Category Archives: collaborative

Tim Tate & Michael Janis Collaborate

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The Collaboration…..

"All That Is Solid Melts Into Air" Michael Janis & Tim Tate; 2019, fused glass, cast glass, sgraffito imagery, steel; 6'-0" x 9'-0"

“All That Is Solid Melts Into Air” Michael Janis & Tim Tate; 2019, fused glass, cast glass, sgraffito imagery, steel; 6′-0″ x 9′-0″; Photo credit: Pete Duvall.

Michael Janis and Tim Tate have worked together as Co-Directors of the Washington Glass School and Studio for more than 15 years, working on their own individual work, teaching and creating a functioning arts studio in the nation’s capital. 

Michael Janis creates imagery with crushed glass powder his signature "sgraffito" technique.

Michael Janis creates imagery with crushed glass powder his signature “sgraffito” technique.

This summer, the two artists decided to build on that rich and storied history by collaborating on an impressive piece that would both combine and challenge their individual, and strongly, narrative work. 

Tim Tate works on the glass panels for the collaborative artwork.

Tim Tate works on the glass panels for the collaborative artwork.

 “All Things Solid Melt Into Air” is the title of their 6’ x 9’ wall installation, comprised of 54 separate kiln cast glass insets. To create this work, the artists made 42 separate bas-relief plaster molds, 12 sgraffito glass powder drawings, 12 lost wax glass castings and 4 months to produce this spectacular and monumental work.

Detail of "All That Is Solid Melts Into Air"

Detail of “All That Is Solid Melts Into Air” Photo credit: Pete Duvall

Referencing mankind’s interaction with nature as the artwork main theme, Tim and Michael set about to produce an experience that people will want to engage with…on a tactile basis.  One can explore each of the olive tinted glass tiles to feel sentiments and poetic visions of the artists, or step back and just enjoy the piece as one would enjoy a bird’s song. They are both immensely proud of this work, which will be shown at the Habatat Prime exhibit during SOFA Expo in Chicago, (October 31, 2019 – November 3, 2019).

Habatat Prime
Location: Roosevelt Collection @ 1023 S. Delano Court East, Chicago, IL 60605
Habatat will have transportation to and from the space that is 3 miles from the Pier.

Posted in chicago, collaborative, contemporary art glass, contemporary artwork, cool glass, dry plaster casting, fullbright scholar, glass and steel sculpture, glass art, habatat galleries, kiln-formed, sofa chicago, sofa expo

WGS 10 Year Anniversary Collaborative Artwork Installed

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Erwin Timmers and Evan Ross Morgan hoist the glass and steel panels onto the building facade.

The WGS Collaborative Artwork project has been installed on the exterior of the school’s Mount Rainier facility. The steel framework was made by metalworker George Anderton, the insets were created by artists and instructors of the Washington Glass School from the past 10 years.

Artist Laurie Brown creating one of the fused glass insets.


Evan Morgan drills the anchor mounts into the masonry.


Chris Shea joins the building installation race, as the storm clouds gather.

Original Concept Sketch

Architectural Glass Panels installed


The overall artwork, made by the 10 years of artists from the Washington Glass School.

Come by the Glass School and see the artwork in its architectural splendor!

Posted in 10th anniversary, architectural application glass, building exterior, collaborative

A Bit of A Tease

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Next month, the LongView Gallery will present : “Artists of the Washington Glass School – The First Ten Years“. In bringing The First Ten Years to Washington, DC, LongView Gallery asks artists and audience alike to cast aside traditional notions of glass art and participate in a new form of dialogue; one that looks to the future and not the past. This exhibition is still in the process of being curated by the gallery, but one of the works submitted is so amazing, below is a sneak peak of the show.

Elizabeth Ryland Mears and William “Tex” Forrest have created a collaborative sculpture piece. The illuminated work is over 6′ tall, made of flameworked glass, steel wire & fabric.


Liz Mears & Tex Forrest’ design sketch

Full-size sample

Liz & Tex at the glass school for a photo shoot of the finished sculpture

Elizabeth Mears shows the tactile detail of the glass….”embellishments”

The finished work – photography by Anything Photographic.
Detail of the lampworked glass

The First Ten Years is intended to celebrate – and instigate– the new directions contemporary glass is exploring through various artistic metaphors. Featured artists include: Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers, Elizabeth Mears, Syl Mathis, Lea Topping, Robert Kincheloe and others.

Washington Glass School: The First 10 Years

LongView Gallery

1234 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC
May 19 – June 19,2011

Artist Reception, May 19th, 6:30-8:30 PM

American Craft on Tim Tate & Marc Petrovic Collaborations

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Sins Under Glass
The April/May issue of American Craft magazine has an 8 page review of Tim Tate & Marc Petrovic‘s collaborative work.

Tim Tate & Marc Petrovic
photo by Pete Duvall/Anything Photographic


The article, written by American Craft‘s Senior Editor, Julie Hanus; with photos by Pete Duvall of Anything Photographic, talks of “Connectivity and collaboration” and the ways they are molding our lives. The author profiles in-depth their two recent joint works Apothecarium Moderne and Seven Deadly Sins, and how, within the two works, Marc and Tim are model­­ing one vision of the interconnected future of art: genuine collaboration.

Above: Two works from the Seven Deadly Sins series.


Shattered found pottery lends sculptural interest to Wrath. For the finial, Marc made a tiny maple rolling pin on a lathe. Visually, I like the look of Envy a lot,” says Marc. They designed the piece around the video concept: a creepy eye, peering through a keyhole. Each piece is loaded with detail. The green finial that sits atop Envy, for example, is a cast-glass likeness of Michael Janis, a tongue-in-cheek poke at an artist with whom Tim shares workspace at the Washington Glass School (…or is it?). The tiny gate is Marc’s handiwork – a rare opportunity to exercise a long-ago minor in metals, he says. His wife, artist Kari Russell-Pool (with whom Marc also has collaborated), lent a hand with the grass.


Above: “Vanity” from the Seven Deadly Sins series
blown and cast glass, camera and audio soundwave electronics, found objects

In Vanity, a small video screen displays the image of all who approach. Peek into this technological mirror and a recorded voice gushes, “You look wonderful. Have you lost weight? You look younger every time I see you.”
Drawing in viewers to interact with the work is, arguably, the pièce de résistance of their collaborative process – the sharing of a work that transforms everyone who sees it into an active participant.

For the entire article – click HERE (or check out your newsstands!)
Email for Pete Duvall: pete@anythingphoto.net

Posted in 7 deadly sins, american craft, american craft magazine, anything photographic. anythingphoto.net, apothecarium Moderne, collaborative, pete duvall, sins under glass

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