Michael Janis | Washington Glass Studio

Glass 48 Opens May 8!

Posted on May 7, 2020 by admin |

Glass 48 opens Friday May 8 @ 1:00 pm ( Eastern time).

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.

Posted in american studio glass, art glass, collaborative glass, covid, covid-19, fine art, glass sculpture, glass show, Glass48, habatat galleries, international, michael janis, mike janis, Tim Tate

“How We Take Care of Each Other” Artwork in the Time of Corona – Installation by Michael Janis

Posted on April 27, 2020 by admin |

We are social creatures. Every relationship has been built and held together by complicated nonverbal language, beginning with parent and child. It’s part of our social fabric. Individual, family, and interpersonal relationships have all changed as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. What is the characteristic of a pandemic? Emptiness. The unusual quiet in what was normally noisy, bustling neighborhood. Silence – where the silence isn’t merely the absence of noise. It’s judgement, longing and paranoia.The fear the we may be ourselves a transmitter of the virus as we seek the comfort of others.

How people are psychologically affected by and coping with the COVID-19 emergency is the basis of the installation of kiln cast glass by WGS artist Michael Janis. Over 20 individual glass panels make up the large wall-mounted work.

Janis’ signature “sgraffito” imagery – where he manipulates fine crushed glass powder into highly detailed imagery and portraiture, fires the images into layers of colored glass is used to strong effect in this new work. Images of that convey the sense of how we are connected and yet are contained into separate worlds is the essence of the work. Working in the isolation of the lock downed studio, Janis says he will continue to add to the installation as the virus continues to work thru the world. “Working on artwork keeps me sane” says the artist.

Partial view of Michael Janis’ “How We Take Care Of Each Other” glass art installation. Kilnformed glass; glass powder imagery; varying dimensions; 2020.

Michael Janis covid theme artwork installation

Partial view of Michael Janis’ “How We Take Care Of Each Other” glass art installation. Larger panels approx. 18″ (45cm) dia.

glass craft art made during coronavirus 2020

Detail of one of the fused glass panels in Michael Janis’ installation. Imagery made from glass powder in Janis’ signature sgraffito technique.

Michael Janis covid coronavirus art craft glass artwork 2020

Detail of Michael Janis’ glass art installation “How We Take Care Of Each Other”

Detail of works by Michael Janis. The translucent glass panels are mounted off the wall in varying dimensions, with light and shadow highlighting each panel edge.

glass craft american art fused kilnformed covid coronavirus 2020

Detail of one of Michael Janis’ kilnformed works. COVID-19 cases are heavily concentrated in the African American population.

The fabric of society is held together by even the smallest physical contact. Touch is as important a social condition as anything. It reduces stress. It makes people trust one another. It allows for cooperation. When you look at people in solitary confinement suffering from touch deprivation, you see that people lose a sense that someone’s got their back, that they’re part of a community and connected to others.

Posted in american craft, american glass, coronavirus, covid, covid-19, michael janis, mike janis, narrative, narrative glass

American Glass Guild 2020 Conference in Baltimore, Hon!

Posted on February 3, 2020 by admin |

The American Glass Guild 2020 Conference in Baltimore. MD.

The American Glass Guild (AGG) will be holding their 20th Anniversary Conference at the Maritime Conference Center in Baltimore, Maryland May 7-9.

The Baltimore conference is a great place to meet people in the glass arts, to share ideas, techniques and experiences, with the planned glass art auction, artwork exhibition and more. Demos and workshops by international artists including Narcissus Quagliata and Judith Schaechter!– Talks featuring Shawn Waggoner, Tim Carey, Judith Schaecter, Ken Leap and Nancy Gong! WGS Co-Director, Michael Janis, will be a keynote speaker!

The Annual Live AGG Auction raises funds for the James Whitney Memorial Scholarship. Since 2007 the Whitney Memorial Scholarship has handed out over 125 scholarships for glass education. Recipients receive full or partial scholarships for various glass educational opportunities, such as conferences and workshops, or ongoing educational efforts.

The American Glass Guild (AGG) is a non-profit organization whose core mission is to work toward building an environment within the craft that both cultivates novices and facilitates experienced craftspeople and artisans to attain a higher level of expertise. The AGG’s intention is to support and provide speakers for public lectures and seminars, encourage spirited debates, and initiate fact-based research.

Click HERE for more online information.

Posted in AGG, american glass guild, Baltimore, conference, education, fulbright scholar michael janis, glass, glass art, glass education, judith schaechter, keynote, michael janis, shawn waggoner, stained glass, twenty first century glass, united states, стекло искусство новое, فن الزجاج الجديد, アメリカのガラス芸術, 新的玻璃

Pulse Art Fair Showcases WGS Artists Tim Tate and Michael Janis

Posted on November 26, 2019 by admin |

This years Art Basel / Miami Art Week is December 2 – 8, 2019. It’s the best time of the year for viewing contemporary art in Florida, if not the entire world. Miami and Miami Beach will be the center of the art world for a week. More than a thousand art galleries from around the world participate in some eighteen art fairs. You’ll see amazing artwork from around the world.

Potomac, MD’s Alida Anderson Art Projects will be presenting new works by WGS Co-Directors Tim Tate and Michael Janis at their gallery in the 15th edition of the PULSE Art Fair.

Tim Tate and Michael Janis’ collaborative glass/mixed media artwork titled: “The Longing for Transcendence” will be on display at Alida Anderson space #501 during Pulse Art Fair.

A new feature for the fair, PULSE Perspectivos, a dual-language series of talks and tours held in English and Spanish. A presentation, “On Identity in the Arts: What Does It Mean to be Latino/a? Latino, Latina, Latin(x), Hispanic…”, held in Spanish at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The conversation will be led by art critic, writer and blogger Florencio Lennox (aka Lenny) Campello who has been spearheading interactive events discussing these issues for the past few years.

El Sentinel / the Sun-Sentinel have already been posting about the upcoming arrival of our glass artist’s works!

PULSE Art Fair is located as Indian Beach Park, 4601 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, and 46th Street with direct access from the beach and the boardwalk.

PULSE Art Fair is open to the public from Thursday, December 5 through Sunday, December 8, 2019. A Private Preview Brunch will be held Thursday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Posted in Alida Anderson Art Project, art basel, art basel miami, art fair, art glass, art miami, Lenny Campello, miami, miami art fair, miami international art, michael janis, neues glas, new media, pulse art fair, стекло искусство новое, فن الزجاج الجديد, 玻璃艺术新

Peppermill Community Center Public Art

Posted on October 10, 2019 by admin |

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 powerfull and dramitic artistic element at the new entry at the community center.

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

Posted in erwin timmers, fused glass sculpture, glass sculpture, glass structure, kiln-formed glass, maryland, md, michael janis, mike janis, mncppc, peppermill, Prince George's County, Public Art, sculpture, teri Bailey, Tim Tate, twenty first century sculpture, warm glass, washington glass school, Washington School of Glass

Class In Glass @ Goucher College

Posted on September 24, 2019 by admin |

Goucher College in Towson, Maryland.

Howard Cohen – an Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass (AACG) Board member- presented a lecture series at Goucher College in Townson MD. The students in the class focused on the works of artist Dale Chihuly in the first lecture of the series.

Howard Cohen presents the history and works of artist Dale Chihuly at Goucher College.

The secont part of the Glass Class series focused on the works and history of artist Michael Janis.

Artist Michael Janis talks about his work and how the art world is changing.

Michael Janis’ background as a glass artist proved to be fascinating to the audience.

The class ended with the students seeking more information about glass and glass exhiitions. Many wanted to schedule a tour of the Washington Glass School and Studio in the fall – will post if theis comes to pass!

Posted in aacg, art alliance for contemporary glass, howard cohen, michael janis, mike janis

Arts & Healing at Inova Schar Cancer Institute

Posted on July 9, 2019 by admin |

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 Center made in kiln-cast glass.

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.

Posted in architectural application glass, kiln fused glass, kiln-formed glass, Lillian Fitzgerald, michael janis, mike janis, narrative glass, painterly glass, process, Public Art, recognition award, sgraffito technique, sgrafitto, shanti norris, smith center, smith farm, studio glass, twenty first century glass, стекло искусство новое, فن الزجاج الجديد, アメリカのガラス芸術, 玻璃艺术

Lure of the Object: The June & Rob Heller Collection at Knoxville Museum of Art

Posted on February 1, 2019 by admin |

Fifty-three works of art — sculptures, glass works and paintings — open on exhibit Feb. 8 at the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA). The exhibition titled “Lure of the Object: Art from the June and Rob Heller Collection” will be shown at the KMA through April 21.

Michael.janis.kma.glass.art.heller.knoxville

Knoxville Museum of Art will exhibit glass artworks by WGS Co-Director Michael Janis.

Organized by the Knoxville Museum of Art with curatorial assistance from Mary Morris, the exhibit is of both small and large works includes nine sculptures, 32 glass sculptures and eight paintings. Eight of the works have been given the museum by the Hellers; the rest are part of their collection, assembled over four decades. The Hellers, who now live in Knoxville, TN, have collected art from around the world.

The show features works by William Morris, Michael Janis, Richard Jolley, Bertil Vallien, Oben Abright, Dante Marioni, Therman Statom, and Stephen Rolfe Powell. Complementing sculptural works are paintings by Jim Dine, Frank Stella, Christo, and Paul Jenkins.

Lure of the Object: Art from the June and Rob Heller Collection
February 8-April 21, 2019
1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN

Posted in michael janis | Tagged june heller, knoxville museum of art, Rob Heller

SOFA Chicago Preview : Works By Washington Glass School Artists

Posted on October 23, 2018 by admin |

SOFA 2018: Discovering New Concepts of Innovation and Design
Chicago, Illinois (November 1 – November 4, 2018) – This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA) Fair in Chicago, which takes place at the landmark Navy Pier.

Laura Beth Konopinski, "Beneath your walls the rubble exposed", mixed media glass, Alida Anderson Art Project, booth #A39. photo by Pete Duvall.

Laura Beth Konopinski, “Beneath your walls the rubble exposed”, mixed media glass, Alida Anderson Art Projects, booth #A39. (photo by Pete Duvall)

Washington Glass School artists Laura Beth Konopinski, Tim Tate and Michael Janis will have their new works featured at the critically acclaimed expo. The Chicago-based art expo is traditionally dedicated to three-dimensional art and design.

Tim Tate, Mrs. Dalloway : Morning and Mrs Dalloway : Evening, 32"dia each.

Tim Tate, Mrs. Dalloway : Morning (L) & Mrs Dalloway : Evening (R), 32″dia each. Habatat Galleries booth #A25

Michigan’s Habatat Galleries will feature new works by Tim Tate and Michael Janis, in their space #A25. Tim’s new infinity mirrors have become much more sculptural and dynamic – they must be seen in person to experience the reflected themes of empowerment and hope.

Tim Tate, “I Stand With My Sisters”, mixed media, LED, glass. Habatat Galleries booth #A25. (photo by Pete Duvall)

Michael Janis has been creating a new series that will debut at the Chicago SOFA art fair, where his realistic imagery is offset with color and abstracted forms. His work can be seen also at Habatat Galleries space, #A25. Michael’s work will also be in a special exhibit at the fair: Intersection: Art & Life that features works by artists featured in a new book by Kevin Wallace, director of California’s Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts. His book explores the historical parallels between art and life, with the arts playing a central role in exploring identity, spirituality, our relationship with the environment and developing technologies.

Michael Janis, “In My Dreams”, fused glass, 12″ x 16″, Habatat Galleries booth #A25. (photo by Pete Duvall)

Michael Janis, "Forever", "Talk to Me", "Forever", 12" x 16" each. Habatat Galleries booth #A25. (photo by Pete Duvall).

Michael Janis, “Forever”, “Talk to Me”, “Forever”, 12″ x 16″ each. Habatat Galleries booth #A25. (photos by Pete Duvall).

Laura Beth Konopinski will be showing her new narrative mixed media sculptures. After a successful exhibit at the Art Miami Fairs last year, she has been creating new works that have already received critical acclaim. Laura Beth can be found at Alida Anderson Art Projects space, #A39

Each year, SOFA Chicago opens to eager crowds!

Location: SOFA CHICAGO
Address: Navy Pier, Festival Hall
600 E. Grand, Entrance 2
Chicago, IL 60611

Posted in art fair, laura beth konopinski, michael janis, mike janis, sofa chicago, Tim Tate

Glass Artists Featured in New Book: Intersection Art & Life

Posted on July 13, 2018 by admin |

Kevin Wallace, director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in California, writes books and guest curates exhibitions for museums. He is an acknowledged expert on self-expression in craft media who resists labeling works as “art” or “craft.” His new book Intersection: Art & Life has just been published and we are delighted that they included Michael Janis’ glass work on the cover (center top).

Kevin wrote the book to provide a wider understanding and appreciating contemporary art, and he gives insights on over 100 contemporary artists including glass artists: Lino Tagliapietre, Keke Cribbs, Sally Rogers, Einar and James De La Torre, Rick Beck, Marlene Rose, Colin Reid, Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend and others. Support the Beatrice Wood Center and purchase the book at the center!

If you don’t want to use the PayPal link, you can e-mail Kevin at beatricewoodcenter@gmail.com, and they can send you a PayPal invoice, or you can send a check to: BWCA, P.O. Box 608, Ojai, CA 93024

Posted in art glass, michael janis, mike janis, schiffer books, schiffer publishing | Tagged beatrice wood center, kevin wallace