>Its a dreary downtown day; the sky’s a charcoal gray, but here at the Washington Glass School, we don’t need the sun to shine! Below is a quick photo tour around the place on this wet spring Saturday :
Lino-cut Printmaking with Cast Glass panels class powers on:
Instructor Kirk Waldroff checks on a student as he grinds & coldworks his cast glass panel.
Carving into the lino blocks 
Inking the glass panels
Pulling a Print – Nancy Donnelly takes us through the process.
The glass block and the print side by side.
While in the Flameworking studio, test glass color samples being made:
Rob Kincheloe works color combos for a fused glass camouflage pattern background. Here Rob talks of the color options with Kirk Waldroff.
A modern PETA-friendly animal mounting.
In the back studio – artists working on artwork / sculpture components:
Matt Duffy works on his steel and glass sculpture components.
Michael Janis works on a sgraffitto panel to be shown at Glass Weekend in New Jersey.
Printmaking with Glass
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Making prints from Glass?! Instructor Kirk Waldroff has been teaching a class in making wood or lino block prints, translating that into glass, and pulling prints from the glass panels. This original process is created by expand on and combining traditional printmaking with modern glass sculpting techniques.
The glass positives inside the kiln – to be cleaned and inked.
Fresh from the kiln, the glass is carefully prepared as a relief matrix.
Kirk oversees the student Nancy Donnelly inking the block.
Some of the first prints pulled.
Instructor Kirk Waldroff expresses his happiness with the day’s results.
The class wraps up next week, with the students working on a more complex prints.
Hallo Deutsch Besucher!
Claudia Rousseau reviews Kirk Waldroff
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Kirk Waldroff The Wrens and the Badger, Cast glass, poplar, and LED lighting
Art critic Claudia Rousseau reviews Kirk Waldroff’s impressive print-based mixed media sculpture solo show at the Glenview Mansion in this weekend’s DC Artnews blog.
Dr Rousseau writes:
“…Waldroff’s contribution to the Glenview exhibit include prints and wooden constructions that hold cast glass panels, that is, glass sculptures that have a print image on them—a technique that Waldroff will be teaching at the Washington Glass School on Saturday afternoons in April. They are created using a revolutionary kiln-casting process so that each is a unique reproduction of a carved woodblock (the kind originally created for wood-cut prints). These are set into wooden cabinets, or deep wooden boxes. There’s even a marvelous headboard with two inset glass panels topping a queen-sized bed right in the gallery. 
Kirk Waldroff Unlocking Dreams – bed, maple, birch, cast glass, LED lighting
On the opposite wall are prints on paper from the same block that made the glass panels. Many of these glass/wood boxes are illuminated, but I imagine they would be effective set against a natural light source as well, or placed where they receive sun or lamplight. The warm light coming into the mansion gives them a nice glow. There are also a number of carved and painted wood panels presented as paintings rather than wood blocks. “
“… and the images are simple, but enough to stimulate the imagination. There are no right answers here. The viewer is encouraged to write them from his/her own trove of memories and ideas.”
Click HERE to jump to the entire review on DC Artnews.
Claudia Rousseau, Ph.D., teaches art history at Montgomery College, and writes regular critical reviews in local publications.
Kirk Waldroff “Untold Fables” through March 1, 2011
Glenview Mansion Art Gallery at Rockville Center Civic Center Park
602 Edmonston Drive
Rockville, MD 20851
Mon., Wed., Fri. 9 AM-4:30PM, Tues/Thurs, 9AM-9PM
240-314-8682 or 240-314-8660 for information or to confirm hours.
www.rockvillemd.gov/arts
This April, Kirk will be teaching a class at the Washington Glass School that transfers wood block print imagery into cast glass. This amazing process is a great way for print-based artists to take their images over into other media. Click HERE to jump to Kirk’s class description.
Kirk Waldroff – Untold Fables
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Kirk Waldroff
Theodulus and the Egret, Part 2 | 2011
left: glass, oak, and LED lighting | 30″ x 23″ x 5.5″
right: hand-colored woodcut on Rives BFK | 10″ x 18″
Printmaker and glass artist Kirk Waldroff has a solo exhibition at Glenview Mansion in Rockville, Maryland (opening reception on February 6th, 1:30pm to 3:30pm).
Kirk is exhibiting new work including prints, print based glass sculptures, paintings, and even a queen-size bed.
Untold Fables
New Prints, Print-based Sculpture, and Paintings
Opening Reception: Sunday, February 6, 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Glenview Mansion Art Gallery
Glenview Mansion at Rockville Civic Center Park
603 Edmonston Drive Rockville, Maryland 20851
Kirk Waldroff has a degree in illustration from the University of Delaware. Kirk’s work has been shown at many area galleries, and was featured in the international exhibition “Glass 3”. Kirk is currently assisting with classes at the Washington Glass School, while developing techniques that combine printmaking and sculptural glass.