Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and the Curatorial Practice MFA (CP) Practicum class present “Just a Drop,” an exhibition on view in MICA’s Meyerhoff Gallery from February 10th to March 3rd, 2023. Through a wide range of objects and materials — including sculptures, illustrations, protest banners, textiles, glass art, videos, and a large-scale newly-commissioned mural — the 13 artists highlighted in this show reveal how water sustains life and shapes human destinies. Inspired by the September 2022 boil water advisory in West Baltimore, the five MICA students that organized “Just a Drop” dove deep into the history of the planet’s most precious resource. For this exhibition, a diverse group of artists, activists, and storytellers were brought together to describe people’s relationships to water via culture, ritual, and conservation. With personal, collective, and mythical imagery and stories, the featured artists invite viewers to reconsider the element that makes up 60% of their bodies and covers more than 70% of the planet’s surface.
Erwin Timmers is one of the artists in the exhibition, and his work – “Watered Down” is a wall mounted sculpture made of cast float glass. The artwork references the ubiquitous trash that fills the oceans – the disposed water bottle.
“Just a Drop” opens at 5:00PM on Friday, February 10th with a public reception featuring a live storytelling performance by Griot Grandmother Edna.
Location Meyerhoff Gallery 1303 W Mount Royal Ave. Baltimore, MD 21217
Washington Glass School Co-Founder & Co-Director Erwin Timmers was at the Duncan McClellan Gallery for the start of the exhibit “Dreams & Visions; Artists of the Washington Glass School”. The spectacular show features works by Christina Helowicz, Michael Janis, Tony Porto, Teri Swinhart, Tim Tate and Erwin Timmers and runs thru March 15th, 2023.
Erwin also taught a workshop for kiln casting glass – teaching the students how to effect bas relief imagery in float glass.
The fun filled weekend started with a gallery visit from 7th graders from Academy Prep. They received a tour in the museum-quality art filled gallery, followed by a glass demonstration and more.
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.
Miami’s Longest Running International Art Fair Art Miami and sister fair CONTEXT Art Miami featured artwork by many artists from the Washington Glass Studio.
On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, almost 20,000 guests came to the opening of the 10th edition of the sister fair to Art Miami. CONTEXT Art Miami is dedicated to the development and reinforcement of emerging and mid-career artists, and the vibrant contemporary and modern art fair was the natural setting for the works carried by Alida Anderson Art Projects (AAAP).
This year’s AAAP booth at CONTEXT Art Miami showed works by glass mixed media artwork by Christina Helowicz, Michael Janis, Tony Porto, Tim Tate and Erwin Timmers. It also featured mixed media works by J Jordan Bruns, Lenny Campello, and Steve Wanna.
Some Art Miami Highlights:
The artists at CONTEXT Art Miami raise their glass in toast! Salud! Amor! Dinero! Clockwise from left bottom: Steve Wanna, Erwin Timmers, Michael Janis, J Jordan Bruns, Christina Helowicz, Tony Porto, Lenny Campello, Joe Ivacic, Danny Marder.
Erwin Timmers is the Co-founder and Director of the Washington Glass School. His work references sociological and environmental issues of concern to him, primarily how we, as a society, consume and discard precious resources. For this topic, the choice of materials becomes a more important discussion, so Erwin endeavors to use recycled materials to express concepts and ideas of recycling and use of the environment. Recycled glass is difficult to use, so he has had to develop new and experimental techniques to exploit the characteristics of this material. A Show of Hands explores personal and cultural traits as they relate to present day social trends. Technological “advances” have changed the landscape in human interaction, and social media focuses on aspects of cultural loss, fake news, mass manipulation, and diversion and division. This series is about the expression of nonverbal and abstract themes like trust, communication, and connection. Erwin’s portfolio showcases the possibility and beauty of recycled material, while encouraging the viewer to consider his or her environmental impact.
Erwin Timmers “A Show of Hands” Featuring Artists of the Washington Glass School
Artist Discussion with Erwin Timmers – November 12th, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Exhibits for Erwin Timmers, the Resident Artists, and Gallery 209 will run from November 1st through November 22nd. Viewing hours are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Monday-Saturday, and Sundays by chance or appointment.
Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn Drive in Rockville, established in October 2014 by artist and arts community builder Judith HeartSong, is a 13,000 sq. ft. facility is home to 87 artists, and 80 student artists. A&M Studios is dedicated to providing a supportive and vibrant environment for artists to realize their creative goals – through studio practice, collaboration, education, opportunities, networking and connecting with the community beyond.
The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) is a dynamic source of information, programs, books and services, among them is their Makers Program, that includes a Fabrication Lab. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library’s “Fab Lab”, complete with 3D printers, a laser cutter, soldering equipment, other machines is part of a new movement of public libraries embracing the “maker movement.” DCPL’s maker program is the largest of its kind in a public library, as they see the program as a force to bring together makers, artists, and creative people of all types and from all fields and backgrounds, encouraging cross-disciplinary cooperation. As part of the public engagement, the DCPL Makers & DIY Program is hosting a series of artists lectures at the newly refurbished MLK Memorial Library auditorium.
On Saturday, May 21, 2022, from 1:00pm – 2:00pm, Michael Janis, co-director of the Washington Glass School, will give a lecture on how the Washington Glass Studio created the “Green Community Gateway” with art made with the help of the community in Ward 7.
The “Green Community Gateway”, public art sculpture marks the symbolic entrance to the Kenilworth/Parkside section of DC’s Ward 7. Through a series of glass “quilting bees”, Washington Glass Studio brought together neighborhood residents, students of the high school, and the staff of the newly constructed Unity Healthcare facility to make glass art that would become an integral part of the arch.
This lecture program will take place in the auditorium at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20001. Register at bit.ly/labsclasses.
The renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC, originally designed by Mies van der Rohe, the landmark library was rejuvenated by Mecanoo and OTJ Architects.
WGS Co-Director Erwin Timmers is interviewed by Vicki Schneider in the hot-off-the-press issue of Glass Art Magazine. Erwin talks about his unique technique and if he shares his intellectual property or if he guards his glass secrets. Read his interview in the March/April issue of Glass Art Magazine. Photos by Pete Duvall.
The Allegany Arts Council Saville Gallery presents Washington Glass School Co- Director Erwin Timmers in a solo exhibition “Reflections in Glass” from February 5 thru February 26, 2022. Recycling, waste, the environment, and the ways in which all three relate to society are recurring themes in his work.
Said Timmers about his body of work on exhibit: “My work revolves around ideas of sustainable design and consumption in the urgent context of pressing societal changes and deepening global ecological concerns. My artwork centers on the craft of design, combining modern and traditional fabrication techniques to develop new material-based knowledge and aesthetics of sustainability. My portfolio aims to spark specific kinds of awareness. “
“The objects I sculpt from recycled materials are moments of intersection and influence. As boundary objects, they play with conventions of form and function, material and method, production and consumption. I work less for the purposes of critique, but rather for the potential to generate open and inviting exchanges. An artist, successfully engaged in creative inquiry, notices, seeks out, or otherwise creates the conditions for novel convergence and the overlapping and dissolution of conventional boundaries. I work at reinforcing metaphors of transformation and change. “
Timmers will also present a talk on how public art transforms communities. The event “Making Our Case For Public Art” is free and open to the public and all are invited to attend. The event will begin with a networking reception at 5:30PM with the program slated to kick off at 6:00PM.
The artists from the Washington Glass School are also on exhibit in a special show, featuring artworks by Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Patricia De Poel Wilberg, April Shelford, Vibha Bhatia and Clayton Lutu.
Timmers is Co-founder and Director of the Washington Glass School and one of the DC area’s leading ‘eco-artists’. Erwin is currently working with architects and designers on several “green” design projects. His work in sustainable design can be seen in some of the large public art projects he has completed, including an award-winning project for the US EPA Ariel Rios South Courtyard Green Infrastructure Project, in Washington, DC, and the public artwork for the LEED certified Safeway supermarket in Bethesda, MD. Montgomery County honored Erwin Timmers as the county’s “Outstanding Artist” in 2018. The Museum of Glass (MOG) in Tacoma, Washington has recently acquired works by Timmers for its permanent collection.
Allegany Arts Council Saville Gallery 9 N. Centre Street Cumberland, MD 21502 Reflections in Glass February 5- 26, 2022
Making Our Case for Public Art Friday, February 25, 2022 • 5:30PM – Cocktail Reception; 6:00PM – Program • Free to attend
Maryland’s Allegany Arts Council and its Saville Gallery feature WGS Co-Director and eco-artist Erwin Timmers for his solo exhibition, Reflections in Glass, to take place February 5-26, 2022. A Public Opening will take place on Saturday, February 5, 2022, from 6:00PM-8:00PM
Reflections in Glass features the environmental themed glass artwork of Erwin Timmers, Co-founder and director of the Washington Glass School and one of the DC area’s leading eco-artists. Recycling, waste, and the environment are recurring themes in his work.
Public art created by artists of the Washington Glass Studio both enrich and celebrate diverse communities. Successful projects include – The Monumental Doors for the Library of Congress, Laurel Library, the Washington DC Gateway Arch, and the West Palm Beach International Airport.
Michael Janis and Erwin Timmers will discuss how they navigate the complex processes from finding the projects to their ultimate creation and installation.
On Tuesday, September 15, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, AACG starts their Online Education Series called “FIRED UP” – click on the link to register for the free event:
The Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to further the development and appreciation of art made from glass.
The Alliance informs collectors, critics and curators by encouraging and supporting museum exhibitions, university glass departments and specialized teaching programs, regional collector groups, visits to private collections, and public seminars.