James Renwick Alliance Glass Fashion Show – Work It!

The JRA Spring Craft Weekend 2013 started off in fine form – opening at the Washington Glass School and Flux Studios for an afternoon BBQ. The event was packed – great to see the artists and collectors mixing it up.

Later, the JRA had the Glass Fashion Show, MC’d by glass superstar Laura Donefer. Laura got the fashionistas whooping it up at the normally staid Women In Military Service For America Memorial.

Women In Military Service For America Memorial was the venue for the Glass Fashion Show

Inside the presentation hall, once Laura Donefer got started, the place went wild… for glass splendor!

Laura Donefer (L) got the sartorial set shaking.
From mild…
to WILD!
The Emperor’s new clothes – featuring Robert Minkoff!
Audrey Wilson was Fierce… Naomi Fierce!
And the crowd went wild!

Later, the models in their creations met with the JRA audience – for chatting and drinks and a pose or two.

JRA ‘Master of the Medium’ Paul Stankard is surrounded by models.
Glass lass Susan Taylor Glasgow was all smiles at first…but then the lash came out…
and our Michael Janis was put in his place!


Blue Spiral 1 Gallery in Asheville, NC features Glass Secessionists

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Robert Bender‘s cast glass sculptures.

A number of venues around the country are hosting exhibitions this year in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Studio Glass Movement (including one at the Asheville Art Museum). The current exhibition at AshevilleNC’s Blue Spiral 1 gallery is a little different however…  
Stepping outside the gallery’s standard focus on southern artists, this national invitational centers on Glass Secessionism – on view through July 28, 2012.      

Works by Sean Hennessey and Christina Bothwell.

Often incorporating other media, work by Glass Secessionists is predominantly narrative or conceptual. Noted in the group’s description, “The intent of the (Glass Secessionism) group is to underscore and define the twenty-first century Sculptural Glass Movement and to illustrate the differences and strengths compared to late twentieth century technique-driven glass. While the twentieth century glass artists’ contributions have been spectacular and groundbreaking, this group focuses on the aesthetic of the twenty-first century.”    

Tim Tate‘s treats in glass.
Thor & Jennifer Bueno and Christina Bothwell ‘s artwork make striking juxtapositions.
Marc Petrovic‘s amazing sculptures.
Artists have done fantastic and innovative things with glass over the past 50 years, while its potential as a sculptural medium continues to grow as we see object  makers crossing over from their primary discipline and articulating ideas through a variety of media. Bringing background and technical knowledge of particular materials, artists approach new mediums with fresh perspective, often discovering exciting ways to handle or combine media. Glass is no stranger to this phenomenon. For example, Tim Tate incorporates video elements in some of his works. Most of Christina Bothwell’s sculptures marry glass with ceramics…along with a host of other materials. Susan Taylor Glasgow assembles iconic images of domesticity through sewing together glass elements. These artists represent a number of makers who are redefining the field.  

The bold sculptures by Marc Peiser provide a counterpoint to Susan Taylor Glasgow‘s domestic icons in glass. 

Michael Janis‘ drawings in glass.

Artwork by Michael Janis, Ken Carder and Christina Bothwell in the front window of the gallery.

The story may be poignant or provocative; the imagery haunting or humorous, but whether they lean toward edgy or whimsical, a growing number of glass artists have something compelling to say. Many share the sentiment that the medium offers more than dazzling effects, desiring objects that transcend materiality and stir something within us.     

Glass Secessionism includes work by Rick Beck, Robert Bender, Christina Bothwell, Thor & Jennifer Bueno, Ken Carder, Susan Taylor Glasgow, Sean Hennessey, Michael Janis, Mark Peiser, Marc Petrovic, Sally Rogers, and Tim Tate. The exhibition opened June 7 and will continue through July 27 in the Showcase Gallery on Blue Spiral 1’s main level and extends through the month of August upstairs.

Works by Christina Bothwell, Rick Beck, Sally Rogers and Robert Bender.

Getting GAS’d Up – Glass Art Society Conference Opens in Toledo

>In recognition of the Toledo Museum of Art’s role as the cradle of the American Studio Glass Movement, GAS will be holding its 2012 conference in Toledo, Ohio, June 13 – 17, 2012. 
Toledo is welcoming again artists from around the world to celebrate the achievements of the past and to explore the seemingly endless possibilities of glass. Professor Tim Tate will be on a panel with Matthew Szosz, Alexander Rosenberg and moderated by Andrew Page. The discussion is titled: Post Studio Glass    and will discuss how:
The work in glass being shown in galleries and art fairs still focuses on formalist object on a plinth. A new generation of glass artists is breaking with the existing glass art field to apply new strategies. Panelists speak with GLASS Quarterly editor Andrew Page about this generational shift and its implications.

POST STUDIO GLASS PANEL A Look at the New Parameters 
for Work in Glass
Saturday,June 16 at 1:45-3:15pm in the Seagate rooms 202-208


Click HERE for the conference program pdf.

If you are going to GAS, be sure to avail yourself of all the exhibitions that are part of the Studio Glass Movement’s 50th Anniversary. One of the shows (just outside of Toledo in the suburb of Perrysburg, OH) is a great mix of art work by artists that work with narrative imagery. Artwork by leading glass artists April Surgent, Therman Statom, Tim Tate, Marc Petrovic, Susan Taylor Glasgow, and Michael Janis.

Images

June 11- Sept 14, 2012

Walter E. Terhune Gallery

Blue Spiral 1 Gallery Looks to Studio Glass’ Future

>North Carolina’s Asheville was named one of AmericanStyle magazine’s “Top 25 Arts Destinations” . This week, another of its top galleries – this time Blue Spiral 1 – opens a show that looks to honor the 50th Anniversary of the American Studio Glass Movement.

WGS is well represented in the list of artists!

Blue Spiral has curated the show with an eye to the future of glass with “compelling sculpture [that] speaks to conceptual and narrative directions the medium takes in the 21st Century”.


Artists include a number from the Washington Glass School extended family – Tim Tate, Sean Hennessey, Michael Janis, Marc Petrovic, Christina Bothwell and Susan Taylor Glasgow.


With Erwin Timmers’ work showing at nearby Bender Gallery – its like a Washington Glass School summer camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains!


Glass Secessionism
June 7 – July 26, 2012
Opening Reception, June 7, 5-8 pm
Blue Spiral 1 Gallery
38 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801

Habatat Galleries Michigan 40th International Invitational

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Habatat Galleries (Michigan) hosts its 40th Annual International Glass Invitational Exhibition

April 26 to May 26, 2012 GRAND OPENING: April 28, 2012 8:00 PM

TIM TATE Mermaids Past Their Prime

Blown & Cast Glass, original video

Ferdinand Hampson’s Habatat Galleries will feature the work of over 90 artists at this invitational, the oldest and largest annual presentation of contemporary glass in the country. Also on display is the Habatat inventory of studio glass for-sale.


Also on exhibit is Evolution Revolution: A special 50th Anniversary exhibition will trace the history of studio glass in the US with the help of works by 35 artists, plaques, and videos.


SUSAN TAYLOR GLASGOW Chandelier Dress II

In its “Off” position, the chandelier dress rests on a chrome dress form stand  and it is lit by 8 bulbs around the skirt, as well as one bulb at the finial.  



Habatat Galleries

4400 Fernlee Ave, Royal Oak, MI

Ooh La La! Susan Taylor Glasgow ‘s “Glamorous Lift” @ GAS Auction

>Susan Taylor Glasgow plans to “support” the Glass Art Society by “lifting” the game of the auction. Her Glass Lingerie Set is part of Laura Donefer’s famed fashion show production that will be part of the the Glass Art Society 2012 Conference (June 13 – 17, 2012 in Toledo, OH).
This conference will specially celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Studio Glass Movement.

Laura Donefer had put a call for wearable glass creations as part of the auctions that provide the finale for the GAS conference. Susan Taylor Glasgow (the little minx) was once a seamstress, and now takes her needle and thread to glass. The award winning artist often references images of domestic bliss and nostalgic imagery to create sculpture that is strangely comforting and unexpected.
Click
here to jump to Susan’s website.

Penland Auction Makes New Record

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View of Penland Auction tent. Photo by Sean Hennessey.



Penland School of Crafts
held its 26th Annual Benefit Auction this past week. The gala weekend in the North Carolina mountains featuring the sale of more than 230 works in books, clay, drawing, glass, iron, letterpress, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, textiles, and wood. The auction is one of the most important craft collecting events in the Southeast and helps support Penland’s educational programs, which have helped thousands of people to live creative lives.



Artists, Museum Directors and Curators, Collectors, and Art Aficionados were in attendance during the weekend.



Under the tent, the auctions are preceded with cocktails and dinner.



Evan Morgan and jeweler/artist Lola Brooks.



Noted wood art collector Fleur Bresler and her son Ed Bresler.

Glass artist Susan Taylor Glasgow.



Wyona Lynch-McWhite, Executive Director of the Fuller Craft Museum and glass/concrete artist Sean Hennessey.



Collectors had a chance to look thru the Penland catalog at amazing works.

This summer’s Penland Auction made a record amount of over $600,000 raised with over 550 people attending, not to mention a hundred local volunteers!

One of the highest bid pieces was Tim Tate’s “Four Seasons”….a cast glass and video series sculpture, tying the record amount for a non-commissioned with, set by Penland’s favorite potter, Cynthia Bringle.



Tim Tate’s “Four Seasons”



Showcasing the artwork during the auction.



Tim’s work on the auction screen.



Want to see a vid of the actual record-tying auction? Click on image below to watch the auction
of Tim’s artwork.



Spotlight on Susan Taylor Glasgow

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Susan Taylor Glasgow ‘You Are My Sunshine’.

On of the features of the blog is to showcase the work of favorite artists. One of the contemporary leaders of narrative glass is Susan Taylor Glasgow. Susan will be in the DC area soon, teaching a workshop at Weisser Studios.

Susan Talor Glasgow ‘Eve’s Penance’.

Susan Taylor Glasgow is represented by Heller Gallery, NY, and is exhibited throughout the United States. Her ‘Sewn Glass’ technique embraces the domestic act of sewing in an unexpected medium. Combining text with 1950’s imagery, Susan explores the “complex dichotomy of women’s roles within the household”. Each sewn glass sculpture starts out as a flat sheet of glass.

Susan says of her work “In my previous life I was a professional dressmaker and seamstress, so I have a comfortable understanding about how to take a flat sheet of material and give it form. Each panel is cut from a pattern designed to match the form I’ve made for it.”

To establish the three-dimensional shape and holes, each section of the glass is kiln-fired several times. The imagery is imbedded into the glass by sandblasting, and then by rubbing glass enamels into the blasted area to create the black and gray “photo”. The components are then re-fired to melt the enamel into the glass. Once cooled, the sections are finally sewn together. Depending on the complexity of the vessel or sculpture, the entire creative process may take two to four weeks to complete.

Susan Taylor Glasgow ‘Glamour Legs Model #121757 Set’.

Susan’s studio is in Missouri, in an old 1930’s house in downtown Columbia that she and her husband rescued from demolition. She is a 2002 recipient of Pilchuck Glass School emerging artists grant, and a Wheaton Arts fellow in fall of 2003, and most recently a resident artist at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. Susan’s work has earned numerous awards and she has work included in the permanent collection of the Carnegie Museum, Chrysler Museum, Museum of American Glass, and several others.

Click HERE to jump to Susan’s website.

Susan’s work will be part of a group show titled “Domesticity: How We Live” at Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA, opening in October.

Susan also has a solo show at Gallery One One titled ‘Refuge’ now on exhibit at Brazee Street Studios in Cincinatti, OH, with the closing reception on Oct 8th.

Ms. Glasgow is also a chair at the upcoming Pittsburgh Glass Center Benefit Auction to be held Oct. 15th in Pittsburgh, PA.

Call for Glass Artist Entries

>A good friend of the school – the fabulous Susan Taylor Glasgow has advised us of an upcoming glass artwork competition – here are the details:

Call for Glass Artists
Short Stories: Narratives from the Kiln
June 20– August 1, 2009
Curated by Susan Taylor Glasgow for the Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO

Submission Rules:

Narrative kiln-formed glass
Under 16” in any dimension
There is an entry fee of $25. This is a non-refundable fee.
Can submit up to 3 artwork pieces for jurying. More than one image may be submitted per work, i.e., a close-up shot and a full-work shot.
Images for the jury must be submitted digitally, by email or on CD.
The images submitted must be of work available for the show. Each image should be labeled with yourname.titleofwork.jpg
Each submission should be accompanied by size and medium details.
Images should be a minimum of 300dpi and be sized at least 800×800 pixels.
CD submissions should be clearly labeled with the artist’s name.
CDs will not be returned.
Late entries will not be accepted.
Please note: Detailed instructions for shipping artworks will be sent to artists whose work is juried into the exhibition.

Awards :
Catalogue, purchase award
Dates :
March 15, 2009: Deadline for entries
Email address for entry: artleague@centurytel.net
online application: http://cal.missouri.org/exhibitioninfoform.html
more info: http://cal.missouri.org/glass09/index.html

update: insurance details

1. Standard insurance is provided by the Columbia Art League (CAL) while the objects are on CAL’s premises.

2. Artist shall provide insurance coverage for work in transit to CAL. CAL is not responsible for work until actually received and inspected for damage that may have occurred in shipping.

3. CAL shall provide insurance coverage during transit when returning work to Artist. Work shall be insured at wholesale value provided by Artist.

4. CAL is only responsible for insurance on items shipped to the return address designated by Artist in the United States. Forwarding shipment or international shipment for whatever reason is not covered by CAL’s insurance.

5. CAL is not responsible for the return packing, shipping or value of artwork which requires special needs unless prior arrangements have been made between Artist and CAL, noted in writing and signed by both parties. Special needs for purposes of this paragraph shall include, but will not be limited to, oversize objects which cannot be shipped via United Parcel Service or the United States Post Office, objects which must be shipped overnight or 2nd Day through United Parcel Service, weights in excess of 100 pounds and/or perish ability in some manner of the artwork.