National Guard Soldiers stand guard at the John Adams Building, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have traveled to the National Capital Region to provide support leading up to the 59th Presidential Inauguration. (photo: Tech. Sgt. Lucretia Cunningham)
15,000 National Guard troops are now in DC for the scheduled Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. But with so many troops in a city that has become a maze of black fencing, cement barriers and dozens of checkpoints, there is an eerie calm in Washington DC, ahead of a feared storm of supporters of President Donald Trump, who don’t believe their candidate lost and are willing to continue the violence.
Photos of the Guard protecting the Library of Congress Adams Building shows the soldiers in front of the cast glass panels made by Washington Glass Studio with Portland’s Fireart Studio. Click Here to jump to the 2012 American Craft interview and photos of the cast glass made and the process to make the architectural artwork.
We are happy that the military is taking no chances with who was coming to protect the inauguration.
On a normal day, it takes about an hour to walk the 2.5 miles down Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill.
But these are no normal days.
These precautions come a week after a mob of supporters of Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to overturn the results of the presidential election.
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…
Peppermill Community Center public art by Washington Glass Studio and the Peppermill/Landover community.
Cassi Hayden, the Senior Visual Media Photographer for The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) was at Peppermill Village Community Center covering an event recently and found the artwork (made by Washington Glass Studio) in front to be exceptionally beautiful!
Detail of the internally illuminated glass panels made with the Peppermill community as part of the public artwork.
Cassi took some shots attached high-res files for your use. All photos in this posting by: M-NCPPC/Cassi Hayden
The artwork reflects well in the glass of the new center – and on the community that inspired the creation!
Click HERE to see the public art sculpture in the daytime and how the work came to be!
Peppermill Community Center with the internally illuminated artwork “Telling Our Story…” by Washington Glass Studio.
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) commissioned Washington Glass Studio (WGS) to create a public art sculpture for the new addition to the Peppermill Community Center in Landover, MD.
Shop drawing of sculpture by WGS.
Some communities see public art as a way of enhancing or personalizing otherwise impersonal spaces. Others view it as a means to activate civic dialogue or provide a vehicle for the community to express its identity.
These landmarks and special events enhance our experience of a place and our quality of life. They engender a sense of pride and community identity. They reach audiences outside museums, galleries, and theaters, and they add to the beauty of everyday life. They declare the worth of a place and a time in our shared culture.
Erwin Timmers leads a community glass making workshop at the Washington Glass School.
As such, the design of the site-specific sculpture by WGS was centered on finding ways to get the community excited and engaged with the convergence of art, history and community. The proposal for the art was based on a 15’H tower of glass and steel that would be internally illuminated with over 100 glass inset panels. The artwork of the insets were to be created by involving the community via a series of glass-making workshops held at the Washington Glass School.
A great cross section of community came out to be part of the creation of the new public art for Peppermill Community Center.
The residents and stakeholders were tasked with showing what they felt important to them and what inspired them were made. Images of family, nature, the environment, their neighborhoods, their sports teams were rendered in glass.
All sorts of imagery and glass techniques were employed to great effect.
Cast glass images of the social groups – the sewing groups, the cheer squads, the state flag – even a Maryland blue crab were crafted. Historical references to the nearby horse farms and the old roller rink were included in the mix of glass panels. Part of the fun of the artwork is seeing how this mix of images and references all somehow work together.
The tower, titled :”Telling Our Story…” adds a powerful and dramatic artistic element at the new entry at the community center.
Shaping places—with landmarks and landscapes, events and ideologies—sets the stage for a critical part of our existence: our connection with our environment; with our past, present, and future; and with other human beings.
The mix of images and stories told create a compelling and inclusive mixture – each distinctive and unique – yet cohesive as a whole.
“Telling Our Story…” Artist: Washington Glass Studio Project Team: Teri Bailey, Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers, Tim Tate and Lee Kind. Media: Cast and fused glass, steel, LED lighting, concrete. Location: Peppermill Community Center, 610 Hill Rd, Landover, MD 20785 Client: The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
The dedication of the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, VA took place Monday, July 8.
Inova Schar Cancer Institute located at 8081 Innovation Park Drive, Fairfax, VA 22031
The Arts & Healing Program at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute, a department of Inova Fairfax Hospital, is a collaboration with the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, and uses art in its many forms to help support people in treatment and recovery and their loved ones. This innovative program includes a robust permanent art collection and ongoing exhibitions, performing arts events, and other workshops.
Opening dedication ceremony of the Arts & Healing program at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute.
The Arts & Healing Program is a resource for families, loved ones and the community to support Inova Schar’s core mission and philosophy to provide patient-centered care. New acquisitions and special site-specific artworks many DC area artists – including WGS’ Michael Janis, Tim Tate, and Allegra Marquart are in the new collection as well as works by Foon Sham, Valerie Theberge, Alan Binstock, Wendy Ross, and Susan Hostetler.
Artists Alan Binstock and Valerie Theberge with Arts Director Shanti Norris.
Sculpture by Foon Sham at the new Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, VA.
The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Inova Schar Cancer Institute is dedicated to exhibiting fine art that explores the innate connection between healing and creativity. Through a rotating exhibition schedule, the gallery features contemporary artists that address a diversity of significant themes, including spirituality, social change, multiculturalism, health, environmentalism and community.
One of the large commissioned artworks is a site-specific installation work by glass sculptor Michael Janis. The Washington Glass School blog has asked Michael to outline the work’s meanings and the processes he used to create the monumental recognition wall.
Dwight Schar Recognition Wall at Inova Schar Cancer Institute
Inspired by the story of Dwight Schar, founder and chairman of homebuilding and mortgage giant NVR, and donation by he and his wife to develop the cancer research institute that now bears their names, I worked at creating glass pieces that have both visual and spatial depth. Mr Schar’s mother died very young, lacking of good healthcare, and Mr Schar saw the creation of a cancer center and affording them the equipment and facilities needed to advance their treatments and research as a way to repay the community that supported his home building company.
Artist Michael Janis talks to the tour group about his unusual glass technique.
The artwork installation is a tribute to his history and largesse. A rendering of Dwight Schar made of crushed glass powder overlaps cast glass squares that depict references homes and community, as well as the advancements that science and research could bring to the world. In the center of the artwork installation, cancer awareness ribbons are the focal point, in its natural clear state, allowing all symbolic cancer awareness colors to be seen within. The end framing panels are a special iridescent glass that has many colors that shift intensity depending on the viewer perspective.
Inova Schar Cancer Institute fired in kiln-cast glass.
The central portrait of Mr Schar is made from crushed black glass powder. The fine powder was carefully manipulated with scalpel and brushes to form the detailed likeness and took many hours and kiln firings to complete.
The clear glass ribbons have become the symbol of the new Inova Schar Institute – and Washington Glass School was later commissioned to make smaller versions of the ribbons as commemorative sculptures for valued benefactors and volunteers to the new Cancer Center.
Lisa Ellis receives recognition for her work in creating the arts program at Inova Schar Institute.
Michael Janis; “Intersectionality”, kilnformed glass, sgraffito powder technique; 2019
Celebrating the life of the artist – Habatat Galleries invites all to the 47th Glass International Award Exhibition taking place at the Habatat Galleries Complex in Royal Oak Michigan. This weekend is the glass highlight of the year and is not to be missed!
Tim Tate; “Dutch Still Life Study”; black light and cast objects; 2019
This three day weekend includes an auction, dinners, museum tours, demonstrations, artist talks, the POPnLOCK Show, artists, parties, the largest annual international glass exhibition in the world and much, much more! The theme for the 47th Glass Invitational is An Artist’s Life. Each artist was asked artist to provide a glimpse into their life as an artist and share their thoughts. The catalog is available online HERE – (scroll down and click on artist images for details.)
Habatat Galleries was established in 1971 in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. It is the oldest and largest art gallery in the United States devoted exclusively to artists working with glass as their medium. Washington Glass School artists Michael Janis and Tim Tate are again featured in the Invitational Exhibition.
The Exhibition continues through July 5th of 2019.
Baltimore’s KEYS Development‘s goal is transformation of urban areas through investment in its youth; youth that see themselves as leaders, entrepreneurs, and ultimately change agents who will usher in a new age of industry in its communities, that state of Maryland and beyond. The mission at K.E.Y.S development is to provide social support and guidance in becoming esteemed leaders with outstanding problem solving and conflict resolution skills. As part of that goal, this summer sees art glass classes for their students at Washington Glass School. The first of the glass classes took place this week – it started off with a lot of fun!
Instructor Michael Janis demonstrates how to use glass powder to the KEYS class.
By noon, all the students are busy making their glass masterpieces.
The KEYS Development instructors joing in the fun, making custom stencils.
Washington Glass Studio sculpture at the new Laurel Library. Photo by Pete Duvall.
The Washington Glass Studio (WGS) has recently completed installation of a community based site specific public art commission for Prince George’s County Laurel Library. The new building was designed by Grimm + Parker Architects, with the grand opening of the new library scheduled for November 28, 2016. Features of the spectacular new library include an inset floor area in the children’s section where kids will get to peer at a replica velociraptor skeleton through the glass floor. Just a few miles away from the library site is Dinosaur Park, where scientists work to excavate fossils from the early Cretaceous period. Dinosaur imagery was also included as a theme running through the glass artwork panels.
WGS design proposal sketch.
WGS was awarded the commission to make the outdoor sculpture at the front of the new library by Maryland’s Prince George’s Arts and Humanities Council (PGAHC). The Art in Public Places Program RFQ sought out artwork that would provide world class artwork for Prince George’’s County residents and visitors.
WGS proposal for the project was a 17’H internally illuminated glass and steel sculpture that incorporates glass panels made by the community,residents and stakeholders of the Laurel, MD community. The engineering of the steel framework involved detailed analysis of the structure and its components. WGS worked with structural engineer Holbert Apple to ensure the integrity of the design.
Detailed analysis of sculpture was part of the design development process.
Over 100 glass inset panels were made during the series of workshops held at the Washington Glass School. The Baltimore Sun newspaper featured a story by reporter Lisa Philip about the process.
A series of community glass quilting bees were held at the Washington Glass School for the library during the summer. Photo by Lisa Philip/Baltimore Sun
The artwork’s title “Involve Me and I Learn” is based on a phrase attributed to US Founding Father Benjamin Franklin (who also opened the first US public library). The name references the engagement of the community. The neighborhood and the Laurel Library supporters had joined in making the individual glass panels in workshops at the Washington Glass School.
The resulting variations in each tile’s imagery and technique embody the artist’s concept in bringing the people from the diverse community together to create a cohesive and vibrant sculpture.
The artwork’s internally illuminated kiln-formed glass panels express the personality and the individuality of everyone involved in the project. Photo by Pete Duvall
The Washington Post published the following review of Michael Janis’ solo show “Echoes of Leaves and Shadows” being exhibited at the Maurine Littleton Gallery through Oct 15. Art critic Mark Jenkins describes Michael’s skill as “extraordinary. Jenkins also enthuses that Janis’ glass artwork combines “the stateliness of stained-glass windows with the vivacity of pop art”. Have a read of the full text below:
Michael Janis. “Radiance,” 2016, glass, glass powder imagery, steel; on view at Maurine Littleton Gallery. (Michael Janis/Maurine Littleton Gallery)
By Mark Jenkins October 8, 2016
Michael Janis
If Michael Janis worked with pencil or charcoal, his draftsmanship would be impressive. But the D.C. artist draws photorealist portraits with pulverized glass, placing the powder exactly with tiny tools. Which is extraordinary.
Most of the pieces in “Echoes of Leaves and Shadows,” at Maurine Littleton Gallery, include depictions of pretty young women. These gamines, who might be ballerinas or French New Wave stars, are rendered in granulated black glass fused by heat to clear glass sheets. The pieces aren’t just black-and-clear, though. Janis overlays and underlies patches of translucent colored glass, and often adds such 3-D glass elements as butterflies or flower petals. Aqua and orange are common in this array, among other hues. In one picture, an abstract yellow-green swirl contrasts the subject’s slightly darker green eyes.
Janis employs many variations, slicing faces into three equal parts or contrasting them with panels of textured glass. There are ceramic busts garlanded with glass leaves, and portraits embellished with near-opaque peacock- or dark-blue circles. The latter combine the stateliness of stained-glass windows with the vivacity of pop art — half medieval cathedral, half 1960s Vogue.
Michael Janis: Echoes of Leaves and Shadows On view through Oct. 15 at Maurine Littleton Gallery, 1667 Wisconsin Ave. NW. 202-333-9307. littletongallery.com.
Glass Art Magazine has a podcast series aptly named “Talking Out Your Glass” that features interviews and discussions with world-renowned glass artists. WGS’ Michael Janis joins the series as he talks about how he does his glass powder drawings and his upcoming solo show at Georgetown’s Maurine Littleton Gallery.
click above to listen to podcast
Michael’s solo exhibit titled “Echoes of Leaves and Shadows” features his new glass works and sculptures and opens Friday, September 16, 2016.
Michael Janis, “Radiance”;2016; fused glass, glass powder imagery, steel; 12.5″ x 12.5″
