Co-Director Michael Janis’ glass sgraffito panel “The Pale Dawn” will be part of the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass’s Live Auction “Catching Fire” on June 11 – an artful virtual auction featuring over 100 glass artworks and experiences with proceeds supporting the participating artists and the BMM Glass educational programs. Bid on silent auction items June 4–14, with a live virtual auction June 11th at 6:45pm CST. 

The work “Pale Dawn” is a portrait that leans into quiet tension—between realism and abstraction, softness and structure. The figure is set against blocks of muted olive and turquoise, with black powdered frit forming the clothing and gradually dissolving into the white background. There’s a sense of stillness in her gaze, but also a bit of mystery in how the form starts to fade at the bottom.

We’ve included some of the early studies for color and detail to show how the piece came together—those small experiments helped evolve and shape the final direction.

Check it out the work on the BMM auction site https://event.gives/catchingfire/items