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
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.
“Compositions In Light” public artwork sculpture at Maryland’s Town Center Phase 2.
Washington Glass Studio was commissioned to make a new, two-part public art sculpture installation for the new mixed use residential development, Ansel, in Rockville, MD. Working with the project’s art consultant Artists Circle Fine Arts, the outlined goals were to enhance the location and the urban environment, as well as creating welcoming and colorful place markers that enlivens Rockville Town Center. The client – Duball, LLC – asked that the street placemaking artwork allow for a sense of fun and discovery.
The site – Ansel, 33 Monroe Street, Rockville, MD
The development was named “Ansel”, as spiritual nod to incredible American photographer Ansel Adams. Adams was considered a master of his craft and his experimentation with light gradations, degrees of exposure, and new techniques. Best known for his dramatic photographs of the American West, Adams achieved a popularity that few other photographers have known. Dedicated to wilderness preservation, he succeeded in changing the way Americans perceived their natural environment.
Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams
American photographer Ansel Adams
Creating a strong visual element for the streetscape – while maintaining clear pedestrian circulation – Washington Glass Studio focused on creating an internally illuminated vertical tower – approx 11′ high.
Prelimary studies of sculpture form – based on the classic camera tripod shape.
Named “Compositions In Light”, the sculpture is made of cast glass and powdercoated metal. The inset glass panels in the artwork incorporates artistic references to renowned photographer Ansel Adams – with artistic takes on his photos of still lifes, architecture, and landscapes; his love of nature, and sculptural interpretations of Adams main instrument – cameras.
Plaster mold in kiln
Christina gets the shot!
Convoluted Positions
Duball crew works in the kilns
First firings in kiln
Ansel Adams’ photographs were the inspiration for the sculpted works within the public art.
The powder coated metal structure is arranged in triangular format to reference the classic photographers camera tripod. The shape also gives greater strength both structurally and in profile. The vertical structure supports the LED lighting and allows an even light to the glass wall panel opposite. The glass panels are inset into a removable grid section that is bolted to the structural frame. Each cast glass panel is set into silicone within metal angle surrounds. The metal base has a removable section to allow access to electrical source to tower.
Co-Director Michael Janis performs the QC.
The steel framework for the Rockville, MD public art sculpture.
Dimensional inset panels made of handmade cast glass presents tactile images of nature and objects that refer to Ansel Adams work and career. The varied nature of the artwork mounted in separate panels would invite investigation and exploration.
Shay Summers coldworks one of the artwork inset panels.
The gorgeous, illuminated tower is made up of colorful, tactile cast glass that defines each corner of the site. The inset glass panels are varied, but color coordinated with accent color panels to give a vibrancy to the design. The tapering form leads viewers eyes upward to a unique finial endcap, a cast sculpture that makes a fun, witty and distinctive statement. Dimensional inset panels made of handmade cast glass presents tactile images of nature and objects that refer to Ansel Adams work and career. The varied nature of the artwork mounted in separate panels would invite investigation and exploration.
Erwin Timmers reviews the artwork installation.
The installation onsite of the glass and steel artwork.
Sparkling in the daytime and backlit with energy efficient LED, the glass artwork in “Compositions in Light” will always be a visible presence on the street. The metalwork and thickness of each glass panel make the artwork strong for a streetscape environment. In the history of American conservation, few have worked as long and as effectively to preserve wilderness and to articulate the “wilderness idea” as Ansel Adams. He spent decades in the battle to protect the environment. Helping reinforce the background of Ansel Adams as an environmental activist are the color directions for the artwork. Blues and greens are the colors most associated with nature and the environment.
The interplay of sculpture, the colors & quality of cast glass and the prominent location makes this an integrated urban design that brings focus to the site. The freestanding nature of the installed artwork encourages visitors and residents to walk around the artwork and experience a dynamic sense of place. A sense of playful fun caps each sculpture and helps define the paired artworks. United by form, colorful towers reinforce their connection to the artwork of Ansel Adams with finials inspired by the master photographer’s artwork.
The artwork at night is lit from within with energy efficient LED.
“Compositions In Light”
Project Address: 33 Monroe St, Rockville, MD 20850
Client: Duball, LLC
Maryland’s Rockville Town Center Phase II includes 400 apartment units; 250 market-rate luxury apartments and 150 senior affordable apartments to be owned and managed by the Housing Opportunities Commission.
Artwork Project Team: Erwin Timmers, Christina Helowicz, Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Shay Summers
>Nancy Donnelly‘s exhibit of new works opens February 22 at VisArts Common Ground Gallery in Rockville, February 22 to March 24, 2013.
Nancy Donnelly’s kiln-shaped glass sculpture and wall reliefs send out a message of spaciousness and calm. Referencing natural forms in glass, glass enamel, steel, concrete and transparent color, her work operates near a whisper, but sparks memory, emotion and imagination.
Nancy Donnelly – fused glass, enamel
An Opening Reception and Artist Talk will be held on Friday, February 22 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.
VisArts – Rockville’s non-profit arts center is hosting a 25th anniversary celebration to recognize the many artists, teachers, partners and collaborators who have been integral to their success. As part of this celebration, VisArts presents Review < > Renew, co-curated by Judy Greenberg and Jack Rasmussen. This group exhibition brings together renowned artists who brought critical regional success to the fledgling organization, Rockville Arts Place (RAP). The artists selected for the exhibition all exhibited at RAP while Greenberg was President of the Board and Rasmussen was Executive Director. The works will be shown in two galleries, the Kaplan and the Common Ground Galleries.
In the Kaplan Gallery, works by Lisa Brotman, Manon Cleary, Sam Gilliam, Tom Green, Margarida Kendall, and Joe Shannon will be on display. Early paintings and more recent works by the artists will be exhibited alongside Paul Feinberg’s photographs of the artists 25 years ago and now. The paintings and photographs are accompanied by interviews with the artists conducted by Feinberg. An earlier version of this exhibition, inspired by the early RAP/VisArts shows, was recently exhibited at the American University Museum, Washington, DC.
The Common Ground Gallery will feature outstanding artists important to the history of VisArts working in glass and clay, including Margaret Boozer, Robert Devers, Tim Tate, and Mindy Weisel.
October 28 – December 29, 2012
25th Anniversary Celebration (tickets required)
Saturday, October 27 from 7:30 – 10:30 pm
(VIP Reception at 5:30 with Curators’ Tour)
(Free) Opening Reception Friday, November 9th from 7-9 pm
VisArts At Rockville / Kaplan & Common Ground Galleries
Together they are creating an arts center and a photography center in a 25,000 square foot building, with gallery openings, classes and more. They plan on having the building open 70 hours a week, every day of the week, with classes…and with free parking!
12276 Wilkins Avenue in Rockville, MD
The photography center will have six classrooms, three shooting studios, a gallery, public darkroom, conference rooms, and an office/studio rental program for photographers. The arts center in the same building will be offering artists’ studios and space for affiliate artists to work. Their goal is to have classes ranging from running an art business to networking and new processes– with a gallery, meeting rooms, classrooms, and space for all sorts of arts groups to meet with synergy, activity, and interaction.
Two informational meetings are scheduled at the Washington School of Photography for artists and photographers interested in resident artist or photographer opportunities either with the Washington School of Photography or Capitol Arts Network – CAN Studios.
Come to one of these meetings and they will be showing their floor plans and photographs of the building, with an information packet, application, and overview of both groups and collective vision. With studio space for approximately 30 artists, and 10 photographers, it is expect to fill quickly, so plan to attend one of these informational meetings.
RSVP:
*Email Judith HeartSong at judith@capitolartsnetwork.com by September 4, 2012 to attend.
If you have questions, please call Judith HeartSong at 301-661-7590.
Debra Ruzinsky– one of the DC area Master Casters, has a solo show at Rockville’s VisArts Center set to open September 14, and run thru October 20th, 2012. Deb’s artwork that was featured in the Long View Gallery 2011 exhibit of artists of the Washington Glass School had the critic for the Washington Post question his previously held beliefs on what contemporary art should look like, as he stood in front of her work “Staring at it [Debra Ruzinsky’s cast glass], I feel like a monkey in front of a ball of shiny, shiny tin foil.” By Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post, Thursday, May 26, 2011
“Sight”, 2012, kiln cast glass
8” x 8” x 8″
Debra works in kiln-cast glass and mixed-media, producing objects that mix distopian and utopian visions, investigating belief and meaning. Her new series that takes an oblique look at objects imbued with personal meanings. Referencing memorabilia, collectibles, and luxury goods for display, these objects form a fragmented portraiture, with discrete elements creating implications of a whole.
“Detached” , 2012, kiln-cast glass and mixed media
Generations In Glass at Glenview Mansion, Rockville Maryland
The City of Rockville will host the National Capital Art Glass Guild (NCAGG) show, Generations in Glass, Sunday, March 28, through Tuesday, April 27, at Glenview Mansion Art Gallery at Rockville Civic Center Park, 603 Edmonston Drive.
“We’re very excited about this show. It will showcase the tremendous diversity, creativity and growth in glass art in the greater DC area and honor artists key in the development of this exciting glass community,” said Sherry Selevan and Pat Arnold, co-chairs of the show.
Generations in Glass includes almost 70 artists and over 130 individual works of art. The largest part of the exhibition is a juried show by the membership, featuring diverse forms of glass art, including kiln-worked, stained, flame-worked and blown glass. A selection of these will have information available on the creation and design of these pieces in a segment entitled: From Idea to Art.
A highlight of the show is the Inspirational Invitational which showcases the work of pioneers of the vibrant glass art community in the greater DC area. For this part of the show, members of the guild have nominated artists who have inspired their work.
The Glenview Mansion Art Gallery is open to the public Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m-4:30 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. The gallery is closed on official City holidays.
For more information on Generations in Glass, or the Glenview Mansion Art Gallery contact Julie Farrell, arts program specialist, at 240-314-8682 or jfarrell@rockvillemd.gov or visit www.rockvillemd.gov/arts.
VisArts at Rockville announces the availability of two studios for Resident Artists, beginning January, 2010. Currently, VisArts houses twelve artists working with a variety of media. To continue this commitment to professional artists, VisArts is searching for exceptional artists that are interested in pursuing their creative process, while interacting with the public. The range of media will include, but not be limited to: acrylic and watercolor painting, wood, ceramics, photography, sculpture, jewelry, glass, mixed media, fiber, and media arts.
Each studio is 188 square feet or more. Studio rents are $15.00 per square foot on an annual basis. Additional charges include: utilities, janitorial and common area maintenance; insurance and marketing fees. All terms of the lease will be given at the time of acceptance. VisArts reserves the right to change prices and any other conditions by sending written notice prior to the period in which the changes would go into effect. The artist-in-residence studios are intended both for making art and the sale of works by the resident artists. VisArts takes no commission from the artists’ work sold in the studios.
VisArts offers all juried artists paid teaching opportunities at VisArts with community partnerships, its highly successful summer arts camp program, its mentorship program for High School students, and exhibition-related programming.
A panel of jurors will evaluate applications and work samples. VisArts’ juried artists’ status and all its benefits are valid for a term of three years from the date of jury selection.
Facts about VisArts:
VisArts at Rockville is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization located in Rockville, MD, with a mission to develop a passion for the visual arts, foster creative activity, and expand artistic knowledge through exemplary education, exhibition, and community outreach programs serving children and adults.
VisArts is a 28,000 square foot building, adjoining the Rockville Town Square, containing:*A retail shop on the ground floor;*3 exhibition galleries;*Children’s discovery center;*Artists-in-Residence studios;*2500 square-foot event/conference room;*Classroom studios offering workshops in: glass, wood, printmaking, drawing and painting, photography and the digital arts.
Location *New Town Center, Rockville Maryland www.rockvillemd.gov for the webcam
*City-suburban location on the Metro Red line, accessible by bus and car as well.
*Surrounded by a regional public library, restaurants and retail shops.
