2019 St. Petersburg Conference Journal

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY JOURNAL ST. PETERSBURGE

2019 THE GLASS ART SOCIETY JOURNAL 2019

ST. PETERSBURG

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS 48 TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA MARCH 28-30, 2019

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY JOURNAL ST. PETERSBURGE

2019 THE GLASS ART SOCIETY JOURNAL 2019

ST. PETERSBURG

ST PETE 2019 2

GAS BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2018-2019 President

Natali Rodrigues

Vice President

Tracy Kirchmann

Vice President

Jessica Jane Julius

Treasurer

Heather McElwee

Secretary

Kelly Conway

Matt Durran

Debra Ruzinsky

Glen Hardymon

Masahiro Nick Sasaki

Michael Hernandez

Jan Smith

Nadania Idriss

Demetra Theofanous

John Kiley

David Willis

Jeff Lindsay

Caitlin Vitalo, Student Representative

Lynn Read GAS 2019 ST. PETERSBURG CONFERENCE SITE COMMITTEE Jane Buckman, Co-Chair Andy Schlauch, Co-Chair Sarah Knott Aldrich

Anna Kuhlman

Carol Camiener

Duncan McClellan

Mary Childs

Matthew Piepenbrok

Tracy Connelly

Joanna Sikes

John Collins

Monica Silva

Bo Countryman

Terri Simons

Christina Fraser

Chris Steinocher

Lynn Goodwin

Joan Temerson

Shelli Hemans

Dave Walker

Joe Jiminez CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHER Heather Baigelman GAS STAFF Brandi P. Clark, Interim Executive Director Kristen W. Ferguson, Operations & Program Manager Tess McShane, Communications Manager Helen Cowart, Office & Membership Manager Cathy Noble-Jackson, Bookkeeper* Sarah Kulfan, Graphic Designer* *Contract employee

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Published by: GLASS ART SOCIETY 2208 NW Market St., Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98107 USA www.glassart.org Editor: Brandi P. Clark Design: Sarah Kulfan Conference Photographer: Heather Baigelman Copyright © 2019 by Glass Art Society No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced in any form without the written permission of the Glass Art Society. The opinions expressed and text written in the GAS Journal are those of the annual conference presenters and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the Glass Art Society, its Board of Directors, or staff. Copies of this GAS Journal may be ordered from the Glass Art Society at a cost of $35 USD (includes shipping & handling to GAS members in the US, Canada, Mexico) or $45 (to GAS members in all other countries.) For non-members, the GAS Journal prices are $50 (US, Canada, and Mexico) and $60 (all other countries.) Most past issues are available at the same cost. A 10% discount is given on orders of five or more.

Inquiries of over-the-counter sales and quantityorders are welcomed. Copies of the articles may be purchased for .50 per page. Upon request, the Journal is available to libraries and educational institutions for a minimal fee and shipping and handling costs.

For information about the Glass Art Society, please contact us at 206-382-1305 GAS office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, Pacific Standard Time Email: info@glassart.org Cover images: Front: Ginny Ruffner • Giggling Tornado, 2018 • 20.75 x 20.5 x 19.5 • Photo: Ambodh Back: Robert Mickelsen • Network Venus, 2008 • 30” tall • Photo: Dan Abbott The addition of evening events to the St. Petersburg conference kept the fun going at the Duncan McClellan Gallery.

All permission for photographic reproduction is the responsibility of the author. Unless otherwise noted, the photographs were submitted by the artist. Dimensions, when available, are usually given in inches or feet as height x width x depth.

The 2019 GAS Journal is supported, in part, by an award from the Corning Incorporated Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts. Without their support, this publication would not have been possible.

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CONTENTS REFLECTIONS President’s Message by Natali Rodrigues

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St. Petersburg Co-Chair Message by Jane Buckman & Andy Schlauch

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AWA R D S & T R I B U T E S Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award Ginny Ruffner

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Lifetime Membership Award Robert Mickelsen

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2019 GAS Student Exhibition: A Showcase of Emerging International Talent Awards

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2019 GAS Member Exhibition Awards

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C ATA LY S T S Saxe Emerging Artist: Lily Reeves

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Saxe Emerging Artist: Kristine Rumman

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Saxe Emerging Artist: Nao Yamamoto

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Keynote Lecture: Glass in 21st Century Architecture by Yann Weymouth

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Labino Lecture: Catching a Wave: New Technologies in Art & Science by Lisa Beth Robinson & Kristin Thielking

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Littleton Lecture: New Glass is Not New by Susie J. Silbert

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Strattman Lecture: Hyperopia Projects: Glass Flux 2019 by Kim Harty, Sean Salstrom, & Matthew Szosz

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Willson Lecture: My Path by Preston Singletary

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TAG Lecture: Utilizing Technology for the Advancement of Glass Education by Boyd Sugiki & Bill Malatesta

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LECTURES Glass, Light, and Shadow by Robert Lanteigne

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Opportunities in Public Art by Michael Saroka

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What Happens When Glass Art Collides with the Internet by Mike Shelbo

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Learning From Visions of the Past to Add Visual Depth to the Future by Helen Slater Stokes

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Gathering Around the Fire – The Effects of the Small Studio by Phil Vinson & Chuck Wells

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LECMOS Kiln Casting: What Can Go Wrong, and How To Fix It? by Dr. Heike Brachlow

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Observances in St. Pete by Joseph Cavalieri

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Carving Through Time by Kathy Elliott

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Coloring Outside, Inside, and Between the Lines: Now You See Me, Now You Don’t by Terri Grant

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A Brief Perspective On Images and Glass by Mathieu Grodet

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Press Molds, Innovative Design & Casting by Jennifer Halvorson

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The Joy of Hollow Murrine by Kait Rhoads

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Atmospheres of Light by Karlyn Sutherland

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DYCC: Do It Yourself Cullet Color by Mitcheal A. Veenstra & Catherine M. Wehlburg

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No Master, No Plaster – Kiln Casting Using CNC Carved Molds by John Webster

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Infinitesimal and Beyond, the Perfect Bonding of Art and Science by Vaz Zastera

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PA N E L S Jump Start: Contemporary Chinese Glass Art; Panelists, Jiyong Lee, William Warmus, & David Francis

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Empowering & Transforming Communities through Glass Art by Andrew Page

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D E M O N S T R AT I O N S HOT GLASS Spin Casting, A Unique Teaching Process by Jerry Catania

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FLAMEWORKING Icarus by Robert Mickelsen

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Goblin Maker, Troll Hunter by Mike Shelbo

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COLDWORKING Portraits in Glass: a Process by Lisabeth Sterling

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SPECIAL EVENTS Pre-conference Reception at the Chihuly Collection

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MIT Glass Band

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Closing Night Party

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REMEMBRANCES Stephen Rolfe Powell

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Alice Rooney

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM & ACTIVITIES Glass Art Society’s 48th Annual Conference Program

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Technical Display Vendors

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Glass Art Society Thanks & Acknowledges our 2019 Sponsors, Conference Committee, Donors, & Volunteers

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Glass Art Society Fund Donors

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Glass Art Society Upper-Level Members

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Past Award Recipients, Conferences, Board Members, & Editors

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Back Issues of the GAS Journal

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REFLECTIONS

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President’s Message

By Natali Rodrigues

Natali Rodrigues welcomes members to the 48th Annual Glass Art Society Conference at the Mahaffey Theatre

In many ways, the Saint Petersburg conference felt like a homecoming for me. I have close family ties in the region and, over the years, have been so impressed by the warmth, friendliness of the people, and the beautiful landscape.

Perhaps the most impressive part about St. Pete is the vibrant revitalization of the city itself and the explosion of art galleries, studios,and artists into the area.

It’s no surprise, then, that I was very pleased to share all that I love about Florida with you during the St. Petersburg conference. The city itself rolled out the red carpet for us! Hospitality, warmth, friendliness, and a pinch of cheekiness made it feel like home.

This conference was particularly interesting to plan as it was focused on several key themes that arose from the early parts of the studio glass movement like invention, playfulness, and doggedness. You could say it was a celebration of DIY - of resiliency and community.

These themes could be found in places like the Morean Arts Center, and the work that they’re doing in collaboration with a university in Florida on the effects of glassblowing for those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They are proving that working in the hot shop is an effective therapy for combating this pernicious disease. The folks at Zen Glass have built a community around them that is joyful, playful, and skillful. Zen became a hub of activity as soon as all of the regular conference programing was finished. They insured that something was happening at the torch until the wee hours of the morning.

I also have to thank Duncan McLellan and his staff for hosting a celebration for Stephen Powell. Duncan’s Gallery is truly one-of-a-kind. It’s a home, a garden full of life and food, a gallery that highlights the best that studio glass has to offer, and a glass facility that you can make almost anything in. Many of

you knew Stephen, and his passing was a profound shock to all of us. To be able to gather in the hotshop where he worked —in a space that Duncan created to support and foster community and celebrate material excellence, surrounded by friends to share our grief through joyful stories of his life—was healing.

He was a man dedicated to education, mentorship, and skill material. Serving with him on the GAS board was a joyful and profound experience for me. He will be deeply missed.

There are so many more people to thank for all of their hard work to make this conference a success. I would especially like to thank our partners who worked so diligently on the ground. It takes a village to put one of these things on. It is the grit and fortitude of volunteers that make our conferences so wonderful.

Thank you again to everyone who attended, presented and to the city of St. Petersburg for the warm hospitality.

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St. Petersburg Co-Chair Message

By Jane Buckman & Andy Schlauch Thank you for joining us in St. Petersburg, Florida for the 2019 Glass Art Society Conference. It was our pleasure to welcome you to our “Glass Coast” on the Gulf Coast.

With the theme of the conference “Charting a Course: Visions in Glass,” we thought it apt to share the burgeoning cultural scene taking place in this part of the country with a trajectory of much more to come. Contemporary glass art has found a home on this coast aided by the various collectors and artists who have found this location to be ideal for the exhibition and the making of significant works in glass. We believe we are charting a course for the future appreciation of and education about glass and its incorporation into our cultural networks throughout the state. We are well on our way to landing more museums, galleries, educational/ fabrication facilities, and artists who favor work in this medium — the 2019 GAS Conference aided in solidifying this point of view.

Conference-goers had the opportunity to visit Sarasota, FL and the Kotler/Coville Glass Pavilion at The Ringling Museum and the Basch Collection, one of the most prominent collections in Florida, deeded to Ringling College. Sarasota is a haven for glass collectors —who have moved south to escape the northern climates­—bringing with them their passion and collections. We are fortunate they too have seen the Gulf Coast as a place to settle and advance the appreciation of this movement.

The Collectors Tour offered conference-goers an opportunity to view noteworthy collections rarely seen in Sarasota, St. Petersburg, and Tampa. The host collectors were generous and enthusiastic, allowing us into their homes to share artwork in their collections.

Attendees, whether they were collectors, artists, students, or just appreciators of the medium, were exposed to the industrious hot shops in St. Petersburg. The Morean Glass Studio, Zen Glass, and Duncan McClellan Gallery and Studio provided the backdrop for entertaining, educational, and spirited presentations thanks to the owners and crews from each establishment.

The Hilton Hotel on the Bayfront complimented the demonstrations with the roster of lectures presented throughout the conference. The Technical Display exposed attendees to new products to delight the working artist as they plot their next series or individual works.

The Chihuly Collection played host to a wonderful soiree for supporters of the Morean Art Center and the Chihuly Collection which brings 90,000 attendees each year to view their exhibits. It was a grand evening for people to show their love for this medium. The Chihuly Collection also saw a record number of attendees with their presentation of the MIT Glass Band.

The Imagine Museum just opened in 2018 and wowed conference-goers by their growing and awe-inspiring collection of American and International contemporary glass. On view were more than 500 distinct works from their collec-

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Jane Buckman and Andy Schlauch, Co-Chairs of the 2019 GAS Conference speak to members at the Opening Ceremony

tion of over 1,500 pieces. Many artists at the conference saw their work displayed in the Museum for the first time. It was our joy to welcome them and share our passion for telling the story of glass, the American Studio Glass Movement, and the international artists who shared technique and inspiration to American artists. With the Corning Hotshop in the parking lot, Imagine Museum was not only able to welcome conference attendees but also share with our Gulf Coast friends demonstrations, lectures, and various receptions and parties to help initiate their new interest in this medium.

And, finally, a fun and interactive closing party hosted by GAS brought together friends, co-workers, glass enthusiasts, and artists under one roof, forming a single bond under the conference and mutual appreciation of this single material.

Thanks to all of our local sponsors, the GAS Board and staff, and especially the local committee members who gave their time, talent, and treasure in support of the Glass Art Society and its mission on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

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AWARDS & TRIBUTES

Ginny Ruffner, with a little help from friend Laura Donefer, delivers her Lifetime Achievement Award speech

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L I F E T I M E A R T I S T I C A C H I E V E M E N T AWA R D

Ginny Ruffner

The Glass Art Society honored Ginny Ruffner with a Lifetime Achievement Award on March 28, 2019. Her speech, which chronicled her career of creating artworks large and small, is summarized below with select quotes from the artist.

“I’ve been making art about thinking and wonder for 44 years. That’s a lot of art.

And being asked to make it intelligible was difficult. At first, I edited severely.

Then I tried arranging it by size. Then, I put everything into chapters. But how do you convey chapters? Finally, I had a brilliant idea, and I called my friend, Laura Donefer, to ask for her help to involve the audience and keep them awake during my presentation.”

Chapter One - Public Art (Largest Size Art)

Ginny began by reviewing a selection of her favorite large-scale works. With themes often showing concern for the environment, Ginny’s largest art pieces are comprised of both public and private commissions. Security Pacific, for example, was created for a corporate gallery but later ended up being installed on the exterior of the Tacoma Art Museum. Ginny commented on the piece, saying: “Wings are a symbol of the transformative elevating power of art. So, I’m very happy that [these installations] are doing their job of identifying a cool art place.”

Chapter Two - Installations (Room/Gallery Size)

Large interior projects and installations also make up a unique portion of Ginny’s work. One such project, Mind Garden (2000), was featured at

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Ginny Ruffner entertains members with all the chapters of her career

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the Seattle Art Museum and included glass, steel, bronze, and rose petals.

Possession of Creativity (1990) was installed at the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art and showcased a steel tornado with 1,000 glass drops. Most recently, as a visiting artist at the Institute for Systems Biology, Ginny worked with senior faculty for her project Poetic Hybrids (2015) at the Seattle Art Museum (and other venues) and the installation of bronze and glass sculptures, Aesthetic Engineering (2015).

Chapter 3 - Aesthetic Engineering (Sculptures About My Height)

Aesthetic Engineering (2015) was much more than just an installation, however, and is just one of Ginny’s many multiple works about genetic engineering. Other similar works include Botanical Scales for a Horn Flower, an experiment in hybridizing the rhythmical intervals of music, the sound of horn music, and the behavior of blooming, and The Force that Shapes Seashells, another experiment mixing blooming behavior, shell-like gestures, and mother-of-pearl coloration.

“I find recent advances in genetic engineering, particularly the animal/ plant gene sharing hybrids, very creativity provoking. These are visual thought experiments in which I’m hybridizing entities that don’t reproduce, nor do they have genes. The goal is increased beauty.”

Chapter Four - Pop-Up Books

Not a typical medium for most artists, pop-up books are some of Ginny’s smaller-scale artworks but not some of her smaller ideas. These books were about creativity and imagination

and were made as the catalog for two traveling exhibitions, Flowering Tornado and The Imagination Cycle.

Chapter Five - Glass Sculpture “Throughout all of this, I’ve made glass sculptures about what I’m thinking about - art history, various theories and explanations, evolution, gender disparity, the environment, imagination, my garden, or why something is funny.”

Chapter Six - Augmented Reality

More than just a glass artist, Ginny also works with the emerging art form of augmented reality. With pieces like Cow and Dolphin and Kid Drawing on Dog, Ginny loved being given the opportunity to try this new, technological media. For one project, she was told that incorporating glass would not be possible, and Ginny took that challenge head-on and created ROTI (Reforestation of the Imagination), an overlay of digital information onto sculptural objects that portrays two disparate environments.

From the early days of augmented reality (before it was easily accessible by apps and games like Pokemon Go) to a new project that just debuted at the Smithsonian, Ginny has grown as an artist by working within this medium and continues to push the boundaries on what artists can do with it.

About Ginny Ruffner

Seattle artist Ginny Ruffner trained at the University of Georgia as a painter, graduating with honors and an MFA in painting. Ruffner has had 88 solo shows, several hundred group shows, and her work is in 55 permanent museum and public collections around the world.

Seattle public art installations include a 30-foot tall kinetic water feature downtown and a permanent installation in the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park. Recent Augmented Reality projects include Weston Riff at Photo Center NW, Branches at Seattle International Film Festival and Poetic Hybrids at Seattle Art Museum. She has written two books and been the subject of an award winning, full-length documentary titled A Not So Still Life, the Ginny Ruffner Story. Ruffner has lectured and taught extensively and served as an artist-in-residence numerous times at schools and universities around the world.

Chapter Seven - The Latest

Ginny closed her presentation by showcasing her latest works, including Rooster, Great Northern Tulip Angler, and The Blooming of Prehistoric Grafitti. She is currently working on an augmented reality exhibition in Seattle that explores the question: “what if animals and plants had evolved together?”

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L I F E T I M E M E M B E R S H I P AWA R D

Robert Mickelsen

The Glass Art Society honored Robert Mickelsen with a Lifetime Membership Award at the 48th Annual GAS Conference in St. Petersburg.

A member since 1991, Robert exemplifies everything that GAS loves about its members: from building community and making connections to teaching new techniques and sharing knowledge.

He served for six years on the board of directors as treasurer and vice-president and continues to be actively involved in the glass community. We were able to interview Robert about his experience and invite you to explore the conversation below.

What was your experience with GAS? I served on the board of directors from 1999 to 2005. During that time I was Treasurer and Vice President. I helped to plan conferences in Brooklyn, Amsterdam, Seattle, Corning, St. Louis, and Adelaide, Australia. My role was mainly as an advocate for the flameworking community, although I worked on every aspect of the organization.

What does it mean to be honored by GAS? It means a great deal. I still am a bit shocked that they picked me. I helped to select the honorees when I was on the board planning conferences but never dreamed I would actually receive one of the honors myself.

What is your fondest GAS memory?

I would have to say the exploratory trip to Australia in 2003 to select a site for the 2005 conference. We toured four Australian cities — Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, and Perth — getting firstclass treatment everywhere we went.

We attended the Ausglass conference in Perth, ate in the finest restaurants, and toured around Australian wineries, zoos, and national parks. It was a wonderful trip. I will never forget it.

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Robert Mickelsen, recipient of the 2019 Lifetime Membership Award

What do you see as the value of GAS? GAS is the only organization that brings together the diverse elements of the glass community. I think we tend to be a bit tribal according to our chosen medium or profession, but GAS is an opportunity once a year to meet artists and educators who specialize in other disciplines. Students get to mix with veterans and both benefit. This is very important and vital to the health of the glass community overall.

Why are you such a champion of GAS? I believe GAS was there for me when I needed it most, so I want to make sure it continues to play that role for future generations of glass artists.

What do you hope new members to learn or come to expect from GAS? I hope that they will learn that the way to get the most out of GAS is to give as much as you can to it.

If you could sit down with a GAS founder, what would you ask? What would you say?

I actually did sit down with Mark Peiser and

Fritz Dreisbach at the St. Pete conference earlier this year. We had a great conversation. Most of it is classified, but I can tell you that the spirit is strong in those guys and they believe as strongly in GAS now as they ever did. So do I.

About Robert Mickelsen

Robert Mickelsen was born in 1951 in Fort Belvoir, Virginia and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. His work is exhibited in many prominent collections including the Renwick Gallery of American Crafts at the Smithsonian Institution, the Corning Museum of Glass, The Toledo Museum of Art, The Museum of Arts and Design, The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Mint Museum, The Cleveland Museum of Art, and The Museum of American Glass at Wheaton Village. He has taught extensively at the major glass schools including the Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Crafts, The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass, Pratt Fine Arts, and The Pittsburgh Glass Center.

He has published numerous technical and historical articles on flame-worked glass.

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2019 International Student Exhibition Awards The Glass Art Society showcases works of current GAS members each year at the annual conference. All artwork is submitted via an online application, then juried for awards and inclusion in the Exhibition. This professional jury will evaluate all eligible entries and select the winners on the basis of originality, craftsmanship, and the creative use of glass.

FIRST PLACE Dan Mirer One-year Glass Art Society membership $1000 cash award from Corning Museum of Glass $250 gift certificate from Steinert Industries $200 gift certificate from His Glassworks Visiting Artist Weekend at New Street Glassworks $100 gift certificate from Carlisle Machine Works $200 gift certificate from Leviathan Glassworks

SECOND PLACE Gracia Nash One-year Glass Art Society membership One-week summer intensive class at the Pittsburgh Glass Center $100 gift certificate from Carlisle Machine Works $150 gift certificate from Steinert Industries $100 gift certificate from His Glassworks $150 gift certificate from Leviathan Glassworks $500 towards the purchase of a High Volume Oxygen System

Dan Mirer, first place prize recipient in the 2019 International Student Exhibition, with his work at the Morean Arts Center

2019 Member Exhibition Awards: Visions in Glass

THIRD PLACE Abbey Uffelman One-year Glass Art Society membership One summer weekend workshop at the Appalachian Center for Craft $100 gift certificate from Steinert Industries $100 gift certificate from Carlisle Machine Works $100 gift certificate from His Glassworks $150 gift certificate from Leviathan Glassworks $300 gift certificate from Moore Tools for Glass $250 gift certificate from Cutting Edge Tools

HONORABLE MENTION Award: One-year GAS Membership (Student or Regular Membership renewal) Jill Bittner Jeliane Curtis Jamie Grove Alexander Hartke

Dawid Stroyny Ethan Townsend Mikayla Wagner Jinya Zhao

GAS Board member, Demetra Theofanous and Dean Bensen admire the winning work by Tate Newfield in the GAS Member Exhibition at the Morean Arts Center

TOP THREE $1000 cash award Tate Newfield Simone Fezer David Schnuckel

HONORABLE MENTION One-year GAS Membership Piret Ellamaa Kate Clements Morgan Gilbreath Jennifer Crescuillo Elisabeth Neidhardt

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C A T A LY S T S

Preston Singletary delivers the Willson Lecture at the Bayfront Hilton in St. Petersburg

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SAXE EMERGING ARTIST

Art and Invocation: Light, Space, and Performance as a Tool for Transformation

By Lily Reeves

Southern Static • 2016 • Lily Reeves • 16 floating blue lamps, performance, and installation • Size varies

Growing up in the Southeast has forever contoured my practice with notions of magical realism, with roots in the uncanny, and with the supernatural. Using light and space as my medium, I center viewers in a mystical world that nurtures wonderment and openness; ‘the beginning of wisdom’ as Socrates claimed. This lineage is reflected in my early work ‘Southern Static,’ created while in residence at Elsewhere Museum in Greensboro, NC. For the two-month residency, I researched southern folklore and superstation, reenacting bizarre performative-like rituals by repeating gestures found in old southern folk tales. These included wives’ tales like ‘sewing hair into the waistline of your trousers will make whoever’s hair you used fall crazy for you,’ among others. I left vestiges of the work and research through sculptural objects, video, and installation. The installation culminated in 16 floating blue lamps and sculptural objects, highlighting the importance of ‘haint blue’ and folk beliefs. Traditionally, people would paint the ceilings or porches of western-facing rooms a light blue to drive evil spirits out of the house and out of this world. Strangely, the same color is used across cultures as an energetic color of divinity and transformation. I effectively

turned the installation into a portal, a mediating space saturated with blue light, suspended between our reality and the spirit world. I wanted to create a space that let viewers discern for themselves the value and necessity of belief. These mystical sentiments are woven through my work, bridging a somewhat lost or forgotten connection between the mind, body, and spirit.

My sculptural work encourages emotional well-being in my audience by employing invasive tactics such as light, built environments, and participatory performance. Through research in systems of belief and the occult, I work as a mediator to invoke preventative psychic and physical healing which addresses individual, collective, and environmental trauma and challenges the disenchantment and desensitization of the everyday.

In my audience-participatory pieces like ‘Reverse Baptism’ created in collaboration with Jess Hirsch and ‘Methods of Healing,’ I invite my viewers to participate in artist-led performances that parallel ceremonial and ritual practice. While each performance has a different conceptual prerogative, all revolve around utilizing participatory performance as a transformational experience, evoking emotional or perceptual change in my

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viewers. In ‘Reverse Baptism,’ Hirsch and I wanted to cleanse the water of the Mississippi River, instead of the traditional act of water cleansing the human spirit. We chose to cleanse the Mississippi because, even though the river is one of the most geographically and culturally important rivers in the country, with the largest watershed in North America, it is the second most polluted river in the United States. Stretches of the river even fail to meet national water quality standards. Hirsch and I wanted to highlight this mistreatment of the land, so we boiled river water and filled a cast iron bathtub for the community to experience the ‘purified’ Mississippi. By utilizing these participatory gestures, I am able to create a social tool to address the relationship between belief, perception, and reality with my viewers directly.

In ‘Methods of Healing,’ I again applied healing practices using performative action by providing 20-minute light healing sessions using circular light tools. These therapy sessions employed tactics from electrotherapy, reiki, and energy work to ground participants in their bodies. The sessions encouraged a heightened level of sensitivity by utilizing peripheral senses while completely blocking the sense of sight. While I cleaned auras and focused energy on parts of the body I felt needed activation, my viewers experienced the nuance of bodily sight. Though I did not physically touch people with the circles of light, viewers were able to pick up where the light was focused on their bodies, learning to re-connect with subtle ways of knowing that which are muted in our fast-paced world.

Recently, I began to work with the environment as a way to process the Anthropocene, to address guilt and grieving periods.

In my installation work with land and plant healing, including works like ‘Potion for an Open Heart,’ my work with Krista Davis and the Paradise Boys, and ‘The Suncatcher Series,’ I approach the natural world as a collaborating force. Some of these pieces highlight the desecration or beauty—the profane or sacredness—of the land we walk upon, the sky that holds us, and the changing of light that moves us constantly forward. This work positions the land as a relationship instead of a recourse.

Through de-centering the human experience and human condition, and by exploring and understanding the world without exploiting it, I hope to encourage viewers to extend empathy to the non-human, beyond personification.

These tactics can be found within the work of Paradise Boys, a collaboration with Canadian artist Krista Davis. In our piece ‘Last Dance with Grand Escalante,’ Davis and I made mirrored glass suits and danced with the landscape before the Trump Administration shrank the monument by 48%, selling lands to private mining companies and negating Government treaties with First Nations. These treaties protected the culturally sacred lands of the Navajo, Zuni, Ute, and Hopi Tribes. We positioned our bodies in a way that acted as a bridge to the landscape, inviting it to have a last dance with us before the metaphorical lights came on and the magic of the wild space was gone forever. This piece comforts the lands of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears in a way that people would usually only extend to each other.

These gestures are a small step towards shifting the human 16

Top: Suncatcher Series, Lily Reeves • 2019 • Neon, mirror, hardware • Size varies.

Middle: Last Dance With Grand Escalante • The Paradise Boys • 2018 • Mirrored suits, video projection, sound • Size Varies. Bottom: Reverse Baptism, Lily Reeves and Jess Hirsch • 2015 • Cast iron bathtub and cookware, rocket stoves • Size varies

perspective on how we treat the world around us.

Lily Reeves earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Alfred University and her Masters of Fine Arts from Arizona State University in Phoenix, AZ, where she graduated in April 2018. Reeves’ public work is in the collections of The University of Montevallo, Franconia Sculpture Park, the Atlanta Beltline, and Salem Art Works, as well as private collections across the country. Reeves currently lives and works in Birmingham, Alabama, where she runs her art and design studio.

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SAXE EMERGING ARTIST

Tracing the Vessel

By Kristine Rumman

The image of a hollow blown form haunts me.

This vessel becomes a container and in so doing, a boundary; a threshold demarcating what is interior, domestic, local from what is outside and omitted. This vessel moves from the literal to the abstract as it shifts from the bottle, the drinking glass, the highrise, the home, the city, the country, the border, the map.

The edge of the form orients, locates, and socializes me.

My art practice is migratory, situationally responsive, and inextricably bound to the geopolitics of the sites where I have lived. I imagine a series of wormholes1 connecting these places through tunnels that collapse space and time. I use these to navigate through history, geography, technology, and culture.

A tunnel begins in the Fertile Crescent, my ancestral home in 50 B.C.E, and meets me in Toledo, Ohio, the city where I was raised. As I chase this path from where I stand to its origin, I note the points where my history entangles with the technological development of the glass vessel. This material search guides my search for a center.

With the sand along the shore of Lake Erie, the natural gas it sits atop, and the burgeoning shipping and rail industry, Toledo was uniquely situated for glass production. The first automated bottle-blowing machine is invented here in 1903, making the blown glass container more accessible than ever before and forever changing the technology of the glass vessel.2 Then, in 1962, glass is melted in a small studio furnace at the Toledo Museum of Art (the place where I eventually take my first gather years later), moving attention from the product to the producer and making way for the subjectivity of the glass artist. Here, the American Studio Glass movement is born.

I trace the vessel back to another significant point in its history. In the first century, breath is first introduced to a molten gather, inflating it, and the blown glass process is born.

The Roman Empire assists with spreading glassblowing as new technology. This material continues to be worked in Palestine 2000 years later in the remaining glass industry of Hebron.

Eventually, I will arrive in Beit Jala, Palestine: the place my father was born and another center of the universe for me. As I walk through our garden, I am nourished and connected to this place, this experience opening a portal in the wormhole for me to feel it as my own home. Our ancestral homeland whose food, language, and culture traveled with my family to the United States now moves through me in my materials as precious, fragile, powerful second-hand memories.

I lean on images, many of which were gathered and published by the Riwaq Center, as points of connection to my ancestral home. The images of tiles grounding family homes in Ramallah,

All photos courtesy of the artist.

Beit Jala, and Bethlehem create a bridge for me to transcend the distance and imagine myself standing on the cool, smooth floor.

The riddle is how to place your next foot on the earth when it is always shifting in turmoil beneath you. I look around to find a center of the universe that is not constantly collapsing.

I begin to build a house using my father’s memories of his home in Beit Jala. He remembers the tile of his ilwan, a corridor commonly used in middle eastern architecture, which runs the length of the entire house and acts like an interior courtyard where all doors in the house open into. We close our eyes and feel the breath inside our body grounding us.

The smell from the food of our table enables us to lay feet on those tile floors.

And, so I begin to build. I first survey the site. I move in. I begin to build the floor plan of an imaginary house. I frame the walls that hold stain-glass windows. I erect a doorway for entry.

I build a tile floor of sand, sumac, turmeric, fennel, flour, coffee, and paprika casting a spell over it with a light of orange hue, to influence brain waves with openness and newfound creativity.

I build this house three times in three different places. In each of these places, I commit to the task of Making/Taking Ground as a ritual often performed daily, other times weekly.

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The only thing I know when I leave these places is that they will not be the same when I return. The floor is left vulnerable in the interim and witnesses of the work self-authorize to become actors.

Over time, the house contends with the public, the pattern is marked by the viewers passing, and the ground acts as a visible record of their presence and absence. Sometimes I return to find the patterns dispersed, erased, assimilated into its surroundings. Slowly, the granules mix and the patterns transform into homogenous blends. I insist on this ground existing, and so I begin again.

I trace the edge of the hollow glass form with my finger until I circle back to where I started. I walk along it like a tightrope feeling the air on either side.

And, as I teeter, I let the disorientation take me back through the wormhole, still seeking that elusive center.

The more one leaves one’s cultural home, the more easily one is able to judge it, and the whole world as well, with the spiritual detachment and generosity necessary for true vision. The more easily, too, does one assess oneself and alien cultures with the same combination of intimacy and distance.3

1 A wormhole is a theoretical passage through space-time that creates shortcuts for long journeys across the universe.

2 In 1903, Michael Owens created the first automated bottle blowing machine. His machines produce 240 glass bottles a minute.

3 Said, Edward W. 1978. Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

SAXE EMERGING ARTIST

My Diary

By Nao Yamamoto

Portrait of the artist

Happy Future • glass, copper • stained glass • width 35” • 2018

I have wanted to know the purpose of life since I was in 6th grade. Watching others, and myself, navigating the same thing called life made me think of infinite black holes just swallowing me over and over.

I grew up in an artistic family, and art was everywhere and everything for me.

My toys were clay, paper, or sometimes pieces of wood. I remember when my father set up the lampworking torch in his studio when I was in middle school and let me hang out while he was working on his project. Very often, we all went to see exhibitions and museums in Tokyo on weekends and shared our thoughts about the artwork. I decided to go to Art University only because I wanted to be able to play with glass but now—I look back—and I didn’t have anything I liked or cared about besides art.

When I was in junior year, one of my professors asked what it was I made. I answered “glass” or “art,” and he asked again what is it to me, the reason behind the creation. I could not answer, but the question stayed with me through grad school; I asked myself on every project

and every inspiration. I often felt like there is no reason for me to create, and I felt powerless, yet there are ideas and forms eager to come out of my head. For a long time the art-making process was miserable yet also so satisfying.

After six years of working with glass, I looked back on my projects and found the answer: my creation was my diary. It represents what I was going through, what I was thinking, and the moment when I got inspiration. I wanted to create something to visualize what was in my head so that I could analyze it. I wanted to create something that took my breath away, just like the forest in the Mammoth Mountain did. I wanted to create the experiences and the feelings in a 3-dimensional world. After I found that answer, I never again doubted the reason for my creation. The question has now changed to “what” and “how” I am going to create.

To pursue my career as a contemporary artist, I decided to stay in the United States after I graduated from California State University, San Bernardino, so I moved to Seattle. After a couple years of juggling responsibilities as a freelance glassblower and an artist, I was seeking some proof that there is meaning behind this thing called life. I was tired of fighting alone with my anxiety and what seemed like a hopeless future. Suddenly, I woke up to spirituality as if waking up from a bad dream. Since then, I have been on my healing journey exploring life as a healer. I remembered my ability to connect with souls and the universe, and I finally got answers that I had been asking for more than half of my life: the meaning of life was “to experience.”

Everything is energy, and energy is vibrations. This whole world is made of molecules and their vibrations. All the molecules are creating this world together, and we are one of the molecules to sustain this world. We are a tiny part of this world, yet we are everything. There are experiences that wouldn’t exist without each one of us. Every person, every interaction creates the ripples of experiences. Existence is the meaning of life.

The universe told me many truths; such as, that if I believe it is the truth, it will

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Bubble Bath • blown glass • height 15” • 2018

The Sun and Water • blown glass • 8 x 42 x42” • 2014

become my truth. We only see things we want to see, and everyone has their own reality. I gave up on pleasing people, and I started to look at myself, especially to create my artworks.

I ask myself: what do I want to make? Why is it this color? Why is it this size?

Why is it this texture? What is this for? I believe that the artworks made based on a strong concept or purpose carry strong intention and impact. I kept asking every little question I could think of.

I found it interesting that when I was trying to be more conceptual and thinking too much, my heart desired to be simpler and just look for pure excitement. To find something I love and extract the essence and element of the excitement was another journey as an artist and as a human. The process taught me to free myself from society. Even if the artwork is only meant for myself, it is worthy to exist, because my heart vibrates with joy whenever I look at it, and the vibration is the evidence of life.

When I was told that the function of art is to change the frequency of the vibration on the earth, I thought of the possibilities of making the vibrations lighter and brighter using my artwork. Depression and anxiety were a big part of my life. I get emotional when I think of other people’s experience with the darkness that enveloped me over and over, and the meaninglessness that woke me up in the middle of the night. I want to create something to take people’s anxiety away, even for just one second. I want people to believe that there is a bright future because the only way to get to the bright future is to believe in it.

As a healer, I tell people many things to help them heal. Until recently, I felt like I had two careers, a spiritual healer and an artist. However, I realized that my soul’s mission was always the same: to raise the vibration on the earth. I see more and more people are going through their awaking process, and I took a risk to open

myself up before my fear of sharing my experience. My artwork is my diary, and through my diary, I intend to send my message that you are not alone. I am just like you, trying to live and love; all the feelings and experiences are the reason of being here.

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

KEYNOTE LECTURE

Glass in 21st Century Architecture

By Yann Weymouth This article is adapted from my talk as a featured speaker at the March 2019 Glass Art Society Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Glass is not new. We are all familiar with its long history starting around 3500 BC with the first man-made glass in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The revolutionary discovery of glassblowing around the 1st century BC was a critical breakthrough in glassmaking. And indeed, glass production flourished in the Roman Empire and spread from Italy to all countries under its rule.

It was not until 1959 that Sir Alastair Pilkington introduced a revolutionary new float glass production, by which 90% of flat glass is manufactured today. Prior to his new invention, plate glass had to be ground flat, making it far costlier.

Glass has long been part of the architect’s design vocabulary.

We incorporate its functionality everywhere, into public, educational, cultural, and corporate buildings, and private homes. We value its energy-saving features, allowing the capture and use of daylight. Statistical studies show that daylight significantly improves our well-being and productivity. We value it for its sustainability as one of the ‘greenest’ and most socially responsible, recyclable materials, and advanced technologies have made glass a structural choice for modern design solutions.

But those of you reading this, or you who gathered in St. Petersburg for the annual Glass Art Society conference, use glass primarily as a medium for artistic expression. Well, I am here to emphatically say that in my 55+ years, some of my most creative architectural ideas and projects have been inspired by glass! Let me tell you why. After Harvard and MIT, I was hired by one of the greatest world architects, the late I.M. Pei. One of my first projects for and with I.M. was the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art. The East Wing project posed multiple challenges, with its privileged yet awkward site on the great Mall. Glass was an integral part of our design vocabulary, for it allowed us to tackle the Museum’s spatial architecture. At the East Wing, we pioneered the use of glass in geometric shapes and structure to dictate interaction with the spaces. The result was a fascinating architectural work that all these many decades later proudly stands as one of the most beautiful buildings on the Mall.

In the mid-1980s I.M. invited me to once again join him as his Chief of Design for the Grand Louvre. While I won’t go into all the details of the politics and controversy that swirled around us in Paris for those years, almost as soon as we had completed the project in 1989, the Pyramide du Louvre was recognized as one of the most important monumental architectural marvels.

The large glass pyramid is actually one of four pyramids in the courtyard, with three smaller pyramids arranged around its perimeter. It is made from 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 trian-

National Gallery of Art East Wing Atrium, copyright Pei Cobb Freed Architects 1978

gular segments, and the pyramid’s apex reaches a height of 70 feet. Its design proved more challenging than anticipated, for we needed a clear and colorless glass, and the iron present in the float process imparts a green tint to the glass. That tint is not present in optical or crystal glass, but those were difficult to use in the sizes needed for the pyramid. We could not have the view of the soft honey-colored stone of the historic Palace seen through or from within the pyramid to be altered by the glass, for Mr. Pei had promised President Mitterrand that the pyramid would be transparent. We worked long and hard with the great French company St. Gobain to resolve the issue. Their final solution was to entirely retool one of their factories to make the special Louvre glass, with the color and clarity required, and today the glass industry has developed low-iron glass to make it available globally.

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Dalí Museum Exterior, copyright HOK 2011. Photo: Moris Moreno

The impact of our use of glass at the Louvre ranged from structural to urban planning. It was glass that enabled us to link the old and the new, the venerable Louvre Palace to a new beacon and entrance providing both a critical source of daylight and space.

With the Pyramide du Louvre, we created a design that fulfilled many requirements, using glass as part of the purposeful integral structure for an abstracted platonic solid. But I would argue that we went much further. We used glass not just for its aesthetic value, nor as a motif, but as an essential high-value element for unique creative architectural expression. Some would say the Glass Pyramid is one of the world’s most fascinating pieces of architecture – an icon known throughout the world. As an architect, I can tell you that perhaps even more important has been its groundbreaking influence on contemporary architecture.

We sat during the GAS Conference this year just across from one of my more recent architectural designs, The Dali Museum.

The Dali’s challenges were many for the design needed a beautiful counter-balancing foil to its heavily massed, Category 5 hurricane-resistant concrete “Vault.” The result of serious and extremely complex investigations, our innovative design of the glass “Enigma” was the first use of this structural glass and steel system in North America. With 1,062 different triangular panes of glass, no two of which are identical, the structure “feels alive” and in some way mimics nature. It is the glass that creates visual excitement and interest and appeals to and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. The design-forward element is in many ways the ultimate physical and visual link – to the natural world outside and the world of art within. The entrance, ticketing, retail space, and café are all activated by the glass, which captures and directs natural light and allows interaction between the garden, the multipurpose room, and Director’s boardroom upstairs. The glass over the landing forms a transparent platform and canopy that capitalizes on the beautiful waterfront views and provides Instagramworthy appeal across demographics. It has become a coveted spot for engagements and weddings. We used ballistic hurricane-resis22

Dalí Museum Glass Enigma, copyright HOK 2011. Photo: Moris Moreno

tant and UV-filtering white glass to provide valuable daylight via “light cannons” upon the gallery masterworks.

With these examples, you can see how I value glass as one of the most exciting architectural elements of natural and elegant beauty. We can perhaps begin to make the case that glass blurs the lines between artist and architect. Much as glass artists create pieces that are each unique, glass in architecture is highly customizable. A question for the future is how to encourage stronger creative collaborations so that architects and artists really join to create together. The use of glass will never lose its popularity, precisely because it holds infinite possibilities.

Emerging trends all point to increasing opportunities for architects to work together with glass artists and fabricators to incorporate glass in designs.

As an architect, I continue to research new glass products and methods and explore new uses. For me, glass will always be a revolutionary disruptor and important inspiration for creative designs and transformational, impactful spaces.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

LABINO LECTURE

Catching a Wave: New Technologies in Art and Science Lisa Beth Robinson & Kristin Thielking We have learned that when we start hearing ourselves say, “I’m not sure that can be done,” or “...just know that there’s a high possibility it might fail,” and “... but, I don’t think anyone had done that before,” we are most likely on the right track and will end up with some interesting solutions and, hopefully, some new discoveries. On the other hand, we also know we will probably hit all the obstacles that come hand in hand with approaching a problem from a new perspective.

The collaborative project, Catching a Wave: New Technologies in Art and Science, has been exactly that kind of journey for artists Lisa Beth Robinson, an assistant professor in the School of Art and Design at East Carolina University; Kristin Thielking, professor, in the Art Department at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point; and John McCord, scientist and Assistant Director for Engagement & Outreach at the Coastal Studies Institute, Wanchese, North Carolina. Our goal was to digitally capture an ocean wave using the photogrammetric process in the wave tank at CSI, print a positive of the wave in 3D, and cast it in glass.

We wanted to create an artifact that would embody an exact moment in time, one that would illuminate the uniqueness of that moment. These glass “captured” waves would be the focal points in sculptural installations designed to communicate, in a new way, information about climate change, sea-level rise, ocean health and to publicize important ocean-related research. To capture a moment in time was, for us, a way to emphasize that time is precious when it comes to the fragility of ocean health, and that the time to act on the changes necessary to protect our environment is now. We also wanted this artifact to visually communicate the complexity of what is happening in a single wave in a single moment and make a connection for the viewer to the intricacy of what is happening, on the surface and internally, in that wave.

Casting of glass wave. Untitled, 2019. Kiln-cast glass with enamels. Photo: Lisa Beth Robinson

The problem was that photogrammetry, the science of taking measurements from photographs and outputting it in a format such as a 3D model, has never been used, to our knowledge, on a subject which is moving, transparent and reflective, like waves. The process required us to design and fabricate a rig that could hold 16-30 cameras with room for adjustment and different configurations, suspending the cameras over the surface of the water. The cameras would need to fire simultaneously, and those data points would need to mesh together perfectly in order to create an accurate rendering of the wave. We would need to sync the cameras to 1/1000th of a second, then trick the photogrammetry software to register the water’s surface. Then, if all that worked, we would need to be able to successfully 3D print an extremely large file with a huge number of data points.

Working on a rig designed by McCord with additional design and fabrication by Keven Brunett, grant funding allowed for the rental of sixteen cameras, remote flashes, and pocket triggers for exactly one week. The pressure was on! Our first

step was finding the ideal positions for the cameras on the rig, one that allowed us to focus the cameras in a way that would capture a substantial area of the wave from 360 degrees. We lifted the rig onto the platform over the wave tank; it was taken up and down several times as we moved the cameras from one level of the rig to another and focused the lenses to see what worked best. The synchronicity between cameras was checked and re-checked.

A second challenge associated with the camera placement was the issue of voltage drop, resulting in data loss between the cameras and the computer. Often, 12-14 of the 16 cameras would be in synch, with the others being several thousands of a second off or entirely unreadable. Every time a picture was taken, the SD cards had to be manually removed from the cameras and loaded into the software.

Executing this task over the water added an element of risk as we climbed over and through the rig without falling into the wave tank or dropping any of the cards or camera parts into the water.

On day three, there were still limited results, but we kept moving forward. We

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were finally ready to experiment with materials that would allow the software to register the surface of the wave. Unexpectedly, after many attempts with different materials, and in a desperate last-ditch effort, we secured sawdust from a Lowe’s table saw, and it worked. The sawdust created just enough opacity on the water’s surface to enable the cameras to capture the surface data points accurately. It was not lost on us that we needed both extremely high and low technology to make this project work.

The second component of the project was to print 3D models of the two captured waves. Easier said than done; we were able to print a sub-standard model, but there was significant data loss due to overloading the printers. McCord also tried printing at CSI with similar results; he had to decimate the photogrammetric mesh to provide smoothing to the model. This stopped the file from overloading the 3D printer with too many facets to the wave, ensuring smoother printing and shortening the printing times. After going through three print heads, the plastic models were created. Our waves had been captured and were ready to be translated into glass.

Using traditional investment molds, we filled the castings with glass onto which we had printed images and words that relate to the ocean, both poetic and scientific. We wanted to make the glass waves visually rich and intriguing. The glass castings and the embedded language and images were designed to build awareness of human connections to the ocean and to address several of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, especially #13, Climate Action, and #14, Life Below Water. QR codes on each casting’s pedestal link the viewer with the collaborative website: Catching a Wave, which features the research of ocean scientists, a blog, and more information about the UN sustainability goals. The website, https://www.catchingawave.org, will be permanently linked with the sculpture and will continue to evolve as more collaborators join us.

With collaborators Dr. Shona Paterson (Brunel University),

Dr. Martin LeTissier (MaREI Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy), Hester Whyte (MaREI Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy), and Dr. Mrill Ingram (Progressive Magazine), this first iteration was installed at Science Gallery in Dublin in June of 2019 as part of the Art in the Anthropocene Conference, hosted

by Trinity College. The waves are mounted on pedestals dispersed through the gallery. As viewers approach each pedestal, a unique sound file is triggered by a motion sensor. Compilations of ocean sounds include waves, dune birds, oysters clicking, and voices, both children and adults. When combined, these create a narrative relating our interactions with the ocean, weaving disparate sounds together into a symphonic composition. Viewers are, in effect, composing with their physical movements. As more people interact with the piece, the sound becomes increasingly rich and layered. The composition expands to collaboration in the same way that each person’s actions affect our environment.

The aesthetic experience that builds in this way mirrors how we want to inspire social action. Designed to resonate with an individual in a lasting way—when a viewer makes decisions ranging from small everyday choices to influencing significant societal changes—their connection to and care for the ocean and the environment will be on their minds.

Catching a Wave will grow and evolve as we invite more collaborators to add their research and voices to the project. The piece will be expanded to outdoor locations such as subway stations, public markets, gas stations, and libraries. We will use the evolution of the piece to connect with new communities, and through those new connections, grow the piece further.

This project is an example of one way that glass artists can use the beauty and mystery inherent in the medium to capture the viewer’s attention and use it to become part of the climate change solution, showing the public what science, technology, and art can do together to create better communication around environmental issues.

Robinson, Thielking, and Dave Sybert (CSI) with camera rig mounted over the wave tank. Photo: John McCord

Camera rig suspended from crane at CSI. Photo: Lisa Beth Robinson

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

LIT TLETON LECTURE

New Glass is Not New

By Susie J. Silbert, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass, The Corning Museum of Glass I’m speaking in advance of the opening of the catalytic exhibition “New Glass Now” at The Corning Museum of Glass. “New Glass Now” samples the field of contemporary glass by presenting new works from 100 artists and designers across the globe. It is my hope that this exhibition, and its companion publication, will spark new directions in glass—starting new conversations and building new audiences for the work of contemporary glassmakers, workers, and thinkers.

But New Glass itself is not new.

Instead, New Glass is an initiative of The Corning Museum of Glass that stretches back 60 years, nearly to the Museum’s founding, and encompasses two major exhibitions and one longstanding publication. Unified by a shared methodological approach, these projects have contributed meaningfully to the way contemporary glass has been seen, collected, written about, and produced from the mid-twentieth century through today.

This lecture introduces the three major New Glass undertakings—the exhibitions “Glass 1959” and “New Glass: A Worldwide Survey” (1979) and the publication New Glass Review—and stakes a claim for the contributions of New Glass to the development of the field of contemporary glass as a whole.

New Glass is Creating Change

The Corning Museum of Glass was founded in 1951 with a mission to “tell the world about glass.” The Museum’s earliest exhibitions focused on ‘old’ glass topics like Renaissance Venetian and early American glass. However, by 1956, the Museum’s leadership began to think of a way to tell the world about contemporary glass.

The Museum’s founding director, Thomas S. Buechner, had an innovative idea for a democratic survey exhibition of contemporary glass: he would invite submissions from glassmakers around the world and ask a panel of designers, theorists, and

Top left: “Glass 1959” installation with visitors at The Corning Museum of Glass, 1959. Photo: The Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass. Top right: “New Glass: A Worldwide Survey” installation at The Corning Museum of Glass. Photo: The Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass. Bottom left: Cover of “New Glass Now.” Photo: The Corning Museum of Glass. Bottom right: Tamás Ábel (Hungary, b. 1991), Colour Therapy: Washington, D.C. + Budapest. United States, Washington, D.C., and Hungary, Budapest, 2017. Video, 2 min. 40 sec. Photo: Terre Nguyen,and Benedek Bognár

curators to select amongst them, displaying their selections in a traveling exhibition and illustrated catalog. All told, he invited submissions from 750 glass manufacturers worldwide. These manufacturers sent 1814 objects to New York City; 292 of them, from 23 countries, were selected for the exhibition “Glass 1959.”

It is nearly impossible to overstate the impact of this exhibition. The very first international museum survey of contemporary glass, “Glass 1959” brought the good news of glass to audiences in Corning, New York; New York City; Richmond, Virginia; Toledo, Ohio; and Chicago, Illinois. But its greatest impact may have

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been on the glassmakers themselves.

Because within the dense, atomic-era displays of “Glass 1959,” artists, designers, and manufacturers from around the world could see themselves as part of a global dialog for the first time. The range of possibilities encoded in the diverse objects on display presented approaches to the material unseen and unimagined before. The playful, thick-walled vessels of Swedish designer Bengt Edenfalk, still innovative today, were counterbalanced by elegant goblets made by the Austrian firms Riedel and Lobmeyr. Expressive objects by the Argentinian artist Lucrecia Moyano de Muniz, the American artist Edris Eckhardt and the pioneering Czech artists Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova demonstrated the sculptural possibilities of the material. Incredibly, “Glass 1959” was the first time the work of Libensky and Brychtova was seen in the United States, significantly widening conversations in glass. In short, “Glass 1959,” created the fertile soil out of which the Studio Glass Movement would grow just a few years later.

New Glass is Making Glass Visible

Soon after the exhibition opened, Buechner left Corning to become the director of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Ten years later he returned to Corning full of zeal for the Museum’s mission. This time, his attention was on the Studio Glass Movement, which had grown immeasurably in the years he was away. Interested in having the Museum actively contribute to the growth of the Movement, Buechner organized a meeting in 1975 with leading Studio Glass artists, members of Steuben Glass, and Paul J. Smith, director of the Museum of Contemporary Craft in New York City (now the Museum of Arts and Design).

Over the course of two days, the meeting participants brainstormed ways the Museum could contribute to the growth of the Studio Glass Movement.

Among these ideas were recommendations to create “major circulating surveys” that would be “national and international” with a “good detailed catalog.” Also recommended was the development of a “slide archive with regular distribution or set sale arrangement.” These ideas were

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seeds that would grow into the publication New Glass Review and the exhibition “New Glass: A Worldwide Survey” and its accompanying catalog.

By 1976, the Museum was already acting on these recommendations, launching the microfiche precursor to New Glass Review, titled Contemporary Glass. In publication for three years, Contemporary Glass was Curated from an open call for submissions just as “Glass 1959” had been and as every issue of New Glass Review has been since its founding,. Though arguably microfiche was not the most user-friendly format, Contemporary Art Glass demonstrated the interest of the Studio Glass community in greater visibility and dialog.

By 1977, the Museum had begun planning “New Glass: A Worldwide Survey.” Conceived as a follow up to “Glass 1959,” “New Glass: A Worldwide Survey” was organized along similar lines. Artists and designers from around the world were invited to submit works, though this time, they were asked to send slides instead of objects for the initial selection. And in place of sending letters of solicitation, the Museum could now use the well-established communication tools of the Studio Glass Movement itself to promote the opportunity. For instance, the early Studio Glassblower William Bernstein wrote two songs promoting the call for entries, which were published in the Glass Art Society Journal. In all, 970 artists and manufacturers submitted over 6000 slides to the exhibition, 427 were ultimately chosen for display.

If “Glass 1959” had laid the groundwork for the Studio Glass Movement to develop, then “New Glass: A Worldwide Survey” marked its maturity. The selected works demonstrated the breadth of the field and the incredible strides that artists had made in their command of and conceptual approaches to the material.

Neon from the Americans Paul Seide and Mark Stanley met experimental castings from the Czechs Dalibor Tichy and Pavel Hlava. Composite flameworked objects by the Romanian artist Dionisie Popa were shown alongside experimental blown pieces by Emiljia Marodic (now Emma Varga) from Yugoslavia, stained glass by Ada Isensee from the Federal Republic of

Germany and playful blown work by Ulla Forsell from Sweden.

Just as in 1959, the sheer volume and breadth of the work opened new avenues for artists in glass. But even more importantly, “New Glass: A Worldwide Survey” brought popular and critical attention to the field as never before. The show garnered significant press as it traveled, including a multi-page photo essay in Life Magazine.

At the time, Life Magazine was the most popular publication in the United States, and being published in it was the equivalent of going viral on TMZ today. Studio Glass was suddenly visible to national and international audiences as never before.

At the same time, New Glass 1979 spurred collecting by institutions and individuals. The inveterate and truly inspirational George and Dorothy Saxe began collecting glass after seeing the catalog for the exhibition. When the exhibition was at The Musee des Art Decoratifs in Paris, the second international venue for the show, hosted a companion exhibition of French Studio Glass, securing a grant from the government to collect this material for the first time. Following the success of this exhibition, the Museum launched New Glass Review, which has cataloged the field for the last 40 years.

New Glass is Now You Why is any of this important? Just as in these earlier periods, contemporary glass today is in a moment of change. We are perfectly situated to invite new audiences to participate in our incredible material, and New Glass Now, which will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass from May 11, 2019 - January 5, 2020, is our attempt to do just that. Just as before, the works in New Glass Now open new avenues of inquiry, challenging our conceptions of what contemporary glass is now and what it can be in the future. It is my extreme honor to be shepherding this exhibition, which highlights queer voices, feminism, and materiality alongside more traditional displays of exceptional technique.

Today, together, we have another incredible opportunity to ignite new audiences, spark new conversations, and build new bridges to the future of glass. Because today, New Glass is Now You.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

S T R AT T M A N L E C T U R E

Hyperopia Projects: Glass Flux 2019

By Kim Harty, Sean Salstrom, & Matthew Szosz Any glassblower can attest that there is something magical about the act of working with hot glass. For many glassmakers, the activity of making, rather than the objects produced, is the center of interest and the source of wonder, curiosity, and creativity. As educators, we are always looking for ways to spur exploration and to encourage students to take advantage of the breadth of possibilities of the endlessly mutable material of glass. At the very beginning of our introduction to hot glass, there is a sense of wonder and play that intimates vast lands to explore within the material; there is a sense of taking the first steps into an ocean of possibility.

Re-igniting that initial sense of wonder and re-introducing a sense play in the glass shop prompts students to re-examine the possibilities of the material and loosen their focus on technical processes. In creating Glass Flux, Hyperopia Projects (HP) looked for ways to renew that sense of wonder in an educational setting and harness it as a way to relaunch student exploration.

Glass Flux is a participatory project that uses activity, material interaction, and poetic improvisation as sources of inspiration. Using prompts inspired by Fluxus, Surrealism, Dada, and Happenings, we created a collection of instructions that offer ways to employ physicality, experimentation, and improvisation to explore the activity of making, drive creativity, and re-examine glass practice. Students explore the activity of glassmaking, rather than the production of objects, through both structured and improvisational tasks and documentation. These exercises also introduce students to non-object based working strategies, link those strategies to art historical precedents, explore approaches to exhibiting non-objectbased work, and critically examine the use of value, work, labor, and performance, as addressed by the glassmaker.

“Play” gets a lot of play as an educational strategy and a natural learning tool,

Toyama City Institute of Glass Art. Score 23: Gather Memorial, 2018

but has no hard definition, no set form of activities, no fixed goal. One of the few things that most psychologists and theorists agree on is that play, paradoxically, requires rules. In other words, play needs to happen within a framework, or a given scenario, that gives the player both a structure to build on and the opportunity to bend or break that structure should they choose to do so.

To enact this project, we produced a pamphlet of instructions (scores, games, recipes, exercises, etc.) for play. Some of the instructions were adapted from historical sources, HP members created some, and some were adapted from other glass artists. This pamphlet was distributed to degree-granting glass projects across the globe, and we collected documentation from those schools that participated.

Any artist could use these instructions, but we felt the university was a particularly good venue to explore glassmaking as an activity. A university art depart-

ment is an educational environment that promotes exploration, introspection, and the stretching of boundaries, where the goal is learning, rather than making.

To establish historical and conceptual context, we wanted to ground the projects of comparable efforts that had been undertaken for similar reasons at various times in the fine art field.

A primary source was A Book of Surrealist Games, which chronicled games, exercises, writing and reflections from prominent artists in the surrealist movement.

The book was compiled in 1995, and as the book’s editor, Mel Golding, said the games were meant to “free words and images from the constraints of rational and discursive order, substitute chance and indeterminance for premeditation and deliberation.” We embraced the disruption of predetermined structure and the idea of finding your way to art.

Fluxus, an international, avant-garde art movement in the 1960s and 70s that

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rebelled against the commercial art market, elitism, and conventions of art was also a clear parallel. The term “Fluxus” was a reference to bodily discharge, implying the vomiting up of quantities of art, valuing the act of producing over the results produced.

This often took the form of aggressively disruptive events and performances. We saw the primacy of activity and the incorporation of a wide range of ideas (improvisation within a framework; objects as relics of process; play as process; performance as product; a poetic approach to materials; acknowledgment of artist’s body) valuable to the making experience.

We also referred to the work of several 20th-century artists. Sol Le Witt’s instruction-based wall drawings, with their invitation to variation with precise rules, was an obvious choice. As was Richard Serra’s Verb List, where the artist sets out a series of actions to explore in a variety of materials creating an invitation to an open-ended investigation of the interaction of material and action. Jackson Pollock and Lynda Bengalis’ “Action” works engaged the movement and behavior of their materials directly and grew from an intuitive dialog between the artist and these behaviors. Bruce Nauman pushed the boundaries of what could be considered a studio practice and famously said, “If I was an artist and I was in the studio, then whatever I was doing in the studio must be art.” This semantic role reversal establishes an entirely different perspective from which to view the activity of artmaking.

OUTCOMES Naturally, we had a few goals in mind, and we also uncovered a few unexpected facets of the experience through feedback and documentation from the participating institutions. Below are some of the main results of the project, both intended and discovered.

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The introduction of play into the hot shop: Play is used to both engage and challenge students; it is an invitation to explore, question, and examine the hows and whys of making. Play asks students to make their own decisions regarding whether or not there is a right way to handle the material, to loosen the fear of failure and peer competition, and frees them to create in a more uninhibited way.

it also limits the number of voices present, and the exploration of the possibilities of the material and the glass shop as a whole.

Other students should hold equal voice and ownership of the use of the university hot shop as a comfortable place to experiment, express their ideas, and fail productively. It is our hope that the hot shop can be a truly multivalent creative space centered on the material of molten glass.

Poetry as part of the physical process: Here we use the term poetry as short-hand for the serendipitous, the unconscious, and the abstract. Poetry connects an intangible emotional interior, that is often contradictory, ambiguous, and mysterious, to the physical actions and objects of glass making. While play is external, tangible, and deals with what is known, poetry requires an inwardness, intuitiveness, a willingness to express that which might not be fully understood. Students are encouraged to see how the abstract can become a guiding principle for work.

Awknowlegements:

The consideration of art as the activity of working itself: As Fluxus saw the production of art as something to be lived through rather than hidden, we encourage the examination of the value of process, labor, and the performative nature of working with hot glass, and ask students to see the experience of making as a possible end in itself, and to investigate strategies for the communication of that value beyond the individual maker.

Democratize the hot shop and provide a platform for a variety of voices, regardless of skill levels, or dedication to technique: In university hot shops, it is often the case that those students who are adept at traditional glassblowing exert (however falsely) a territorial dominance over the use of the hot shop, often discounting the opinions and perspective of students who do not pursue technical achievement. This can be corrosive not only on an interpersonal level, but

We want to thank the following institutions and Educators for their participation in the Glass Flux 2018 project: • College for Creative Studies • Rhode Island School of Design • University of Hawaii, Manoa • Alli Hoag, Bowling Green State University • David Schnuckel and Susie Peck, Rochester Institute of Technology • David King, Tyler School of Art • Helen Lee, University of Wisconsin, Madison • Brent Cole, Ball State University • Li Wen, China Academy of Art • Hangzhou Jin Hongo, Toyama Institute for Glass Art Hyperopia Projects Hyperopia Projects is an occasional group of practicing artists and educators whose efforts support an expansive definition of glass. We are invested in a longer view of the inter-relationship of craft, art, and culture, and act to support exploration, innovation, and critical rigor.

• Kim Harty, Assistant Professor of Glass College for Creative Studies • Sean Salstrom, Assistant Professor of Glass Rhode Island School of Design • Matthew Szösz, Independent Artist Seattle, Washington

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

WILLSON LECTURE

My Path

By Preston Singletary I came to the process of my artwork through glassblowing.

Starting in 1982 as a production glassblower at the Glass Eye studios in Seattle, and then going to Pilchuck Glass School in 1984, I became exposed to how artists work with glass. In an effort to create my own unique style, I explored my cultural background Tlingit—an Alaskan Native tribe from Southeast Alaska. I grew up in Seattle, away from the traditional region of the tribe. My family had a great deal of information about our history, and I started to develop the traditional designs of the tribal style of the Tlingit.

Using a sandblasting technique, I developed a hat form that, when turned upside down looks like a bowl with a flaredout rim. These were traditionally made of cedar basketry and sometimes had painted designs on them. This was a starting point for me. Over the years, I connected with teachers and mentors who could teach me more about these designs and how to create my own original compositions.

This, to me, was the point where collectors could recognize that there was something more personal about the work I was developing. I was splitting my time between making glass that was more influenced by the people I was working with, Benjamin Moore, Dante Marioni, Richard Royal, Lino Tagliapietra, etc. I eventually decided that pushing this style would lead me to a more original and unique voice based on my family connections to the Tlingit tribe.

As my skills developed, and I learned more about sculpting glass and making more complex forms, I was able to make great strides in my work, and I shifted from being an assistant to concentrating on my work exclusively. I procured a sandblasting cabinet and built my own little studio.

My interaction with teachers, mentors, and other indigenous artists added to my knowledge of the complex issues of cultural art and making things for the commercial market.

In the Summer of 2000, I met Joe David, a respected Canadian First Nations artist from Vancouver Island. He was an artist in residence at the Pilchuck school, and I helped him learn about making glass art. This was a pivotal time for me. He supported my efforts, and at the end of the session, he adopted me and shared one of his artist names with me in a public ceremony. He opened my eyes to aspects of the design work which we both utilize and to Native spirituality through the sweat lodge ceremony.

Our initial journey continued the next summer at Pilchuck when we all collaborated on the Founder’s Totem Pole and installed it on the campus. This was another super impactful moment. A close artist friend and mentor, David Svenson, brought together Tlingit carvers from Haines, Alaska, to make a totem pole for the founders of the school - John Hauberg,

Pilchuck Totem. Photo courtesy of the Preston Singletary Studio

Anne Gould Hauberg, and Dale Chihuly. The pole held a lot of symbolism for the school, as well as for me and everyone involved.

John and Anne Hauberg were the initial supporters of Pilchuck. Since John was a passionate Native art collector and had repatriated a ceremonial dagger to a family in Angoon, Alaska, he was adopted and given a Tlingit name. John was also the heir to Weyerhaeuser, and we felt that a cedar monument was appropriate. Dale, the original inspiration for Pilchuck, is represented on the pole with glass elements attaching the wings of Raven who brought light to the world in the same way Chihuly brought Pilchuck to the world. Anne Hauberg was always a big supporter of the arts in the Northwest and is really credited for convincing her husband, John, to donate the land to Pilchuck.

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Tlingit Hat. Photo by Russell Johnson

For me, it was a rite of passage to be involved with such a significant project for the school where I learned to be the artist I am today. From this point on, a whole world opened up for me. I met other indigenous artists from other areas, including Maori, Hawaii, Aboriginal Australia, as well as other Native Americans from around the country. I collaborate, teach, and continue to advocate glass as a new medium for Indigenous artists.

The work I’m doing today is in the bridge to the ancients that developed Tlingit art objects on the Northwest coast, although we have never had a word for “art.” The work that I do takes Tlingit culture to new and different levels. I am able to synthesize work that looks traditional and modern by looking back in history and forward at the same time.

Working with Tlingit mythologies, I explore new ways of interpreting our culture. These stories have symbolism which

can be interpreted universally. I use glass and elements of Modernism, Primitivism, Surrealism, and contemporary art to bring my work to life. I like to think about an older cultural way of knowing when I look at my current understanding of our modern society.

I currently have an exhibition at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA, titled Raven and the Box of Daylight. The exhibition attempts to bring together all these elements of storytelling to create an immersive experience following the thread of how Raven brought light to the world. I use glass sculpture, projected video, and sound to bring the viewer into the story of Raven.

The show will travel the Wichita Museum of Art, the National Museum of the American Indian – Smithsonian and the Chrysler Museum.

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

TA G L E C T U R E

Utilizing Technology for the Advancement of Glass Education

By Boyd Sugiki with Bill Malatesta My hands were sweating as I walked into Kristin Tollefson’s office at Pratt Fine Arts Center, submitting a proposal to teach in the fall of 1996. At that time, I did not realize what an exciting and adventurous path it would lead me down.

The class was accepted, and so began my passion for teaching and sharing glassblowing techniques.

When I first started to work in glass in 1987, there were a few different paths that one could choose from to further their glassblowing education. You could work in a factory, or in a private studio, or maybe do some sort of an apprenticeship with an artist whom you might have admired. There were books and schools where you could attend workshops, or if you went abroad, maybe you could attend a technical training school. Organizations such as the Glass Art Society existed, which provided a community for glass students as well as professionals, but most often, the transfer of information was by word of mouth. Someone might have gone to that magical place “Pilchuck” and come back with stories of how they would do things up there in the woods of Stanwood, WA. Word of mouth was always entertaining.

In 2002, I went to Ezra Glass Studio in Fukui, Japan, which belongs to Japanese glass artist Hiroshi Yamano. I went with Nadege Desgenatez to co-teach a class; Roger Parramore and Tessa Clegg, a kilncaster from the UK, were also there. Here, as you might imagine, there was a communication barrier, and even though there was a translator, I was using a lot of gestures, air drawings, and chalk drawings to teach.

The next year at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, I started some simple line drawings which indicated jack positions from different points of view that highlighted what I thought were the most important things to focus on in the glass blowing process. These drawings would often indicate points of pressure

2D Drawings

and directional force being applied to the piece; forces which can’t be seen by just watching a demonstration. Along with the drawings, there were handouts which supplemented the drawings.

These handouts covered things like tools, heating, gathering, the punty, the working window, and building up heat.

Around 2012-2013, I stopped handing these out as I saw the drawings alone were a much more effective teaching tool.

Wherever I went, I passed out the drawings.

In 2012, I got a great hand-medown. My dad upgraded his iPad, and I got his old one. I found a program by Autodesk called Graphic. It’s a very basic,

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is the other half of the team. We teach together, and we each bring a different perspective to the students we work with.

In 2014, we went back to Ezra, this time with my iPad filled with presentations, the drawings, and posters. With more ways to present the material this time, there was something for everyone. The students even added to my drawings and translated some of them.

I would like to thank Amy Schwartz, Director of The Studio, and the Corning Museum of Glass, for their support and for helping to get these online.

This material is on the CMOG website, and at this point, it includes: Drawings: • Punty • Building up Heat Tumblers Cylinders • Bowls Rings

iPad Demo Presentations

non-intimidating vector-based program, and at the time, the program cost around $9 for the iPad version. I slowly started to translate the hand drawings, and this changed everything. The work could be saved and reworked very easily, and it opened many doors. These minimal drawings highlighted what I thought were key points in the glassblowing process. I use this program today to do much of the designs for our studio work. Along with the drawings, I also discovered Keynote on the iPad. Using Keynote, I started developing presentations that are incorporated into the hot shop demonstrations when Lisa and I go on the road. The beauty of the iPad was that it allowed us to walk into any situation and give presentations wherever we might be; particularly useful if a projector was unavailable.

Then along came Bill Malatesta. He is an Engineer who worked and lived in Seattle when I first met him, and I frequently saw him at Pratt Fine Arts Center. We quickly became friends. One day I mentioned to him that it had been my dream to animate my 2-D drawings.

I wanted to make the line drawings move.

Everyone had said I needed to do flash animation, but he told me, “No, you want to animate it in 3-D.” So, I submitted a proposal with Bill’s magic. It basically

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stated that I wanted to create some glass blowing tutorials that included animations of key parts of the process. In the fall of 2016, I received the TAG grant.

The project consisted of 3 parts: the drawings, presentations with clips of animation and video overlays, and fulllength glassblowing videos.

Bill Malatesta went to work on the animations. Originally, the idea was for Bill to teach me how to use the program, and then I would create the animations, but ultimately, Bill took on the role of animator. For this project, Bill used a free, opensource program called Blender. We created storyboards and talked about what we thought was most important to the clips.

Bill worked on creating video overlays, developing indicators highlighting points of contact, and creating different points of view. The clips provide a unique insight into the most important parts of the process.

Since 2017, we have been working on the animations, and I believe with the addition of the drawings, and the presentations, they will provide another source for the student to learn from.

Since that trip to Japan in 2002, which changed my life, I have fully enjoyed teaching, meeting new people, sharing as well as learning from everyone that we have crossed paths with. Lisa Zerkowitz

Videos: • Building up heat Bowls 1 and 2 • Punty Straightening Turning Tumblers 1 and 2 You can find it by going to the CMOG website:cmog.org/article/glass-education-innovator-sugiki Throughout this crazy process, I have discovered that there is a need for all types of educational materials. Everyone learns and absorbs things in different ways. It’s a giant puzzle, and I am constantly trying to figure out which approach is the best way to deliver the material to each individual student so that they can process it. Each student has their own unique skill set. I believe that the best thing a student can do is to study with as many people as possible and be open to all forms of glass pedagogy.

All of it, being informative and unique.

I often think back to that day at Pratt, walking into Kristin Tollefson’s office, and I’d like to thank her for the opportunity to teach at Pratt, allowing me to discover a facet of who I am. Teaching has been quite a journey. My hands still sweat on the first day of class when I look at all the new students, and the demo is about to begin, but I realize that soon there will be an exchange of information, and that’s what I love most. Being part of such a great, supportive, and sharing community.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

LECTURES

Lisa Beth Robinson and Kristin Thielking deliver the Labino Lecture, Catching a Wave: New Technologies in Art and Science

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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LECTURE

Glass, Light, and Shadow

By Robert Lanteigne, light & shadow artist For the past 30 years, I have been possessed by lighting in all its complexity. I became intrigued by lighting at a very early age, and I have never stopped loving it. I have lived through three generations of lighting sources (Incandescent, Compact Fluorescent, and LED) and have completed more than 1000 lighting projects of all kinds. Even after these modest accomplishments, there is not a day that passes by that I don’t still learn something new about Glass, Light, and Shadow.

I first started working with light in a theater in Montreal, Quebec, and the buzz was instantly attractive. From play to play, rock concert to opera, fashion show to circus, well, I’ve done it all.

Or at least I thought…

Then came Architectural Lighting, and its deep reflection on the temporal combination of permanent installation and diverse palettes of neutral color and rigid shapes; it became a personal challenge to push these boundaries with light and control. It was not an easy task and even less easy to achieve. Hence, my quest to work with glass. Since Montreal was too new in the glass scene to answers my questions, I had to turn toward an older city with more experience. So I ended it up in Murano, of course.

My journey was a total revelation, and most of all, a complete release toward freedom. I worked under a few different mentors learning different techniques to be able to bring lighting to another level. I also gained a better understanding and better control (which today still helps me go above and beyond what is necessary).

After 30 years of “Architectural Revealment,” I have decided to devote the rest of my career to creating Glass, Light & Shadow collective sculptures. When I arrived in St. Petersburg, I didn’t know anybody, and it was time to re-invent myself. One day after visiting an architect, I saw a glass blowing demonstration at the Morean Art Center—my heart started pumping again—and after a long discussion with Matt, we concluded that we needed a project that would merge our talents.

A few months later, I received a call from Matt with an opportunity to create a collaborative piece of glass, light, and shadow.

This project became my inspiration to create something I had never done before and also to bring together a team of passionate glass blowers. The project started very modestly; our client was willing to play the game with us and push the boundary to the max, and we did. The second challenge, once all the glass was selected, was in my court.

We created a paper contour mock-up of the shape we wanted to propose to our client, went to the location and installed it on the wall to see if our proportion ratio was good, and when that was approved, we started the production.

I had worked on several large scale projects, but never created them from scratch. The creation process was an exciting part since the whole sculpture had to fit in a standard elevator and could

All photos courtesy of the artist.

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

separate into three parts. Our second realization was that since we were working with more than 70 pieces of glass in different sizes, depths, textures, and shapes, we would have varying thickness to mount the glass from. It would also be good positioning for different types of lighting fixtures, beam angles, and wattage.

This would require a few hundred LEDs to create dramatic effects and reveal the shape of the sculpture structure. Once the steel structure was made, we had to weld each bracket that would hold each piece of glass, and again this was done separately.

Little note on the St. Pete glass community (especially TD Glass): as we were progressing with our sculpture, we ran out of staging space, and very quickly, help came from everywhere - people, extra space to stage our sculpture, tools, etc. I haven’t seen this camaraderie for a long time, and it was a relief to create in such an amazing area.

Once we were all set and all our pieces were assigned and welded to their respective place, I started placing lights, and composing a light symphony. Some glass was translucent, some was opaque; we used some crystals, glass drops, rondelles, and many other creations from different glass artists that brought their contributions to the pieces. Each and every one of them have one thing in common, which the client asked for: it had to be “black and white,” clear, and a bit sandblasted. What a treat to have all the perfect ingredients to work with light.

Once all the light was positioned, we took the piece to the paint shop and repainted the whole structure white to bring emphasis on the glass, to reflect as much light as possible and to be an integral part of the hosting wall where it would be mounted. Few details were to finalized on the bracket; as an example, since we didn’t want the metal to be in contact with the glass, we used automotive door trim to cover the metal and protect the glass and wired the fixture with two separate circuits to create different lighting effects.

Lighting specialist did all the wiring, the LED drivers and power supply were connected to separate outlet, and we were ready to go and install it. After figuring out the French cleat bracket system and verifying with the engineers for the anchoring to the wall, the installation began.

The whole process went smoothly, and piece by piece, the final shape was being brought to life. Once all the parts were installed, I turned the switch, tweaked the different lights, and turned it back off.

We called our client and asked him to turn the switch on, one at the time, and everyone including me was in haw. We started the installation in the afternoon, and by the time we finished and turned the lights on, it was dark outside, which made it more dramatic. We were all watching the result of our installation (which took a few months) and silently enjoying the show.

It has been an honor to meet, discover, and work with all these passionate glass artists who made me look so good. Thank you, and I am looking forward to the next collective project.

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LECTURE

Navigating Opportunities in Public Art

By Michael Saroka

This lecture explored the growing demand for public art and the avenues for artists to become involved. Public art is unique in the requirements and demands of the artist to consider. Engineering, building codes, public safety, and longevity are all aspects that need to not only be considered but verified before installation.

The variety of disciplines are easily handled if partnerships with a trusted network of people work through the project together.

I. Introduction

My background in public art comes not as an artist but as a manufacturer of architectural decorative glass which has provided me with the opportunity to work with many artists in their public art pursuits. Public art projects share similarities with the construction world, and I hope to share some of my experience in navigating the process and finding opportunities for artists who would like to pursue public art.

II. Why Public Art?

Getting into public art presents unique opportunities for the artist. The bids for projects are community-centric, and the artist’s role is to give back to the community a picture of themselves. The piece is a permanent installation right in the middle of everyone’s day-to-day lives. Its position makes the audience and the people whom the artist can connect with much larger than at a gallery or show.

There is a strong need for more public art. Municipalities in the public sector and even private construction has recognized this fact and are moving to incorporate public art. Reduced crime, cleaner neighborhoods, and higher rates of health and well being correlate with areas having public art. (Sung, 2016)

III. Where Opportunities Can Be Found

The majority of bids for public art are public bids, typically by the municipality. Government projects in some areas have a one to two percent portion of the overall budget dedicated to public art. To be involved in the bid process, there is usually a call for bids through a dedicated channel or the artist is invited to bid if registered with the municipality. Different arts organizations may also monitor areas that have public requests and put them out to their members to apply. An artist may want to check their local city’s website as the program will be laid out there if one exists. You shouldn’t restrict your search locally, though, as other towns will accept bids from outside.

For an artist to qualify for a public art project, the jury may want to see past work the artist has done. It is essential to show 36

Fish Icon • Jeremy Gascho & Ken Zawislak

that the artist can handle the scale of the project. Starting with smaller installations and then increasing the extent of work is the best path to work on larger projects.

The architect usually handles private commissions for public art. Artists are invited to participate in the project but typically in a designer or consultant role. Trades on the projects will do the building of the piece, and the artist will be required to be available for consultation and clarification of the design intent. Because private work is part of the construction process, the engineering and building codes required on the site also apply to the piece. It may be part of the artist’s jobs to modify their design to accommodate other constraints while keeping design intent.

IV. Elements Involved in Public Art Projects

As previously mentioned, there are many considerations on a public art piece that are taken into account. While it is not practical for an artist to be well versed in each of the areas, it is still their responsibility to meet them.

1) Design The element of design is the most compatible with the artist’s role in the overall execution of the piece. Their role is creating a piece that tells the story of the essential concept through their work. However, the other restrictions or requirements of the THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

different aspects of the process means the artist must also use their design skills to navigate around these constraints.

has its challenges. To be successful, it is recommended that you do your research about the process.

2) Engineering As installations get larger, the materials used to create them will have to withstand larger forces and sometimes not be able to handle their weight. Materials may need to change to meet these physical obstacles.

If installations are outside, other factors will need to be taken into account that impacts the durability of the piece.

1) Familiarize yourself with the process Identify if it is the contractor or the artist that owns the project. If the contractor owns the project, the artist’s role is that of a designer or consultant. The contractor has all the decision making authority, and the fees paid to the artist are to cover design.

If the artist owns the project, the artist has full control over the project but also has all the responsibility and liability. The artist would also be fully responsible for the management of costs. Fees paid to the artist would be the balance of the project after expenses.

3) Public Safety/Code requirements If work is to be part of a construction project, established building codes apply to the installation. These codes are there for the safety of the public as well as the durability of the facility. The architects and engineers on the project will have the authority to change anything that does not meet code, and trades will also recommend best practices for installation.

These alterations will impact the design.

4) Maintenance The fact that public art pieces are permanent installations brings the requirement for proper maintenance and durable construction. When applying for a project, it will be necessary to provide proof of the durability of the piece as well as provide proper care instructions. The jury will not consider an installation that may degrade over time or one that has expensive or onerous care instructions.

2) Get advice from others Other artists who have worked on public art projects will be able to share their experience. This is valuable as everyone’s first time is a learning experience.

Other trades can help advise on material selection and installation recommendations. Generally, people will like to help if it is just advice. Please don’t ask them to design anything for you or supply free material, but direction and suggestions usually are given willingly.

Architects and contractors are also helpful if you have not ever read construction documents or drawings before. It is a valuable skill to have when planning out a piece.

3) Roles in a project Learn the roles of everyone on the project and their responsibilities. If you know who the tradespeople are, what the general contractor is trying to get accomplished, and if art consultants are involved and whom they are working for, it is easier to know how to communicate with them and what they expect from you.

4) Legal requirements Know your rights and legal responsibilities. Do not sign contracts without reading them, and if required, hire a lawyer to explain the contract to you. It is important to know what you are agreeing to, and if it is within your control.

VI. Conclusion

Public art is a growing part of our community, and it is going to continue as we focus more on the wellness of society.

Build a network of people that can help you through your projects and remember that these projects are all collaborative.

Why should public art not be built by the community if it is for the community?

Start small and learn the process, moving into larger opportunities as your skills and experience grows.

VII. References

Sung, H. (2016). The Influence and Role of Arts on community Well-being.

Arizona: Arizona State University.

5) Project Management Lastly, there are many moving parts on a public project - contractors, transportation, insurance, legal, consultants, architects, and the artist all working on getting the project done. While these may seem like a lot of obstacles, with proper project management, in reality, they are a group of resources to help achieve the goal. Everyone has unique skills and perspectives on this project, and if brought in early enough, the artist can lean on their expertise during the design process to minimize redesigns and expenses later in the process. It is also an opportunity to form a group of resources for future projects.

V. Advice

Moving forward with public art is a big step that can be very fulfilling but also

Western Mystery • Finch Spencer • Olympic Sculpture Park

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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LECTURE

What Happens When Glass Art Collides with Social Media

By Mike Shelbo I believe I was chosen to speak on this topic because I’m a skeptic of the internet, a borderline pessimist, but yet also very optimistic for humanity to utilize the potential of information and connectivity. I’m older by the internet, but not by much. I was born in 1980, and in 1983 ARPANET adopted TCP/IP and would begin assembling the network of networks. In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee would make the World Wide Web. The jump from playing Pitfall on the Atari for the first time, to braving the Oregon Trail on an Apple IIc, to building my own PC and dial up modem, was a quick and natural progression. Just like the advancement of the internet from that point forth. Aware of how to navigate the developing world wide web, I was more than ready by the time social media was introduced. I have friends I met from creating a “Glass Peoples” group on MySpace for makers and fans of glassblowing in 2003, which was also the same year I attended my first GAS conference.

So, what happens when glass art collides with the internet? What is the relevance of glass art in the age of information? Let’s look at glass art and the digital platform together.

Take technology plus the internet and an art career, and what do you get? What do you need to make it work? You will likely need new tech devices, the bare minimum being a new smart phone with a decent camera. Then, you need nice photos (taken by you or another person,) fast internet speed, and an audience. Tap into their feeds with quality content and an honest digital projection of yourself.

Can you sustain a career via the internet? Yes, but I cannot stress enough the importance of content. Photos and videos make your first impression and it is a very important one. What you write strikes through and cuts deeper; that is the connection! Once you connect, impact, or evoke emotion from someone you are in. You can’t please everyone and

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Mike Shelbo presents his social media lecture to a full house

yourself so focus on being authentic and the way you operate online will be more natural.

Doing it yourself or employing a professional to help can each have their own advantages. People like to see someone just like them doing it and want to support that. Others are drawn to a

more professional aesthetic and want everything polished and crisp. Some people go big, posting a lot, and others stay small, posting once a day or less per week. Some people like to engage their audience and get into the comments and direct message systems. Others prefer just to post less often and let it ride,

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not ever really tending to the commentary. It usually reflects the personality of the user. So, in that way, it is best to be genuine in how you conduct yourself online. My advice is to speak digitally the way you would if a person was in front of you having the same conversation.

Hopefully, it will not only be civil but respectful of the fact that real people are behind these digital names and profile pictures.

If you are going to spend time using social media to promote you and your work, spend it wisely. There are many platforms to choose from to be a content creator. You may find several online platforms that suit your needs, and they might be site or app specific.

Facebook captures a wide audience but can require more written content. Instagram, the most photo-focused platform, lends itself well to showcasing artists’ work, but YouTube continues to be a great resource for glass artists – from tutorials and demos to artist profiles and exhibition reviews. Other platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, and Reddit also have their unique audiences and applications, and it’s up to you to decide what fits best with your work, your goals, and your available time.

I happily focused on the more visual based Instagram. They continually added features that allowed me to use it as my main online outlet. Able to have a clickable link in your profile, anyone can connect potential customers to a website. Now, you can private message, video chat, live stream, post short and long format videos, and more. Let’s look at Instagram but know that almost everything next pertains to other online popular online platforms.

Let’s briefly go over the inner workings of Instagram. Algorithms are responsible for determining if your post will even be seen by those that have chosen to follow you. It looks at your total number of followers, the amount and percentage of them that interact with your account via

likes and comments and other interactions. Use of hashtags can feed into the algorithm. Whether or not you have a certified badge on Instagram or Twitter, means getting every post shown to your entire following or fighting the algorithm to have that post be relevant. You can set your account to Business or personal, but for independent artists I recommend using Business setting for access to their free analytics (called “Insights” on Instagram). It helps you see how your viewers use your account and content which will benefit your forward progress. There are direct messaging systems that you can use, but you can also have an email button that lets viewers send a message to the email address of your choice. You can use the Instagram story feature for content that you want to be temporary or to echo out your recent post, possibly getting more eyes on the original, as the story post will only last 24 hours.

Quality content matters! Post nice photos and good videos, professionally taken when optional. If you are active and have time to do it, it’s not a bad idea to post your content on all platforms possible. Some of them link together. I have a Twitter account that looks very active but it’s only because I echo every Instagram post to it. Does it matter? I don’t know. Does it hurt? No, because it’s so easy that it’s no different that posting to Instagram. I have seen it result in sales and interactions with my followers, so I continue to use it. Some of my followers likely only use Twitter but are still notified to my content publicly available on Instagram with clickable links.

How do you choose? I don’t know! And the digital landscape is ever changing, so don’t get too comfortable. Today, the next big thing in social media may have launched, and we haven’t heard of it yet.

As an artist looking for patrons of my arts, I am always curious and continue to watch for what’s next. Do what you can with what you’ve got and be flexible for what could be coming next.

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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LECTURE

Learning From Visions of the Past to Add Visual Depth to the Future.

By Helen Slater Stokes In the contemporary world, 3D film, television, and VR imagery is at the cutting edge of visual technology. For decades we have been captivated by such optical illusions and allusions that play with our perception of the world.

From Renaissance artists’ capturing the real world via the linear perspective of the two-dimensional picture plane to the auto-stereoscopic barrier methods pioneered in 1692 by French painter Bois-Clair and the ‘Op’ Art movement of the 1960s, the creation of such imagery has fascinated artists and a wider audience.

Over the last ten years, in my own glass practice, I too have become intrigued by the illusory qualities of glass and how an image is perceived when embedded in this optical material. My current research exploits old and new technologies, engaging with the two-dimensional image as a three-dimensional artifice; examining and extending the creation and perception of images within glass.

My GAS conference presentation addressed traditional artistic spatial illusory methods, i.e., mathematical perspective and tonality, in addition to contemporary devices such as lenticular print and lens technology in creating a new spatial-visual language for glass.

This practical research intended to focus on the creation of a spatial image in glass, to challenge the viewers perceived understanding of the image and, through perceptual illusion, extend the image beyond the physical boundaries of the glass form. This almost holographic notion of images is something that exists within modern technology, but as of yet hasn’t been fully examined and exploited using glass. It should be noted that the objective for this new conception of an image in glass was to create imagery which functions from an analogue 40

Fig 1: Parallax barrier Autostereoscopy Lenticular lens, DOMINÓ PNG clipart

Fig 2: Asymmetric Vortex, (2019), digital lenticular image, 420mm x 420mm x 3mm • Photo: Helen Slater Stokes

standpoint, rather than the employment of moving image, LED or digital screen generated holography. These works should communicate and engender observed depth or spatial reference through a combination of two-dimensional imagery and the viewer’s interaction with the works, thereby locating the generation of this Illusionistic or ‘virtual space’ within the onlooker.

My Ph.D. research into The Optical Perception of Image in Glass has led me to conceptually and practically analyze ‘how we see,’ allowing me to examine visual depth perception. The combination of glass as an optical material and research into current 3D technologies has facilitated the development of a new visual language within my work.

In this new visual language, images are perceived to recede into glass and burst forward, superseding the limitations of the glass form they are contained within.

Contemporary lenticular lenses are sophisticated. Employing a curved lens surface, lenticular sheets are made up of an array of magnifying lenses, or lenticules, calculated to magnify the differing areas of the image when viewed from different angles. (Fig 1).

By exploiting our binocular vision, which is the ability to receive differing images simultaneously to each eye, theses lenses allow the observer to receive different viewpoints of the same scene, or as in Figure 1 a different coloured strip to each eye. Here the binocular disparity created by the space between our eyes, or parallax, combined with cognitive and biological processes, create the perception of three-dimensional depth.

The production of accurate 20 lenticules per inch (LPI) three-dimensional lenticular lenses in glass is something that has not yet been explored or achieved. In the lenticular industry, glass lenses would address several of the commercial failings of the acrylic lens currently employed, such as Ultra Violet (UV) deterioration, surface scratching, and the scratching off of applied imagery. Glass lenses will also open up possibilities on a wider creative scale in design-based, sculptural and architectural applications.

The perception of a glass lens in terms of quality of the production material also adds a certain kudos, particularly for artists who wish to work with this

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type of illusion. The historical associations to today’s plastic, acrylic or resin lenses speaks of a throwaway or slightly gimmick-based commercial market, in contrast to glass, which is perceived as being much higher in terms of material quality and value.

Lenticular lenses, as shown in figure 1, work by directing light, or the viewer’s sightlines to a correctly aligned image or colour. Digitally produced lenticular images, like lenses, are very complex, but essentially they are made up of two or more images that are sliced into strips and laid next to one another in a pattern that allows the right eye, from a particular viewpoint, to see a complete version of that image and the left to see another. The images mimic how we see in the real world.

Here it is useful to refer to the finger test. By holding your finger in front of you and closing each eye separately, you can see the slight difference in the image data each eye is receiving when looking at an object in space. As you move the finger further away, you will observe that the difference between what your right eye sees and what you left eye sees is less noticeable. But as your finger moves closer, the disparity is greater.

During this research, I worked in collaboration with UK based lenticular print and holographic company Tribal 3D Ltd. This enabled me to learn about the creation of the lenticular image in addition to gaining advise on the accuracy of the glass lenses I was creating.

By using the existing acrylic lenticular sheet as a guide, I began by creating investment moulds. These moulds were used to kiln form initial lenses for testing. Of course, the refractive index of glass, defined as the speed at which light propagates through the material, is very different than the acrylic or resin which standard lenticular lenses are made from. As a result, the difference

in how light passes through a glass lens meant that the angle produced, as light hits the curve of the lens, was not the same as acrylic and so the strip of the image, viewed by the onlooker, was not accurately meshed to the lens.

This resulted in ghosted images, faint similes of the intended composition.

At this stage adjustments and extensive testing had to be carried out on the lens and image calibration to enable it to match the lenticules and allow the viewer, when looking through the lens, to gather the image data of different viewpoints of the composition to each eye.

Having started to perfect the lens, I was then able to start to teach myself how to fabricate a digital 3D image, using 3D software and then once completed, how to translate this into a two-dimensional interlaced lenticular image. (Fig 2) To create these images, I used Rhino 3D and Adobe Photoshop software, and to interlace the three-dimensional compositions and create the lenticular image, I used Power Illusion software from developers Useful Byte.

These pieces site the notion of perception with the viewer. As a two-dimensional image, this digital illustration does not become three- dimensional until a lens is added. Once added, the lens generates an almost holographic depth.

Interestingly, this perceived depth cannot be captured within a photograph, as this offers only a one-eye perspective on the world. Here, a moving image is necessary to portray the effect. As you can see from the image below (fig.3 and 4), due to the viewer’s movement past or around the work, the interlaced lenticular image creates echoes, as it transitions from one spatial position to the next. This replicates our understanding of an object in space, in which each angle of view of that object would be slightly different.

Field Work, detail, (2019) • Helen Slater Stokes * kiln formed lenticular glass, 460mm x 380mm x 9mm • Photo: Helen Slater Stokes

Asymmetric Cone, detail (2019) • Helen Slater Stokes • Kiln formed lenticular glass, 420mm x 420mm x 6mm • Photo: Helen Slater Stokes

This work starts to develop a new visual language when considering an image in glass. It describes spatial time and its transition, an illusion which is triggered by our interaction with the work. The knowledge regarding the production techniques to create these lenses and the digital imagery can offer alternatives to the commercial print industry in addition to being of interest to the glass community. Its applications could expand to form synergies within architectural and installation-based fields.

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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LECTURE

Gathering Around the Fire – The Effects of the Small Studio

By Phil Vinson & Chuck Wells

Brian Lonsway, Fritz Dreisbach, and friend pose in front of Lonsway’s mobile furnace studio. Photo: Fritz Dreisbach, c. 1970

Small glass furnaces and studios have been a part of the American Studio Glass Movement from the beginning.

The development of small glass furnaces made glass accessible to people outside the factories, specifically academics and artists. Since then, glass studios have developed and grown. In this paper, we will briefly explore the historical context of the “small, hot soft-glass-working studio,” their recent resurgence, and their roles as catalysts for larger glass studios and as nodes of social engagement and incubators for the glass community.

Historical Context

In his 2012 lecture, ‘Where Were You in ’62?’ Fritz Dreisbach explained that prior to 1962, glass was only being made in factories. That changed when a group of individuals gathered around a furnace and started the studio glass movement in the United States. Some of those individuals were Harvey Littleton, Harvey Leafgreen, Dominick Labino, Tom McGlauchlin, Otto Wittman, and Norm Schulman. Meeting in March and June of ’62 for workshops

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at the Toledo Museum of Art, these men were not practicing glassblowers; rather, they were ceramic artists who were experimenting with glass batch in ceramic pots.

Melting the glass, however, was proving to be difficult. Instead of a liquid, it had the consistency of cottage cheese. The solution came from Nick Labino, who took the pots out and converted it into a day tank. At the end of these workshops, the artists left, not just with the objects made, but with the realization that small glass furnaces worked and had a magnitude of potential; they could be built and used anywhere, from homes to universities.

In the summer of 1964, they attended the World Craft Council Conference in New York, where they introduced artists and craftsmen around the world to the Labino style furnaces. Over the next decade, the Labino style furnaces popped up all over the country. Some were even mobile. For example, Brian Lonsway’s 1969 furnace was hauled by a trailer built from a converted 1934 Chevrolet.

In the mid to late ’70s, two other furnace styles were developed, one on the

west coast by Richard Marquis and one on the east coast by Billy Bernstein. Marquis deviated from the square form of the Labino style. His furnaces were invested, side-fired furnaces with a low, domed top.

Bernstein’s models, called “Billy” furnaces, were invested and top-fired with a rounded interior. Their rounded igloo-shape made this style more fuel-efficient.

Small Studios...

Since the start of the studio glass movement, studios and equipment have evolved. Many studios have become permanent locations with large equipment. Nevertheless, compared to a bottle factory, every glass shop is small.

However, for our purpose, a small studio is defined by the scale of its equipment in terms of physical size and the infrastructure requirements for operation. The small studio set up has a small footprint that is more domestic than industrial, and it can be used in multiple locations because the equipment is not tied to the architecture.

Overhead is low, as one piece of equipment can take the place of several and only

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needs to be on when required, resulting in a manageable business model for someone starting out. This allows artists to test the market viability of having a studio, especially in glass “deserts,” where little or no precedent has been set for glass art in a community. This versatility allows for small studios to be more financially sustainable, to be more flexible in its engagement with the public, and ultimately to create a larger glass community.

… as catalysts for larger glass studios

While one might argue that by advocating for small studios, we are making an argument against larger studios – this is not the case. Rather, both the larger and smaller shops feed each other through a symbiotic relationship within a community.

Paul and Tammy Klaco and their son are an example of a simple, small home studio that feeds into a larger studio. They take classes at the Chrysler Museum to learn new techniques and then enjoy family time in their backyard studio while bonding over the glassblowing process.

Small studios can also become larger studios, as with the case of Kate Civiero and Grant and Erin Garmezy. Kate purchased a Baby Dragon furnace in 2015 that she set up in her converted barn studio. She originally planned to focus on retail wares and to develop her sculptural explorations, but the demand for workshops quickly grew; she now has a steady stream of students and plans to create a community arts center at her location.

Grant and Erin Garmezy have also developed a community and larger studio from their initial small, home studio.

Their studio, Dragon Ranch, started with a Big Dragon. Around it, they have built a comprehensive shop and sizable team to create complex sculptures. Having their studio at home has allowed them to explore new ideas in different ways.

Additionally, it has enhanced their visiting artist experience at other facilities by enabled them to create parts to bring with them for demos and workshops.

… as nodes of social engagement and incubators for the glass community

Small hot shops can be mobile, which can lead to more opportunities and access for both artist and audience. Public demon-

Co-founders of Mobile Glassblowing Studios, Chuck Wells (left) and Phil Vinson (right), stand by a Little Dragon Furnace. Photo: Matt Odom

strations and workshops are now possible in a wider variety of venues. The artist no longer needs to work solely to get people to walk through their doors, and the audience does not have to seek out the hot glass process specifically to encounter it. Public demonstrations in non-art venues are a bridge to the art world, inviting people from a broad range of political and socioeconomic backgrounds to come together around the fire. Public perception of what an artist is and what we can do in a community is altered. In this way, the small studio can be a form of social activism on a grassroots level as well as incubators for developing glass communities.

One group that is being more exposed to the glass process due to small, mobile glass units is the teen population. Young people’s exposure to the hot glass process is crucial. Seeing an artist who works with their hands and interacts with the public can be inspiring; it can show a young person an exciting, professional avenue that they did not know existed, providing a sense of community and purpose.

An example of this is the work of Tracy Kirchmann. Tracy has been working with creative teens in Chicago for years and recently helped get a glass program at the Rich Township School District in a suburb of Chicago with a Double Little Dragon.

This program is one of a handful of studios around the U.S. that has been incorporated into the public school system over the last few years. This development is

helping turn the STEM education model (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) into STEAM by including the arts.

The problem-solving, manual dexterity and creativity gained from practicing art create generally well-rounded people, and ultimately more appealing candidates for any job field.

The exposure to glass provided by small-scale studios also creates a new collector base and rallies support for artistic endeavors even in a small community. An example of this is our company, Mobile Glassblowing Studios (MGBS) in Americus, Georgia. While Americus has had some exposure to the glass process through the local college, Georgia Southwestern State University, MGBS has helped bring it to the public.

We have worked with our local community to create and sponsor festivals and events, such as monthly downtown First Fridays and an annual Hot Glass Craft Beer Festival, now in its fourth year.

Conclusion

The effects of the small glass studio are manifold, and they are an integral part of the glass community. They help more glass artists enter the field at a lower initial cost and help create a new community of enthusiasts and collectors by exposing more people to the process.

This exposure is possible in part because the small studios are not site-specific but can go anywhere to engage with anyone.

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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LECMOS

Dr. Heike Brachlow delivers her lecmo, What Can Go Wrong, and How To Fix It?, to a rapt audience at the Bayfront Hilton

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LECMO

Kiln Casting: What Can Go Wrong, and How To Fix It?

By Dr. Heike Brachlow A visual journey through the kiln casting process, Brachlow presents her making methods from the initial model to finished glass sculpture. The second section of this lecture focuses on problem-solving: It’s cracked – what went wrong?

How can bubbles on the edges be avoided? Why did my mould break?

Introduction to Heike Brachlow’s Work, Inspiration, and Process

My current body of work is based on a concept called D-form, a three-dimensional form created by joining the edges of two flat shapes with the same perimeter length. Results differ wildly depending on the point at which the shapes are joined.

I have been exploring these shapes since 2015; they have been changing slowly, elongating, thinning. I aim to create a colour fade from almost black in the more solid parts to almost nothing along the edges; polished surfaces let the light in and matte surfaces capture and diffuse it. The initial model is made from polypropylene sheet material. From this, a three-part plaster mould is made, to be able to cast multiple waxes. The wax model

is cleaned, and bubbles and deviations in the form are filled with warm, soft wax. Next, a three-layer refractory mould is made.

I use Crystalcast, a British readymade refractory material, for the first two layers, and Wrightcast LC16AC refractory cement, mixed with 20% plaster, for the outer layer. After one or two days, the wax is steamed out, and the mould volumised with water and left to dry. I pre-fire my moulds in the kiln to 428oF (220oC) for about 12 hours, then blow out the moulds with compressed air, place large terracotta flower pots filled with slightly more glass than necessary on top of kiln-washed shelf strips on top of one of the mould openings, and program the kiln with a time delay so I can check it at top temperature. I try to pull off the flower pots when the mould is full, but before it runs over too much, to prevent the glass from the pot running into the mould as the last bit often contains a devitrification or colour trail. When the kiln has completed its process hold at top temperature, I place a fibre blanket on top of the mould to encourage even cooling.

After the glass is annealed and completely cooled, the outer mould is chiseled off, and the softer inner mould removed. The sprues are cut off with a brick saw with a continuous rim diamond blade, and the whole shape is ground and polished with a waterfed angle grinder. Only the matte surfaces are hand-rubbed after having been finished to 400 grit with the angle grinder. I can make 1-2 pieces per month, depending on size, and sometimes, everything works perfectly. Quite often, though, it doesn’t...

Problem-Solving (What Can Go Wrong and How Can It Be Fixed?)

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

–Thomas Edison Kiln casting is a long and complicated process, with lots of potential for things going wrong. This section looks at a series of problems, along with preventative measures and/or remedies.

There are many approaches to all aspects of kiln casting and equally as many problems and solutions. Here are some of mine:

Wax

Heike Brachlow in her studio with plaster mould and wax, 2016. Photo: Roger Lee

Lots can go wrong when working with waxes. Cooling lines in the wax, bubbles, and divots can all be fixed fairly easily (although maybe not speedily); however, the following issue is fatal if it occurs and needs to be addressed during mould making. When using clay as a reservoir for making a mould of a delicate wax, great care should be taken that all the clay is removed either before or while steaming out the wax. The mould needs to stay upside down until the removal of clay is complete, because if a small bit of clay falls into the mould and lodges in a delicate connection or thin part of the shape, it is likely to crack the glass.

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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Broken plaster mould for wax, 2018. Photo: Heike Brachlow

Broken plaster mould repair, 2018. Photo: Heike Brachlow

Mould

outer layer. The mould should be of even thickness, which can be challenging to achieve over sharp corners. When hand-building a mould, I always identify the areas I need to focus on and make sure I add lots of material to the problem areas. Commercial mould mixes such as Crystalcast generally work better for poured moulds; however, I do use Crystalcast for hand-building but add an outer layer of refractory cement for strength.

Mould Material Failure My moulds for wax are mostly three-part plaster moulds – I rarely make silicone moulds because of time and expense. The main disadvantage of plaster moulds is that they deteriorate relatively quickly. My moulds often warp slightly, causing wax to leak out, and sometimes break. Wax leaks can easily be contained by using clay to seal the seams. I have had a large plaster mould break into seven pieces, but I urgently needed another wax from it. With a combination of clay to seal the gaps and duct tape, packing tape, and tie-down straps to hold it together, I managed to pour a reasonable wax model. Moulds for glass made from just plaster and silica are often not very strong at high temperatures.

This weakness can lead to mould failure, especially when scaling up or using unfamiliar materials, which is common when doing residencies in other countries.

Possible fixes include changing the ratio of plaster to silica, with more silica making the mould stronger at high temperatures, but also softer at room temperature; changing the water to powder ratio (more powder means stronger), and adding fiberglass needles or inert materials with different particle sizes into the outer layer(s), such as grog, sand or perlite. An outside layer of refractory cement mixed with approximately 20% plaster is very effective, especially for larger moulds.

Alternatively, a good commercial mould mix such as Crystalcast from Goodwin Refractory Services can be used. Crystalcast is extremely strong if poured with appropriate wall thickness. Wall thickness depends on the size of the model and the weight of glass.

Firing Setting Up When setting up for firing, moulds should not be touching each other. They should be leveled, if necessary, on a bed of sand. If glass is stacked directly into the mould, it should not protrude too much to avoid the glass slumping and landing outside of the mould. Shelf strips coated in shelf primer/kiln wash can be arranged on top of the mould to contain and guide the glass.

When terracotta flower pots are used as reservoirs, they need to sit above the mould. Placing the flower pot straight on the mould can cause problems – if the mould fills with glass to the top, and the glass touches the terracotta, it will crack (the glass, not the pot). Normally, I use kiln shelf strips to support the reservoir on top of the mould. I prime these with shelf primer to prevent the glass from sticking. For large moulds, I sometimes suspend the reservoir with kiln furniture or bricks above the mould, rather than place it straight on top.

Issues Relating to the Firing Cycle

Poorly Made Mould Hand-building generally results in a stronger mould than pouring (except when a commercial mould mix such as Crystalcast is used) and gives you the opportunity to add grog or sand into the

Mould Temperature During the ramp-up to process temperature, a hold at approximately 1250oF (680oC) can be incorporated to even out the temperature throughout kiln, mould, and glass. The even temperature serves the dual purposes of gently slumping the glass (bubble squeeze) and avoiding cold spots within the mould,

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which could cause the glass pouring into the mould from the reservoir to become more viscous on contact, which may, in extreme cases, cause the mould to overflow.

Uneven Shrinkage (“Suckers”) When glass cools, it shrinks. If it cools too quickly through its liquid-to-solid transformation, the exterior of the glass will solidify first, while the interior is still hotter and liquid. When the interior solidifies, it needs to shrink but is stopped by the solid outer shell. This results in surface craters, similar to bubbles in appearance, but retaining the mould surface on the inside.

These shrink pockets are called “suckers” (technical term for uneven shrinkage). Suckers can easily be avoided by evening out the temperature during the transformation from liquid to solid, essentially pre-annealing the glass. I add a hold at 150-180oC (300-350oF) above annealing temperature (at 1200oF (650oC) for Bullseye and most other soda-lime glass), then slowly ramp to annealing temperature. The hold time and ramp depend on the shape and size of the piece – it should be long enough to even out the temperature within the glass. For my current work, I hold for approximately 6 to 8 hours and ramp at about 4-8oC (7-14oF) per hour. For very large moulds, it may be necessary to go slower and/or have several soaks on the way down.

Shape Induced Stress Another issue can arise from shrinkage during the cooling, in the form of shape-induced stress. If the object to be cast has sharp angles, and the glass is fairly thin, it might not be possible to cast without making some adjustments such as adding more glass (thickness) to problem areas. Excess glass can be ground off after annealing to achieve the intended form. To reduce shape-induced stress, follow the firing instructions for uneven shrinkage described above. In the case of shrinkage around a refractory core, it is highly advisable to weaken the core making it softer. Adding modifiers, such as diatomaceous earth, sawdust, paper pulp, or similar to the mould mix, will accomplish this weakening. The mould mix can also be made weaker by adding more water or less powder or by mechanically weakening the mould after it has set. An example would be to cut slots into a hollow core from the inside. It is better to plan for a hollow core rather than a solid one to aid even cooling.

Annealing Having already discussed uneven shrinkage and shape induced stress, I want to add a few words on annealing.

Glass, as a substance, is very slow to transfer heat. It is important to keep the mass of glass even in temperature as it passes through the annealing range to avoid creating stress in the glass.

When glass is thicker, the transfer of heat is slower, and therefore the cooling needs to be slower.

While it is hard to find instructions on a complete firing program, we all know about and use annealing charts. However, have you ever read the small print on an annealing chart? It says something like “these charts are based on a flat slab of uniform thickness which is set up so it can cool equally from all sides. If your work is not set up in such a way, select an annealing cycle for twice the thickness of your piece”. I don’t quite do this, but I do anneal on the cautious side.

For large works, I normally cover the top of my mould with fiber blanket to facilitate a more even cooling. I usually open the kiln after the process hold, when it is on its way down, between 1500o and 1300oF (815o - 700oC), to remove the flower pots and add the fiber blanket.

Bubbles It is relatively difficult to kiln cast a form without any bubbles. While most kiln casters like bubbles – they add liveliness and interest there are areas where bubbles are not welcome. On edges and high points, a burst bubble can give a frayed appearance.

To control bubbles, one needs to know or guess where the bubbles will be. Bubbles will rise during the process soak at top temperature, taking the path of least resistance. If the mould is open-faced, bubbles will sit on the surface and eventually burst and vanish. If it is a closed mould, bubbles will rest against the inner mould surface at the highest point they can reach. I always think about bubble behavior when choosing a location for the sprue, where the glass enters. I have found that symmetrical setups work better than asymmetrical setups.

If I think bubbles may be caught against the mould on an edge or high point, I add wax fins to the model, so bubbles rise into the fins, which can be ground off as part of the cold working process.

A lot of the failures discussed are mine, but I have also borrowed some from students and colleagues (thank you!).

Many thanks to Richard Whiteley for generously sharing his research on firing and annealing. And thanks to GAS, for the invitation to give a Lecmo!

Apagogue, 2016 • Heike Brachlow • Cast glass • H 12.2”, W 13.2”, D 8.7” (H31cm W33.5cm D22cm) • Photo: Ester Segarra

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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LECMO

Observances in St. Pete

By Joseph Cavalieri In the weeks since I presented at the GAS conference, I have some good news I would like to share before I talk about my lecture. I have been asked to teach at Ringling College of Art and Design and Corning Museum of Glass, both in 2020, and to teach at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Israel in late 2019. I have also been asked to attend a two-month residency in Coachella Valley, near Palms Springs, and, a first for me, will be teaching at a summer camp in Maine. It will be my first time teaching 8 to 15-year-olds. Wish me luck!

The Day Before

I was so glad I volunteered for the portfolio review the day before my lecture. I met students who recently or were just about to graduate from art school. The work they shared really blWew me away. I recognized them sitting in the audience of my marketing and residencies lecture the next day. Now they have a plan and a huge list of tips that will help them market their art both now and in the future.

A Bit About Me

I am a New York artist working with and teaching painting on stained glass. My focus is on one-of-a-kind commissions and art for exhibitions in the US and internationally. I specialize in contemporary stained glass, often based on fables and books, as well as the production of these works using techniques including penning, hand painting, airbrushing, and sandblasting stained glass.

M is for Marketing

My marketing lecture included information I gained while working as an Art Director at GQ, People, and Good Housekeeping magazines in New York City and from experience running my glass studio. It is very comprehensive, covering the following topics: • Why Market • Dedication of Time 48

Pop Culture Children • Joseph Cavalieri • Glass, steel, LED lights • 14 1/2 x 28 1/2 x 3 inches • Photo: Joseph Cavalieri

• Marketing Materials • A Sample Case • Promoting Exhibitions • 4 Tips My “Sample Case” started with a survey of members of the Metropolitan Contemporary Glass Group based in New York. I asked the members to list their favorite glass magazines, and then I proceeded to list the steps I took to get an article about my work in those magazines. The main focus of my marketing lecture is to have no stress and to take marketing steps to get you where you want to be professionally in the future.

I present many tips on how to get an article on your work in magazines that specialize in glass and offer many creative options. This lecture gives advice suitable for any type of artist and can be helpful to any small business that needs to promote a product.

One tip I spoke about came from a glass collector who was looking to sell his large Blenko glass collection. He chose to

show it in a SoHo furniture showroom, in New York City, along with sofas made in the same style and era as the glass. Thinking outside of the typical gallery setting was a great solution.

Duane Reed, of the Duane Reed Gallery Art Gallery in St. Louis, Missouri, gives this advice on contacting a gallery, “It is best to spend time making your work and getting it into shows, articles, juried shows, and press like the Corning Review. Also, get introductions to the curators through artists that have shown there. Use snail-mailed invitations and press releases to keep them updated on your work.” He advises, “Don’t send unsolicited portfolios.”

Marketing does not necessarily need to be in the promotion of an art exhibition. It can be used to promote a unique series of work or an article telling about an experience at an art residency, a new video, or a special technique.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

R is for Residencies

The residency portion of my lecture is very visual and explains what, exactly, an art residency is and what the artist and the hosts hope to gain from the time together.

This lecture has many tips on choosing and applying for art residencies.

I have presented this lecture as part of my adult education series and during different visiting artist programs in schools. I am continually updating the information each time, and I did a major revamp of the marketing segment when I presented it at the Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC) two weeks before the GAS conference. The lecture at PGC was free and open to the public.

I have presented at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland, and the Sheridan Crafts and Design Program in Toronto. I also have presented these lectures during art residencies including my research residency at Sydney College for the Arts, my working residency inside the Uroboros Glass Factory in Portland, and my most recent ten week-long residency at GoggleWorks in Reading, PA. I have taught and presented this talk at Corning Museum of Glass, Pilchuck, Penland School of Crafts, Pittsburgh Glass Center, UrbanGlass in Brooklyn, Snow Farm, O’Keeffe’s Ghost Ranch, Public Glass, The Studios of Key West, the Washington Glass School, Glass Axis, Milkweed Arts, as well as internationally at Espace VERRE in Montréal, Berlin Glas eV, the Fire Station in Dublin, Ireland, Anla Glas A/C in Denmark, and at Lourdes Zenobi Glass Art in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I have also offered these lectures at glass supply companies where I have taught many times, including Delphi Glass, Ed Hoy, and D&L Art Glass Supply, as well as internationally at Creative Glass in Zürich, and Creative Glass in Kent, UK. You can find more information on Joseph Cavalieri’s work, including videos, blogs, and upcoming classes can at cavaglass.com.

Top: Groundskeeper Willie • Joseph Cavalieri • Hand painted and air brushed (kiln fired) enamels on glass, steel, LED lights • 15 5/8 x 15 5/8 x 1 inch • Photo: Joseph Cavalieri. Bottom: Barbie Descending the Staircase • Joseph Cavalieri • Hand painted and air brushed (kiln fired) enamels on glass, steel, LED lights • 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 1 inch • Photo: Joseph Cavalieri

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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LECMO

Carving Through Time

By Kathy Elliott As an object maker of 25 years, I have started to consider what motivates and sustains a desire to make objects.

For me, it is primarily the desire to see something beautiful, to challenge myself to make something better. I am a carver; I love the process. Knowing the effects that light has on glass, I use all of that knowledge to manipulate form and imagery. I love coarse ground surfaces and polished surfaces. I love to see and touch carved objects in other materials; wood, metal, stone.

I love relief carving, especially medieval wooden relief carving, and I love ancient coins.

Two years ago, I saw an exhibition titled ‘A History of The World in 100 Objects’, curated by the British Museum with objects from their collection. In that exhibition, I saw carvers working through history to honour their gods, kings, and queens, to beautify, to memorialise, and to communicate. It struck me forcefully just how common a skill it must have been until recent times. This knowledge of materials, both natural and man-made, was widespread; a life skill, information passed from one generation to another as necessary and useful. Not as it is today where it is viewed as marginal and set apart for those in art school.

‘Skill has intrinsic, personal worth. It is an achievement.

Almost any practised person values their skill above and beyond what it is good for producing, as though there were psychological benefits to mastery itself.’1 I wanted to locate what we do as carvers and makers in this tradition. We know our material, and we endeavour to animate the objects we carve with something of our own inspiration that will resonate with another person, or at least give us pleasure.

We don’t do much work honouring gods, kings, or queens these days; there is more investigation into the human condition, and in this way, we are affirmed or uplifted to a higher plane.

‘Objects are a way to forge a connection’.2 We have shifted so quickly from the world we knew 50 years ago that it is tempting to think we are ‘self-made’ or ‘self-born’.

What I want to explore is the thread that binds us to the lives people lived 3000 to 4000 years ago. We are not self-made or self-born. We are part of an astonishing lineage that informs and enriches our lives. The objects people made, whether functional or sculptural, are worthy of our time and attention. The cruder the carving, the more I love it because I can see the effort that the person put into the task.

Recording and depicting scenes, events, and daily life from these ancient societies fell to scribes and craftsmen, many of whom may have been slaves. Whether recorded on stone tablets, wall carvings, funerary urns, furniture inlay, city or temple walls, ornaments, coins, sculptures, or jewellery, the work of carvers and engravers can be found everywhere in the ancient world much to the delight of us in the 21st Century.

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‘Cast’ • 2018 • Benjamin Edols and Kathy Elliott • Blown and carved glass • 28 x 10 x 6 inches• Photo: Greg Piper

‘One of the indices of an increasingly complex society in antiquity was their ability to support members who were not involved in vital work to provide food for the community either through irrigation or farming. If a civilisation had the means to create a surplus of food for immediate needs, then an opportunity arose for people in that community to be assigned to non-essential activities.’3 Recently I was listening to a series of podcasts, and a quote from the Old Testament book of Exodus caught my attention as it described this very moment in the history of the Israelites.

Then Moses said to the Israelites, ”See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts - to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship.”4 “They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel. Then they fastened them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.”5 What struck me about this passage was that it is an ancient text that recorded the moment when a community reached the time when it could support members who are no longer involved in food production or other practical tasks of keeping the society THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

functioning. These workers were to use the skills given to them to uplift their community in a very specific way. I, for one, would love to see those stones of onyx set in gold filigree and carved with the names of the sons of Israel. They must have been beautiful.

In the past, looking at works of indescribable beauty like the Gemma Augustea or the Portland Vase would have frozen me into paralysis. My main thought would have been, ‘how can I compete with that’? Whereas now I know I don’t have to, that work is impossible to compete with. I am free to use the skills I have been given and apply them in ways that I hope are uplifting.

I do think that carved glass, like carved wood, stone, clay, and metal provides pleasure to the onlooker simply because of the evidence that signals it’s human creation.

Like many artists, I am prone to seeing the shortcomings in my own work. I see the skills I don’t have rather than the skills that I do and compare my work unfavorably to that of other makers. In recent years, however, I feel liberated, and looking at my place in this lineage has become part of the process. The contribution that I am making will find its place over time; it won’t reveal itself to me this year as I win such a prize or get published in such and such a magazine, for example. My struggle for a sense of relevance in our industry has diminished. Partly due to my maturing years and hopefully some wisdom, but also I have managed to get a better perspective on this created landscape. The landscape goes beyond my immediate glass community in Sydney or Australia; it goes beyond the Glass Art Society; it goes beyond the hallowed waterways of Venice and Murano. We are, all of us, walking in the well-worn ancient pathways of craftspeople from antiquity. We are people who are propelled to create, to decorate, to embellish. The work of our brothers and sisters is to be seen in every museum and art

gallery. Their work calls out to us in celebration of the man-made object - in encouragement and inspiration not in condemnation.

Our relevance to this community exists because of our commitment to it and the skills we are laying down in the work we make.

Whilst we no longer live in a time when every other person might be a sculptor, carver, or engraver, we can play our part, and from time to time we can look back and enjoy the view.

I want to finish with a quote by E.F. Schumacher from his collection of essays “Small Is Beautiful” : ‘The type of work which modern technology is most successful in reducing or even eliminating is skillful, productive work of human hands, in touch with real materials of one kind or another. In an advanced industrial society, such work has become increasingly rare, and to make a living by doing such work has become virtually impossible. A great part of the modern neurosis may be due to this very fact; for the human being, defined

by Thomas Aquinas is a being with brains and hands, enjoying nothing more than to be creatively, usefully, and productively engaged with both their hands and their brains.’6

‘Rush’ • 2017 • Benjamin Edols and Kathy Elliott • Blown and carved glass • 13 x 8 x 8 inches• Photo: Greg Piper

‘Surge’ • 2015 • Benjamin Edols and Kathy Elliott • Blown and carved glass • 13 x 6 x 6 inches• Photo: Ben Townsend

References

1. Malcolm McCullough, Abstracting Craft: The Practiced Digital Hand (The MIT Press Cambridge 1996, Massachusetts ) 2. Becky Allen and Belinda Crerar, Introductory Essay, Exhibition catalogue: A History of the World in 100 Objects. (National Museum of Australia Press 2016. Page 11.)

3. Prof. Jamie Fraser, Curator Nicholson Museum, Sydney University in conversation 22nd October 2018, Sydney University.

4. The Bible NIV, Old Testament, Exodus Ch 35 vs 30-33 5. The Bible NIV, Old Testament, Exodus Ch39 vs 6 – 7 6. E.F. Schumacher, Small Is Beautiful, a Study of Economics As If People Mattered. (Originally published by Blond and Briggs in 1973)

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LECMO

Coloring Outside, Inside, and Between the Lines: Now You See Me, Now You Don’t

By Terri Grant During my lecture and demonstration at the 2019 Glass Art Society Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida, I described the process I use to create narrative imagery using kiln-formed glass threads or ‘stringers.’

The process begins by developing an image. I use personal photographs as a starting point and use Photoshop to transform them in accordance with the concept of the work. I spend the vast majority of my time on this first step of image development. Once the image is determined, I make a full-scale paper model to work out details and to map out a color palette for the stringers.

Mechanics of the process

Stringers are commercially available in a host of colors. However, to fully develop imagery in my recent projects, I wanted a broad range of colors, which understandably, are not commercially available. With this in mind, I began making my own stringers.

There are several good methods for making stringers, and I have chosen to use a vitrograph kiln. A vitrograph kiln is simply a small kiln in which a vermiculite board with a hole cut in the center has replaced the floor. The kiln is placed overhead and loaded with a crucible of glass. I use terracotta flowerpots from Italy as my crucible. These pots are inexpensive and readily available at big box stores. The Italian-made pots have a lower likelihood of cracking during firing than other types. The flowerpot, filled with glass, is fired to 1540F where the glass begins to flow from the hole in the bottom of the crucible. I then use stainless steel forceps to grab the molten glass and pull straight down at a steady rate to create 1mm diameter glass threads. I cut the glass threads from the crucible by touching the glass near the base with the 52

Top: “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” • 2016, 30”x47”x2” • kiln-formed glass • Photo: Terri Grant.

Bottom: Detail View of “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” • 2016 • kiln-formed glass.

tip of a stainless steel hemostat, which has just been dipped in a bucket of cold water.

The thermal shock breaks the glass thread cleanly away from the crucible. For more specifics on how to set up and use a vitrograph kiln, please refer to Bullseye Glass Company vitrograph tech notes available on their website.

Once the stringers are made, I cut them up into small pieces and glue them into place to a base sheet glass. After gluing all the glass threads into place, the entire piece is placed in the kiln and fired. The glue burns out cleanly and the stringers then permanently fuse to the base sheet of glass, viola!

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Creating a custom color palette

Now that we’ve discussed the process of making the stringers, we can spend more time on understanding how to create a custom color palette. I create these custom colors through the use of optical color mixing.

What is optical color mixing? Optical mixing occurs when you place two distinct bands of color side by side. When viewed from a distance, the two separate bands of color are mixed together in the viewer’s eyes and a new color is perceived.

For instance, if you were to place bands of red and blue next to one another, from a distance, you would see purple, but in fact, there is no purple present. It is the mind that is blending the colors.

My work involves placing stingers i.e., discreet ‘lines’ of color, adjacent to one another to create the overall image. Thus, when looking at the work from a distance, optical mixing will impact the viewer’s perception of the image. However, I’m not only using this technique on a macroscopic scale to create the image but also on a microscopic level to create the stringers themselves. If you look closely at the individual stringers, you will see discreet bands of color running through the stringer.

How do we get these tiny, discreet lines of color onto the surface of a 1mm stringer? To understand this, we must look at the glass in our crucible. In creating the stringer, cut up pieces of commercially available colored sheet glass are loaded into the crucible. How the cut glass is loaded into the crucible determines the ultimate color of the stringer.

I use two methods to “load the pot.”

In the first method, the sheet glass is placed side by side vertically. The resultant stringer mirrors the loaded crucible exactly. For example, if the crucible is loaded vertically, with half blue and half red glass, the resultant stringer will be half blue and half red. Due to the phenomenon of optical mixing, this stringer, when viewed a few inches away, will look purple.

Remember that stringers are not flat lines of color but rather, think of them like a tube with color going around circumferentially on the face of it. I can rotate this tube and in so doing, change the color. If

the tube is composed of half red and half blue, I can rotate it so that I see 100% red or I can rotate it so that I can see only blue. I can also rotate the stringer to see colored bands that are 50% red and 50% blue or 75% red and 25% blue. You get the picture. By simply rotating the stringer, I can get a full range of color from red to reddish-purple to purple to bluish-purple and so on. This range of colors comes out of only one stringer.

In the second method, I place different colors of cut up sheet in the crucible from bottom to top. The resultant stringer has thin bands of color layered on top of one another like rings of an onion. Since each layer of glass is thin and glass is translucent, the bottom layer of color directly impacts the perception of the color in the layer above it. This technique is similar to the way painters layer paint on the canvas, only in the form of a stringer.

Now that I’ve got my broad color palette made, I cut up the stringer and sit down with my trusty tweezers to glue them into place, one piece at a time. Once everything is in place, the piece is fired to a tack fuse to keep the texture of the individual stringers intact.

Top: Artist pulling stringer with inset close up view. Bottom: Top left image: glass loaded onto the bottom of the crucible. Bottom left image: different colored glass loaded on top in the same crucible as see in the image above.

Right image: color range of stringer pulled from the left hand crucible. All photos: Terri Grant

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LECMO

A Brief Perspective On Images and Glass

By Mathieu Grodet Cave paintings were probably some of the first human-created illustrations that are still visible today.

I believe these images are far from the existential question of craft vs. art that many in the art community discuss. These drawings - a raw expression on a solid, but rough, canvas - seem to be a necessity; they seem to express a need, but for what purpose? To communicate? To educate?

To keep track or to leave a trace? For those makers, it could have been about their state of being, which was probably preoccupied with food and safety.

My interpretation of the cave drawings is that they are not about a particular animal or “what happened today” but about something bigger. One can see them as something that reflects the beliefs, fears, or even hopes of that time. Those pictograms were a representation of the world, all at once. The people that made them were sharing their perspective on the surroundings, their world cosmogony.

It seems to me, when not intellectualized, these paintings are more about the lines than the ‘holy’ light as the contour or background define volumes.

I am curious about what the concept of

NDNM, 2016 • Glass and enamel • 17” Diameter • Photo: Jade Chittock

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Cave Drawing: Chauvet Cave (France)

light was to ancient humans as well the importance of shadow in their belief system. Had light and line been one before? Other questions also remain.

Did they have a plan before they began to draw? Or it was more like the Beat Generation of the 1950s who subverted conventional society and was more instinctive? What about doubt or the emotional weight of the past? Could it include all those burdens we as humans create for ourselves?

Like many, these questions are part of my work process. I hand-blow a surface - a goblet or disc and then apply my own narratives.

Consider the traditional 17th-century illustrations of Japan known as Ukiyoe - the floating world. This Japanese art movement created prints depicting the interests of the common people and spoke to the everyday life of Edo (now known as Tokyo) and also represented scenes from history and folk tales as well as travel and landscapes.

The Kabuki, highly stylized traditional Japanese theater, was also known for the pivotal moment (called the MI) in art when things would never be like before but yet were still not what they would become.

Pascal Quignard, in his excellent book “Sex and Terror,” talks about this “moment.” He discusses the Greek painter Paraisos, who was obsessed with “the right moment to paint.” That moment is not when the bird is on the branch; it is

not when he is flying, but it is when he is leaving the branch, a claw still touching wood when his wings are not completely open yet. It’s an interesting and decisive moment that the painter wants to capture. Paraisos wanted to paint the crucial moment of death and had soldiers torturing an elderly man who was a slave.

The old slave says, ‘Paraisos, please, stop, I am dying,’ and Paraisos answers ‘that is perfect, just stay like that.’

It is interesting to think that for thousands of years, we tried to represent movement with symbols and patterns - trying to say so much with only one image. Before moving images, tricks had to be found to marry the past, present, and future of action.

When it comes to imagery on glass, the remains of the first enameled glass objects were discovered as part of the Bagram Treasure (in present-day Afghanistan). On these enamelled pieces, we can see gladiators, legends, gods, and half-gods represented on their surfaces as a celebration of power. When looking at the Venetian and German enameling eras, we can also see most glass images represented the elite, those in power and religion.

Only those in power were able to finance such objects, so it was their stories that got represented as a demonstration and extension of their influence. For glass blowing, a whole village was required to work on producing glass objects. Those labourers and craftspeople included

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

lumberjacks, metal workers, furnace builders, toolmakers, material collectors, merchants, painters, and those who fired, stored and shipped the goods.

So now to look back from the cave.

First came the images of animals, food, and the need for survival. Later images of myths and legends emerged which were a different kind of food - intellectual food including ideas, concepts, and values that incorporated the mythical and the kings and queens elected by gods to reign upon us.

In 19th-century France, Brocard produced some amazing work, inspired by the Islamic mosque lamp, that threw a new light on enameling processes.

We notice the absence of human figures and the predominance of pattern within his work, which could be due to Islamic inspiration and influence. To my mind, the representation of life through animals, humans, and plants cannot follow a predetermined mathematical pattern. It is not quantified; it is out of the realm of mathematics, off formula.

Numbers are reassuring, warm, and you just need to follow the path or pattern.

The dictatorship of logic, repetition, and efficiency over mysterious curves leads back to the question of craft and art.

Coming to my work, painting on glass offers a unique three-dimensional format, from a simple cylinder to a complex variety of shapes.

Like many, I particularly like goblets.

The shape is divided into cup, stem, and foot. I feel that the idea of the goblet is an attempt to anthropomorphize one of our first and most precious goods the container that holds liquid. When deprived of everything, as a prisoner, a monk, or an adventurer, you will always have your food and water container.

Today a handmade goblet is nothing more than an ultra-fancy tool of surviving. So the symbol and the importance has vanished but the emotional connection, I believe, is still there.

I also use the disc format as it is ‘simple’ yet complicated and still universal. A page has four borders/walls, whereas a circle has only one. The responsibility is something else as you cannot cut or hide

NDNM detail • 2016 • Glass and enamel • 17” Diameter • Photo: Jade Chittock

in those corners or even forget them.

The artist must confront the center to the rest of the surface, and it is a terrible truth, the struggle will be tremendous and the success uncertain.

On those discs, I attempt to formulate a cosmogony on my own, a proposition for a new world with ritual, gods, myths, and legends. As the cave dwellers kept

track of the important and the essential, what do I have to say?

It looks like there is knowledge in this underlying Chaos, but where or what is the key to understanding? There is no Google translator, and when we think we recognize a clue and pull the thread, it appears we’ve been fooled.

Several years ago, I met the glassblower Raven Skyriver in Corning, New York.

We decided to collaborate on a project.

It took some time to come to fruition and was for me an intense three-month endeavor. Yet we were both very happy with the result - a glass blown beluga

by Raven that I covered with enameled scenes. The beluga is more than 3 feet long and has been sandblasted to allow the shiny enamel to pop on its surface.

It was such a magical canvas to draw on and has the feeling of a tattoo, but it is not an ornamentation. It is more of a print of the environment surrounding this beautiful creature. It expresses our concerns about this upside-down world and where it is going. It is not easy to discuss social issues with glasswork, but we hope that this piece conveys that message.

In a time of mass production, handmade objects keep alive the techniques, processes, and the storytelling of who we are. Create craft, create art. Just create!

Business as Usual • 2017 • Raven Skyriver and Mathieu Grodet • Glass and enamel • 3 feet • Photo: Tanya Lyons

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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Press Molds, Innovative Design & Casting

By Jennifer Halvorson As makers and problem-solvers, artists understand that not every project can follow the same steps. When approaching a new creative challenge, a foundation of knowledge is essential, but it is often the collage of notes and theories of material behavior that lead to a redesign of process to achieve success.

At this year’s GAS Conference - Charting a Course: Visions of Glass, I presented information on kiln cast press molds. My goal was to give a concise overview of the two-part press mold design, glass application, kiln loading, firing schedules, and cold working considerations. I then aimed to chart various methods one may use to advance the mold design or combine with other kiln forming processes. A few of the techniques discussed were pate de verre, fusing, slumping, and casting thin-to-thick.

I was first introduced to kiln cast press molds in 2010 while completing my MFA at Rochester Institute of Technology. Professor Yuki Uchimura from Osaka University of Arts, in Japan, visited the program and instructed a workshop on the process. I continued my studies with this mold design and, in 2011 taught my first press mold workshop. Since then, I have instructed the process to students in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Poland.

Mold Design

The kiln cast press mold is a two-part mold, which is designed to cast an object on a horizontal plane with the help of locking keys and weights. Three of the main benefits of this mold design are the ability to cast thin objects, forms with various openings, and models with detail or texture on all sides. To begin, I suggest creating an internal key around the object to be cast. The internal key should level the model and create a flange following the model’s ½ parting line. The internal key raises the form off the table about a ½” for small objects and has a gentle slope to the table. Walls may be constructed around the model by using collate boards, tarpaper, or other materials. The construction of press molds is assisted by the pour method, but I suggest pouring at least two layers to add strength to the mold halves. Cover the model evenly with the first pour and then build depth, with a flat top, on the second pour. As the investment sets, you may flip the mold to cut external keys while the material is still warm and workable. The mold should have two external keys on opposing sides. More keys may obstruct the press process when firing.

You may cut two, three, or four-sided keys. I suggest the foursided keys as they provide strong alignment with a foot that is less likely to snap during firing. After the two keys are cut, you may re-establish the walls around your mold, apply mold release on the exposed half and model, and then pour the second half.

Allow the second half to set longer before separating the mold.

To disconnect the halves, use a rubber mallet to tap a metal scrapper on all four corners. You may also direct compressed air

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Entangled Passage • 2011 • Jennifer Halvorson • blown and cast glass, tatted raw silk • Photo: Jennifer Halvorson. The pressed glass keys illustrate a thin form with various openings that is cast easily through the press mold process.

on the seam of the mold to help release. Once the mold is open, the model may be removed, and excess mold release wiped from the halves.

Glass Application

Different glass sizes may be used in press molds, but a common format is a fine frit. For color efficiency, I suggest mixing the fine frit color with at least 50% fine frit clear. The color will press uniform. Mix color thoroughly and apply to the bottom half of the mold with little moisture. Glass binder may be used to help mound the glass. The amount needed depends on the thickness of the model; this should be checked by analyzing the even gap created by the top mold half, once stacked. Thin objects, such as a spoon, generally need ¾” gap.

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Kiln Loading

Molds need to be level on a raised kiln shelf. Weights, which could be of a variety of materials, are added to the top mold lid.

I have used hard kiln bricks as weights as it is a common material in most studios. Weights should be evenly distributed. If your mold requires two hard bricks, which could apply a straining line, place the two bricks on top of a kiln shelf section. The kiln shelf will help even the pressure of the weight. If you are concerned about the heat sink that a hard brick will create on your mold exterior, you may stack that hard brick on a soft brick. The soft brick does not have the weight necessary to press glass, but it will help reduce the heat sink of a hard brick.

Altered Schedule for Larger Press Molds TIME

TEMPERATURE °F

PROCESS NOTES

2 hours

room temperature to 200

Slow ramp to dry molds.

Kiln vented.

2 hours

hold at 200

9 hours

ramp to 1100

Slow ramp to burn out organic material.

1 hour

hold at 1100

Close vent after this step.

4 hours

ramp to top temperature, 1575-1600

Slow ramp as a bubble squeeze.

Firing Schedules

4 hours

hold at top temperature

Watch, potentially add weights or charge glass.

TIME

TEMPERATURE °F

2 hours

ramp to 1200

Equalize temperature as a sucker prevent.

12 hours

room temperature to 660

1 hour

hold at 1200

Time may be extended depending on casting.

12 hours

hold at 660

3 hours

“

6 hours

ramp to top temperature, 1575-1650

ramp to annealing temperature

4 hours

“

3 hours

hold at top temperature

hold at annealing temperature

5 minutes

ramp to annealing temperature

8 hours

ramp to straining temperature

“

12 hours

ramp to 100

“

Altered Schedule for Small Press Molds TIME

TEMPERATURE °F

PROCESS NOTES

2 hours

room temperature to 200

Slow ramp to dry molds.

Kiln vented.

2 hours

hold at 200

9 hours

ramp to 1100

Slow ramp to burn out organic material.

1 hour

hold at 1100

Close vent after this step.

4 hours

ramp to top temperature, 1575-1600

Slow ramp as a bubble squeeze.

3 hours

hold at top temperature

Watch, potentially add weights.

5 minutes

ramp to annealing temperature

2 hours

hold at annealing temperature

4 hours

ramp to straining temperature

6 hours

ramp to 100

Internal Key • 2015 • Jennifer Halvorson • fabric dipped in wax, plasticine • Photo: Jennifer Halvorson. Internal key is created on the parting line of the object. The key follows the edge of the model before sloping down to the table.

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Cold Working Considerations

After the firing, the mold halves will come apart fairly easily.

There will be a thin glass flashing extending from the casting, but the flashing does not necessarily mean too much glass was loaded in your mold. Without the excess glass, the resulting casting may have air bubbles. With the thin flashing next to a thin casting, I suggest keeping t bits, and grinding bits are very helpful. Drill small holes in spots of tension, such as corners, then cut with a cutting disc. The object may now be taken away from the mold and ground with grinding bits. The harsh abrasive of the diamonds may be softened with carbide bits. As castings increase in size and thickness, so may the cold working tools.

Alter Mold Design PROCESS

NOTES

scale

Combine more hand building techniques to mold construction with more layers and stronger materials. Consider including fiberglass matte or grog.

press to charge, Do not load reservoir with glass before firing. thin to thick Allow the mold to press together before charging. deep press

Create a flexible core by combining the honeycomb process.

Collage of Glass Forming Techniques PROCESS

NOTES

Both halves may be activated with pate de verre pate de verre application. Start firing shortly after wet packing color application detail and dry packing mold. flame worked inclusion

Flame worked component is attached to model and invested into mold.

pattern sheet press

Slump over bottom half if form has a deep relief.

Then fire with lid to press final form.

My goal with this lecmo was to provide information on the advantages of the press mold design and how this horizontal casting process can be redesigned and bridged with other kiln forming techniques - charting different paths for production in a way that can push visions of glass forward. Thank you.

Top right: Glass Application • 2015 • investment mold, fine frit. Glass is applied to the base of the mold, mostly dry. Glass binder may be used to help stack fine frit mixture. Middle right: Loading Kiln • 2017 • investment molds, hard bricks Photo Credit: Jennifer Halvorson. Molds are loaded on raised shelves. Glass is loaded into the molds, creating an even gap between the mold halves. Hard bricks are used as initial weights as more may be added during the firing. Bottom right: Endless • 2016 • Jennifer Halvorson • cast glass • Photo: Serena Nancarrow. Larger form, breaking the plane, which was cast with press mold process.

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

LECMO

The Joy of Hollow Murrine

By Kait Rhoads Murrine is an Italian glass patterning technique in which the cross-section of an extrusion, or pull of colored glass, is used. My exposure to traditional murrine/ cane work came through the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) program. There I learned to work glass in the Italian manner from my teacher and employer of four years, Michael Schiener. While at RISD and Pilchuck, I was also able to help and observe Lino Tagliopietra and Richard Marquis within my first year of working with glass; my love affair with murrine was firmly set.

In the beginning, I copied designs from historical Italian glass and faithfully practiced what I learned from more experienced blowers at my university and at workshops I attended. At a certain point in my practice, I gravitated toward innovation.

In 1999, I first created my peacock patterning technique combining cane and murrine in an ogee pattern, which has been the cornerstone of my vessel production since. In 2001, after getting my graduate degree from Alfred University, I moved to Venice Italy, to work at Scola del Vetro Abate Zanetti on Murano where I studied sculpture on a Fulbright scholarship. There I worked under Rosa Barovier Mentaste, the artistic director.

My romance with Italian patterning continued when I returned to the Pacific Northwest, where I produced peacock vessels and experimented with creating scenes of nature from cane, murrine, and hot de verre on blown glass wall panels as well as blown and solid glass sculptures.

Hollow Murrine

My hollow murrine are versatile in many ways—in the scale of the work I produce with them: (jewelry vs. public sculpture); working with them has a lower impact on the environment than traditional glassblowing; I can spend as little as fifteen minutes or as much as two and a half years on a piece; and with public art, the glass

Salish Nettles • 2018 • Jelly no 1. 55” x 85” x 27” 87 lbs; Jelly no 2. 63” x 87” x 20”, 75lbs and Jelly No. 3 77” x 64” x 24”, 82 lbs. Blown glass, into steel molds, pulled out into tubing, cut, heated in a kiln, woven together with copper wire onto a stainless steel frame work. This is public art commissioned by Metro Parks Tacoma for the Pacific Seas Aquarium. Photo: Rozarii Lynch

does not need a protective plastic coating in order to suspend work overhead.

My method of construction mirrors how my life has formed; separate elements are woven together to create a strong whole. I consider the hollow murrine, or conical hexagonal forms, as architectural elements fitting together to create a fluid or floating object linked together with copper wire.

Before I begin weaving in the hot shop, I work with a group of people to create the glass tubing for the murrine. We apply a variety of different color applications, keep the walls thick on the bubble, and blow them into steel hexagonal molds. Next, we heat the hex-shaped bubble and pull or draw it down into a long tube form. These hex tubes are annealed (cooled slowly in a kiln), cut up into smaller pieces with a diamond-edged saw, and finally heated in a kiln to melt the edges in and to create a more conical profile from the tubing

sections. This tapered shape allows me to create various curvatures as the murrine is woven together with copper wire.

I grew up on the water of the Caribbean on a ship with my family, where my deep affinity for biological systems began. One of the tasks I would perform was the tying of decorative knots on the boat. Sewing was something I learned how to do in high school and in college, where I studied costume design. In the 1990s, I started linking sections of industrial glass tubes together and then began to make my own tubing. The first time I blew a bubble into a hex mold was in 1999.

Jewelry is the smallest of my production series but has proven to be useful by filling a lower price tier that has helped me through some hard times. While working on time-consuming larger scale work, I find satisfaction in completing small-scale woven pieces in a matter of days as opposed to months. The Sea

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Stones are designed as intimate objects that encourage touch and close examination; they can take anywhere from three to eleven hours to complete.

The cold, deep green waters of Puget Sound are a more recent source of my work. Since moving to the Northwest over two decades ago, my fascination extended from coral colonies to kelp forests. Seaweed’s pliable forms continually inspire me—they stretch up from the depths, undulate in the shallows, and lie on tidal surfaces.

I focused my energies on this area through public artworks that foster an appreciation of our seas and oceans. My vision is to create immersive environments that Elliotconvey the expansiveness of ocean life and to bring its wonder to a broader public.

As part of this effort, I donate to ocean conservation groups and give my time promoting ocean ecology at the Seattle Aquarium. With my Salish Nettles commission from Metro Parks Tacoma, WA, I used my platform as an artist to talk about ocean ecology and to involve the public in the making of the artwork.

Demonstration:

Spheres are the strongest forms to

make out of the tapered conical formed cross-sections of hex tubing. With the tapered ends pointing inward and the wide ends facing outward, all the pieces key together like the carved stones of a Roman arch creating a strong but slightly flexible sculpture. Here I demonstrated attaching my signature/bronze tag with my name on it to the almost finished sea stone by wiring it in place. I then wove more hollow murrine into the closing gap in the sphere. As I worked quietly, Elin Christopherson read from Lucy Lippard’s book, Eva Hesse about her fascination with repetition, here is a small excerpt: “Repetition does enlarge or increase or exaggerate an idea or purpose. I guess repetition feels obsessive.……

Hesse’s art transcends the cliché of ‘detail as women’s work’ while at the same time incorporating these notions of ritual as an antidote to isolation and despair. There is a ritual which allows cope to fantasy, compulsive use of the body accompanied by a freeing of the mind. …Repetition can be a guard against vulnerability; a bullet-proof vest of closely-knit activity can be woven against fate. Ritual and repetition are also ways of containing anger, and of fragmenting fearsome wholes.1”

Alaria • 2016 • 37” x 48” x 10” • Blown, glass golden, brown and white hollow murrine woven onto steel support structures with copper wire. Photo: Rozarii Lynch

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With my large-scale work, the idea comes first, then drawings and wire maquettes follow. These preliminary models help communicate my vision to the fabricators who assist me in bringing to life my ideas in bronze or steel. When the armature is complete, I am ready to weave my mixture of hexagonal beads or “hollow murrine” onto the frame with copper wire.

I discussed the construction of a small half-completed woven leaf form. This small-scale work is much like the largescale work that I make in that the orientation of the hollow murrine are woven together in clusters of different directions as opposed to a single orientation construction. As this creates a fluid or flowing form, it is necessary to have a metal structure to support it as it is not as strong as a single orientation sculpture.

Customarily, the metalwork will support the midrib first and radiate outward from it. I create the backbone/stipe/stem of the seaweed by turning my hollow murrine on edge, and as I weave them into place, I tether the hollow murrine onto the metal framework as well as each other.

I conclude the demonstration by showing how to begin a fixed orientation spherical sculpture (sea stone or larger sphere).

I take one hollow murrine, thread my copper wire through it and double it over by folding it in the middle. I begin to add onto the original piece using the two ends of the copper wire to weave through and link each piece together like placing petals on a flower. From there, I build outwards, the thicker the wire I am using, the more I conform the piece to my ideal sphere shape by pushing it around. At this point, Jen Elek read a quote from Anais Nin: “There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination.

Most of us acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic.2” 1.Lippard, Lucy. Eva Hesse. New York University, New York, 1976. Pg. 209.

2. Nin, Anais. “Journals Of Anias Nin Volume 3: 1939-1944”. Northampton, MA, Interlink Publishing+group Inc, 1974.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

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Atmospheres of Light

By Karlyn Sutherland Having trained originally as an architect, I began working in the medium of glass in 2009 when my doctoral research led to my enrollment in a master class at North Lands Creative - an internationally renowned centre for excellence in glassmaking located in the village of Lybster, Caithness, where I am from.

Central to my work in architecture and glass is a long-standing interest in the bond between people and place; my research and creative practice explore this dialogue, focussing on the intangible qualities of space that shape our memories and sense of attachment to our environment. My creative work plays a critical role in the development of my academic research and vice-versa.

In 2016, I undertook an Endeavour Research Fellowship (sponsored by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training) within the world-leading School of Art at the Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, where my research explored the communication of sensory experiences of the architectural atmosphere via a series of works in glass.

I facilitated collaboration between the Glass Workshop at ANU and the School of Architecture at the University of Canberra, where I worked alongside Juhani Pallasmaa, the eminent architectural designer and theorist. I subsequently began to focus my research interest onto the potential of interdisciplinary creative enquiry as a tool for encouraging a genuine understanding of place and attachment within architectural design practice.

Pallasmaa (2014, p.20) defines ‘atmosphere’ as ‘the overarching perceptual, sensory, and emotive impression of a space [or] setting’. Closely related to our sense of place, it is intangible and ephemeral. Atmospheres of place are unique to their environmental context and are comprised of factors which are variable and largely unpredictable. Natural light is an exception and can be viewed as a reliable source of place-specific narrative, although it is rarely acknowledged and explored as such. ‘In our time, light has turned into a mere quantitative matter’, Pallasmaa (2005, p.50-51) notes. Our overuse and reliance upon homogeneous, bright electrical lighting ‘paralyses the imagination in the same way that the homogenisation of space weakens the experience of being, [wiping] away the sense of place’.

Despite the topic gaining prominence in current debates within the field, mood and atmosphere are rarely observed, discussed, analysed, or theorized in architecture (Pallasmaa, 2014, p.21). As a result, much of our contemporary built environment still fails to acknowledge or engage with such dimensions, to the detriment of our environment and wellbeing.

This failure to engage does not only lie within the profession of architecture, as Pallasmaa (2009, p.145) notes. ‘[...] there are good buildings as long as there are good dwellers and occupants; but aren’t we, citizens of this obsessively

Tracing Light • 2016 • Karlyn Sutherland • Sheet glass and glass powder • Fused and cold worked • 42”(h) x 20.5”(w) x 0.25”(d) • Photo: Karlyn Sutherland

materialist consumer world, losing our capacity to dwell, and as a consequence becoming unable to promote architecture as great readers/users of architectural spaces and narratives?’

The artist Olafur Eliasson (Böhme, Borch, Eliasson and Pallasmaa, 2014, p.95) agrees noting that we are becoming increasingly desensitized to the atmospheres that surround us; ‘[a]rchitectural detail and artistic intervention can make people more aware of an already existing atmosphere’, he writes. ‘[M] ateriality can actually make atmospheres explicit - it can draw your attention and amplify your sensitivity to a particular atmosphere [...] by giving it a trajectory, by making it almost tangible. [T]he materiality of something [also] has the capacity to work in a non-normative or liberating manner, opening up new ways of engaging with the atmosphere.’

In her text Art and Architecture: A Place Between, the architectural designer, critic and theorist Jane Rendell (2004, p.6) proposes the concept of ‘critical spatial practice’ as a means of ‘exploring the specifically spatial aspects of interdisciplinary processes or practices that operate between art and architecture;’ she observes that whilst art may not be considered as functional in the same way that architecture is, it is inherently capable of providing ‘tools for self-reflection, critical thinking and social change,’ offering opportunities for the development of a new type of relationship between people and spaces in ways that contemporary architecture so often cannot.

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Tracing Light • 2016 • Karlyn Sutherland • Sheet glass and glass powder • Fused and cold worked • 42”(h) x 20.5”(w) x 0.25”(d) • Photo: Karlyn Sutherland

As a glassmaker, my artistic practice is both underpinned and motivated by these spatial theories, and is also an extension of sensibilities and skills honed as an architectural designer; it explores the importance of the act of making in encouraging clarity of thought and a genuine sense of knowing and engaging with narratives of place and atmosphere (Pallasmaa, 2005; Sennett, 2008; Turkle, 1995). My work in glass is autobiographical, directly informed by the intangible atmospheric qualities of natural light within architecture, the memories, and experience of which have been critical in the examination of both my own and others’ sense of place, and continue to be a point of departure for my academic work as a result. I am drawn to glass because its material qualities (reflection, refraction, transmission, and diffusion) make it inherently capable of revealing the presence and characteristics of light; it has ‘a special ability to surprise, delight and engage us with our environment in a way that no other material can quite achieve’ (Schielke, 2013). I am particularly interested in the surface treatments and finishes of glass, and most often explore techniques related to mirroring and the layering of colour in my installation and wall-based works, respectively. Through my use of sheet glass and glass powder, I strive to retain and further refine the minimal, delicate, and ephemeral aesthetic that I have developed within my work.

Tracing Light, which I completed in 2016, is a site-specific investigation of the changing conditions of light and shadow

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over time; it documents my experience of studying and getting to know a particular architectural space - a historic barn (known as a byre) in Latheronwheel, Caithness, Scotland. During the process of conceptual development, I would spend long periods of time alone in the Byre, in silence, studying the physical characteristics of the space, absorbing the constantly changing conditions, uncertain of where to begin or what I would explore.

During chance encounters on sunny days, I started to track the sunlight. Using chalk, I began outlining the geometries projected from roof lights, tracing the passage of time and watching as these spots of light revealed details as they moved along planes and surfaces. I scattered handfuls of flour in the air to illuminate these shafts of light as they crossed the darkness of the space; intangible forms appeared briefly tangible and ethereal as the flour fell and dissipated.

Documenting the space and my experience within it was, as much as possible, a solo endeavour. The challenges present in working alone shaped my approach to and understanding of the space and my process of exploring and recording it; in turn, these processes shaped my work. The five geometric forms that hung in the Byre are cross-sections of some of the paths I tracked in the summer of 2015, selected for their intriguing geometries and placement within the space. Designed to be fully illuminated for one fleeting moment on one particular day each year, they were slivers of light - translucent layers capturing the subtle gestures of my hand as I scattered glass powder instead of flour. Plumb lines made from thread and washers (hung at regular intervals around the perimeter of the room to aid the surveying of the chalk outlines) informed the minimal and delicate language of the hanging system.

These works were intended to be encountered at different heights as they guide you through the space. Quiet observations about chance encounters, standing still, and a renewed appreciation of the everyday, they acknowledged and offered a temporal experience, unintentionally reflecting a relationship with (and awareness of) light that feels deep-rooted and culturally significant.

Bibliography:

Pallasmaa, J. (2005). The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses.

Chichester: Wiley Academy.

Pallasmaa, J. (2009). The Thinking Hand: Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Pallasmaa, J. (2014). Space, Place and Atmosphere: Peripheral Perception in Existential Experience. In Borch, C. (ed.) (2014), Architectural Atmospheres: On the Experience and Politics of Architecture. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhauser Verlag GmbH. Rendell, J. (2004). Architecture Research and Disciplinarity. Architectural Research Quarterly, 8 (2), pp. 141-147 Schielke, T. (2013). Light Matters: Glass Beyond Transparency with James Carpenter. [Online] Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/454892/lightmatters-glass-beyond-transparency-with-james-carpenter [Accessed 4 Nov 2017] Sennett, R. (2008). The Craftsman. London: Penguin.

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon and Schuster.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

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DYCC: Do It Yourself Cullet Color

By Mitcheal A. Veenstra & Catherine M. Wehlburg When most people look at glass, one of the first things they notice is the color.

And, while glass artists work for years on good technique and reliable forms, much can be added when color is applied to a beautiful glass form. Having hot color in the hot shop provides more options for adding color and can provide a new and exciting element to blowing glass. In this paper, we hope to provide some basic information about inexpensively creating hot glass color from cullet.

INTRODUCTION Having a hot pot of color in the hot shop has many advantages. Creating color allows for different applications of color onto blown glass forms, and it provides some options for creativity in crafting a color that can’t be purchased from standard glass color manufacturers. And, in many instances, creating your own color can be cheaper to make than it is to purchase it.

Colored glass has been made dating to the early Mesopotamians1. Many consider the first glass color made intentionally was the color blue, but in reality, the first glass color may have been green because of iron oxides and other impurities that manifest in early glass. When glass color became something that was designed and created in individual studios, they were closely guarded secrets because having a unique color was difficult to do and could take many trials and errors before finding a recipe that worked well and was repeatable2.

In the early American Studio Glass Movement, many glass cullet colors were based on pottery glaze recipes as many of the early glassblowers came from a ceramics background, had access to pottery studios, and understood how pottery glazes were made and used. In this paper, we share with you some recipes that have been used for many years and were often created using recycled jar or bottle glass as the base cullet.

SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT • A kiln for melting cullet – many use old or refurbished pottery kilns for this. The kiln needs to be able to reach at least 2200°. A good rule of thumb when looking for a kiln to use for a color pot is to find one that allows for 2000 watts per cubic foot of interior space in order to have enough power to melt the cullet and recover during gathering.

• Cullet for melting – this can be new cullet, or it can be recycled cullet. The purer the cullet, the less likely that there will be additional oxides added into the melt.

• A variety of oxides to add to the cullet. The ones we used are listed in the various recipes.

• A pot for each color category. We have found that we can reuse pots if they are in the same color family, which allows us some flexibility in the number of pots needed.

• A scale to measure out the weight of the oxides. The scale needs to be accurate in both fractions of grams and pounds.

• A notebook to record recipes with notes about what worked and what didn’t.

Following safety guidelines for mixing and melting color is essential. The oxides that are used are often heavy metals and can cause long term damage to your health. We recommend using an appropriately rated respirator, rubber gloves, safety goggles, metal spoons for measuring the oxides, and sealable containers for storing the oxides until they are needed.

Airborne oxides are a danger.

THE PROCESS OF MIXING AND MELTING 1. Your cullet should be as small as possible to allow for a more even melting. We

recommend that you either frit your cullet by dripping it into ice water to create small pieces or by breaking it up manually with a crusher.

2. Gear up to safely handle the oxides.

3. Using your recipe, measure your cullet into a container. We have found it useful to dampen the cullet slightly after weighing so that when the oxides are added, there is less dusting and the oxides stick to the cullet.

4. Carefully measure each oxide.

5. Mix the oxides together.

6. Add the mixed oxides to the damp cullet.

7. Shake the cullet to distribute the oxides evenly. This is essential to do and, as Chuck Savoie has often said, “well mixed is half melted”3.

8. Melt the cullet. We loaded our cullet into a pot that had already reached 2100°.

9. Document the recipe, any issues you had with the melt, and any variables that might impact the color so that you will know exactly what you did. This is key for repeatability in the future.

RECIPES FOR CULLET COLOR Cobalt Blue • 7 lbs. fritted or small-sized cullet • 3 grams cobalt oxide • Charge in a hot pot • Melt at 2100° • This is the easiest color to make first.

Note: Add more cobalt sparingly to increase the density of color.

Potassium Dichromate Green • 7 lbs. fritted or small-sized cullet (better with frit) • 30 grams potassium dichromate (ground) (you can use an off the shelf spice grinder, just mark it and NEVER

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Turquoise Blue

Potassium Dichromate Green

Grass Green

use it again for food) • Charge in a hot pot • Melt at 2100° • In our electric color pot, after 18 hours had fined to a “7-UP” bottle green Note: Can leave black “stones” in the melt

• 20 grams red iron oxide • 20 grams potassium dichromate (ground) • Charge in a hot pot • Melt at 2100° Note: Tends to be streaky, likes a good stir a couple of times

Emerald Green • 7 lbs. fritted or small-sized cullet • 10 grams potassium dichromate (ground) • 10 grams copper carbonate • 5 grams iron oxide • 2 grams nickel carbonate • Charge in a hot pot • Melt at 2100° Notes: • You will have to babysit this one a little • Much nicer green than straight dichromate • Stir, stir, stir!

Chalcedony (see Peter VanderLaan’s contributions on talk.craftweb.com for more of these types of recipes) • 8 lbs. fritted or small-sized cullet • 4.6 grams silver nitrate (expensive) • 28 grams zinc oxide • 28 grams black tin (stannous oxide) • 2 grams red iron • Charge in a hot pot • Melt at 2170° • Work at 2100° Note: Do NOT stir! It ‘evolves’ over life in the pot. Different day-to-day.

Chalcedony is unpredictable. Sometimes they work better than others.

With your own pot (or maybe multiple pots) of color in your hot shop, you will be ready to do easy lip and foot wraps, make beautiful murrini pulls, and solid color vessels or sculptures. There is no end to the things you can create with hot color ready to add to your glass.

the Romans. Tools, equipment, and knowledge continue to evolve, but the basics are the same. Coming from a technology background, the decision to research/build a small glassblowing studio was an easy choice for him. As a believer in “reuse, remake, recycle, and rediscover,” Mitch has found ways to inexpensively build equipment and technology by looking at the historical work of glassblowers. In his spare time, Mitcheal Veenstra holds an MBA and MS in Information Systems and is the Director of Technology at a Texas non-profit. He can be contacted at mveenstra@gmail.com.

Turquoise Blue • 7 lbs. fritted or small-sized cullet • 25 grams red copper oxide • Charge in a hot pot • Melt at 2100° • Can make denser by adding up to an additional 15 grams Note: with 25 grams it’s light, keep things thicker when you blow. Great to cast with.

Grass Green • 7 lbs. fritted or small-sized cullet 64

About the Authors:

Mitcheal Veenstra – Veenstra believes that the process of glassblowing has not changed much since the days of

Catherine Wehlburg – Wehlburg has continually sought out ways to create and use color to add a voice to her creativity. As a psychologist, she wants her work to reflect both the literal light and the metaphorical beauty that can be found in this world. She is always working to understand better the material and how to create pieces that show the integration of form, function, and her aesthetic, artistic essence. Catherine Wehlburg holds a Ph.D. and is Dean of Sciences, Mathematics, and Education at Marymount University. She can be contacted at catherinewehlburg@gmail.com.

1. Tait, Hugh. Glass 5,000 Years. New York: Harry N Abrams Inc., 1991.

2. Chuck Savoie. Personal communication with the authors August 2017.

3. Society for Historical Archaeology. “Bottle/Glass Colors.” Bottle Research Group. https://sha.org/bottle/ colors.htm (accessed May 22, 2019).

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No Master, No Plaster – Kiln Casting Using CNC Carved Molds

By John Webster As a glass artist that was immediately drawn to bigger, thicker, and heavier pieces after being introduced to kiln work, I went straight to kiln casting. After being taught lost-wax plaster techniques, I found myself with an artistic dilemma: I was really bad at making the master sculpture. Ideas are easy, but a lump of clay or a block of wax turns into a lump of clay or a blob of wax with shavings in my hands.

For me, it was much easier to design the sculpture in a CAD program and build objects in virtual reality. I found a machinable refractory material, learned CNC machining, and started making molds. By skipping the master/lost-wax/plaster cycle, I get the opportunity to play with scale, engineer the molds for glass shrinkage, make both negative molds and positive space holders, and keep my hands clean.

Drawing for CNC machining requires knowledge about the capabilities of the specific CNC machine that will be used.

Entry-level machines often are CNC routers that have X, Y, Z (3 axes) capabilities. Often a fourth, rotational ‘A’ axis is added for simple 3D objects. These machines can cut complex images, parts, and paths but cannot do undercutting. This type of machining is referred to as 2.5D. Examples of 2.5D include; bas-relief, part cutout, drilled holes, etc. True 3D machining requires that the cutting tool have its own controllable “wrist” so that undercutting can be done. Machines of this type come with up to seven-axis capabilities but are very expensive. With a bit of creative programming, a three-axis machine can cut multipiece 3D molds as will be discussed later. Mold design should be adapted for the machine you have available.

There are a lot of useful drawing, modeling, and CAD/CAM software programs out there to design for a CNC machine.

Prices vary from free to many thousands of dollars/year.

Knowing what type of castings you want to make is helpful.

2D flat art and design programs work well for 2D and 2.5D CNC work when paired with a CAM toolpath program (Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Coreldraw, Paint, etc.). For 3D work, a program that provides a complete 3D design environment is necessary (Rhino 3D, Blender, ZBrush). These must be paired with a CAM toolpath program. CAM toolpath programs (Vetric Aspire, MeshCam) generate the G-Code file that tells the CNC machine how to move. These programs have greyscale depth conversion functions and some CAD design and manipulation capabilities. The greyscale to depth conversion is very useful for bas-relief, but I have found the CAD capabilities cumbersome and only useful in fine-tuning the design. Photoshop, Illustrator, Rhino 3D (CAD) and Aspire (CAM) were the programs used for the castings referred to in this article.

Programs come from one of two schools of thought, art or engineering. Art based programs (Photoshop, Rhino 3D, Blend-

Raven composite mold (Figure A) • 2019 • Machined 2316 Board & Vermiculite Board • Photo: John Webster

er) tend to be easier to learn but harder to tighten up as mold design gets more complex. With engineering-based programs (Fusion 360, Solidworks, TinkerCAD), complex design integration is inherent in their workflow. They have longer learning curves, but complex molds are easier.

All of the programs I refer to above are either CAD or CAM (draw or toolpath) except Fusion 360 (by AutoDesk). I have minimal experience with Fusion 360, but I am in the process of learning it. It has lots of positives: free to students, hobbyists & start-ups, integrated five-axis CAM capabilities, both PC and MAC operating system. The biggest drawback is that due to its comprehensive capabilities, the learning curve is long. I do recommend it as a very good tool for someone starting from scratch.

In terms of hardware, I use and recommend the CNC router platform. CNC routers are readily available, and it is possible to rent time on a machine owned by a maker space or small manufacturer. When choosing a machine, be sure to consider size, as it will need to be big enough for the molds you are planning. Be sure to include height or Z-axis when choosing the size. It will also need to accommodate an appropriate vacuum system (machining refractory material generates a lot of very fine dust). Cost, support, parts availability, and standard tooling compatibility should also be considered. All of the molds for this project were cut on a CNC router with a 2’ x 3’ work platform and an 11” gantry.

Because CNC machinery is pricy, and CAD/CAM learning curves can be long, collaboration with others may be useful.

Reaching out to school industrial arts programs may help you access CNC machines, people with helpful experience, and students needing projects. Most maker spaces and some small

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manufacturers have CNC routers (hourly rentals) along with CAD/CAM software.

My molds are constructed of: • Raw 2316 refractory board made by Western Industrial Ceramics. It is a hydraulically formed ceramic fiberboard that uses a minimal amount of organic binder. It is slightly compressible, will take good detail and is self-releasing when used in kiln casting. The binder burns out by 500°F, so there is no outgassing at glass flow temps making it ideal as a full surround space holder.

• High strength vermiculite board as a structural backer board to add strength to the 2316 board.

• 310 Stainless Steel as a strength component for corner strength, specialty fasteners, pins, clips, and hold-downs for space holders Design criteria that need to be figured into the mold design include: • Total pressure of liquid glass against the sides of the mold • Glass shrinkage against mold components.

• Collapsible internal space holders that allow the glass to shrink without breakage.

• Mold expansion and shrinkage and how that affects mold integrity and shape.

The basic design process is as follows.

1. Generate sculpture idea 2. Model virtual piece in 3D CAD software

3. Build a virtual mold around the piece 4. Move the virtual mold components to CAM software 5. Generate and test mold cutting toolpaths 6. Cut mold components on CNC machine 7. Assemble mold 8. Cast piece Here is an overview of the process using two examples: The first example, “Crystal Box” is an 8”x8”x16” box with bas-relief images on four inside walls and the outside of the bottom. Wall thickness is 1” and 1.5” for the bottom. The piece was drawn, and the mold built virtually in Rhino 3D. Image preparation was done in Photoshop. Greyscale 3D for the imagery and all mold toolpaths were done in Aspire. The mold was constructed by machining 2316 board. Images were machined into the four pieces that made up the sides of the internal space holder. The bottom of the space holder was slightly domed to provide extra material in case of glass shrinkage. The inside of the space holder had compression release cuts and was held together with pinned tongue and groove joints. The outside mold had an image and feet machined into its bottom. The sides of the outside mold were flat 2316 board. The structural components were constructed entirely of 18 ga. 310 Stainless steel.

I used two flower pots for this casting. One on each end with 50% of the glass billets in each. The kiln program was for 4” thick glass. The thickest part of the casting was 1.75,” but the slower program was used due to large internal space and the need to decrease stress.

The second example uses full 3D modeling and mold cutting, sequential casting, and a twice-used mold. “Raven Contemplates Mortality” started as a freeware 3D scan of a real raven. I worked up the idea in Rhino 3D. Then both positive and negative virtual molds were drawn and moved to Aspire for toolpath calculations.

Molds were machined from 2316 board on the router. The black raven was cast first in a two-piece mold that was separated on the undercut horizon separation plane. This way, the mold could be cut on a router that cannot do undercuts. The raven was put back in its mold and was integrated into a larger mold for the final casting. Figure A is a picture of this mold set up before the final side was fastened on. The positive raven space-holder was held in this mold on stainless steel rods. The piece is cast upside down with clear glass filling the area around the raven space holder.

Vermiculite board was used as the strength component. First and second castings used the flowerpot method. The black raven was cast as 4” thick and final casting with settings for 6” thick piece.

Figure B is the final piece, note that the black glass from the raven flowed into the clear casting.

In conclusion, kiln casting can be accomplished without master sculptures and without plaster. The methodology is tech-intensive and may be daunting to some but is both useful and versatile.

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Raven Contemplates Mortality (Figure B) • 2019 • Kiln Cast Lead Crystal Glass • 10.5”H x 13”W x 6”D • Photo: Dan Fox, Lumina Studio

LECMO

Infinitesimal and Beyond, the Perfect Bonding of Art and Science

By Vaz Zastera In St. Petersburg, I had the pleasure of demonstrating the process of optical contacting and how it is used in the science community as well as its possibilities for art.

My lecture featured a fast pace slideshow highlighting my recent glass art sculptures and the past ten years of my 30-year optical career fabricating precision optical components; It’s art for scientists. Some instruments are complex with multiple sculpture-like components which will never be seen outside my presentation because they are installed in much larger instruments such as satellites.

One of the featured instruments was built for NASA, the MIGHTI, a Michelson Interferometer for Global Highresolution Thermospheric Imagining. This instrument is used to monitor and observe solar winds and is part of the Ionospheric Connection Explorer, ICON, satellite.

Through photos, I explained the process from drawings, to models, and various stages of fabrication to prototype, testing then to the final finished product. Please visit www.nasa.org for more information on ICON. In math, infinitesimal refers to things so small that there is no way to measure them; they are extremely close to, but not, zero. The distance between the two pieces of glass once they are optically contacted is infinitesimal; it can not be measured.

So what is this Optical Contacting? It is a centuries-old process by which two glass surfaces are held together at room temperature through molecular attraction, without the use of adhesives.

The phenomenon was first observed by Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727). Newton discovered a central black spot between two prisms. One prism was convex, and the other was very flat. The center spot had no reflection, but around it, he saw rings of different colours, later named Newton rings. These rings are the interference of light between the two pieces

of glass. We still use Newton’s rings today when testing with a test plate to measure the flatness of a piece of glass.

Van der Waals forces explain what Newton saw. The intermolecular forces that come into play exist for all materials in close proximity. The magnitude of the force between the two solid bodies is a function of the separation distance and surface area.

In the scientific community, optical contacting is used when specifications call for very tight tolerances, very accurate angles, or if parts have to be polished parallel to a few arc seconds. This particular method is also used to eliminate the dimensional uncertainty of wax or when adhesives cannot be used. An example would be a bond in a high-powered laser.

The laser will burn the glue, so optical contacting is used to avoid failure of the bond. Another example is when an instrument will be sent into space and must be able to withstand extreme cold or heat. Many adhesives are not made to withstand the temperature fluctuation or pressures of space.

Optically Contacting Plate Glass

A good optical contact occurs between 2 pieces of glass that are very flat, (ideally one Newton ring or less) and very clean.

The technique requires skillful hand polishing, a very clean environment, and unlimited patience. That being said, I have found that you are also able to contact widow glass together optically. I was able to show this during my demonstration using a piece of plate glass with an engraved design on one side, which I then contacted to a second piece of plate glass. I also showed samples of various stages of the optical contacting process.

The Process

Optical Contacting works best when the two pieces of glass to be bonded have the same chemical composition. Since there are thousands of types of glass available

to the scientist, this is an important consideration. However, the technique will still work if the glass is not identical.

Optical contacting involves polishing the parts extremely flat on the sides to be contacted. Without precision polishing equipment, this can be hard to achieve; however, it can be overcome by using glass already polished like window glass.

The parts are first cleaned with a very fine polishing compound, tin oxide or cerium oxide, applied on a folded-up tissue then rinsed with water. Next, the parts must be thoroughly cleaned with laboratory-grade methanol; acetone will also work.

A soft lint-free cloth or lint-free tissue is best used to carry the cleaning solvents.

Once the glass is cleaned, the surfaces to be contacted are blown off with compressed dry air or nitrogen. The pieces are then placed on top of each other and must be able to move freely back and forth without getting hung up.

They should freely float on the entrapped cushion of air like a puck on an air hockey table. If there is even the slightest resistance, the glass surfaces are not clean enough and should be re-cleaned before proceeding. The goal is a microscopically clean and stable environment between the two pieces of glass and to avoid contamination of any kind. Not only could this be from the air (environment) but also the solvents used and possible lint from the cleaning cloths.

While the two pieces are still movable, they should be moved into the desired position.

Light pressure is then applied to the top piece so that the entrapped air is forced out. This causes the interference fringes on the flat surfaces to move towards absolute zero in separation and white color to appear uniformly over the surface. The actual contacting takes place when further constant pressure is applied.

You can see the white coloration suddenly change where the greatest pressure

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is applied, and the piece can no longer move. Once the contacting process has begun, and especially when the surfaces are truly clean and flat, it will continue to contact across the entire piece without further external pressure.

I have been incorporating this technique into my cold glass sculptures.

Most notably on collaborations with Juri Harcuba. Juri would do an engraving on one side of the glass, and I would then optically contact the second piece (sometimes a third or fourth piece) to “encase� the engraving inside. The edges would them be polished out so it would look like a single piece of glass.

This technique is relatively new to the art world and provides an internal bond without the possibility of yellowing, bubbles, or clouding. Optical contacting is a technique that can be easily learned with practice. It is the highly developed knowledge and skills of the optician in grinding and polishing the glass to the highest levels of flatness and cleanliness that is the biggest challenge in mastering this technique.

About the Author

Vaz Zastera (www.zartwerks.com) is a precision glass machinist, master optician, and artist who apprenticed for ten years and has been working with glass for the past 30 years. He currently works in the high-tech industry fabricating customized ultra-high precision optical components and glass instruments for application in space, telecommunications, laser, and scientific research. In addition to his optical career, he has directed his glass working skills in parallel endeavors, designing and producing many unique and striking works of art that exploit the visual properties of polished glass. His home studio incorporates traditional cold working tools and modern-day precision glass machines.

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Stephen Powell • Meandering Wheezy Sniffer • 2006 • 34 x 22 x 13.25in

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Chadd Lacey • Transparent Orca • 2017 • 8 x 6 x 5in • Flameworked borosilicate glass

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Dr. Heike Brachlow • Allusion • 2016 • 31 x 33.5 x 22cm • cast glass, ground and hand finished • Photo: Ester Segarra

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Vaz Zastera • The Egg • 2007 • 5 x 3.5 x 3.5in • Cold worked and laminated using Coloured Hxtal glue • Photo: Vaz Zastera

John Moran • Mickey Mori • 2018 • 25 x 30 x 15cm • Free-hand sculpted hot glass • Photo: Karel De Bock

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Kait Rhoads • Sea Stone 17/14 Two Tone • 2017 • 8 x 8.5 x 8in • Blown glass hollow murrine woven with copper wire • Photo: Rozarii Lynch

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Helen Stokes • Lenticular Spheres • 2017 • 300 x 210 x 6mm • Digitally interlaced image and kiln-formed glass 20Ipi lenticular lens

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PANELS

Dan Friday as part of the Community Outreach Panel, Empowering & Transforming Communities Through Glass Art

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PA N E L

Jump Start: Contemporary Chinese Glass Art Panelists Jiyong Lee, William Warmus, & David Francis Session moderator, Jing Li, introduced the three panelists and emphasized their backgrounds as artist, educator, curator, and theorist. Li clarified that the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (where he teaches) established the first Glass Art Program in 2000, pioneering Chinese Universities on the mainland. While glass art in China has a deep history over two thousand years old, it is currently dominated by kiln casting, with furnace glass blowing and flameworking expanding in the past five years. As a means of showcasing different perspectives on Chinese Studio Glass Li asked each member to share their adventures in China.

Professor Jiyong Lee served on the jury panel of the Student Exhibition at the Tianyuan International Glass Art Festival (2016). First, Professor Lee introduced the students’ artwork.

Among the more than 25 colleges that teach glass in China, students focus on flameworking and kiln working due to the scarcity of hot glass studio facilities on the mainland. Professor Lee compared the education systems in Asia, US, and Europe; the general perception was that the US has a strong glassblowing scene while Europe emphasizes design, traditional craft, and kiln working.

The first generation of Chinese glass artists mainly obtained their degrees from Europe. Recently, more Chinese students are traveling to the US to pursue their Master of Fine Arts (MFA).

Recent student works have been more diversified than the previous generation of artists in China, perhaps due to their participation in international glass art events and programs.

Professor Lee pointed out the difference between a Master of Arts (MA) degree (30 credit hours) and MFA (60 credit hours). The extra credit hours in MFA programs allow the students to have more hands-on studio experience.

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The Jury panel of Student Glass Art Exhibition in 2016 Tianyuan International Glass Art Festival.Photo: Yue Xin

European and Asian Universities have been providing Ph.D. degrees in Studio Art. Most universities require a Ph.D. to qualify for a teaching position. More Chinese artists have been pursuing their advanced degrees (MA, Ph.D.) in Europe. Many Chinese students have followed their teachers’ path; however, students prefer not to go through the tedious process of making in the studio. Due to the lack of hot glass studio facilities and experience, students struggle to see their future working with hot glass in China. Limited career and art market opportunities challenge young students and artists to continue working with glass after their education.

Professor Lee emphasized the importance of hands-on studio experience in the academic environment. He believes that hands-on studio experience is a fundamental way of understanding the material, visualizing ideas, and developing as artists.

Mr. William Warmus made his first trip to China in 2001, sponsored by Ferdinand Hampson of Habatat Gallery. Arriving on September 11, just as the World Trade Center in New York collapsed, he pointed out that 2001 was, in retrospect, early in the development of the Chinese studio glass movement. Vivian Wang was among the few notable artists using glass; she remains a great benefactor. Of course, at the beginning of the 21st-century, the situation for glass worldwide was murky and messy. China was no exception. It is only in the second decade of the 21st-century that we have achieved some clarity regarding the directions of studio glass in a global context.

When Mr. Warmus returned to China in December 2017, at the invitation of Professor Jing Li, to jury an art competition in Shanghai, he found the glass movement vastly expanded. He came away with the impression that the next big frontier in worldwide studio glass history might involve developments in China. Mr. Warmus also recognized the profound impact that China is having on glass in architecture. He observed the numerous glass pedestrian bridges spanning canyons, especially the Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest building (2,073 feet), designed by Jun Xia for Gensler. This structure

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consists of a glass tube within a glass tube, with the space between the inner and outer tubes utilized to create spectacular atriums in the sky - as well as an effective layer of insulation. The Tower’s innovative tube-within-a-tube design reminded him of the ancient Venetian technique of forming multi-layered canes of glass and drawing them out to great length.

Mr. Warmus looks forward to observing how artists using glass in China will merge High Technology and everyday human observation.

Dr. David Francis lived in Hong Kong (2014), making research trips to Beijing, Shanghai, and Taiwan with funding from the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA, where he worked as a curator. Some of the most memorable encounters occurred outside the traditional settings of museums, universities, and galleries.

Small-scale glass production, as revealed in the Shanghai photographs of Werner von Boltenstern, demonstrate that glassblowing occurred on a small, streetside scale as early as 1949.

Francis acknowledged the birth of Studio Glass in China often focuses on Xiaowei Zhuang notwithstanding the beginnings in Taiwan (Loretta Yang and Heinrich Wang). The Boltenstern photograph hints that there are antecedents waiting to be discovered. In the 1960s, when Wang Xuebing from China Central Academy of Arts & Design (now Tsinghua) went to Czechoslovakia (then a socialist country), he may have been the first Chinese artist from a university to travel to the West to study glass art, yet the technical support would not develop for another four decades. Describing what he learned from Wolverhampton professor Keith Cummings, Donghai Guan mentioned the need to “show your own culture in your piece.”1 Francis speculated that the Chinese interest in U.K. glass programs might reveal an assumption about craft versus fine art, as the U.K. system offered an applied approach (as Shelly Xue points out) where, in the U.S., glass instruction

Top: Island • 2016 • Chong Zhang (Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University) • Casting glass, concrete • 34x14x6” Middle: Filter • 2016 • Xueyu He (China Academy of Art) • Kiln-forming glass • 11x11x22” Bottom: In the eyes • 2016 • Xiaoming Liu (Jilin University of Arts) • Blown glass, mirror, wood • 80x6x18”

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Shanghai Tower details. Photo: William Warmus

was perceived to focus less on the development of a trade and more as a fine art in its own right. Francis explored the idea that academic glass programs in China were specifically engineered to fast-track a “creative industry” (a term coined by the Chinse government) where students would make fine art in an applied context, almost as a Chinese interpretation of the Bauhaus concept. Finally, the Australian model offers an instructive comparison, where the model of a “hot shop diaspora” centers on American Richard Marquis and Australian Nick Mount in the mid-1970s (Vicki Halper’s Links: Australian Glass and the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington, 2013).

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Dr. Francis expressed fascination with the ways in which China reflects the influence of Western values from time to time (1917; 1989), incorporating new aesthetics into its own vast history of art production. He acknowledged previous researchers at Glass Art Society Conferences in 2005 (Sunny Wang) and 2009 (Lu Chi) while expressing hope that, soon, we will see more than one or two Chinese glass artists represented in international surveys. When curators distribute Open Calls, extra outreach effort is vital. Francis’ research revealed the existence of non-academic glass studios (K.C. Wong, Ruby Woo, Wong Chung Wing, and Alice Cheng in Hong Kong for instance; Schoolhouse Glass at Mutianyu near Beijing). Despite their comparative invisibility, these artists collectively play a fundamental role in China’s Studio Glass Movement.

Francis concluded by sharing a list of academic glass artists that reflects both a consensus among previous researchers (Wang, Chi, Xue, King) as well as his own bias for conceptual approaches, such as frequent use of Chinese cultural symbols, veiled political reference, and an avoidance of decorative beauty: Loretta Yang (b. 1952); Xiao Wei Zhuang (b. 1957); Guan Donghai (b.

1966); Li Wen (b. 1968); Sunny Wang (b. 1972); Li Yupu (b. 1973); Wang Qin (b. 1978); Xu Jinlong (b. 1979); Han Xi (b. 1981); Shelly Xue (b. 1981); Peng Yi (b. 1983); Jing Li (b. 1984); Meng Du (b. 1986); and Wendi Xie (b. 1989). He also included contemporary artists, many world-famous, who work with glass: Xu Bing (b. 1955; at Pilchuck in 2003); Ai Weiwei (b.

1957); Xia Xiaowan (b. 1959); Lee Mei (Carol) Kuen (b. 1963); Zhang Huan (b.1965); Fujui Wang (Taiwan, b. 1969); Wang MengMeng (b. 1970); and Yang Xinguang (b. 1980).

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Empowering & Transforming Communities through Glass Art

By Andrew Page Can the therapeutic power of glass art be harnessed to heal trauma from gun violence and military combat, and does it hold power to affect success in adolescence and early adulthood? This topic was discussed in a moderated conversation between three experts in this burgeoning area of glass-art education.

The panelists were Pearl Dick, founder of Project FIRE in Chicago; Dan Friday, who has been leading outreach initiatives at Pilchuck Glass School in the Seattle area; and Matthew Piepenbrok, who runs Operation: Art of Valor at the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. Led

by Andrew Page, editor of Glass magazine and director of the Robert M. Minkoff Foundation, the conversation explored the story of three powerful outreach programs that are transforming outcomes for very different communities.

How these programs started, the stories of the individuals who have built these programs, and the future directions they might be taking was the focus of this in-depth panel discussion that provided unique practical and philosophical insights into the field.

Entitled “Empowering & Transforming Communities through Glass Art” the presentation took place on Friday, March 29th, 2019 from 4 – 6 PM, as the three heads of programs shared their perspectives on the unique power of glass art as a therapeutic tool to reach communities in need.

Pearl Dick is a Chicago-based artist who founded Project FIRE, an organization that reaches out to victims of gun violence in local communities. She shared the remarkable story of how this organization was founded, tracing its arc from a volunteer initiative to a wellresourced nonprofit program that brings together University of Chicago clinical psychologists and a major arts nonprofit. Dick shared her insights into what

Glass artist Dan Friday, a member of the Lummi tribe, has been leading new community-outreach initiatives at Pilchuck since 2018

makes the program successful, sharing a story of how private glassblowing lessons she taught to a trauma surgeon at the University of Chicago hospital led to institutional support for this unique program. They provide therapy, counseling, and other services to a population that has suffered traumatic experiences of violence. A unique collaboration between the University of Chicago clinical psychologist Bradley Stolbach and Dick, the artist pointed out that Project FIRE is not its own nonprofit organization—but is a program funded and supported by ArtReach Chicago and Healing Hurt People Chicago.

The Project FIRE program has three key goals: 1. Prevent violence in youth who are among those at the highest risk for violence through a combination of glass arts education, mentoring, and traumaspecific psychoeducation.

2. Offer youth a safe place to connect with peers facing similar struggles, and provide protective, positive, safe relationships with older youth and adults.

3. Provide a program that functions as a sustainable ecosystem that gives participating youth concrete art skills and certifications, management experience, and other social-emotional support.

“We don’t call what we do ‘therapy, we call it ‘psychoeducation’ and we use a trauma-informed curriculum in group sessions with clinical psychologists and licensed clinical social workers,” Dick explained.

Glass artist Dan Friday, a member of the Lummi tribe, has been leading new community-outreach initiatives at Pilchuck since 2018. He has designed and overseen artistic retreats for students of Hilltop Artists in Residence in Tacoma, and also for the Lummi Youth Academy in nearby Bellingham, Washington. As a member of the Lummi tribe himself, Friday was uniquely positioned to discuss how an education in glass can redirect and focus young adults, as he himself credited his exposure to glass in early adulthood as a pivotal moment in his own life and career. Dan discussed both his experiences leading the Pilchuck retreats, as

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culture of the military, and he applied his experiences to bridge his role as a glass artist with the world of veterans in need.

As hot shop manager of the glass studios at the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, he helped establish and expand the institution’s veterans program Operation: Art of Valor. Launched in early 2018, the program began due to the initiative of a veteran who had taken classes there and recognized the power of glass. In partnership with a local Veterans Administration hospital, the program is funded through a unique collaboration of the National Endowment of the Arts, the Defense Department, and the Department of Veteran Affairs. It has expanded under Matt’s leadership, and he shared stories of how the program launched, what curriculum is most effective, and how the program is set to expand:

Top: As hot shop manager of the glass studios at the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, Matt Piepenbrok’s helped establish and expand the institution’s veterans program Operation: Art of Valor, which launched in early 2018. Bottom: Pearl Dick is a Chicago-based artist who founded Project FIRE, a project that reaches out to victims of gun violence in violence-plagued local communities.

well as his personal experiences as a First Nations youth who found a new sense of purpose and more positive direction through glass art.

Friday’s presentation included a history of his own family; he discussed how his grandfather had been a tribal chief and shared insights into Native American culture and experiences. Friday was able to present dual perspectives: both his current view as an artist, teacher, and mentor to

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younger students, as well as someone who faced his own unique challenges growing up. His bracing honesty gave a new perspective on the power of glass art, the discipline it requires, as well as the community that it brings to turn around a young person’s trajectory. In addition to his teaching, Friday is also a successful artist with gallery and museum shows.

Born into a family of soldiers, Matt Piepenbrok was well-versed in the unique

“Growing up in a ‘generational military family,’ we never acknowledged PTSD as a thing; we were all just told to go cut a tree or wrench on a tractor out on the family farm. It was seen as not being a ‘Man,’ and that if you couldn’t handle your emotions, it made you less of a person. So bottling it up and repressing inside was the only solution. This always concerned me, and I was the emotional one in my group. I went through my life watching what that trauma does. And, how it affected my grandfather’s life, my father’s, uncle’s and to my siblings’ lives, and how, when gone undiagnosed or untreated, it adversely affects the ones you love. So, it was a solid ‘YES’ when I was approached with this idea.”

Operation: Art of Valor began with a modest grant from the Florida Cultural Affairs as a pass-through from the NEA. This allowed the program to begin. It has grown through the dedication of its primary volunteer veterans and a collaboration with Merrilee Jorn, an art therapist at the Hailey Veterans Hospital. Student veterans are referred to the program from the Bay Pines Veterans Hospital through recreation therapist Lin Hales.

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D E M O N S T R AT I O N S

Austin Littenberg’s demo, Carving between layers, patterns, and lines to create movement, at the Morean Glass Studio & Hot Shop

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H O T G L A S S D E M O N S T R AT I O N

Spin Casting, A Unique Teaching Process

By Jerry Catania Spin casting is both an exciting and inviting introduction to a glass studio. This presentation was used to offer educators a hands-on teaching process and method that is both accessible and creative as an introductory experience for a novice. Using a potter’s wheel, anyone can ladle molten glass into a spinning sand mold to form decorative glass bowls. This low-tech process requires little equipment and expense. Most studios already have ladles and sand (the sand is any sand that contains a small amount of clay: approx. 5% by weight). A potter’s wheel (electric) can be borrowed from a ‘friendly’ nearby potter. Using the potter’s wheel, participants form a bowl shape in the sand that follows the interior shape of a metal bowl. The metal bowl is mounted to a potter’s batt then centered and fixed on to the wheel. Molten glass is then poured into the sand coated bowl and spun; centrifugal force moves the glass up the sides of the sand bowl forming an even-walled glass bowl.

The experience combines all of the unique aspects of a hot-glass studio: the fascination with the glowing molten glass; the challenge to ‘face the fire’; the teamwork, and comradery; direct experience creating beautiful glass bowls.

Jerry Catania • Spin Cast Bowl • 2018

How we do it at Water Street Glassworks:

Jerry Catania demonstrates spinning molten glass in 2019

We find it’s best to limit the participants to 4 to 6. Anyone, no matter their age, can participate in some way (kids with parents in a limited way, but they can still play a creative part). Gloves, glasses, long sleeves, etc. are required, and safety procedures are explained. Each participant gets a bowl that is half-filled with moist sand. They take turns at the wheel spinning the bowl, pushing/dragging the sand up the sides as the wheel is spinning, thus centering and distributing the sand into an inch (plus) bowl shape. A side table contains small shapes and textured objects for them to choose from. A few choices are made and pressed into the sand to form voids. When everyone is finished, the molds are carbonized (acetylene soot, sprayed with watered-down honey or molasses), then ladled with hot glass – usually only one scoop of a 5 to 6-inch ladle. I like to train any participants who would like to try ladling; otherwise, I do it myself. When the glass sets up, the glass bowls are pried out and rushed to an annealing oven. In a four-hour session, most participants can make 3 to 4 bowls. It is a very exciting and satisfying experience for all who participate.

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F L A M E W O R K I N G D E M O N S T R AT I O N

Icarus

By Robert Mickelsen There are a number of physical characteristics that make humans distinctly human, but few are as capable of expression and emoting as the human hand. Our opposable thumbs and the ability to grasp and manipulate tools is second only to a large brain in enhancing the pace of human evolution. It is for these reasons that I have always been fascinated by hands.

My demo was to create a life-size clear glass hand using only sculpting techniques at the torch. This demo requires a certain level of skill and understanding of the material, but it does not require a model. Conveniently, I have one attached to the end of my arm that I can look at any time I want. For this demo, I sculpted my left hand.

I make the wrist and palm out of a single bubble, and the fingers are hollow attachments that are assembled to the palm and then sculpted in place. I make the weld, bend the finger into position and then add knuckles, creases, and fingernails. This process is repeated for all four fingers.

All photos courtesy of the artist.

The thumb is a little different. It starts out the same way as the fingers, but since the thumb is heavily muscled and makes up about a quarter of the palm, the entire palm must be heated and sculpted after the thumb is attached. The thumb is the most difficult part of the entire process.

For this sculpture, which was auctioned off to benefit GAS, I made two matching hands and attached them to larger pieces of tubing that were sculpted into the shape of forearms (flared at the bottom so they could stand up). A pattern of feathers was sandblasted on the two hands, and they were placed together to create a variable gesture (depending on how the hands are positioned). The title, “Icarus,” refers to the ancient Greek tale.

No matter how the hands are placed together, they seem to be reaching upward - as if attempting to go higher even though higher means doom for Icarus.

I want to thank the Glass Art Society for inviting me to demonstrate at the St. Pete conference and for the great honor of the Lifetime Membership Award.

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F L A M E W O R K I N G D E M O N S T R AT I O N

Goblin Maker, Troll Hunter Â

By Mike Shelbo

This flameworking demonstration was to show the construction of detailed parts and components into full figurines: a Goblin and a Troll. The theme of the piece was the idea of completion. The satisfaction of completing an individual piece or sculpture and to examine the concept of completion all together. I arrived with the parts to make a miniature goblin figurine and wanted to use that to show construction on a tiny scale.

He would sit atop the defeated troll figure. I brought the limbs, head and body of a troll figurine with me to construct at the demonstration. I used a combination of Carlisle CC burner, Carlisle Bunsen and a Smith mini hand torch equipped with a 12-hole Shelbo Whisper Tip Mini to melt and construct the figurines. The finished sculpture showed a number of techniques to combine hollow and solid elements into one figurative piece as well as how to utilize a bunsen burner to keep working on something without the need to reheat in a kiln. By the end of the demo the tiny Goblin made of Glass Alchemy Mint sat with silicon axe in hand on the belly of a defeated Ivory Blush Troll figure splayed out on his back. A quick reminder that all glass is glass, and there are no rules or limits to what you can do. The best way to get more completion in your life is to start by finishing old projects that have been sitting around and are ninety percent complete. Finish them or throw them out, either way you are on to the next and set up for more satisfying completion!

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C O L D W O R K I N G D E M O N S T R AT I O N

Portraits in Glass: a Process

By Lisabeth Sterling

My designs begin when I scribble on a glass vessel with a Sharpie.

Within those scribbles, I see faces, figures, plants, and animals - much like looking at clouds or inkblots. It is how I access the thoughts and feelings hidden within my subconscious. Like lucid dreaming, I have some control but try not to question the content of my imagery and just allow it to flow. Engraving is a slow process; Over a period of weeks, or even months, I will think about what those images represent, what the symbols mean, who those people are, and what they represent in my life.

At the conference in St. Petersburg, I was able to answer questions and demonstrate some of the techniques that I use to make my engraved vessels.

Steps: 1. Designing and blowing the blanks I work with a team to blow glass with layers of color on the outside of a vessel. Before going into the hot-shop, I make drawings and select colors. A simple shape will allow me to use the vessel like a blank canvas. A complex form will often drive the direction of the imagery. Various colors provide different emotional impact.

When it comes time to start engraving a piece, I look over my collection of blanks and choose the shape and color that feels right for the day.

2. Inspiration, developing imagery The initial drawing on a vessel usually takes a day, but it may take weeks of coming back to it over and over to fine-tune the image.

At this point, I am interested in the aesthetic impact and am trying not to overthink or force the subject matter. Symbolism is best when it happens organically.

3. Images on glass After the ink drawing is complete, I fix the image in place with a subtle linear engraving. Even though the basic image becomes immovable, it is not the end of the creative process. Every step in the engraving process involves choices.

4. Cutting edges, windows, and doors In order to make extreme cuts into a vessel, I drill holes at stress points, then grind a groove from hole to hole until the glass is cut all the way through the vessel wall. I love the drama of irregular edges and what I call “windows and doors.” The openings allow the viewer to see into the piece and gives a different perspective.

5. Alternating areas of light, dark, and textures I like to alternate light with dark, as well as with hard and soft textures. It helps define figures and objects while not relying too heavily upon a line drawing. The areas that are not engraved are like shadows. With transparent glass, when you look through shadows, images from the opposite side are visible. As you

A Rapidly Beating Heart • 2017 • blown, engraved, cameo glass • Photo: Tristan Levine

move around the vessel, the position and relationships between characters are constantly changing.

6. Roughing out and illumination By engraving most of the color away from the background, I am able to establish a strong contrast between the background and foreground. If the glass is dark, it is difficult to see how much glass is being removed until large areas of color have been ground away. By engraving away glass a little at a time all around the vessel, it gradually gets lighter, brighter, and easier to see.

7. Detail and texture.

After a piece has been roughed out, I can focus on the details. I work on perfecting contours and gradations. I add textures and patterns - even a little glint in the eye, that bring a face to life.

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8. Finishing edges I also engrave the bottom of my pieces; however, I include a nearly continuous ring around the outer edge of the bottom of the vessel for a resting surface. One of the last steps is to hand lap the bottom for about 5 minutes to make sure that the vessel has firm footing.

The lip and shape of cut edges are refined, and then sanded with small pieces of an abrasive hand pad.

9. Naming While engraving, I think about the images that I’m creating and what they mean. Whenever a thought or title comes to mind, I write it on a blackboard on the wall next to my engraving table.

It is not unusual for me to fill up my chalkboard with notes and ideas. From that list, I choose, and then engrave the title and my signature on the finished piece.

Technical Information: 1. Engraving tools My first love was drawing and painting. A handheld engraver felt natural to me, like a pencil or paintbrush.

For years my only engraver was a Foredom drill. It isn’t super smooth and has a flex shaft that can fatigue the wrist, but it’s strong and has a lot of torque. I still use one regularly. It’s a terrific tool for aggressive grinding and cutting through glass.

The NSK Espert is my primary engraving tool. It has a micro motor in the hand-piece with a control box on the side. I use it with water (which voids the warranty). I have to flush the handpiece with a spray lubricant to clean it and extend its life, but it’s so smooth that it’s worth the trouble.

2. Burrs, blades, sanding pad I use high-quality sintered wheels and saw blades for my hand tools whenever I can find them. Sintered diamond wheels need to be centered by dressing. You do this by grinding away excess material away while the wheel is in rotation.

For most fine and detailed work, I use plated burrs. Even high quality plated burrs can be a bit off-center or be damaged after prolonged use. If you take a Sharpie and barely touch the burr while it is rotating in your hand-piece, you can locate the high point. Remove the burr from your hand-piece, hold it with a pair of taped pliers, and then gently tap it back on center.

Repeat the process several times until the Sharpie leaves a fine line all the way around the burr.

3. Engraving table I made an engraving table that is basically a shallow fish tank with a diffusing surface on the bottom. When I am engraving transparent colored glass, I position a lamp under the table so that light shines through the glass. If I’m engraving opaque glass (with white), I position the light from above.

A Midnight Snack • 2019 • blown, engraved, cameo glass • Photo: Tristan Levine

breathe glass dust. If you use water while engraving, most of the dust will remain in the water and sink to the bottom of the water basin. For me, it’s simplest and most direct to dribble water from a sponge.

5. Foam cradle I cut cradles for each piece that I engrave made from rigid foam board insulation (both blue and pink work). They are essentially foam donuts that hold the glass vessel safely in place while engraving. Hands are then free to engrave.

Water is needed to cool diamond burrs and wheels. Hot glass may crack. Hot burrs wear out quickly, and you don’t want to

6. Sealing Every engraved surface is finished using 400 grit abrasive tools; however, engraved glass can still absorb oil from human hands, so I coat the surface with a sealant, then buff with a microfiber cloth until all smudges from residual sealant have disappeared. I’ve heard of artists using everything from olive oil to Armor All as a sealant. I’ve been using Liquid Luster for over a decade and have been happy with the results.

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4. Water

SPECIAL EVENTS

The Pre-Conference Reception at the Chihuly Collection was a magical evening enjoyed by more than 200 people!

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SPECIAL EVENT

Pre-conference Reception at the Chihuly Collection The Glass Art Society welcomed it’s 2019 Annual Conference attendees at the pre-conference reception on Wednesday, March 27th. Located in the St. Petersburg’s lively downtown district, the reception was held at the Chihuly Collection presented by the Morena Center for the Arts. A stunning, permanent collection of Dale Chihuly’s artwork in a magnificent 15,000 square foot setting, the Chihuly Collection was designed for the art and architecture to work together — making it the perfect backdrop for our inaugural conference event in St. Petersburg.

Attendees spent the evening exploring this unique body of work and enjoying cocktails, hors-d’oeuvres, and music.

Sponsored by Chihuly Studio, the pre-conference reception was filled with conversation, networking, and got every attendee amped up for the three-day conference ahead of them.

Right: Laura Donefer and Masahiro Nick Sasaki (GAS Board member) catch up at the Pre-Conference Reception

Corning Museum of Glass representatives, Steve Gibbs, Eric Meek, and Eric Goldschmidt enjoy the conference kick-off at the Chihuly Collection.

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SPECIAL EVENT

MIT Glass Band Performance Since 2013, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been astounding audiences with their one-of-a-kind Glass Band. A product of the university’s experimental Glass Lab, the MIT Glass Band bridges the gap between art and science by bringing together musicians, glass artists, composers, and material scientists for interdisciplinary exploration.

A hotbed of creative engineering, the Glass Lab focuses on pushing the boundaries of glassmaking and continues to be well known for producing innovative glass artworks. Yet, a few years after their inception, the Glass Lab team realized that the polymorphous objects they had been creating could have another application altogether; they could be used as instruments for exploring the diverse sounds that glass can make. And with that discovery, the MIT Glass Band was forged.

The Glass Art Society was honored to host MIT’s Glass Band on Friday night of the Annual GAS Conference at the Chihuly Collection presented by the Morean Arts Center. The hour-long performance immersed attendees in a soundscape of experimental, glass-blown music. Featuring Glass Lab Director Peter Houk, star musician Mark Stewart, and their Glass Band colleagues, the concert encompassed a mix of melodic and cacophonous compositions. Musicians layered rhythms on top of rhythms to highlight the unique properties of their hand-made glass instruments. Artists from the MIT Glass Band were available throughout the evening to converse and mingle with GAS conference-goers, creating a truly memorable experience for everyone in attendance.

Top: Mark Stewart talks to an eager audience about the glass instruments used by the MIT Glass Band. Bottom: Peter Houk demonstrates one of the many glass instruments during the MIT Glass Band performance at the Chihuly Collection.

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SPECIAL EVENT

Closing Night Party at Morean Center for Clay To close our three-day extravaganza of glass demonstrations and special events, we hosted a lively celebration for all of our conference-goers, their guests, and everyone who was a part of our 2019 Annual GAS Conference. More than a thousand people attended the party at the Morean Center for Clay (MCC), one of the largest working potteries in the southeast. Located inside a converted 27,000-square foot historic train depot in the Warehouse Arts District of St. Petersburg, MCC offers educational courses, studio space, gallery sales, exhibitions, and a renowned artist-in-residence program.

The magical evening provided an opportunity for GAS to gather everyone involved in the conference and fuse together the connections they made. Moments from the closing night party continue to remind attendees of the new friendships, strengthened relationships, and unexpected networks they developed as a part of the GAS community.

Top: Terri Grant, Nadania Idriss (GAS Board member), and Karlyn Sutherland enjoy the Closing Night Party at the Morean Center for Clay. Middle: Kathryn Starrs dances away the last night of the 48th Annual GAS Conference. Bottom: GAS conference attendees enjoy the opportunity to get their hands dirty during the Closing Night Party.

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IN MEMORIAM

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IN MEMORIAM

Stephen Rolfe Powel The Duncan McClellan Gallery Stephen Rolfe Powell was so many things to so many people, but the one thing he was, universally, was generous and kind.

It has been a pleasure and an honor to have known him over the years, to watch his work, career, and wonderfully positive influence grow.

Over the times that he came to visit and have an exhibition at our gallery, Stephen had few demands other than: “Can you slightly turn that light or paint that wall behind the piece?” They were minor, polite requests, easily accomplished. Through the years, everyone in our gallery was thrilled when he was scheduled to arrive. He brought an energy that stayed with us. We remember Stephen preparing for a demo, and taking his team outside for calisthenics in preparation. His leadership inspired this kind of comradery.

While planning his last exhibition, “A Life of Light in Glass” we reviewed verbiage for the exhibition title, and that title emerged.

The title was joyous, and we felt that it accurately conveyed the physical and spiritual aspects of both his art and his approach to life.

During his last trip to the Duncan McClellan Gallery, a few of us had the good fortune to have a late dinner with Stephen, and, after we had commiserated about old friends and acquaintances in the Glass World, a team member was excited to be able to ask Stephen detailed technical questions about his work, which he patiently answered. He was so happy to share his years of knowledge and experience with us, and we got the impression that sharing fulfilled Stephen as much as being with him fulfilled us.

We later commented that some artists of Powell’s stature might have dismissed our artist’s relative inexperience, but that’s who Stephen was: always treating everyone, no matter what their level of experience or fame, with respect. He was truly interested in what others were doing in their lives.

The night of his public opening at the gallery, after an intense public glass blowing demonstration, Stephen stood listening to jazz, nursing a bourbon, and exuding that easy grace and inclusiveness he was famous for. Somehow, his presence surrounded us all with the feeling that life was good, we were doing valuable work, and we felt encouraged and supported, all without the words being spoken. It was like a blessing; it was a blessing, and continues to be a blessing.

Stephen was a man of incredible talent and had the ability to teach lessons far beyond the ability to make things. We have talked about the fact that Stephen continues to teach us so much, even though he has left us. Teaching glass art in the traditional sense was a vocation for Stephen, but he taught, and continues to teach us all through his living memory, the greater art of how we can live our lives as fuller human beings, with humor, integrity, light and love.

Thank you, Stephen. We will carry you with us always.

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Celebrating the life of Stephen Rolfe Powell and his contribution to the glass community, GAS held a memorial at the Duncan McClellan Gallery during his originally scheduled conference demo.

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IN MEMORIAM

Alice Rooney

Alice Rooney—former Executive Director of the Glass Art Society, Pilchuck Glass School, and Allied Arts of Seattle—passed away on March 26, 2019. A Seattle native, Alice attended both Ballard high school and the University of Washington but moved to New York City to begin her career writing ads for a broadcasting company.

Alice returned to Seattle and worked for more than a decade in advertising before shifting to the cultural sector and her endless passion for the arts.

By 1960, Rooney was named the executive director of Allied Arts, the city’s leading urban and architecture preservation activist group. While leading Allied Arts, Alice helped to promote public funding for the arts, kept billboards off the freeways, and launched the long-term campaign to save the Pike Place Market from proposed demolition. After two decades with Allied Arts, Alice was called upon to assist Pilchuck Glass School and was appointed their director in 1980. Working to both professionalize and stabilize the school, Alice oversaw a decade of growth and a marked increase in their international network of instructors and students.

“For me, I consider the years I spent with Alice at Pilchuck as the golden years, as do many people who shared that time. She was encouraging and welcoming to all who attended the school during those years. At the same time, she kept the business part of Pilchuck invisible while ensuring the school would continue to flourish financially… Her warmth radiated and set the tone for a truly amazing experience.”

- Sabrina Knowles, Artist

Alice Rooney, Penny Berk, and Michael Rogers at the Glass Art Society Conference in Seto, 1998.

In 1990, Alice was asked to head the Glass Art Society and departed Pilchuck.

Alice moved GAS headquarters from Corning, New York to Seattle and remained their executive director until retiring in 1997. Both the relocation of headquarters and new leadership from Alice marked key milestones in GAS history for moving the organization forward and carving out its own unique space within the glass art community.

After retiring in 1997, Alice shifted her focus back to her local community and Ballard High School. She became an original board member and an early president, helping to secure donations to support student activities. Alice also formed the Art Committee which led to the nation’s largest public high school art collection on view today.

Alice’s family, friends, and colleagues often point to her supportive leadership skills as a primary factor in the success and cultural achievements of the organizations she has worked with over the years. Yet, no matter the reason, the result still remains clear; Alice was—and will always remain—an invaluable asset to the cultural life of Seattle.

A true arts advocate, philanthropist, and school arts champion, Alice is survived by her son Scott Corey Rooney, her daughter Robin Lee Rooney (Cassidy), and Robin’s daughter Katherine Anne Esther Cassidy.

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Julia & Robin Rogers partner with the CMoG team for a demo on the Mobile Hot Shop in the parking lot of the Imagine Museum

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM THE CRAFTSMAN HOUSE GALLERY & TRUFFULA ECO-BOUTIQUE Timm Muth HOT DEMO: Sustainable Firing with Waste Vegetable Oil This live demonstration will feature the Double Little Dragon furnace on loan courtesy of Elise Betrus and Mobile Glassblowing Studios, Inc. The furnace will be fired using a High Temperature Vegetable Oil burner from Organic Combustion Systems, which runs on waste vegetable oil and is designed specifically for hot glasswork. This equipment is expected to make a huge impact on the sustainability and accessibility of hot glass in our community. The collaboration between Mobile Glassblowing Studios and Organic Combustion Systems began after a meet-up before the GAS Norfolk Conference and continues today.

CHIHULY COLLECTION MIT Glass Band PERFORMANCE MIT’s Glass Lab Director Peter Houk and his Glass Band colleagues take experimental music to a new level and create beautiful symphonies of sound. Don’t miss the chance to meet the artists and explore their unique, hand-made instruments during this evening of smooth sounds.

CMOG MOBILE HOT SHOP Jeff Ballard HOT DEMO: Soft Serve Glass The landscape of functional glass design is changing rapidly. Recent innovations and trends have lead to the ability of soft glass to be used similarly to borosilicate.

A virtually unexplored territory with limitless possibilities. Soft glass offers certain benefits as compared to borosilicate, most noticeable in ease of patterning and variety of available colors. Jeff

The MIT Glass Band

will demonstrate several techniques from the hot shop and flameworking studio to create one of his functional glass pieces that are challenging the status quo in the pipe world.

Ben Edols HOT DEMO: Great Southern Swell Dan Friday HOT DEMO: Fish On! In this demo Dan will combine solid and blown glass sculpting processes. He will be making a Salmon from his Reef Net series.

Kenny Pieper HOT DEMO: A Different Plunger Julia & Robin Rogers HOT DEMO: Goddess of the Night Sky Robin and Julia Rogers will sculpt a female figure starting with an engraved graal. The graal bubble, decorated with constellations from the night sky, will be formed into the body. The head, hands, and arms will be sculpted separately and added to complete the Goddess.

Danny White HOT DEMO: Hot Sculpture, Assembly: “Trust the Process” This Hot Shop demonstration will reveal the methods used to construct one of Danny White’s pieces in its ladder stages of the process. Using drawings, components, and execution through teamwork the piece will come to fruition in orchestrated fashion. Timing, communication, and anticipation are all aspects that will be addressed. Technical application of torches, colors, and design will be exemplified. The undertone of the process is sharp and to the point, but the experience of creating with friends is the driving force behind it all.

DUNCAN MCCLELLAN GALLERY Jerry Catania HOT DEMO: Spin Casting: A Unique Teaching Process A combination of sand casting and spin casting, this process opens first-time participants to an exciting and creative hot- glass experience. Jerry uses this

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM wrong? How can bubbles on the edges be avoided? How can a good polish in tight curves be achieved? She will also discuss her approach to transparent color in glass, drawing on her PhD research.

Joseph Cavalieri LECMO: Cavalieri’s Most Popular Lectures Joseph will present his two most popular lectures: “Marketing Tips for Artists, With No Stress, and “Advice on Artists Residencies.” Along with the lectures he will provide a tip sheet to help you better focus on your work, style and future.

Kathy Elliot LECMO: Carved Through Time Kazuki Takizawa shows off techniques from his Minimalist series at Duncan McClellan Gallery

teaching method for public classes and workshops primarily as an introductory experience, however, many artists find this useful for their personal artwork.

The process uses a layer of casting sand that is spread evenly to line the walls of a metal bowl. The layer of sand can then be textured with found items or forms leaving negative impressions. The bowl is them placed on a potter’s wheel; ladled with hot glass and then spun to create a glass bowl.

Eli Cecil, Rob Stern, Jeremiah Jacobs & Douglas Gialuca HOT DEMO Benjamin Kikkert HOT DEMO: Shorebreak Splash Festival Stephen Rolfe Powell HOT DEMO: Blowing Upside Down Sam Stang HOT DEMO: Murrini Bowl with Duro and Soft Colors Murrini Bowl with Duro and Soft Colors: Sam Stang will demonstrate a murrini bowl using glasses with radically different 96

viscosities to create a highly textured interior. Due to the nature of the process, the pattern rod will be made in advance.

Rob Stern HOT DEMO: Dreamwork Makes t he Teamwork Kazuki Takizawa HOT DEMO: Patterns, Lines and Simple Form Kazuki Takizawa is a Japanese artist who uses glass and other media to speak about his personal experience with mental illness. This demonstration will feature his Minimalist Series work, which is characterized by having complex black and white lines within a simple form.

HILTON BAYFRONT HOTEL Dr. Heike Brachlow LECMO: Kiln Casting: What Can Go Wrong and How to Fix It? A visual journey through the kiln-casting process, Brachlow will present her making methods from initial model to finished glass sculpture. The focus is on problem solving: It’s cracked – what went

Terri Grant LECMO: Coloring Outside, Inside and Between the Lines: Now You See Me, Now You Don’t Grant will take you through her process of creating narrative imagery from kilnformed glass threads and from image concept through the process of creating a unique palette of glass threads and finally, putting it all together. There will be time for questions and answers as well as plenty of examples of glass threads (i.e. stringers) in process to examine.

Mathieu Grodet LECMO: Imagery on Glass as a Lensto Past and Present This lecmo will explore the role of imagery on glass throughout history as the past presents images to inspire and create.

In addition, the creative and technical process around enameling on glass will be discussed and demonstrated.

Jennifer Halvorson LECMO: Press Molds, Innovative Design & Casting This lecmo will provide information on the kiln-cast, press mold design and how this horizontal casting process can be bridged with other kiln-forming

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM techniques. Such crossover will include pate de verre, fusing, slumping, and thin to thick casting. Considerations of scale and cold working will also be reviewed.

Andrew Page, Pearl Dick, Dan Friday, & Matt Piepenbrock PANEL: Empowering & Transforming Communities Through Glass Art Lisabeth Robinson & Kristin Theilking LABINO LECTURE The Labino Lecture was established in 1994 to celebrate the contributions of Dominick Labino to the world of glass.

The purpose of the lecture is to present ideas in furthering the technical and scientific qualities of glass art.

Kait Rhoads LECMO: Organic Architecture/Weaving with Glass Kait will begin with sharing her inspiration of the Italian glass patterning technique called murrine. From there she will discuss the joy of hollow murrine, the versatility of a modular system and the benefit of giving one’s brian a meditative state achieved by using one’s hands.

This will accompany the demonstration of her technique of weaving together her versatile ‘hollow murrine’ that bring the sense of wonder of the natural world into people’s lives.

Saxe Emerging Artists PANEL: Celebrating New Talents and Techniques in Our Glass Community Celebrating Lily Reeves, Kristine Rumman and Nao Yamamoto Susie Silbert LITTLETON LECTURE: Making New Glass The Littleton Lecture was established in 2015 to honor the contributions of Harvey Littleton.

This named lecture focuses on selfexpression and the use of glass to realize one’s potential as an artist. Presenters are considered to be innovators or educators who “push the envelope”.

Preston Singletary WILLSON LECTURE The Willson Lecture was established in 2001 in recognition of Robert Willson’s lifetime achievement in sculptural work using glass. Presenters are mid-career artists or critics who are actively working and have earned an international reputation with a focus on topics that address sculpture and glass.

Mike Shelbo LECTURE: When Glass Art and the Internet Collide This demonstration will show completion of a sculpture scene depicting Goblins hunting a Troll, made out of hollow and solid borosilicate glass. Using a combination of torches and a Bunsen burner, Shelbo will assemble detailed parts into a finished piece that is part of an ensemble of sculptures depicting a look into everyday Goblin life.

Helen Slater Stokes LECTURE: Learning From Visions of the Past to Add Visual Depth to the Future This presentation will discuss Helen’s current PhD research into the optical perception of image in glass. Aspects covered will include optical depth perception, the artistic illusionary image and contemporary three-dimensional perceptual innovations. The technical application of reverse perspective and lenticular technology will also be discussed as well as offering insights into her own glass work.

Michael Saroka LECTURE: Getting into Public Art This lecture will explore the growing demand for public art and the avenues for artists to become involved. Public art is unique in the requirements and demands on the artist to consider. Engineering, building codes, public safety, longevity of the piece or installation are all aspects that need to not only be considered but verified before installation. The variety of disciplines are easily handled if partnerships with a trusted network of people work through the project together.

Susie Silbert delivers the Littleton Lecture, on Making New Glass

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM Boyd Sugiki & William Malatesta TAG LECTURE: Utilizing Technology for the Advancement of Glass Education This lecture will outline Sugiki and Malatesta’s journey, from conception to completion, of a suite of glassblowing educational videos that were developed with the assistance of the Technology Advancing Glass Grant, awarded by GAS. Why and how they were created, and what purpose they may serve, will be on topic.

Karlyn Sutherland LECMO: Atmosphere of Light and Illusions of Space Matthew Szosz, Sean Salstrom, & Kim Harty STRATTMAN LECTURE: Glass Flux Since 2010 Hyperopia Projects has been an occasional group of practicing artists and educators dedicated to supporting new work of material-based artists working with glass by creating venues and opportunities for the dissemination of boundary-pushing artwork across the

fields of Craft and Fine Art. We support an expansive definition of glass and are invested in a longer view of where glass is headed as a discipline by promoting rigor in critical discourse.

Mitcheal Veenstra & Catherine Wehlburg LECMO: DYCC (Do it Yourself Cullet Color) This presentation will show how a small independent studio was able to inexpensively melt their own culletbased colors with minimum equipment.

It will cover safety issues, equipment, and supply needs, along with a few easy-to-use recipes for cullet-based colors. We’ll attempt to demystify the process and show how anyone can have success with small scale “Do it Yourself Cullet Color” making in your own independent shop.

Phil Vinson & Chuck Wells LECTURE: Gathering Around the Firethe Effects of the Small Studio

John Webster LECMO: Master, No Plaster; Kiln Casting Using CNC Machined Molds This lecmo is an introduction into the use of computer design and modeling to produce virtual masters and CNC machined molds.

Vaz Zastera LECMO: Infinitesimal and Beyond. The Perfect Bonding of Art and Science.

The demo will showcase optical contacting, the technique of bonding glass at room temperature with no adhesives.

Optic glass as well as window glass with engravings on one side will be bonded.

The lecture will feature a fast-paced slideshow highlighting the last 10 years of my cold working sculptures and precision optical instruments showing different stages of production and final outcome.

There will also be short videos on optical contacting. This is a process that I employ daily in my job and have begun to incorporate this technique into my cold glass sculptures. This ‘Black Art’ is centuriesold however it has not been utilized as a mainstream technique in the art glass world. I look forward to sharing this littleknown technique with other glass artists.

MAHAFFEY THEATER Robert Lanteigne LECTURE: Glass, Light, and Shadow Jing Li, William Warmus, Jiyong Lee, & David Francis PANEL: Jump Start: Contemporary Chinese Glass Art Ginny Ruffner LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD LECTURE

Sean Salstrom, Matthew Szosz, and Kim Harty (via Skype) present the Strattman Lecture on their Hyperopia Project

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Yann Weymouth KEYNOTE LECTURE Weymouth will speak about his pioneering use of glass as an intrinsic and valueadded architectural design feature

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM that harnesses technological advances, exploits possibilities and advances glass to more than just a building material – elevating it to art and sculpture.

MOREAN ARTS CENTER & COLD SHOP Greg Dietrich COLD DEMO: Cameo Engraving in Blown Glass… Yes, Some People Still Work This Way Whether you are a glass artist, collector, or just a fan of glass art, this demonstration may interest you. I will demonstrate, by way of photos and actual engraving, the process known as Cameo Engraving.

Cameo engraving is defined as engraving in 2 or more layers of contrasting colors.

Historically, it was commonly seen in seashells, but it is also a technique used to make imagery in hand blown glass. This art form was very popular and prestigious in the mid 1800’s but is seldom seen or practiced today. Using an engraving lathe, I will demonstrate how to get different textures and tones in the layers of colored glass. I will also explain the tools used in this technique and how to make a cameo vessel in the glass blowing studio.

Adrienne Di Salvo COLD DEMO: Contemporary Cameo Carving Diamonds really are a girl’s best friend!

This demo will explore some of Adrienne’s techniques for freehand carving cameostyle low relief utilizing diamond tooling.

Kathy Elliot COLD DEMO: Some Like it Cold Jiyong Lee COLD DEMO: DEMO: Lapidary Material & Technique Lee’s coldworking demonstration will cover information on lapidary techniques, tools, and material. Lee will demonstrate and discuss both technical and artistic aspects of his work.

Jiyong Lee demonstrates his coldworking technique at the Morean Glass Studio & Hot Shop

Austin Littenberg COLD DEMO: Carving Between Layers, Pattern, and Line to Create Movement Lisabeth Sterling COLD DEMO: Cameo Glass Engraving

MOREAN GLASS STUDIO & HOT SHOP

Brian Corr HOT DEMO: Mapping Motion: An Exploration of Line and Form Corr will demonstrate aspects of his hotshop-based work, exploring the application and randomisation of linear patternation on a large-scale blown form.

Devin Burgess HOT DEMO: Whatever Floats Your Boat Devin will be demonstrating how to make a bottle design based on elements form antique buoys.

John Moran HOT DEMO: Making Mickey Mori John Moran will create one of his signature Mickey Mori skulls using a variety of different sculpting techniques.

He will demonstrate solid sculpting, torch working, color work, and bit working.

Alix Cannon HOT DEMO: Cane’n Stuff Playing with line and form, Alix Cannon’s demo will explore the use of cane and pattern as a means to both enhance and inform the final outcome of a piece.

Layering cane, stuffing cups, and teamwork come together in this fun demo.

Caleb Siemon HOT DEMO: Exploring the Process of Additive Glass Blowing This demonstration will take you through the additive process used by Caleb during the Cumulo’s formation. Starting with a core shape and blowing out additions of molten glass.

Jason Christian HOT DEMO

Chuck Vannatta HOT DEMO

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM ZEN GLASS STUDIO Marcel Braun FLAME DEMO Harold Williams Cooney FLAME DEMO: Novel Cane & Zanfrico Assembly in Borosilicate Fahan Sky McDonagh FLAME DEMO: Preserving Nature with Glass This demonstration will be in two parts.

The first part will demonstrate the process of adorning the natural found objects such as bee’s wings, dragonfly wings, shells, stones and feathers with 24kt gold leaf or gold thread. The second part will demonstrate the hot encasement of these fragile objects in borosilicate tubing using a torch and minimal tools.

Chadd Lacy FLAME DEMO: Sculpting Borosilicate Glass: Form, Texture, and Ideation Chadd will sculpt a bottlenose dolphin

(a common species found in the Gulf of Mexico) while covering a range of technical concepts including hollow sculpting borosilicate glass, various assembly approaches, as well as opening dialogue with the audience. Overall this demo will focus on Chadd’s approach to borosilicate glass techniques while also drawing on audience inquiries to engage discussions related to the demonstration and industry.

Robert Mickelsen FLAME DEMO: The Artist’s Hand Peter Muller FLAME DEMO: Stitch It Up Join Peter Muller as he demonstrates the intricate process for his signature patchwork technique. Observe how he creates stitched torn and quilted fabric effects in glass.

Kit Paulson FLAME DEMO: Flamework/Framework Josh Sable

FLAME DEMO: Reticello Flower Made David Sandidge FLAME DEMO: Large Format Dragon Mike Shelbo FLAME DEMO: Goblin Maker, Troll Hunter This lecture will discuss the ongoing changes and shifting horizon for glass artists on social media and the internet. I will cover all topics relevant to any artist navigating the online world as a digitally projected version of yourself. What has happened, what is coming up next?

What platforms are working and how do you keep a sustainable career growing by staying relevant in the fast-changing pace of technology?

Lacey “LaceFace” Walton FLAME DEMO: Progressive Sculpting LaceFace will demonstrate some key techniques in borosilicate assembly.

She will show how to achieve a flowing aesthetic to sculpture by instructing her audience on how to progressively build and shape pieces onto one another in complex patterns.

Kentaro Yanagi FLAME DEMO: Kinetic Play

EXTRA GAS ACTIVITIES Goblet Grab & Silent Auction GAS Student Exhibition: A Showcase of Emerging International Talent: Explorations in Glass Member Exhibition: Visions in Glass

Fahan Sky McDonagh demonstrates her method of Preserving Nature with Glass in her demo at Zen Glass Studio

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T E C H N I C A L D I S P L AY S #101 Moore Tools for Glass PO Box 1151 Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-379-2936 glasstools@olympus.net www.toolsforglass.com #102 Sweetwater Glass 6411 Fall Clove Rd DeLancey, NY 13752 845-676-4622 www.sweetwaterglass.com #103 Oceanside Glass & Tile 5858 Edison Place Carlsbad, CA 92008 760-929-4000 www.glasstile.com #104 Duncan McClellan Gallery 2342 Emerson Ave S St. Petersburg, FL 33712 (855) 436-4527 www.dmglass.com #105 Visit St. Pete Clearwater 8200 Bryan Dairy Road #200 Largo, FL 33777 727-464-7200 www.visitstpeteclearwater.com #106 Grind King Tools 314 Grand Ave NW #A Fort Payne, AL 35967-2110 www.grindkingtools.com #107 & #108 Steinert Industries, Inc. 1507 Franklin Ave Kent, OH 44240 1-800-727-7473 info@steinertindustries.com www.steinertindustries.com #201 Organic Combustion Systems, LLC 97 Pee Wee Branch Road Sylva, NC 28779 www.organiccombustion.com

#202 Jasen Johnsen Tools 6371 Ershig Rd Bow, WA 98232 jasen@willenbrinkjohnsen.com www.willenbrinkjohnsen.com #203 Canned Heat Glass 2425 Ochoco St. Milwaukie, OR 97222 www.cannedheatglass.com #206 Artist’s Reliable Tool Co. (ARTCO) 348 N 15th St San Jose, CA 95112-1840 408-288-7978 sales@artcoinc.com www.artcoinc.com #301 High Volume Oxygen - Kornbluh Design 500 W South Street, #5 Lincoln, NE 68522 402-476-0555 sales@highvolumeoxygen.com www.highvolumeoxygen.com #302 & #303 Olympic Color Rods 1050 W Nickerson St. Seattle, WA 98119 1-800-445-7742 sales@glasscolor.com www.glasscolor.com #304 National Torch 1590 99th Lane Blaine, MN 55449 763-786-4020 sales@nationaltorch.com www.nationaltorch.com/ #305 Euclid Kilns 1120 Speers Rd Oakville, ON, CANADA, L6L 2X4 1-800-296-5456 mail@euclidkilns.com www.euclidkilns.com

#401, #402 & #403 His Glassworks, Inc 2000 Riverside Drive #19 Asheville, NC 28804 800-914-7463 www.hisglassworks.com #404 & #405 Bullseye Glass Co. 3722 SE 21st Ave Portland, OR 97202-2913 503-232-8887 sales@bullseyeglass.com www.bullseyeglass.com PREMIUM BOOTHS (500, 600 & 701-702) #501 & #502 Hot Glass Color and Supply 2227 5th Ave Seattle, WA 98121 206-448-1199 sales@hotglasscolor.com www.hotglasscolor.com #503 Cutting Edge Products 24 Bellarmine Court, Suite 1 Chico, CA 95928 www.redhotmetal.net #504 Wale Apparatus Co., Inc. 400 Front Street Hellertown, PA 18055 www.waleapparatus.com #505 & #506 Gaffer Glass USA Ltd 19622 70th Ave S Bay #4 Kent, WA 98032 www.gafferglassusa.com #601 ABR Imagery 3808 W Vernal Pike Bloomington, IN 47404 www.abrimagery.com

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Jeff Lindsay (GAS Board member) talks to conference attendees about his Cutting Edge Products

#602 Wet Dog Glass PO Box 96 Star, NC 27356 www.wdg-us.com #603 Spruce Pine Batch, Inc. PO Box 159 Spruce Pine, NC 28777 www.sprucepinebatch.com #604 Mobile Glassblowing Studios, LLC 505 West Lamar Street Americus, GA 31709 www.mobileglassblowingstudios.com #605 Emhart Glass Manufacturing, Inc. 405 E Peach Ave; PO Box 580 Owensville, MO 65066 https://www.emhartglass.com

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#606 Leviathan Glassworks 2909 71st Ave NW Gig Harbor, WA 98335 www.leviathanglassworks.com

#704 UrbanGlass

#701 jcoco chocolate 1180 Andover Park W. Seattle, WA 98188 www.jcocochocolate.com

#705 The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass One Museum Way Corning, NY 14830 www.cmog.org

NON-PROFIT BOOTHS (Spaces 703-706) #703 Pittsburgh Glass Center 5472 Penn Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15206-3455 www.pittsburghglasscenter.org

647 Fulton St Brooklyn, NY 11217 www.urbanglass.org

#706 Chrysler Museum of Art 1 Memorial Pl. Norfolk, Virginia 23510 www.chrysler.org

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Glass Art Society is grateful to everyone that participates in the conference each year!

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The Glass Art Society Thanks and Acknowledges our 2019 Sponsors, Conference Committee, Donors, and Volunteers Thanks to our sponsors, without whose help the conference would not be possible!

2019 Opening Ceremony & Reception Sponsor Visit St. Pete/Clearwater Excellence Sponsors Duke Energy Joan Stonecipher Supporting Sponsors Chihuly Studio Refract Seattle AACG Venue Partners Chihuly Collection at the Morean Arts Center Corning Museum of Glass Mobile Hot Shop Craftsman House Gallery and Truffula Eco-Boutique Duncan McClellan Gallery Hilton Bayfront Hotel Imagine Museum Mahaffey Theater Morean Arts Center Morean Center for Clay Zen Glass Studio & Gallery In-Kind Donations Creative Loafing Edwards Group HIS Glassworks Olympic Color Rods ToolBoy Machine & Tool Wet Dog Glass Collectors Tour Sponsors Barbara & Richard Basch Carol Camiener Emily & Fred Gurtman Gigi & Ben Huberman Nancy & Phil Kotler Marion Rich Margaret Pennington Habatat Galleries TD Glass

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The Glass Art Society Journal is supported in part by awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corning Incorporated Foundation.

The GAS Board of Directors and GAS staff would like to thank the conference committee: Jane Buckman and Andy Schlauch (co-chairs), Sarah Knott Aldrich, Carol Camiener, Mary Childs, Tracy Connelly, John Collins, Bo Countryman, Christina Fraser, Lynn Goodwin, Shelli Hemans, Joe Jiminez, Anna Kuhlman, Duncan McClellan, Matthew Piepenbrok, Joanna Sikes, Monica Silva, Terri Simons, Chris Steinocher, Joan Temerson, and Dave Walker.

Portfolio Reviewers:

Dr. Heike Brachlow, Joseph Cavalieri, Laura Donefer, Bandhu Dunham, Jenna Efrein, Wayne Strattman, and Boyd Sugiki & Lisa Zerkowitz

Saxe Emerging Artist Jurors:

Andrea Dezo, Amy Lemaire, and Sarah Traver

Student Scholarship Jurors:

Steven High, Peter Ivy, and Amy Morgan

GAS Student Exhibition: A Showcase of Emerging International Talent Jurors:

Dr. Jane Cook, Amanda Cooper, Valeria Florescano, and Vladimir Klein

Member Exhibition Jurors:

Mel Douglas, Zhang Lin, and Cybele Malone

2019 Student Exhibition Award Donors Cutting Edge Products Steinert Industries Pittsburgh Glass Center Appalachian Center for Craft Moore Tools for Glass His Glassworks High Volume Oxygen Corning Museum of Glass New Street Glassworks Carlisle Machine Works Leviathan Glassworks

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

Activities like the Demo Auctions, Silent Auction, and Goblet Grab are all important sources of support for GAS and the annual conference. Funds raised from these activities allow us to keep conference fees low. Thank you for all who participated in some way!

Demo Auction Donors Jerry Catania Brian Corr Sky McDonagh John Moran Kenny Pieper Robin & Julia Rogers Ben Sharp Caleb Siemon Sam Stang Chuck Vannatta Kentaro Yanagi Silent Auction Donors Bullseye Glass Co. Guy Brudahl Deborah Carlson Teresa Childers Jane Cook & Ross Delano Corning Museum of Glass Harold Williams Cooney Jennifer Crescuillo Decatur Glassblowing (Nathan Nardi) Shano Fero Chris Giordano Leckie Gassman Jennifer Halvorson Glen Hardymon Bruce Howard Sky McDonagh McKee Brothers Glass Robert Mickelsen Jacob Pfiefer Pittsburgh Glass Center (Jason Forck) Gillian Preston Lynn Read Kait Rhoads Lisa Beth Robinson & Kristin Thielking Debra Ruzinsky David Sandidge Masahiro Nick Sasaki Karin Schwarzer James & Andrea Stanford Robert Stephan Lisabeth Sterling Demetra Theofanous

Mayauel Ward Hal Watrons Mary B. White WV Glassworks Kentaro Yanagi Goblet Grab Donors Matt Abadi Lyman Babbitt Jerry Catania Devan Cole Corning Museum of Glass Caleb Carlson Jennifer Crescuillo Michele D’Amico Decatur Glassblowing (Nathan Nardi) Shane Fero Nickolaus Fruin James Geekie Eric Goldschmidt Jason Hitchcock Marc Kornbluh (High Volume Oxygen) Kaeko Maehata Robert Mickelsen Jacob Alan Moody Jacob Pfeifer Sam Stang Lynn Read Kobi Schindler Ben Sharp Mike Shelbo Rachael Strittmatter Irene Szarek John Volpacchio Chuck Wells Christa Westbrook Presenters Who Donated All or Part of their Honorarium to GAS Alix Cannon Doug Gialluca Andrew Page Mike Saroka Mitcheal Veenstra Catherine Wehlburg

Florence Hardymon (GAS Board Assistant) auctions of an item in our first Conference Demo Auction. The Demo Auction, along with the Silent Auction and Goblet Grab, provides vital funds that allow GAS to continue to offer high-quality programming in an accessible way.

Work Exchange Participants and Volunteers Mickey Agney Richard Alexander Mike Berger Allison Bondy Sarah Brown Mariah Armstrong Conner Beth Cox Katherine Donnelly Wendy Drummond Joseph Dullard Diana Dyer Afrodite Elseesy Julia Escobar Abby Gitlitz Dan Hanlon Katie Heinrich Kendall Hodges Rinoi Imada

Beau Jeffrey Chene Koppitz Karen Mahardy Ellen Mahnken Lion McLean Patsy Monk Cassandra Nieves Randall Reese Desirae Remensnyder Jocelyn Rombough Sue Sangster Kobi Schindler Tim Soluna Tim Spurchis Kathryn Starrs Thomas Weber Charles Wells Chase Wells Charles Woolbright Sunni Zemblowski

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Glass Art Society Fund Donors Contributions over $25 USD made between October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019 The 2019 GAS Journal is supported, in part, by awards from the Corning Incorporated Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

GAS in CERF (Craft Emergency Relief Fund)

Becky Winship Flameworking Scholarship Fund

William Bernstein Dave Braun Deborah Carlson Daniel Clayman Howard Cohen Clifton Crofford and Kevin McGehee Miriam Di Fiore Donna Figone David Fox Sharon and Art Freas Barbara Grauke Ellen and Bill Hamilton HIS Glassworks Kim Hundertmark Hugh Jenkins Heather Kremen Suzanne Mears Tone Ørvik Hillary Pearlman Amanda Powers Rick Schneider Sherry Selevan Doug Sheafor Vincent Tancredi Dan and Rebecca Terrible John Webster

Established in 2002 by David Winship and Lisa Bieber of Winship Designs, with funding currently contintued by Glasscraft, Inc. to support conference attendance for students whose work includes flameworking.

Jay Musler and Joan Kruckewitt Jane and Robert Willis

Dominick Labino Lecture Fund Established in 1993 by GAS to continue the legacy of Dominick Labino in furthering the technical and aesthetic quality of glass art by sponsoring a lecture at each conference.

Sandra Christine HIS Glassworks

General Conference Fund General donations help support the conference.

Glen and Florence Hardymon Yilmaz Yalcinkaya

General Scholarship Fund Established to support conference attendance for students.

Dave Braun Ellen and Bill Hamilton Heather Hartle HIS Glassworks Peter Kremelberg Paul Messink Dana Smith Wet Dog Glass

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Aids artist-members of GAS faced with career threatening catastrophe.

GAS International Emergency Relief Fund “GAS in CERF” fund is not available to international members, so under this fund all artist-members outside of the U.S. are eligible to apply.

Miriam Di Fiore Heather Kremen Robert Levin Tone Ørvik Leslie Rowe-Israelson Karin Schwarzer

Supports lectures by innovative artists who push the envelope and use their creativity, knowledge, and influence to educate others within the field of glass.

JJ Brown and Simona Rosasco Glen and Florence Hardymon

Wayne Strattman Critical Dialogue Lecture Fund Established in 2001 with an initial contribution from Wayne Strattman for a critical dialogue series to bring knowledge, intrigue, and new or controversial viewpoints to GAS conferences.

Robert Willson Fund

Gerard Conn and Carol Yorke

Established in 2001 with the initial contribution by Mrs. Margaret Pace Willson for an annual GAS conference lecture addressing sculpture and glass

Unrestricted Funds

Sandra Christine Marc Hollander

Saxe Emerging Artist Lecture Fund Established in 2015, this fund sponsors a lecture that gives artists with promising talent the opportunity to introduce their work to a large audience of established artists, educators, collectors, art historians, and critics.

Dorothy Saxe

Sy Kamens Educational Fund This fund helps to keep student memberships and conference registration fees low.

Claudia Lipschultz Ristiina Wigg

Technology Advancing Glass (TAG) Grant Fund Assists the advancement of the glass arts by providing an annual grant to an artist or group of artists to fund research to advance the field of glass art.

General donations help support the organization wherever it is needed most.

Patricia Burrows Alix Cannon Steven Clark Jacob Dever Claudia Ferraz Pereira Steve Funk Anne Gilbert and Richard Gilbert, Jr. Glen and Florence Hardymon Andrew Lang Claudia Lipschultz Michele MacFarlane Heather McElwee and Chris Clarke Toni Rabbers Helene Safire Patricia Slowsky Ursula Ullmann Robert and Mrs. Margaret Van Andel Crista Van Slyck Matteson Edris C. and David H. Weis William & Dina Weisberger GAS apologizes to anyone who was incorrectly listed or inadvertently omitted.

Sandra Christine Michael Saroka

Littleton Lecture Fund

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

Upper Level Membership Active memberships between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019 Benefactors ($1,000)

Adriano Berengo Barbara and Mark Paull Chris Rifkin Dorothy Saxe Doug and Pat Perry Dudley and Lisa Anderson Elias and Karyl Alvord Erick Schmidt James Flaws and Marcia Weber Karol Wight Maud Hallin Norma Klorfine Toots Zynsky

Patrons ($500)

Andreea Virag Andy Hord Arden Rodgers Barb Kralj Bonita Marx David Porter Hemanshu Shah Iris Litt Jacob Price Janne and J William Wissel Kim Saul and Jim Schantz Mark Jessen Mary G Hagood Patricia Higgins Richard Jolley Ruth Summers Simone Casey

Corporate Members ($275)

ABR Imagery Advanced Glass Industries American Craft Council AMusinGlass Angel Gilding ARRIBAS FRANCE Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Artful Home Avran Fine Art Bay Area Glass Institute - BAGI Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts, Inc. Blockhead Tools Brudahl Fine Arts

Bugeye Ventures, Inc. Canberra Glassworks Chazen Museum of Art CMoG Rakow Research Library Denver Glass Machinery, Inc Digitry Company, Inc. Divertimento Group Duncan McClellan Gallery East Carolina University Edinburgh College of Art Library Emhart Glass Manufacturing, Inc. Flame Run Flint Institute of Arts Florida Borosilicate Supply Company FOCI Minnesota Center for Glass Arts Frederick Heath and Merrily Orsini Gaffer Glass USA Ltd GLASAKADEMIN Glass Axis Glazen Huis Goldray Industries Ltd. High Volume Oxygen Kornbluh Design His Glassworks, Inc. Hot Glass Alley Hot Glass Color and Supply Ignite Glass Studios Imagine Museum Inspired Fire Glass Studio and Gallery Kent State University Kevin T. Beck and Associates Kisslinger Kristall-Glas Larkin Refractory Solutions Leviathan Glassworks Lumel Studios Ltd. Makai Glass Creations Mobile Glassblowing Studios, LLC Montague Gallery Morris County School of Glass, LLC Muffyglass, LLC Museum of Glass Neusole Glassworks Ngwenya Glass Niche Modern

North Lands Creative Oceanside Glass and Tile Olympic Color Rods Paragon Industries, L.P. Perry Glass Art Pittsburgh Glass Center Pollack Glass Studio and Gallery Pratt Fine Arts Center Red Hot Metal Inc. Reflective Collections, Inc. S12 Gallery and Open Access Studio Salem Art Works Schiepers Gallery Shanghai Museum of Glass Spezialglashütte Kugler Colors GmbH STARworks Glass TGK GmbH The Glass Door LA The Glass Underground The Robert M. Minkoff Foundation, Ltd. The Works Glass Studio University of Wisconsin Madison Wale Apparatus Co., Inc. Walter Gordinier Studios LLC Weinberg Glass LTD Western Neon School of Art Wet Dog Glass, LLC YAYA, Inc.

Sponsors ($120)

Amanda Cosgrove Paffrath and Daniel Sviland Amy Morgan Amy Schwartz and William Gudenrath Anders and Ansa Wingard Ann Bauman April and Ken Hilton Art Reed Barbara and Richard Wortley Ben Huberman Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz Carl and Jan Fisher Cassandra Fesen Catherine Majerus Malou Charles Cannon Cheyenne Malcolm

Chris Harman Christopher Taylor Claudia Ferraz Pereira Clifton Crofford and Kevin McGehee Corey Hampson Costantini Household Dale Goldheim Dan and Rebecca Terrible Daniel Clayman Dave Braun David Smith Dean Benson and Demetra Theofanous Debra and Joseph Fenzl Donald McMullen Duncan McClellan Edris C. and David H. Weis Ellen and Bill Hamilton Ellie Lainer Elodie Holmes and Jannine Cabossel Erin and Grant Garmezy Flo Perkins Francis Ferraro Frank Englesby Fred and Jean Birkhill Gail Weyerhaeuser Gary Raskin George Weiss and Mary Wilcox George Whitten Gerard Conn and Carol Yorke Gigi Huberman Glen and Florence Hardymon Gordon Pearlman Greg Lueck Gulamakbar Momin Haguin and Astrid Gate Stiernblad Hugh Jenkins Inge De Laet Isabell and Gernot Merker James and Andrea Stanford James Hummer and Judy Allen Jan Lund and John Thomas Jane and Robert Willis Janet and Michael Glaser Janet and Richard Nicholson Jay Musler and Joan Kruckewitt Jeffrey Mentuck

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Upper Level Membership Active memberships between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019 Jennifer Huber Jenny Pohlman and Sabrina Knowles Jere Gibber and J.G. Harrington Jeremy Popelka and Stephanie Trenchard Jerrie and Jeffery Quick JJ Brown and Simona Rosasco Jo Ann and Glenn Syron Joel and Logan Ryser John and Deb Gross John Underwood Joseph Coha Judith and John Graff Judith and Jon Liebman Karin Schwarzer Kathleen Bromley Kathleen Palmer Katya and Doug Heller Kristin Kidgell Libby and Burton Hoffman Libby and W. Jack McKee Linda and Allan Katz Linda and Billy White Lisa Oakley and Elizabeth Morantz Lori and Paul Engle Lorraine Bressler Louise Erskine Lynn Davis and Nick Letson Lynn Read María Eugenia Diaz de Vivar Marianne Spottswood Marion Rich Mark Holford Marshall Jamshidi Matt and Kim Janke Michael and Amy Stonecipher Michael and Jane Meilahn Michael and Karen Rotenberg Michelle Bufano Milt and Lee Hakel Morton Silverman Nadania Idriss Nancy Wolf Nate Watson Nick and Pauline Mount Niels Ole Frandsen and Amy Krüger

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North Carolina Glass Center Pat and Colin McKinnon Pat and Walter Riehl Patrick Martin and Roberta Eichenberg Penelope Gregg Philip Bailey and Susan Roston R. Scott and Margy Trumbull Richard Moiel and Kathy Poeppel Robert Randell Robyn Adams Rodney Hickman Sandra Christine Shari and David Hopper Sharon and Art Freas Sharon Huling Shelley Muzylowski-Allen and Rik Allen Stephanie Pew Steve Bartek Steve Campbell and Noreen Mitchell Susan and Fred Sanders Susan Glass and Arni Thorsteinson Susan Longini Suzanne Mears Timm Muth and Kevin McNiff Tisha Abrahamsen Tom and Kendra Kasten Tomas Svoboda and Todd Phillips Tomo Sakai Toni Rabbers Trever McKee and Sterling McKee Vaz and Karen Zastera William and Dina Weisberger William and Sally Worcester William Emfinger

Florence & Glen Hardymon and Susan & Fred Sanders enjoy the Gallery Walk in downtown St. Petersburg

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

Past Award Recipients, Conferences, Board Members, and Editors The Glass Art Society honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to GAS. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Established in 1993, this award recognizes exceptional achievement in glass art.

2018

2017 2016 2015 2014 2012 2012 2011 2010 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1998 1997 1996 1996 1995 1994 1994 1993 1993

Livio Seguso, Artistic Pino Signoretto, Technical (1944-2017) Joyce J. Scott James Carpenter Paul Stankard Dan Dailey Joel Philip Myers Bertil Vallien Ann Wolff Dan Klein (1938-2009) Mark Peiser Marvin Lipofsky (1938-2016) Henry Halem Jirí Harcuba (1928-2013) Ann Robinson Richard Marquis Paul Marioni Dale Chihuly Fritz Dreisbach Finn Lynggaard (1930-2011) Thomas Buecher (1926-2010) Klaus Moje Ludwig Schaffrath (1924- 2011) Kyohei Fujita (1921-2004) Alice Rooney Lino Tagliapietra Jaroslava Brychtová Stanislav Libenský (1921-2002) Erwin Eisch Itoko Iwata (1922-2008) Sybren Valkema (1916-1996) Dominick Labino (1910-1987) Harvey Littleton (1922-2013)

HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP IN GAS This award was established in 1977 to recognize outstanding service to GAS. 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014

Durk Valkema Wayne Strattman Jutta-Annette Page Mary B. White Shane Fero

2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1993 1993 1992 1992 1988 1988 1988 1986 1984 1982 1982 1982 1980 1980 1979 1977 1977 1977 1977

John Steinert Scott Benefield Tom Philabaum John Leighton Laura Donefer Michael Rogers Penny Berk Lani McGregor Dan Schwoerer Robert Carlson Daniel Crichton (1946-2002) Takako Sano (1939 - 2006) Mark Peiser Ginny Ruffner Josh Simpson Dan Dailey Susanne Frantz David Jacobs (1939-2007) Jack Schmidt Audrey Handler Henry Halem Joel Philip Myers Sylvia Vigiletti Robert Kehlmann Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend Fritz Dreisbach O.J. Gabbert (1918-1992) Elizabeth “Libby” Labino ( -2008) Marvin Lipofsky (1938-2016) Andries Copier (1901-1991) Erwin Eisch Frances Higgins (1912-2004) Michael Higgins (1908-1999) William H. Blenko, Jr. Paul V. Gardner (1908 -1994) Thomas S. Buechner (1926-2010) William Brown Jr. (1923-1992) Frank M. Fenton (1915-2005) Dominick Labino (1910-1987) Harvey Littleton (1922-2013)

ANNUAL CONFERENCE (YEAR, SITE, CHAIRS, & SITE COORDINATORS): 2018 Murano, Italy—Lino Tagliapietra, Cesare Toffolo 2017 Norfolk, Virginia—Virginia Hitch, Colin McKinnon, Charlotte Potter, Robin

Rogers, Diane Wright 2016 Corning, New York—Ellen Corradini, Steve Gibbs, Angus Powers, Michael Rogers, Chris Sharkey 2015 San Jose, California—Steven Aldrich, Susan Longini, Cassandra Straubing, Demetra Theofanous 2014 Chicago, Illinois—Trish & Glen Tullman, Deb & John Gross, Angie West 2012 Toledo, Ohio—Margy Trumbull, Jack Schmidt, Herb Babcock, Jutta-Annette Page (GAS Board Liaison) 2011 Seattle, Washington—Chuck Lopez, Joanna C. Sikes, Cyrena Stefano, Paula Stokes 2010 Louisville, Kentucky—Merrily Orsini, Ché Rhodes, J. Page von Roenn, Brook Forrest White, Jr. 2009 Corning, New York—Rob Cassetti, Nancy Earley, Marshall Hyde 2008 Portland, Oregon—Jeremy Lepisto, Lani McGregor, Dan Schwoerer 2007 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—Randi Dauler, Ron Desmett, Karen Johnese, Kathleen Mulcahy 2006 St. Louis, Missouri—Jessica Cope, Jim McKelvey, Tracy Varley 2005 Adelaide, Australia—Alison Dunn, Matthew Larwood, Pauline Mount 2004 New Orleans, Louisiana—Mitchell Gaudet and Mark Rosenbaum 2003 Seattle, Washington—Penny Berk 2002 Amsterdam, The Netherlands— Durk Valkema 2001 Corning, New York—Elizabeth Whitehouse and Peter S. Aldridge 2000 Brooklyn, New York—John Perreault and Brett Littman 1999 Tampa, Florida—Susan Gott and Lenn Neff 1998 Seto, Japan—Takako Sano and Michael Rogers 1997 Tucson, Arizona—Thomas A. Philabaum and Leah Wingfield 1996 Boston, Massachusetts (Massachusetts College of Art)—Alan Klein and Linda Ross 1995 Asheville, North Carolina— Richard Eckerd and Katherine Vogel 1994 Oakland, California—Mary B. White and John Leighton

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1993 Toledo, Ohio - Jack A. Schmidt; 1992 Mexico City, Mexico—Ana Thiel 1991 Corning, New York— Stephen Dee Edwards 1990 Seattle, Washington—Ginny Ruffner 1989 Toronto, Ontario, Canada— Daniel Crichton and Laura Donefer 1988 Kent, Ohio (Kent State University)— Henry Halem 1987 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania— William Carlson 1986 Los Angeles, California— Christine Robbins and Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend 1985 New Orleans, Louisiana— Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend 1984 Corning, New York—William Warmus 1983 Tucson, Arizona—Kate Elliott and Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend 1982 New York, New York—Dan Dailey 1981 Seattle, Washington—Walter Lieberman; 1980 Huntington, West Virginia— Marvin Lipofsky and Henry Halem 1979 Corning, New York—Marvin Lipofsky and Henry Halem 1978 Asilomar, California—Marvin Lipofsky 1977 Madison, Wisconsin—Audrey Handler and Fritz Dreisbach 1976 Corning, New York—Joel Philip Myers and Henry Halem 1975 Toledo, Ohio—Henry Halem, Joel Philip Myers, Fritz Dreisbach, Jack A. Schmidt 1974 Marietta, Ohio/Williamstown, West Virginia (Fenton Glass)—Henry Halem 1973 Marietta, Ohio/Williamstown, West Virginia (Fenton Glass) —Henry Halem 1972 Penland, North Carolina—Fritz Dreisbach, William Brown, William Bernstein, Mark Peiser

PAST PRESIDENTS: (Natali Rodrigues 2017-Present); Cassandra Straubing 2015-2017; Roger MacPherson 2014-2015; Jutta-Annette Page 2012- 2014; Jeremy Lepisto, 2010-2012; Shane Fero, 2006-2010; Anna Boothe, 2004-2006; Michael Rogers, 2002-2004; Scott Benefield, 2001-2002; John Leighton, 1998-2000; Bonnie Biggs, 1996-1998; Robert Carlson, 1994-1996; Josh Simpson, 1992-1994; Stephen Dee Edwards, 1991-1992; Ginny Ruffner, 1990-1991;

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Susanne K. Frantz, 1988-1990; Richard Harned, 1987-1988; William Carlson, 1986-1987; Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend, 1984-1986; Fritz Dreisbach, 1982-1984; Dan Dailey, 1980-1982; Marvin Lipofsky, 1978-1980; Fritz Dreisbach, 1976-1978; Joel Philip Myers, 1975; Henry Halem, 1972-1974

PAST MEMBERS OF THE GAS BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Robert Adamson, Rik Allen, Pat Bako, Paula Bartron, Scott Benefield, Lucy Bergamini, Eddie Bernard, Alex Bernstein, William Bernstein, Bonnie Biggs, Anna Boothe, Robert Carlson, William Carlson, Robin Cass, Jon Clark, Chris, Clarke, Nelly Bly Cogan, Daniel Crichton, Dan Dailey, David Donaldson, Laura Donefer, Fritz Dreisbach, Paulo DuFour, Richard Eckerd, Stephen Dee Edwards, Shirley Elford, Kate Elliott, Shane Fero, Susanne K. Frantz, Lance Friedman, Beth Ann Gerstein, Suzanne Greening, Rudy Gritsch, Bill Gudenrath, Henry Halem, Audrey Handler, Caryl Hansen, Richard Harned, Kim Harty, F. G. (Rick) Heath, Henry Hillman, Jr., Susan Holland-Reed, Dinah Hulet, Geoff Isles, BJ Katz, Robert Kehlmann, John Kiley, Ki-Ra Kim, Ruth King, Tracy Kirchmann, Ed Kirshner, Alan Klein, Kim Koga, Thomas Kreager, Barbara Landon, Peter Layton, JiYong Lee, John Leighton, Jeremy Lepisto, David Levi, Robert Levin, Beth Lipman, Marvin Lipofsky, Martha Drexler Lynn, Jay Macdonell, Caroline Madden, Andrew Magdanz, Paul Marioni, Steven Maslach, David McFadden, Robert Mickelsen, R. Craig Miller, Kathleen Mulcahy, Joel Philip Myers, Jutta-Annette Page, Nina Paladino, Mark Peiser, Marc Petrovic, Tom Philabaum, Charlotte Potter, Kirstie Rea, Ché Rhodes, Chris Rifkin, Christine Robbins, Michael Rogers, Alice Rooney, Linda Ross, Susan M. Rossi-Wilcox, Ginny Ruffner, Tommie Rush, Jack Schmidt, Michael Schunke, Daniel Schwoerer, Maura Shenker, Josh Simpson, Susan StinsmuehlenAmend, Raquel Stolarski-Assael, Wayne Strattman, Joanne Stuhr, Ruth Summers, Elizabeth Swinburne, Michael Taylor, Ana Thiel, Cappy Thompson, Pamina Traylor, Durk Valkema, Peter VanderLaan, Sylvia Vigiletti, Kate Vogel, William Warmus, Jack Wax, Richard Whiteley, Mary B. White,

Acquaetta Williams, Tina Yelle, Harumi Yukutake

PAST STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Caitlin Vitalo, 2017-2019; Ian Messenger Schmidt, 2016-2017; Emily Kuchenbecker, 2015-2016; Amanda Wilcox, 2014-2015; Jon Rees, 2013-2014; Shannon Piette, 2012-2013; Jessi Moore, 2011-2012; Karen Donnellan, 2010-2011; Tracy Kirchman, 2009-2010; Drew Smith, 2007-2009; Andrew Erdos, 2006-2007; Shara Burrows, 2005-2006; Susan Clark, 2004-2005; Laura Luttrell, 2003-2004; Benjamin Wright, 2002-2003; Megan Metz, 2001-2002; Eric Dahlberg, 2001; Catherine Hibbits, 2000; Chad Holliday, 1999; Nicole Chesney and Brent Sommerhauser, 1998; Johnathon Schmuck, 1997; Maura Shenker, 1996; Boyd Sugiki, 1995; Robert Gardner, 1994

PAST EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS OF GAS: Pamela Figenshow Koss, 2004-2018; Penny Berk, 1996-2004; Alice Rooney, 1990-1996; Bonnie Startek, 1988-1990

PAST GAS JOURNAL EDITORS: Brandi P. Clark, 2018; Kristin Solomon, 2017; Kim Harty, 2014-2016; Susan M. Rossi- Wilcox, 2008-2012; Susanne K. Frantz, 2002-2007; Tina Oldknow, 1996-2001; Ron Glowen, 1992-1995; Caryl Hansen, 1989-1991; Christiane Robbins, 1984- 1988; Robert Kehlmann, 1981-1983; Marvin Lipofsky, 1976-1980, Jan Williams, 1975

PAST GASNEWS EDITORS: (Michael Hernandez, 2016-present); Kim Harty, 2013-2016; Geoff Isles, 2009-2013; Kate Dávila, Managing Editor, 2007-2009; Dana Martin, 2006-2007; Shannon Borg, 2005-2006; Tamara Childress, 2003-2005; Peter VanderLaan, 2002-2003; Scott Benefield, 1998-2002; Robert Carlson, 1994-1998; Nelly Bly Cogan, 1993; Marvin Lipofsky, 1976-1989

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

Back Issues of the GAS Journal Some issues of the Glass Art Society Journal are available for sale. The Table of Contents of all the issues is available by contacting the GAS office directly.

Recent issues (2017 & 2018) are available online (in a pdf form) for members at www.glassart.org. A GAS Journal order form can be printed from the GAS website or orders can be taken by phone. Payment can be made by check (drawn from a USA bank only), money order, or by Visa or MasterCard.

Prices include shipping & handling: A 10% discount is offered when five or more journals are purchased.

Members:

$35 USD Canada, USA, and Mexico $45 USD All other countries

Non-members:

$50 USD Canada, USA, and Mexico $60 USD All other countries

For information on available Journals, please contact the GAS office:

Glass Art Society 2208 NW Market St, Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98107 USA Tel: 206.382.1305 Fax: 206.382.2630 Email: info@glassart.org Web: www.glassart.org

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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The Conference in Photos

Jiyong Lee, Dian Shi, Meihua Yang, Jimya Zhao, and Jiacheng Wang kick off the conference at the Opening Ceremony

Duncan McClellan and Lauren Hill, Director of the DMG School Project, celebrate a successful day full of demos, laughter, and learning at the Duncan McClellan Gallery

Brynn Hurlstone and friend enjoy the exhibition at the Duncan McClellan Gallery

Merrily Orsini, President of AACG, and husband Rick Heath, former GAS Board Member, enjoy the beautiful Stephen Rolfe Powell exhibit at the Duncan McClellan Gallery

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

Marcel Braun worked on his conference coins into the early morning hours throughout the conference.

Alix Cannon demonstrates her layered cane technique to an enthusiastic crowd at the Morean Glass Center.

Lindy Ihrman relaxes with her husband at a special event in the gardens at the Duncan McClellan Gallery.

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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The Conference in Photos

GAS Board Members, Lynn Read and Heather McElwee celebrate a great conference with Co-Chair Andy Schlauch during the Closing Night Party!

Mike Shelbo and Shane Fero catch up in between lectures at the Bayfront Hilton.

The annual Goblet Grab is an important fundraiser for GAS and always draws an enthusiastic crowd!

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

Antoine Pierini, Grant Garmezy, Ben Tullman, and Lion McClean enjoy the last night of the conference before heading their separate ways

Jenna Efrein, Jennifer Halvorson, Benjamin Johnson, and Bandhu Dunham at the Education Happy Hour hosted by the Duncan McClellan Gallery

Interim Executive Director, Brandi Clark, catching up with TAG Grant recipient, Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz at the Opening Reception

Jessica Khalil, Diana Dyer, and Terri Sigler examine the cane at Alix Cannon’s demo.

CHARTING A COURSE: VISIONS IN GLASS • ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

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The Conference in Photos

Portfolio Review provides valuable feedback to artists at every stage of their career.

Lea de Wit, Carrie Strope, Jennifer Detlefsen, and Sabina Boehm at the Closing Night Party at the Morean Center for Clay

Heather Baigelman caught documenting the 2019 GAS Conference

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2019 JOURNAL

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2019 THE GLASS ART SOCIETY JOURNAL 2019

ST. PETERSBURG

Småland, Sweden | May 20-23 4-Day Conference 130+ Presenters 10+ Exhibitions Dozens of Unique Events & Activities

glassart.org Connect with us! @glassartsociety

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