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.
The west coast of sunny Florida is where the glass art scene is hot! This past week, Habatat Detroit Fine Art held a glass extravaganza at the Ringling College of Art in beautiful Sarasota, FL. This was be their 8th Annual Glass Coast Weekend (GCW). This year the event paid homage to the past, present, and future of studio glass. The show featured noted artists, lectures, demos and a reception at the Ringling Museum of Art and the 5th Anniversary event at the Imagine Museum in St. Petersburg, FL.
Above is a quick video fly-thru of the main show at Ringling College of Art
The Glass Coast excitement continued up the coast – at Duncan McClellan Gallery, where Washington Glass School artists are featured in the groundbreaking “Dreams & Visions” exhibit (thru March 5).
Michael Janis with glass fans at Duncan McClellan Gallery during reception held for Washington Glass School artists.
WGS Artists Tim Tate and Michael Janis were featured at a series of receptions, lectures and demonstrations held at DMG over the weekend.
Artist Tim Tate narrates to the audience on the hotshop what techniques the gaffer is employing to create Tim’s sacred heart glass sculpture.Tim Tate’s blown sculpture gets some heat!Tim Tate’s Sacred Heart sculpture after annealing and cooling. Tim plans on working imagery into the work and presenting a new series of hearts.
Artist Michael Janis had a large audience in attendance for his presentation on “Art in Architecture”, where he talked about his design background and how it influenced his artwork and the public art sculpture made by the Washington Glass Studio.
Michael Janis talks about his pop art work made in collaboration with Chicago artist Tony Porto.Michael Janis (center) with new collectors Steve and Debbie Lang at DMG reception.
All of us at the Washington Glass School & Studio Wish You and Family a Joyous Holiday Season! And a Happy Healthy New Year!
(L-R) Patricia De Poel Wilberg, Erwin Timmers, Christina Helowicz, Nancy Kronstadt, Kate Barfield, Tim Tate, April Shelford, Michael Janis, Trish Kent and John Henderson. Not pictured: Graciela Granek, Sean Robinson, Diane Cabe, Gabrielle Morris, Kyle Crosby, and Daphne Matyas.
Glass Sculptor and Artist Tim Tate looks back on 20 years of creating a community. He recently put together some of his observations on well, how did we get here?
Artist Tim Tate
“I had been raised in a household filled with craft materials. I rarely saw my mother’s hands empty, always creating something. I inherited this love. I spent my early adult years being trained in the methods revolving around studio glass while attending the 2 weeks to 2-month workshops of Penland, Pilchuck, Corning, Pittsburg, etc. (I had no money to attend grad school …though I yearned for Cranbrook). These years of varied workshops and practitioners was the perfect way to obtain a broad outlook on the entire field. We founded the Washington Glass School in 2001 with very specific goals. Let me see if I can make this clear.
Tim Tate & Joyce Scott work on a new collaborative sculpture at the Washington Glass School.
1). We wanted to be something other than a traditional studio glass shop. From the beginning we realized we wanted a much broader approach; something that reflected the mission of education centers like the Crucible in Oakland and Penland in NC. We embraced mixed media work from the beginning with varied classes in kiln formed glass, steel, electronics, encaustics, etc. Our idea was not to in any way denigrate the rich history of studio glass, but to live just outside of those confines to see what would happen. To step slightly away from the 20th century.
Tim Tate “We Rose Up”, 2017, Cast objects, mirrors, and LED’s, 32 × 32 × 4 in.
2). As a gay man in glass, it was apparent that diversity was sorely lacking in every way in the glass world. So we did outreach and advertised our classes in many publications that went to diverse populations, rather than wait for these populations to approach us. This worked very well. Even now we go to the Facebook pages of different neighborhoods to show our class schedules.
The Brothers De La Torre visit the Washington Glass School in 2015.
With William Warmus we came up with the original concept of “Glass Secessionism”…to step slightly away from the recognized canon of 20th century glass and to create as much dialog and critical analysis as possible. There have been over 1.5 million words written and over thousands of images shared on this page focusing almost entirely on that theme.
In 2008, Artomatic held an international glass show.
4). We participated in many local shows here in the DC area, such as the spectacular Art-O-Matic show that truly put us on the map. We also curated many shows over the years to include local emerging artists. I have served on a dozen boards and juried dozens of shows and grant applications to stay in the loop and form a community bond. There are 3 Co-Directors here, all sharing a similar mission….to create a large regional, national and international community to foster new growth within our field.
2009 Glass Workshop at Washington Glass School. L-R Cheryl P Derricotte, David Cook, Nicole Puzan.
5). Our first class was on Sept. 13, 2001…. a difficult day in history to start anything being right after 9/11. We thought no one would even attend the first classes. But we discovered something else….no one cancelled. It appeared that while the purchase of art slowed to a trickle around the country, the creation of art thrived. Our first class was filled with artists who wanted to make narrative work about the devastation of that event. From that moment on we embraced narrative work with all our hearts. Works about political events, social injustices and inequalities were common within our sculptural classes, and certainly in my own works. We have now been in operation over 20 years, with over 6000 students. 60% of those were and are women, we have a large population of BIPoC students and we have worked with hundreds of LGTBQ students. We are so very proud of this fact.
My purpose for serving on boards right now is to focus on the building of communities as an artistic practice. I want to take a slight step away from academia as these institutions can become elitist, and I want to be non-elitist as we have been from the beginning. I also like regional boards that focus in the mid-Atlantic.
My personal practice had been deeply imbedded in the world of glass galleries and museums, though frequently as an outsider. I have stepped away from this in the last few months. I have moved towards the fine art world once again, as I had started there. It feels great to go back to my roots, surrounded by a community that reaches far beyond anything we ever anticipated.” – Tim Tate, October, 2022
Save The Date! May 14th is the proposed date for Washington Glass School Open Studio Tour! Many of the surrounding art studios and galleries will be participating! We will follow health protocols – and it will be great to see all in real life! Come and see what’s new and what has been shaking at the studio!
Works by Sean Donlon, Michael Janis, Jennifer Caldwell & Jason Chakravarty, Joseph Ivacic and Tim Tate.
Those who have yet to visit the exhibition should grab the chance to see these truly wonderful works online – click HERE to jump to online exhibit!
Works by Cheryl Derricotte, Sean Hennessey, Erwin Timmers, Jennifer Caldwell & Jason Chakravarty and Carmen Lozar.
“Artists For Racial Justice” exhibit and fundraising for non-profits that can help with equality with art as a tool for healing and peace to help at this time.
Erwin Timmers is the co-founder of the Washington Glass Studio and Washington Glass School. Originally from Amsterdam, he moved to California and graduated from Santa Monica College for Design Arts and Architecture. In 1999 he moved to the Washington DC area and since then his sculptural artwork has been on display in Zenith Gallery, Fraser Gallery, and Gallery Neptune. Erwin was named the Montgomery County, MD Executive’s Award Outstanding Artist of the Year in 2018.
His approach to art is multifaceted, incorporating metalwork, innovative lighting and glass design. He teaches glass, lighting, sculpture, and metal work. Industrial salvage and recycling are recurring themes in his work, which he sees as crucial parts to the interaction with one’s surroundings. Recently, the Artisan 4100 – an apartment community opening along Route 1 in Brentwood, MD – commissioned Erwin Timmers to create a major glass and light installation for the new building lobby.
Artist Erwin Timmers installs Artisan 4100 Building artwork commission.
Washington Glass School blog catches up with Erwin as his work is part of the WGS Contemporary online exhibit “CLICK-IT!”.
Washington Glass School (WGS): Describe your artwork method/process. Erwin Timmers: I cast objects in recycled glass. For this series I have used discarded packaging material, from which I take molds in plaster. The glass then heats up in an electric kiln, melts and takes on the shape of this mold. To finish I chop, and trim the glass and weld the metal frame.
Erwin Timmers, “Patterns of Containment V” cast recycled glass
WGS: Describe your work in the show and highlight aspects that the viewers should understand about the work.
Erwin Timmers:The work features single-use plastic wrappings that viewers may recognize. The grid format formalizes the display of “trash” as art and then I use grids within each frame as well. I hope to give viewers a moment of pause while contemplating the shapes and patterns.
Erwin Timmer: detail “Patterns of Containment”
WGS: How have you handled the Covid lockdown?
Erwin Timmers: Initially COVID was like snow days we hadn’t had, but with great weather. That was before any financial pressure came into play. It was motivating to see the air pollution worldwide go down, I wish it could stay like that. But at the same time the single use plastic pollution is increasing, giving me even more art base materials…
WGS: What artwork/event has moved you and got you thinking about your own work? Erwin Timmers:The current civil crisis has been deeply moving. It caused me to rethink and redevelop the direction of my hands symbol series.
WGS: if you were not an artist – what would you be? Erwin Timmers:Epidemiologist
Erwin Timmers suits up in his PPE gear to work in the studio. Or tend the studio bee-hives.
WGS: Do you do a lot of planning in your work – or is there an element of chance while working? Erwin Timmers: I plan the general idea, but often new ideas and aspects emerge as I work. I try to incorporate these, and I can then evaluate whether they work or not.
WGS: What is your rule of thumb in determining when a work is finished? Erwin Timmers: When I sign it, it is done…
With much of the physical art world closing because of Covid-19, artists, galleries and museums have turned to technology and social media to stay open (albeit virtually), allowing visitors from anywhere in the world to interact with and view art.
WGS Contemporary Gallery (located in the DMV’s Gateway Arts District) had to get creative with how to bring art to the world. With so much changing so quickly, artists and arts organizations are still in the process of finding their footing. “With everyone in isolation, art is needed now more than ever to help remind people that we are not alone. Art helps us to dream, escape our current realities, and engage our imaginations in building a better world for tomorrow,” said Gallery Director Teri Swinhart (Bailey). “With this show, we all stand united (six feet apart, of course) and ready to take on these challenges and the new opportunities they present.”
“Spilt Perfume Set”, Artist: Carmen Lozar
“Sea Through The Looking Glass”, Artists: Jennifer Caldwell and Jason Chakravarty
Opening June 16th, WGS Contemporary presents “Click-It!” featuring works by some of the most exciting and inspiring artists, with a broad spectrum of works that showcase the current trends in art and the media specific works.
“Patterns of Containment”, Artist: Erwin Timmers
Artists in the show include:
Teri Swinhart (Bailey) F. Lennox Campello Jennifer Caldwell Jason Chakravarty Cheryl P. Derricotte Sean Donlon Sean Hennessey Joseph Ivacic Michael Janis Carmen Lozar Tim Tate Erwin Timmers Steve Wanna Jeff Zimmer
“By placing artworks of different materials, mediums, and styles in direct conversation, there is opportunity for new dialogues and perspectives,” adds Swinhart. Click-It! will highlight the many parallel and interesting artistic directions these artists bring creating a dynamic environment of exchange online. “We will be using our online platforms to introduce exciting new art programming that aims to enrich, entertain and inspire during this challenging time.” A special fundraising event “Artists for Racial Justice” is also scheduled online as a companion show, with the-proceeds for these special works to be donated to the non-profit organizations “Color of Change ” and the “NAACP”.
“DejaVu”, Artist Sean Donlon
WGS Contemporary is a Washington, DC area art and special projects fine arts gallery. WGS Contemporary’s mission is to contribute to thinking about art, new media, technology, and social issues through an open access forum which we hope will facilitate contemporary and innovative projects worldwide. In that process, WGSC will expose the cutting edge work of artists pushing the new media frontiers of art. Projects using robotics, sensory perception, holographic imaging, self-contained video sculptures and others will offer an intelligent and fresh set of artwork that marries technology and art into a new creative dialogue in the visual arts.
Want more than just visual …stimulation? click on link below and get the official “Click It” themesong – music by Donovan Lessard.
The pandemic has changed many planned arts events across the world. Habatat Galleries has adapted their planned Glass48 International event to an online presentation so the exhibition can be viewed from anywhere. This monumental experience will allow all visitors to view presentation from anywhere in the world. This experience includes personalized videos of each artists work and will also feature studio tours.
WGS Artists Tim Tate and Michael Janis are featured in the International exhibit – and they each have video presentations of their individual work and of their collaborative work.
Mary Van Cline’s “Documenta Project,” is an ongoing photographic quest to capture the images (and personalities) of the unique community of artists, dealers, and collectors who coalesced around glass as an art medium. As the Documenta Project celebrates 3 years of photographing the community of the global Studio Glass Movement, it has become an important historical archive of Portraits documenting artists, collectors, gallery owners and curators.
This year, at the arts extravaganza that is SOFA Expo – Mary will present a lecture and event, titled: Exposed!
Lecture at SOFA Chicago 2019 Friday, November 1st, 2019; 3-4pm (right after AACG sponsored lecture)
Janusz Walentynowicz
Come see the “out takes” and behind the scenes action of the Photo Shoots that help make the Portraits so engaging, and enjoy an informal visual historical narrative. After all, LAUGHING MATTERS!