the aftermath of the 2000 Artomatic show, renowned glass artist Tim Tate and metal/eco-artist Erwin Timmers felt the need to create a space for the growing glass art community in Washington, DC. Their solution was the founding of what was first called “Meltdown”—the future Washington Glass School. The school’s very first class, held on September 13, 2001, came in the shadow of one of the most tragic days in American history. While the founders initially considered canceling the session, the overwhelming desire of the students to move forward created an indelible bond. The class became a healing space, where sadness and fear were channeled into creativity and connection.
Meltdown Studio class schedule 2001Early light fixture class (ca 2002) shows off their finished works.
From those early days, the Washington Glass School (WGS) has embraced community and resilience as core values. In 2003, the school relocated from its original home—now the Rubell Museum in DC’s Southwest neighborhood—to the Washington Sculpture Center. Michael Janis, an innovative artist who joined the school that year, became a director by 2005. His leadership, alongside Tate and Timmers, continued to steer the school as it grew in reputation.
Future WGS Director Michael Janis (center) in his first class at Washington Glass School, 2003.Michael Janis works with students from DC’s Stuart Hobson Middle School (ca 2004).
In 2006, a turning point came when the school’s building was taken by eminent domain to make way for the Washington Nationals’ baseball stadium. Unfazed, the WGS team moved just outside the District to Mount Rainier, Maryland. It’s been their home ever since, where they continue to teach, collaborate, and create public art.
WGS Directors (L-R Michael Janis, Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers)
WGS has evolved into a dynamic hub for artistic exploration, encouraging artists to challenge the conventional limits of glass as an art medium. Their collaborative spirit thrives, with glass artists working alongside creatives from other disciplines, producing public art that speaks to the heart of the community.
In 2024, DC artist Kelly Towles painted a mural “I ❤ Glass” on the facade of the glass school.
Great review of Artomatic culture event in the Washington Post. Art critic Mark Jenkins enjoys the all-sorts arts experience and singles out the glass art for comment, including using WGS artist Michael Janis’ artwork titled “Waiting for the Moments that Never Come” as the illustrative work for the show. Writes Mark:
“…Among the various business and governmental sponsors of this year’s Artomatic is a small but internationally renowned arts group, the Washington Glass School. The Mount Rainier, Md., studio has taken a large chunk of the building’s fifth floor to showcase the elegant creations of co-founders Tim Tate and Erwin Timmers and several other glass virtuosos. Tate, who credits Artomatic with playing a significant role in his career, is showing a sculpture that riffs on Leonardo da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man.” The provocatively androgynous update positions eight glass figures — male, female and combined — in a circle surrounded by mirrors and lights that simulate a sense of endless replication…”
In the galleries: Artomatic: Unpretentious, approachable, convivial – Review by Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, April 5, 2024
By contrast – have a read about how the Washington Post art critic Blake Gopnik thought of the 2004 Artomatic exhibit:
…”The result is the second-worst display of art I’ve ever seen. The only one to beat it out, by the thinnest of split hairs, was the 2002 Artomatic, which was worse only by virtue of being even bigger and in an even more atrocious space, down by the waterfront in a vacant modern office building. I won’t dwell on the art. And I certainly won’t name names…There may just be a few decent things hidden in the mix — with so many thousands of objects on display, the law of averages says there must be. But three hours’ worth of looking didn’t spot too many. 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.)
Artomatic 2004: Hanging Is Too Good for It by Blake Gopnik
Step into a world where glass transcends its ordinary form and becomes a canvas of boundless creativity. The Washington Glass Scene on display in Artomatic’s Level 5 invites you to celebrate the kaleidoscopic fusion of artistry and craftsmanship on April 16th, 2024 from 5-7PM. Prepare to be captivated as the magic of glass takes center stage in a creative showcase unlike any other. Join us as we celebrate the transformative power of this versatile medium, where every piece tells a unique story and invites you to explore the depths of imagination. Meet the artists that are making the Washington Glass Scene a distinctive voice and push the boundaries, redefining the possibilities of glass. Event is Free and open to the Public!
The event includes a pop-up exhibit of over 150 pieces at the Ringling College of Art + Design’s Studio Labs Sound Stage A. Explore four themed curated exhibitions, two solo exhibits, and visit the newly opened Sarasota Art Museum and the Basch Gallery on the Ringling College campus. Additional highlights include a Masterworks Auction, a demonstration by artist John Kiley, artist talks, a Ringling Museum mystery, Habatat-Zoom Live, the Imagine Museum’s Annual Fire and Light Gala.
Hope to see you at the first HUGE glass event of the year!
The Creative Crafts Council (CCC) 34th Biennial Exhibition will present some of the Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia region’s top work in ceramics, enamel, fiber, glass, metal, mixed media, wood, book arts, and more at The Mansion at Strathmore. Look for works by WGS artists April Shelford and Patricia De Poel Wilberg!
April Shelford, “Gravity’s Loom” 2023, fused glass
The Creative Crafts Council is an umbrella organization of fine craft guilds that sponsors a juried biennial exhibition of regional fine craft artists at the Strathmore Mansion in North Bethesda, Maryland and supports and promotes craft-making across Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The CCC’s exhibitions of regional craft have been held since 1954.
The 2023 CCC Exhibition May 9-July 22,2023 At the Mansion at Strathmore Thursday, May 11, 2023: Opening Reception and awards -open to the public at the Strathmore Mansion from 7-9 pm.
The Mansion is located at 10701 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, close to the Grosvenor Metro Station. Visit the exhibition now through July 29, 2023.
