The Washington Glass School recently welcomed a group of students from the Black History Month Poster Internship Program for an afternoon of studio visits, discussion, and career exploration.
Organized by Jewel Kahn, Education and Public Program Specialist for the M-NCPPC Black History Program, the visit introduced students to the working environment of a professional glass studio while offering an honest conversation about building a life in the arts.
Washington Glass School Co-Directors Michael Janis and Tim Tate spoke with the students about each of their paths. While discussing artistic process and contemporary kiln-formed glass, the conversation quickly expanded to topics that are often overlooked in art education: developing professional networks, creating opportunities, maintaining a sustainable studio practice, and navigating the realities of an arts career.
The students asked thoughtful questions about public art, exhibitions, collaborations, and the importance of community in an artist’s development. The exchange reflected one of the core missions of the Washington Glass School: sharing knowledge, encouraging emerging artists, and helping foster the next generation of creative voices.
We thank Jewel Kahn and the M-NCPPC Black History Program for arranging the visit and wish these talented students continued success as they pursue their artistic goals.
As part of the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Washington Glass School and Studio, we invited longtime artists, students, and extended family members to share their memories of the people, projects, and moments that helped shape our community.
Nancy Kronstadt has been part of the Washington Glass School family for more than two decades. Since first discovering the studio in 2002, she has been a student, artist, supporter, and friend. Her reflections capture the spirit of those early days on Half Street SE, the joy of creative discovery, and the lasting power of an artistic community.
I first discovered the Washington Glass School in the Fall of 2002 when I stumbled upon their booth at the Adams Morgan street festival. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the colorful glass display cast reflections everywhere. Intrigued, I spoke with several artists about the fused glass processes and went home with the upcoming class schedule. A week later, I called and signed up for the Beginning Glass Lovers Weekend.
Washington Glass School’s street fair booth (ca. 2005)
The studio on Half Street SE was somewhat primitive, although I didn’t realize it then. (Standard procedure was to fill a pitcher with water and carry it to the belt sander to fill its trough before using it.) Over the following years, I spent many Saturdays there, either in “Open Studio” or in classes — Beginning Fusion, Advanced Fusion, United Colors, Bowls Bowls Bowls, Drop through Drapes, and Glass Weaving – to name a few. Before I retired, those Saturdays at the studio became my designated afternoons of peace. I would leave my stress at the studio door and walk in excited to work on a creative, absorbing project.
Washington Glass School class at Half Street location (ca. 2003)
Throughout these years, the guys — Tim, Michael and Erwin — have supported my efforts, offering guidance and encouragement and helping me troubleshoot plans for a piece before I began (and sometimes after something had failed). In return, I donated a curly lock of hair to one of Tim’s pieces and took on the studio’s basic bookkeeping.
Since retiring, I have spent more time at WGS. Unlike my earlier years, when I mostly worked alone, the past six years have been spent in a wonderful shared studio environment, surrounded by the support, critique and friendship from the amazing group of resident artists. The Cedar Hill Medical Project was the perfect opportunity for the artists of WGS to work together to create something truly beautiful and special.
Nancy Kronstadt making her glass ornaments (ca. 2019)
My work does not follow a single theme; it grows from a simple wish to create something pretty and special. For more than 20 years, WGS has given me an environment that quietly and consistently encourages me to create.
Artists Michael Janis and Tim Tate with their glass/mixed media artwork “The Common Thread”. photo byPete Duvall
This April, Washington Glass School Directors Michael Janis and Tim Tate are featured at Glass 54, Habatat Galleries’ International Contemporary Glass Invitational, held April 22–26 in Royal Oak, Michigan. Known for bringing together leading voices in contemporary glass, the exhibition offers a focused snapshot of where the medium is now—and where it’s heading.
At the heart of this year’s event is a special “show-within-the-show” spotlighting Janis and Tate, whose long-standing dialogue—spanning more than two decades of shared ideas, experimentation, and advocacy—comes into sharp focus through both their individual works and a new collaborative installation, The Common Thread. The piece reflects an ongoing exploration of connection: between artists, between narratives, and between material and meaning.
Detail of “The Common Thread” artwork by Michael Janis & Tim Tate.
For Michael Janis, the works on view mark a continued evolution of his distinctive visual language. Known for his masterful use of sgraffito (drawing with crushed glass frit) and layered glass imagery, Janis creates compositions that are at once graphic and deeply psychological. His figures—often distorted, fragmented, or caught in ambiguous gestures—inhabit charged spaces where identity, perception, and emotional tension intersect.
The new pieces presented at Glass 54 push further into this territory. Faces and bodies emerge through saturated color and bold contour, at times obscured or refracted through reflective and mirrored surfaces. Viewers may find themselves implicated in the work, their own image pulled into the composition—an echo of Janis’ ongoing interest in perception and the instability of truth. These works resist easy narrative, instead offering a kind of visual poetics: suggestive, uneasy, and quietly confrontational.
Tim Tate’s contributions, known for their integration of video, electronics, and sculptural glass forms, provide a compelling counterpoint. Where Janis leans into the psychological and painterly, Tate often engages time-based media and narrative structure, creating works that expand the boundaries of what glass can contain and communicate.
Everything Rises(2026) by artist Tim Tate. photo by Pete Duvall
Together, their collaboration The Common Thread becomes a synthesis of these approaches—a dialogue made tangible. The installation weaves together their shared histories and divergent practices, suggesting that connection is not about sameness, but about resonance across difference.
Presented within the larger context of Glass 54, this focused exhibition offers collectors, curators, and viewers a rare opportunity to experience both the individual strengths and the collaborative energy of two artists who have helped shape the trajectory of contemporary glass.
Mark your calendars—Saturday, December 13, 2025, from 12–5 PM—when Mount Rainier’s creative community throws open its doors for the annual Winter Open Studios. The best place to begin your visit is right here at the Washington Glass School, located at 3700 Otis Street, Mt. Rainier, MD.
This year, WGS is proud to feature a special exhibition highlighting the artwork created by Military Veterans participating in the Hot Shop Heroes program. Since the fall, the Washington Glass School has hosted the second session of this powerful collaboration with the Museum of Glass (MOG) in Tacoma, WA. Over the course of the 10-week workshop, Veterans have stepped into the glass studio and into a unique journey of creative arts therapy.
Hot Shop Heroes brings Veterans together through shared making—offering a space to experiment, reconnect, and explore the expressive, transformative qualities of molten glass. In their hands, glass becomes a powerful metaphor: fragile yet resilient, vulnerable yet capable of astonishing reinvention. The resulting artworks reflect not only creative growth, but the profound healing potential of the arts. We are honored to share these works with the public for the first time during Open Studios.
While you’re here, take time to explore the full energy of the Artists-by-the-Tracks compound. Our neighboring studios—including Otis Street Arts Project, Ampersand Art Space, Janis Goodman, Sharon Robinson Studio, and many more—will also be open and welcoming visitors throughout the afternoon. It’s an opportunity to step inside working studios, meet the artists, and discover remarkable handcrafted works just in time for the holiday season.
We look forward to welcoming you to the Washington Glass School and to this vibrant celebration of local creativity and community.
To end 2024 on a positive note – We are looking forward to 2025: DC’s new Cedar Hill hospital commissioned Washington Glass Studio to make a ‘DC themed’ glass mural (8 foot x 5 foot high). All our studio artists were invited to make inset panels in their glass style. Just started process fitting out glass panels into the steel framework- here’s a sneak peek! The artwork will be installed early in 2025!! Happy New Year!
Artists involved include: Nancy Kronstadt, Erwin Timmers, Tim Tate, Arden Colley, John Henderson, Patricia de Poel Wilberg, Graciela Granek, April Shelford, Jaelin Jones, Jun Lee, Trish Kent, Chip Montague and Michael Janis.
Resident Artist Jun Lee preps her bas-relief glass panel.Jun Lee, dimensional cast glass panel, 14″ x 14″, 2024
Join us for the Washington Glass School’s Holiday Open Studios on Saturday, December 14th, from 12-5 PM! Explore a dazzling collection of glass art and other creations by our talented Resident Artists and Instructors, just in time for holiday gift shopping or adding unique pieces to your collection.
Erwin Timmers, cast recycled glass & steel, 15″H x 20″W x 5″D, 2024
Virginia’s Lorton Workhouse Arts Center opened their 10th Annual Glass International, an exhibition highlighting the depth and breadth of contemporary functional and sculptural glass art. This year, in celebration of Workhouse Arts’ 10th year exhibiting glass they opened eligibility to include artists working internationally.
Kate Barfield “Dream of the Wind-Up Bird”Patricia de Poel Wilberg
Washington Glass School was well represented by WGS Resident Artists Kate Barfield, Patrica de Poel Wilberg, and April Shelford- congratulations!
Washington Glass School artists (L-R) April Shelford, Kate Barfield, Patrica de Poel Wilberg, Arden Colley.
Exhibiting Glass International Artists: Karen Abbott, Kate Barfield, Denise Bohart Brown, Beryl Brenner, Lee Campbell, Guillermo Castaneda Jr., Marcy Chevali, Anthony D’Amico, Patricia de Poel Wilberg, Jeanne Marie Ferraro, Olga Gobernik Kon, Ruth Gowell, Jennifer Hand, Mollie Hansen, Jennifer Hecker, Marla Heiner, Sara Hitchcock, Mary Jones, Martin Kremer, Kelly Lacy, Becca Low, Sandi Martina, Kimberly McKinnis, Shawn Messenger, Paul Messink, Jack Schmidt, Michael Scupholm, April Shelford, Madeline Shir, Ori Shir, Aric Snee, Chuchen Song, Tim Spurchise, Heather Sutherland, Tabitha Thierjung, Katherine Thomas, Exer Thurston, Michael Tracy, Snuffy Wright
Winter Open Studios Set for Dec 14th! Mark Your Calendars!
Join us in the DC region’s largest one-day visual arts event! On Saturday, Dec. 14th, from Noon til 5PM, Washington Glass School and its Resident Artists, Teachers and Students will participate in the Winter Open Studios! See what we’ve been up to! Come visit hundreds of working artist studios in the Gateway Arts District, along Route 1 from the DC line/ Mount Rainier up to Hyattsville, MD.
Washington Glass School 3700 Otis Street, MD Rainier, MD
This Election Day 2024 is SO important! Make your voice heard! Washington Glass School’s Resident Artist Patricia Kent’s glass art shines light on democracy!
Trish Kent, VOTE!, 2024, kilnformed glass. 24″W x 60″H. Trish Kent, The Divided States of America, 2023, kilnformed glass, mixed mediaArtist Trish Kent talks about their statement glass artwork at Montpelier Arts Center in 2024.
