Category Archives: recycled glass

Ribbon Cutting of Bladensburg Library

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The official ribbon cutting ceremony takes place Nov 1st, 2023 at 11 am.

Join the official ribbon citation ceremony of the new Prince George’s County Memorial Library Bladensburg Branch (4820 Annapolis Rd, Bladensburg, MD) on Wednesday, Nov 1st at 11 AM.

The best part of the new library is the public art – in the form of the large (12’H x 6’W) glass mural titled “Reading the Waters” made the artists of the Washington Glass Studio.

Artist Michael Janis works on one of the glass panels that make up “Reading the Water” public art commission.
Layout of glass art work in the Washington Glass Studio.

Washington Glass Studio’s “Reading The Water” is an artwork that explores the interconnection between water and human life, and the critical role that water plays in shaping our environment and sustaining our communities. As a glass mural created for the Bladensburg library, this artwork is an invitation for viewers to pause and contemplate the beauty and complexity of water.

Rhonda Dallas, Exec Director Prince George’s County Arts and Humanities Council and Michael Gannon, Chief Operating Officer for Support Services at PG County’s Memorial Library System review the artwork.

Inspired by the natural patterns and movements of water, “Reading The Water” incorporates organic shapes and flowing lines that evoke the rhythm and flow of rivers, lakes, and oceans. As artists, our aim was to capture the fluidity and dynamic movement of water, while also showcasing the intricate patterns and textures that emerge from its currents. The use of translucent and transparent glass further creates a dynamic visual experience that changes with the shifting light and angles of the sun.

Artist Erwin Timmers gives the installed artwork special attention.

At the heart of this artwork is a message about the importance of environmental stewardship and the need to protect our natural resources. Much of the glass mural is made using recycled glass and components. By drawing attention to the beauty and fragility of water, “Reading The Water” encourages viewers to reflect on their own relationship with the natural world and to consider how they can contribute to a more sustainable future.

mike janis and erwin timmers install public art in Prince Georges County, MD.
Michael Janis and Erwin Timmers talk about the artwork with construction worker fan.

Ultimately, “Reading The Water” is a celebration of the elemental power and beauty of water, and a tribute to the vital role that it plays in shaping our lives and our world. As viewers engage with this glass mural, they are invited to immerse themselves in the flow of water and to discover the many stories that it has to tell. Just like the books on shelves in the new Bladensburg Library, the individual panels of kilnfired glass are separate stories awaiting the viewer to discover and find themselves transported to another place.
Our hope is that this glass mural will inspire library visitors to reflect on the wonders of nature, and to appreciate the important role that water plays in our lives. By bringing together art and science, “Reading The Water” invites us to explore and appreciate the world around us, and to find joy in the simple pleasures of life.

Posted in Art In Public Places, library, pgcmls, Prince George's County, Prince George's County Arts Council, recycle glass, recycle glass sculpture, recycled glass, recycled glass art, recycled glass public art, sustainable art design, sustainable design

MICA Presents “Just A Drop”

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Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and the Curatorial Practice MFA (CP) Practicum class present “Just a Drop,” an exhibition on view in MICA’s Meyerhoff Gallery from February 10th to March 3rd, 2023. Through a wide range of objects and materials — including sculptures, illustrations, protest banners, textiles, glass art, videos, and a large-scale newly-commissioned mural — the 13 artists highlighted in this show reveal how water sustains life and shapes human destinies. Inspired by the September 2022 boil water advisory in West Baltimore, the five MICA students that organized “Just a Drop” dove deep into the history of the planet’s most precious resource. For this exhibition, a diverse group of artists, activists, and storytellers were brought together to describe people’s relationships to water via culture, ritual, and conservation. With personal, collective, and mythical imagery and stories, the featured artists invite viewers to reconsider the element that makes up 60% of their bodies and covers more than 70% of the planet’s surface.

Erwin Timmers; “Watered Down”, 2023, cast recycled float glass, steel, LED, 13″W x 39″H x 4″D.

Erwin Timmers is one of the artists in the exhibition, and his work – “Watered Down” is a wall mounted sculpture made of cast float glass. The artwork references the ubiquitous trash that fills the oceans – the disposed water bottle.

Erwin Timmers - environmental artist
Artist Erwin Timmers working in his studio at the Washington Glass School in Mt Rainier, MD.

“Just a Drop” opens at 5:00PM on Friday, February 10th with a public reception featuring a live storytelling performance by Griot Grandmother Edna.

Location
Meyerhoff Gallery
1303 W Mount Royal Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21217

Posted in "dry plaster casting" washington, art from recycled material, cast float glass, cast recycled glass, erwin timmers, fused float glass, LED, Meyerhoff Gallery, MICA, recycle glass, recycle glass sculpture, recycled float glass, recycled glass, recycled glass art

Rockville, MD Artists & Makers Studios To Showcase Works By Erwin Timmers & Artists of the Washington Glass School

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Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn Drive in Rockville will welcome artist Erwin Timmers along with Artists of the Washington Glass School for the exhibit “A Show of Hands”. The November 4th First Friday evening opening will run from 5pm – 9pm.

Erwin Timmers, “In Case of Emergency”; 2022, cast recycled glass, steel. Photo by Pete Duvall.

Erwin Timmers is the Co-founder and Director of the Washington Glass School. His work references sociological and environmental issues of concern to him, primarily how we, as a society, consume and discard precious resources. For this topic, the choice of materials becomes a more important discussion, so Erwin endeavors to use recycled materials to express concepts and ideas of recycling and use of the environment. Recycled glass is difficult to use, so he has had to develop new and experimental techniques to exploit the characteristics of this material. A Show of Hands explores personal and cultural traits as they relate to present day social trends. Technological “advances” have changed the landscape in human interaction, and social media focuses on aspects of cultural loss, fake news, mass manipulation, and diversion and division. This series is about the expression of nonverbal and abstract themes like trust, communication, and connection. Erwin’s portfolio showcases the possibility and beauty of recycled material, while encouraging the viewer to consider his or her environmental impact.

Erwin Timmers “A Show of Hands”
Featuring Artists of the Washington Glass School

Opening Reception
5:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Friday, November 4th, 2022

Artists & Makers Studios
11810 Parklawn Drive, Suite 210
Rockville, MD 20852

Artist Discussion with Erwin Timmers – November 12th, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Exhibits for Erwin Timmers, the Resident Artists, and Gallery 209 will run from November 1st through November 22nd. Viewing hours are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Monday-Saturday, and Sundays by chance or appointment.

Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn Drive in Rockville, established in October 2014 by artist and arts community builder Judith HeartSong, is a 13,000 sq. ft. facility is home to 87 artists, and 80 student artists. A&M Studios is dedicated to providing a supportive and vibrant environment for artists to realize their creative goals – through studio practice, collaboration, education, opportunities, networking and connecting with the community beyond.

Posted in "washington glass studio", art from recycled material, artist & makers studios, artists of the washington glass school, cast recycled glass, environmental art, erwin timmers, king of recycling, recycle glass, recycle glass sculpture, recycled glass, recycled glass art, rockville, sustainable art design, washington glass school, Washington School of Glass

Glass Art Magazine Features Erwin Timmers

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WGS Co-Director Erwin Timmers is interviewed by Vicki Schneider in the hot-off-the-press issue of Glass Art Magazine. Erwin talks about his unique technique and if he shares his intellectual property or if he guards his glass secrets. Read his interview in the March/April issue of Glass Art Magazine. Photos by Pete Duvall.

Posted in contemporary art glass, contemporary craft, erwin timmers, glass art magazine, recycled glass, recycled glass art, washington glass school, Washington School of Glass, wgs contemporary, 玻璃艺术, 美国玻璃艺术家

“Reflections in Glass”, Solo show by Erwin Timmers at Allegany Arts Gallery

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The Allegany Arts Council Saville Gallery presents Washington Glass School Co- Director Erwin Timmers in a solo exhibition “Reflections in Glass” from February 5 thru February 26, 2022. Recycling, waste, the environment, and the ways in which all three relate to society are recurring themes in his work.

Erwin Timmers cast recycled glass sculpture in the Saville Gallery, Cumberland, MD.

Said Timmers about his body of work on exhibit: “My work revolves around ideas of sustainable design and consumption in the urgent context of pressing societal changes and deepening global ecological concerns.
My artwork centers on the craft of design, combining modern and traditional fabrication techniques to develop new material-based knowledge and aesthetics of sustainability. My portfolio aims to spark specific kinds of awareness. “

“The objects I sculpt from recycled materials are moments of intersection and influence. As boundary objects, they play with conventions of form and function, material and method, production and consumption. I work less for the purposes of critique, but rather for the potential to generate open and inviting exchanges. An artist, successfully engaged in creative inquiry, notices, seeks out, or otherwise creates the conditions for novel convergence and the overlapping and dissolution of conventional boundaries.
I work at reinforcing metaphors of transformation and change. “

recycled glass

Timmers will also present a talk on how public art transforms communities. The event “Making Our Case For Public Art” is free and open to the public and all are invited to attend. The event will begin with a networking reception at 5:30PM with the program slated to kick off at 6:00PM.

The artists from the Washington Glass School are also on exhibit in a special show, featuring artworks by Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Patricia De Poel Wilberg, April Shelford, Vibha Bhatia and Clayton Lutu.

Timmers is Co-founder and Director of the Washington Glass School and one of the DC area’s leading ‘eco-artists’. Erwin is currently working with architects and designers on several “green” design projects. His work in sustainable design can be seen in some of the large public art projects he has completed, including an award-winning project for the US EPA Ariel Rios South Courtyard Green Infrastructure Project, in Washington, DC, and the public artwork for the LEED certified Safeway supermarket in Bethesda, MD. Montgomery County honored Erwin Timmers as the county’s “Outstanding Artist” in 2018. The Museum of Glass (MOG) in Tacoma, Washington has recently acquired works by Timmers for its permanent collection.

Allegany Arts Council Saville Gallery
9 N. Centre Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
Reflections in Glass
February 5- 26, 2022

Making Our Case for Public Art
Friday, February 25, 2022 • 5:30PM – Cocktail Reception; 6:00PM – Program • Free to attend

Posted in allegany arts council, cast recycled glass, eco-art, eco-friendly glass, environmental art, erwin timmers, recycle, recycle glass, recycle glass sculpture, recycled float glass, recycled glass, recycled glass art, recycled glass public art, sustainable art design, sustainable design, washington glass school, стекло искусство новое, فن الزجاج الجديد, アメリカのガラス芸術, 新的玻璃, 玻璃艺术新, 美国玻璃艺术家

Class 4807 – Earth Day 2024 – with Erwin!

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Come join the area’s leading eco-artist to create your own recycled masterpiece! Green up your life with this fun activity and help the environment! Make your own lovely recycled glass dish in one afternoon. Smash an old window, remelt it, and then add all sorts of designs and colors. Kids (10+) with parents welcome.

Posted in Class, content driven glass, recycle, recycle glass, recycle glass sculpture, recycled float glass, recycled glass, recycled glass art, sculpture, Uncategorized

WGS Featured Artist: Erwin Timmers

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CLICK IT! Featured Artist: Erwin Timmers

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.

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

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"

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.

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…

Click here to jump to Erwin Timmers work in CLICK-IT!
Erwin’s work is part of the companion exhibit/fundraiser – “Artists for Racial Justice” Click HERE to jump to the show.

Posted in american studio glass, architectural application glass, art from recycled material, artist interview, artists of the washington glass school, award of excellence, click-it, contemporary craft, contemporary sculpture, erwin timmers, glass, glass art, glass sculpture, kiln-formed glass, media based art, racial justice, recycle glass, recycle glass sculpture, recycled glass, recycled glass art, recycled glass public art, twenty first century glass, warm glass, wgs contemporary

What Can You Do With A Broken Bottle?

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Ok – we can all agree that there is some perverse enjoyment in the sound of breaking glass.
ReadyMade Magazine is sponsoring an event called Glassphemy in NY that exploits this cathartic process and ties in recycling as well.

Part game, part art installation, part mobile recycling center, Glassphemy! is a 20-by-30-foot steel structure lined with bulletproof glass. A person standing on one side can throw bottles at a friend or enemy who is standing in safety behind the clear wall on the other side. Satisfying crashes and bright lights ensue upon impact. Glassphemy! is about relieving psychological tension, having fun, and getting your recycling done all at the same time.

ReadyMade also is running a competition on what to do with the broken glass.

The glass can be in shard form, or it can be ground up further, melted, mixed with other materials–transformed in any way you can think of. Your design must incorporate broken glass, but it can include any other materials you like. You don’t need to make the thing you’re designing (though you can!). But you do need to provide a general description of how to make it: what the materials are and how it would come together.

You may submit your design in any form you like: Drawings on the back of a cocktail napkin, a 300-word essay, SketchUp files, a video of yourself describing it in words and hand gestures. Whatever best gets your idea across!

Send your design to info@readymademag.com, or mail it to:

ReadyMade Magazine, attn: Glassphemy! Contest, 125 Park Avenue, 18th Floor, New York NY 10017

The contest starts on May 12.
The entry deadline is Friday, June 4.

Click HERE to read more about Glassphemy!

Posted in readymade magazine, recycled glass