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Above grid includes work from top, L to R: Allegra Marquart, Jennifer Lindstrom, Jackie Greeves, Robert Kincheloe, Evan Morgan, Dave Cook.
As mentioned in a posting earlier this year, the Washington Glass School’s will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary with the creation of a collaborative artwork that will be mounted on the front facade of the glass school.
WGS Director Tim Tate organizes and sets out the artwork tiles into the steel grid framework.
Copper & glass panel is collaboration between metalsmith Chris Shea and glass artist Don Daniels.
Glass panels made by filmmakers Jon Gann and Kerri Sheehan.
Proposed artwork location at the front of the glass school. The author of this article is depicted as leaving the studio.
Production of Cast Art Glass for Public Art Project
>Readers of the WGS Blog are familiar with the Public Art Project currently underway for Safeway Supermarket’s new LEED Certified building in Bethesda, MD.
Construction of the steel framework is underway & the kilns have been firing nonstop to make the “herb-leaf” inspired bas-relief kilnformed casting.
Layout sketch of a typical architectural bay.
Matt Duffy & Erwin Timmers check the clarity of the glass (mind you, it must not be too much and not be too little – it needs to be just right.)
Erwin check the glass for evenness of form and to make sure the panels will lay flat within the steel framework.
We will post other photos of the process soon!
UPDATE: Click HERE to jump to photos of finished project.
Art and Architecture: Public Art Project
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Safeway Bethesda
Rounds VanDuzer Architects
Safeway has started construction of a new supermarket in
As part of the project, Safeway commissioned the Washington Glass Studio to integrate artwork into the architectural façade of the building. The wall of artwork will activate the street along the
The cast recycled glass and steel artwork is integrated into the architectural façade.
Over 30 feet long and 9 feet high, the glass and steel artwork will be a strong element located in
Responding to the architectural design by Rounds VanDuzer Architects the large scale artwork will feature colorful cast recycled glass made from glass salvaged from the original Safeway supermarket on the same site. Ecoartist Erwin Timmers had slogged thru the site demolition, removing glass for the artwork. Erwin’s integration of reconfigured and recycled components has made him a leader in sustainable design and he continues his work in multidisciplinary LEED projects.
Cast recycled window glass sample of custom “fresh herb” design for Safeway.
Above is the “bay leaf” pattern.
UPDATE: Click HERE to jump to images of finished project.
Anatomy of a Site-Specific Artwork Project
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Working with the architects on the project, the artwork commission was refined. The art panels would have to perform many duties – besides providing a screen to each floor’s nurse work area, allowing light to beyond, it would also need to block the viewing of sensitive papers and office equipment, as well as being a striking sculpture that would define the entry of each floor.
Design Concept
The initial concept design for the artwork at each floor’s nurse stations.
Preliminary artwork rendering layout. The inspiration was to bring a contemplative sense of nature into the hospital.
We wanted to bring the natural word into the medical center. Our goal was to give the patients and caregivers a place that felt restful – a place of healing and renewal. Our inspiration for the artwork was to have the feel of swirling masses of delicate oak, poplar, tulip, ginko and maple leaves in an autumn breeze. Each leaf is detailed, including curved stems and crisp leaf veins. The different level of the hospital would have unique swirling leaf patterns, allowing for differentiation and orientation.
One of the cast float glass panels inside the kiln.
Studio artist Nicole Puzan cleans and preps the cooled and annealed glass panel.
Typical nurse station cast artglass panel.
Typical nurse station reverse.
Detail of cast glass leaf pattern.
Front view of artwork.
View of panels showing leaf detailing.
The Washington Glass Studio artglass project team: Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Erwin Timmers and Nicole Puzan and Robert Kincheloe.
Cast Glass as Public Artwork – Photos of the Case Study
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unless noted, all photos by Anything Photographic
The public artwork just completed by the Washington Glass Studio and Alonzo Davis for Prince George’s County Circuit Court was just photographed by Anything Photographic. The sculpture is made using the original bell tower cupola salvaged from the disastrous fire that destroyed the courthouse in 2004. The structure and copper dome were cleaned and made good, and modified to accommodate artwork elements that include cast recycled glass formed into images of the community and the legal system, sandcarved panels with the County Seals for each of the Counties served by the Circuit Court, and a neon bell symbolizing the original bell that would toll each day at 9.30 am when the Court was in session.
Titled “Rebirth and Renewal”, the artwork is testament to a proud community and its ability to overcome adversity.
Artwork neon lit at night : photo by Aisha Jordan
CASE STUDY: Glass Sculpture as Public Art
Prince George’s County Circuit Courthouse
Prince Georges’s County Upper Marlboro Circuit Courthouse artwork
If you have been following the ongoing story of the Washington Glass Studio’s design and progress of the installation of Prince George County’s Upper Marlboro courthouse glass public art sculpture – the installation is almost complete. As described in the June 2009 blog posting –
The historic 1939 Circuit Court building was devastated by fire in 2004, completely destroying the ornate Duvall Wing. The old bell tower that was atop the portico entry had been reduced to the structural frame and the historic bell within had crashed down to the ground during the fire.
The cupola’s 124-year-old bell fell through the second floor during the fire and was buried in the rubble. (photo: Mark E. Brady — Prince George’s County Fire/emergency Medical)
For a number of years, during the renovation of the courthouse, the bell tower structure continued to deteriorate on what had become a construction site for both the courthouse expansion and the renovation of the damaged courthouse.
The structural remains of the original 1939 bell tower cupola.
In 2008, Prince George’s County asked two of the artists that had made artwork for the interior of the Marbury Wing court expansion to collaborate and come up with some concepts for the front entry courtyard of the refurbished court building as it neared completion. Early on, the decision was made to restore the original bell tower cupola as the center point of the public artwork sculpture, and that informed the many design concepts explored. Infill panels made of cast glass with courthouse/legal imagery, sandcarved glass infill panels, backlighting with computer controlled LED panel lighting effects, neon lighting – were some of the many different ideas that were explored and the design options were narrowed down, documented and presented to the courthouse committee, headed by Circuit Court Judge Sheila Tillerson-Adams.
Different concepts of integration of lighting and cast recycled glass were explored.
Titled “Rebirth and Renewal “, the concept was modified with input from the judges and the committee, and in late 2009, the original steel structure and copper dome top was restored and set into a new paved area outside the courthouse, near the main courthouse entry. Glass began being cast into bas-relief panels with imagery based on the courts, the legal system, Prince George’s County, and the original court building.
Cast bas-relief panels made from recycled glass were made with court and community based imagery. Michael Janis begins coldworking the panels. Nicole Puzan installs the cast textured panels into the steel framework.
Steel frames were made for the glass panel infill support. Neon artist Marty King made a neon representation of the original bell of the bell tower, which, by tradition, was struck at 9.30 am each day court was in session. An engineer certified the original bell tower cupola’s structural integrity for the modifications and reuse. Custom benches for seating around the artwork were started. The chamfered corner panel infills were designed to incorporate detailed county seals representing the counties served by the Circuit Court. These panels were clear, with deep, intricate sandcarved panels. In December of 2009, all the elements were coming together, and installation of the cast glass began.
Erwin Timmers tests the neon. Erwin Timmers and Alonzo Davis bolt the infill panels to the steel structure.
During the installation, the Washington, DC area was hit by two snowstorms that dumped the largest amount of snow ever recorded in the area’s history, and installation had to work around the snow removal efforts.
The Circuit Court for Prince George’s County shares the Seventh Judicial Circuit with the Circuit Courts for Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties. Seals of each of the counties are presented in the artwork.
The names of the Circuit Court refurbishment committee are acknowledged in sandcarved panels mounted in the glass and steel sculpture. The cast recycled glass alternates with clear glass to allow alternating views looking into the neon bell sculpture and allowing diffused lighting from the neon to illuminate the cast glass symbols.The final elements were recently installed, and the neon switched on.
The artwork “Rebirth and Renewal” at night.
Prince Georges County Courthouse continues …
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Further to earlier posts, work on the Prince George’s County Courthouse sculpture continues – in cold weather.
Erwin Timmers lays out the support for neon artwork
Erwin Timmers and Alonzo Davis as seen inside the cupola.
New Signage project
>The Washington Glass School is creating a new sign for the front entrance. Although still in its early stages, here are some images of the development of the glass types. Color, texture, & graphic legibility are all factors in the design selection. A full size sample test for six different glass types were taken to the site for review by the project team. The choice?…. keep checking the site over the next few weeks, and all will be revealed!
New Orleans Aids Memorial
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Tim Tate’s cast glass and steel sculpture won the international design competition held in New Orleans. It took many years to pull together financing and organize the construction; the park opened November 29, 2008, timed to open before World AIDS Day.
In the words of the committe: Set in historic Washington Square Park, the New Orleans AIDS Memorial will provide a healing sanctuary for family and friends and will promote understanding of the human tragedy of the AIDS epidemic. It (was the) goal for the monument to create a public landscape where anyone who has been touched by AIDS can find comfort and consolation within a dignified and creative community setting.
The memorial, made of concentric bronze circles framing inspirational multicultural cast glass faces, will provide a powerful yet comforting reminder of the meaning behind the memorial. Leading up to the memorial, a pathway of granite stones, inscribed with names of loved ones, will allow visitors to reflect on the way this disease has forever transformed our world.
The sculpture’s design, which incorporates cast glass faces that keep watch thru metal portals, is the focal point for the yearly “AIDS Walk” that commences at the park.
photography by Jonathan Traviesa