GAS 2016 Corning

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY JOURNAL CORNING, NEW YORK

2016


45th Annual Conference Creating Context: Glass in a New Light Corning, New York, June 9-11, 2016


C O R N I N G

GAS Board of Directors 2015-2016 President Vice President Vice President Treasurer Secretary

Cassandra Straubing Kim Harty Natali Rodrigues Roger MacPherson Tracy Kirchmann

Alex Bernstein Chris Clarke Kelly Conway Matt Durran B J Katz Ed Kirshner Jeff Lindsay

Marc Petrovic Charlotte Potter Stephen Rolfe Powell Masahiro Nick Sasaki Jan Smith David Willis Amanda Wilcox/Emily Kuchenbecker, Student Representatives

Staff Pamela Figenshow Koss, Executive Director Erika Enomoto, Communications Coordinator Shelbey Lang, Executive Assistant Kassaundra Porres, Office and Volunteer Coordinator Kim Harty, GAS Journal Editor* Ted Cotrotsos, Graphic Design* Laurie Streiner, Corning Conference Event Planner* *part time / contract

GAS 2016 Corning Conference Co-Chairs Ellen Corradini Steve Gibbs Angus Powers Michael Rogers Chris Sharkey

Corning Conference Jurors & Reviewers Saxe Emerging Artists Jurors: Osamu Noda and Jeff Zimmer Student Scholarship Jurors: Shelley Muzylowski Allen, Mireille Perron, Boyd Sugiki International Student Exhibition Jurors: Jutta-Annette Page, Susie Silbert, Raven Skyriver Portfolio Reviewers: Stine Bidstrup, Nadege Desgenetez, Karina Guevin, Jiyong Lee, Kirstie Rea, Michael Rogers, Salt, Judith Schaechter, Norwood Viviano, Cheryl White

Corning Conference Auctions GAS Live Auctioneer: Kim Harty and Marc Petrovic Auction Committee: Chris Clarke, Pamela Figenshow Koss, Roger MacPherson, Heather McElwee, Kassaundra Porres, Jan Smith, Cassandra Straubing

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Corning Conference Logo Designer Anne Beranger Giese

Conference Photographer Heather Baigelman

GAS Board of Directors 2016-2017 President Cassandra Straubing Vice President Natali Rodrigues Vice President Stephen Rolfe Powell Treasurer Roger MacPherson Secretary Tracy Kirchmann Alex Bernstein Kelly Conway Matt Durran Michael Hernandez Jessica Julius Ed Kirshner Jeff Lindsay

Marc Petrovic Charlotte Potter Lynn Read Masahiro Nick Sasaki Jan Smith David Willis Emily Kuchenbecker /Ian Messenger Schmidt, Student Representatives

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


The Corning Museum of Glass

Published by: The Glass Art Society, 6512 23rd Ave NW, Suite 329, Seattle, WA 98117 USA www.glassart.org Editor In Chief: Kim Harty Design: Ted Cotrotsos Design, Seattle, WA Printing: The Sheridan Press, Hanover, PA Conference Photographer: Heather Baigelman Copyright © 2016 by The 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.

ISBN: 978-0-692-81223-5 The opinions expressed 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 $25 US (to GAS members in the USA, Canada or Mexico) or $30 (to GAS members in all other countries). For non-members, the GAS Journal prices are $30 and $35, respectively. Copies of articles may be purchased at 50¢ per page. Past issues (1983, 1985 through 1994, 1996, 1998 through 2000, and 2002 through 2014) are currently available at the same costs. A 10% discount is given on orders of five or more journals. Inquiries regarding over-the-counter sales and quantity-orders are welcomed. An order form can be found in the back of this Journal. For information about the Glass Art Society, please contact us at 6512 23rd Ave NW, Suite 329, Seattle, WA 98117 USA. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, Pacific Standard Time Tel: 206-382-1305 • Fax: 206-382-2630 Web: www.glassart.org • Email: info@glassart.org

Cover Images: (front) James Carpenter Design Associates, Devon Art Walls, 2009-2013, integral artwork within series of four light wells, Devon Energy Headquarters, Oklahoma City, OK Photo: ©Joe Aker (back) James Carpenter Design Associates, 7 World Trade Center Envelope, 2002-2007, design of the tower envelope, New York, NY, Photo: ©Andreas Keller Credits for Photographers of the Artist’s Work Artists who have taken their own photographs are not listed here. Andreas Keller (JCDA, ... studio in Lower Manhattan); Balthazar Korab (JCDA, Structural Glass Prism); David Sundberg (JCDA, Sky Reflector Net); Dom Episcopo (Judith Schaechter, The Life Ecstatic (detail); John Candelaria (James Labold, Monumental Failure; The Myth is Real, Mystic Truths of American Exceptionalism; The Silent Majority Crashes FDR’s Party); Mélodie Dulck (Ito Laïla Le François); Michel Dubreuil (Ito Laïla Le François, Caller le Caribou, Racines defoliantes); Elizabeth Lamark (Wil Sideman, Piscatoribus; Bottles of Bidder); Youngki Shin (Jin Won Han working with lathe.); Yun Jin Kim (Jin Won Han, Glass Boat); John Klein (Michael Stern, Initial experiment ... ); Markus Kayser ( Michael Stern, Crucible being refilled ...; Glass being extruded ... ; Auto- coiled tower ... ); Daniel Lizardo (Michael Stern, Glass 3D printer ...); Hugo Thomassen (A portrait of Adriano Berengo ...); Achin Kukulies (Wael Shawky, Cabaret Crusades); Guido Baviera (Martin Bradley, My Chess Set); Francesco Allegretto (Tony Cragg In Berengo Studio; Foundazione Berengo exhibition space); Nick Williams (William Gudenrath, Covered Goblet and Carafe); Harry Seaman (William Gudenrath, Dutch Treat; Round Up the Usual Suspects!); Shaun Griffiths (Elizabeth Potenza, In the Interest of Containing Time and Space); Karen Bond (Elizabeth Potenza, Norman

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

Mayville ... ); Andrew Oesch (Elizabeth Potenza, ... forming a CRT tube); David Licata (Maria Bang Espersen pulling and bending ...); Abi Maryan (Deborah Czeresko, ... performing lead in “Madea”); Chris Tolbert (Deborah Czeresko, Members of Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron team ... ); Mike Seidl (Boyd Sugiki, Striped Bowl; Bora Bora Bowls); Pavlína Cambalová (Katherine Coleman demonstrating ...); Ben Corda and Cody Bryant (Jenny Crescuilo, Data Frozen; VHS Cartridge); Dorte Krogh (Maria Bang Espersen, Craftformation); Edwin Pieters (John Moran, Stand Your Ground); Keisuke Osumi (Momoo Omuro, Bowl); Mareo Suemasa (Naoko Kato, The Rain); David Paterson (Kirstie Rea, Freedom of Leaving; Between Boulders; In Place); Nicole Stranko (Judith Schaechter soldering ... ); Elizabeth Lamark (David Schnuckel, Lavish Puddles); Jack McGrath and Vanessa White (Mark Elliott and Jack McGrath, Dr. Mermaid and the Abovemarine); Marnjit Dugal-Eliott (Mark Eliott); Natalie Rose (Jack Mcgrath, Mark Eliott and Vanessa White experimenting ... ); Jack McGrath (Mark Eliott and Jack McGrath, Experiments in Living Glass #2); Tim Thayer/Robert Hensleigh (Norwood Viviano, Global Cities); Russell Johnson (Klaus Moje ...); Heide Smith (Klaus Moje); All permission for photographic reproduction is the responsibility of the author. Unless otherwise noted, the photographs were taken and provided by the artist. Dimensions, when available, are usually given in inches or feet as height x width x depth. The 2016 GAS Journal is supported, in part, by awards from the Corning Incorporated Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Without their support, this publication would not have been possible.

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C O N T E N T S R EFLECT I O N S President’s Message by Cassandra Straubing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Corning Co-Chair Letter by Ellen Corradini, Steve Gibbs, Angus Powers, Michael Rogers, and Chris Sharkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

GLA S S ART SO CI E T Y AW AR DS Lifetime Achievement Award: The Substance of Light in the Public Realm by James Carpenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lifetime Membership Award: Acceptance Remarks by Jutta-Annette Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . International Student Exhibition Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GAS 2016 Student Scholarships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Keynote Lecture: Realizing the Promise of the Glass Age by Wendell P. Weeks, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President, Corning Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Willson Lecture: Shards of Incidence by Buster Simpson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Labino Lecture: Glass: The Art & Technology of a Material of the Information Age by Peter L. Bocko PhD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Strattman Lecture: Of Our Time: Contemporary Art, Craft, and the Encyclopedic Museum by Emily Zilber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Littleton Lecture: Eternal Craft and Other Imponderables by Judith Schaechter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saxe Emerging Artist Presentation: Mystic Truths of American Exceptionalism by James Labold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saxe Emerging Artist Presentation: Instinctive Glass by Ito Laïla Le François . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saxe Emerging Artist Presentation: The Aesthetic Lens by Wil Eldridge Sideman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Technology Advancing Glass Lecture: 3D Modeling and Rendering for Glassmaking by Jin Won Han . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Technology Advancing Glass Lecture: Fusing Studio Glass and Engineering: 3D Printed Molten Glass by Michael Stern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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CRE ATING CONTE X T: GL ASS IN A NE W LIGHT

LEC TURE S

Why Glasstress? by Adriano Berengo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Tricks with Fritz: A Survey of Rare Historical Glasses by Fritz Dreisbach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Modern Venetian Glassblowing Technique: Are Its Roots in the Renaissance or the 19th Century? by William Gudenrath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Gathering a Crowd: A Look at Glassmaking Demonstrations of the Past by Rebecca Hopman and Alexandra Ruggiero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Tele-vision: Handmade CRTs & Partnering with Industry by Elizabeth Potenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

D EMO N ST RAT I O N S HOT GLASS There are Many Ways of Walking by Maria Bang Esperson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ravaged By Age by Deborah Czeresko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Classico Moderno by Laura Donefer and Jeff Mack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Part of the Tradition, a Corning Gaffer, by Eric Meek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This Ain’t Popcorn by Michael Meilahn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spoonful of Sugar by Patrick Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lec-Blo: Bowls by Lisa Zerkowitz and Boyd Sugiki. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COLDWORKING Glass Engraving: Traditional Skills, New Insights by Katherine Coleman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Let the Coldshop Set You Free by Jennifer Crescuillo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FLAMEWORKING Out of the Bubble – Flameworking Today by Carmen Lozar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Language of Flowers by Kari Russell-Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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LEC - M O S

Beyond Surface by Mica Okuno, Momoo Omuro, Naoko Kato, Yoko Hirosawa, and Yoko Yagi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Of Esoteric Craft by Daniel Mirer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Pixelated Particles by Jessi Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Multiple-Layered Thin Pâte de Verre by Etsuko Nishi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Simple Yet Complicated by Andy Paiko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Folding Light by Kirstie Rea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Just Hot Enough: Relatively Low Temp Kilncasting by Nathan Sandberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 100% Homemade by Judith Schaechter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Meaningful Gibberish: Cup Making as a Platform to Study Notions of Doing and (un)Doing Things Well by David Schnuckel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

S P EC I A L E V E N T S

Film: The Flame-ation Project: A Look Behind the Scenes at Flame-glass Animation by Mark Eliott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Laura Donefer’s GAS Glass Fashion Show: Adrenaline Rush by Mavis Pinworm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

P A N ELS At-Risk Youth Forum: What Next? Opportunities for At-Risk Youth After High School, Moderator: Andrew Page; Panelists: Barbara Heisler, Tracy Kirchmann, Hector Daniel Maldonado, Robert Minkoff, Amy Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Careers in Art: Creating Context: All Together Now, Moderator: Tina Aufiero; Panelists: Robin Cass, Amie McNeel, Rachel Moore, Jackie Pancari, Kait Rhoads, Norwood Viviano; all 2014 Hauberg Fellows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Green Forum: Time’s Up: Now/How to Go Green? Sharing Real Knowledge on the Many Ways We Can Increase the Sustainability of Our Studio Practices, Moderator: Toots Zynsky; Panelists: Rachel Berwick, Fred Metz, Amber O’Brien, Mark Weiner, Durk Valkema . . . . . . . . . 115

REMEMBR ANCE S

In Memoriam: Klaus Moje AO (1936-2016): A Visionary in Glass by Richard Whiteley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 In Memoriam: Anne Gould Hauberg (1917-2016) by Barbara Johns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 In Memoriam: Ron Desmett (1948-2016) by Vicky Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

G A S 2016 : CONFERENCE E V EN T S & PROGR AM

45th Annual GAS Conference Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Presenter Abstracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Tours, Events, Classes & Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Gallery Hop & Special Exhibitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Technical Display Vendors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

G A S 2 0 16 AC K N OW L E DGE ME N T S

Conference Committee, Donors, and Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Glass Art Society Fund Donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Glass Art Society Upper-Level Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 GAS International Student Exhibition Award Donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Past Award Recipients, Conferences, Board Members, and Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 GAS Membership Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Back Issues of the GAS Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

A D VER T I SE RS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 GAS IN NORFOLK : 2017 CONFERENCE PREVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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R E F L EC T I O N S

Ellen Corradini, Michelle Bufano, Alex Bernstein, and Tim Straubing.

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


President’s Message By Cassandra Straubing Dear Glass Friends,

Cassandra Straubing

As I think back to this past 2016 GAS Conference in the historical glass town of Corning, New York, I am still wiggling. Between the history, localities, and people, it’s hard to sum it all up in one brief letter to you. Corning holds a historic, global reputation for glass production, innovation, and artistry. The making of the first light bulb for Thomas Edison in 1879 led to the invention of the ribbon machine for the production of light bulb glass. Corning developed borosilicate glass in 1912, developed Pyrex cookware in 1913, and made TV affordable to the masses in 1947 by creating a centrifuge spin casting method for the TV tube. Corning also invented fiber optics in the mid 1960s and continues to develop new technologies like fiber optic cable, fusion drawn glass, and Gorilla Glass today. Each conference site location within Corning outdid itself. As attendees, we were able to experience 35 centuries of glass in the museum, including the new Contemporary Art + Design Wing consisting of a 26,000-square-foot light-filled gallery. The new state-of-the-art Amphitheater Hot Shop was another highlight, seating 500 people for many exciting demos. The Crystal City Stroll through the downtown Gaffer District showcased numerous gallery exhibitions on Friday evening. And then, Laura Donefer, glass fashion diva, did it again with the most amazing Glass Fashion Show to date! Artists from around the globe paraded their spectacular glass costumes and strutted the runway, not once, but twice! To our five co-chairs of this year’s GAS conference – Ellen Corradini, Steve Gibbs, Chris Sharkey, Michael Rogers, and Angus Powers – thank you for your hard work, perseverance, and commitment! To Scott Ignacheski and the volunteers, you carried out this event with professionalism and grace. To Pamela Koss, GAS Executive Director, and her staff of three, we endlessly thank for your organization and diligence throughout the year. To the eighteen amazing board members: over the course of two years you volunteered to spend nine days away from your studios, jobs, and family to execute the 2016 Corning GAS Conference. We, as a board, meet no less than once a month, some of us 2 -3 times a month, on our international conference calls to plan and carry out the duties that this organization requires. This completely voluntary effort is performed with generosity and passion. As president, I thank you for your effort and hard work. I am forever grateful.

Sincerely, Cassandra Straubing GAS President

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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Corning Co-Chair Letter By Ellen Corradini, Steve Gibbs, Angus Powers, Michael Rogers, and Chris Sharkey

Ellen Corradini

Steve Gibbs

Angus Powers

We are thrilled that you were able to join us in the Crystal City for the 2016 GAS Conference – the eighth and largest ever held in Corning, New York, with a record 1,704 attendees. 35 countries and 46 states were represented, and 44 percent of you attended a GAS Conference for the very first time. We hope your experience lived up to the theme for the conference: Creating Context: Glass in a New Light, and that you returned to your studios and classrooms both inspired and invigorated. When we reflect on this year’s GAS conference, we can only describe it as a truly magical few days for the Crystal City. This was a remarkable gathering of glass enthusiasts from around the world for the exchange of ideas and the fostering of enduring friendships. Together we explored new and exciting technologies, demonstrations, immersive and dynamic exhibitions, artists, and history. We shared, networked, and raised our collective glasses to the glass community. We truly believe the state of art in glass in Corning has never appeared more vibrant and alive – all thanks to you. Over the course of three days, 95 presenters inspired you through dazzling demonstrations, creative lec-mos, and innovative lectures and panels. The world’s best and brightest minds and hands in glass came together to teach, encourage, and connect with others who share the same passion. We hope you enjoyed taking in demos throughout the Corning Museum of Glass campus, notably in its brand-new, 500-seat Amphitheater Hot Shop, the world’s largest space in which to watch a glassblowing demonstration. The energy in that space was electric – a true celebration of this versatile material that connects us all. Each day, you were able to explore the collection of The Corning Museum of Glass, many of you experiencing the Contemporary Art + Design Wing for the very first time. It’s easy to feel energized as you witness the ever-changing natural light streaming into those galleries, shining down on the meticulously crafted works on display. Throughout the conference, you visited vendor booths at the Tech Display tent, mixing and mingling while shopping for glassmaking tools, equipment, and supplies. We were pleased to support GAS in offering the new Taste of Tech event, featuring a wide selection of food trucks and a festive atmosphere.

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Michael Rogers

Chris Sharkey

It takes a village to run a conference, and it was stunning to feel the cradle of community as the conference kicked into high gear with back-to-back events throughout Corning. Volunteers played a major role – all 173 of them – and contributed nearly 700 hours to make this event run seamlessly. You joined us at the Rockwell Museum, which graciously opened its doors to host a fabulous opening reception that allowed attendees to reconnect with old friends and make new ones, while simultaneously enjoying the Rockwell’s stunning collection of art about America. You flocked to our beautiful downtown Gaffer District to take part in the Crystal City Stroll, where you saw Corning’s thriving arts scene, and were welcomed by our local community. 171 Cedar Arts Center hosted the International Student Exhibition, which was both thought provoking and fresh. The first-ever LUXUS exhibition scattered light-focused installations throughout the Gaffer District, many in surprising locations. The Tin Pan Time Machine experience uniquely told the story of the Little Joe Tube Tower, a piece of Corning’s rich industrial glass history. And the evening culminated in a dazzling fireworks display that you enjoyed alongside locals in our community. And, of course, Laura Donefer’s outrageously successful Glass Fashion Show ended the weekend on the highest possible note. More than 150 models sashayed down the catwalk dressed in spectacularly ornate creations, and the resulting high-voltage atmosphere flowed into the closing party. It was an absolute delight to host you here in America’s Crystal City. We hope you were as invigorated as we were by the energy created when we all get together to celebrate our favorite material. We thank you for making your way to Corning, and we look forward to seeing you again at GAS 2017, in Norfolk, Virginia.

Ellen Corradini

Steve Gibbs

Michael Rogers

Chris Sharkey

Angus Powers

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


GL ASS ART SOCIE T Y AWARDS

Jutta-Annette Page accepts the Lifetime Membership Award from GAS President Cassandra Straubing.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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LIFE T IME ACHIE V E M E N T AWA RD

The Substance of Light in the Public Realm By James Carpenter I am honored to receive this recognition from the Glass Art Society, though I am hoping that the finality implied by an award for a “lifetime” can be redefined as the acknowledgment of the ongoing transformations of my practice. In light of this award, I would also like to emphasize the cross-disciplinary nature of my studio, James Carpenter Design Associates (JCDA), and my partnerships with Architecture Operations D.P.C. (ARC OPS), Carpenter Lowings Architecture and Design (CLAD), and the daylighting consultancy, Carpenter Norris Consulting (CNC). The formal and informal collaborations of these groups also extends to the relationships with my studio’s outside engineers, manufacturers, fabricators, installers, and others, many of which have worked with us for more than 30 years. This achievement and its recognition is one that I gratefully share with many. The purpose of my lecture this past June in Corning was to outline the considerable opportunities presented by glass as a material that I believe remains overlooked and to illustrate my vision for the future with a survey of past and current projects. Glass is a critical material for me in terms of my personal history and the efforts of my practice within the public realm. It is the properties of glass that have led me to a deeper understanding of light. Glass offers an expansive and simultaneous range of responses to light and, consequently, has become a conceptual basis for my exploration into the informational content of light in an effort to expand the experience of nature into our often disconnected lives. As an artist, and as the examples of my work demonstrate, my choice of materials is not confined by craft or technique but, rather, is defined by the expositional capabilities of a material’s language. Material choices are always at the service of the conceptual idea underlying the work, especially when one considers the untapped potential of light as a an approach to revitalizing the public realm – a task that seems to grow in critical importance and urgency, as our nation fails to invest in our civic spaces and infrastructure and our cities become denser with buildings and inhabitants. Let me outline my evolution as an artist and designer to illustrate how I came to develop my approach to light and interest in the public realm. I went to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to study architecture, and during my 10

JCDA’s studio in Lower Manhattan. Photo: Andreas Keller

freshman and sophomore years I was in the architecture department. The sixties were an interesting period to be at RISD. It was still a school with an underlying industrial design ethos and with substantial industrial-scale facilities for textiles, wood, and machine shops. Even though I was in the architecture program, I became intrigued with glass as a material through the budding glass program, which was size before age, so: a small and relatively new part of the ceramics department within the sculpture program. I realized that I wanted to be more directly involved in making things and working more closely with materials, so I moved out of architecture and into sculpture. It was at this time, 1969, that I met Dale Chihuly, the new head of the glass program, and we immediately began working together on a range of projects, including works with blown glass forms, neon, and ice. I think much of this work with Dale, both due to his background in interior architecture and mine in architecture, led us to explore ideas that were much more spatial, essentially creating installations and environments of light to engage people with a remarkable experience. A lot of my own work with glass at that time had to do with photography, photographs on glass, and projections on glass, each technique seeking to embed the glass with light information. I continued to pursue that work after graduating, and then taught at University. I returned to Rhode Island School of Design in 1973, where I ran the Nature Laboratory, teaching up until 1977. In retrospect, my work with film was probably

a key element in merging my interest in glass, light, and architecture. The most sympathetic aspect of film relative to working with light is the opportunity to manage time as a quality of animation: light and information being captured and the opportunity to represent that information in a very controlled context. What interests me the most is that is that you can find events or phenomena occurring in nature, capture those events on film, and then modify them slightly so what they then represent is in some cases quite startling. It is the same information you see in nature but, transposed to a different environment, it takes on a much deeper level of meaning. What I understood at the time of doing those films was their use of the medium to activate space. This is, fundamentally, a very different concept from the way most film is considered. Most film is set up to draw you out of the space you occupy and into the narrative of the film itself. The way I approached film was to present a group of films simultaneously that reconstructed fragments of space from another location, whether it was a segment of landscape or a segment of a building. You could reconstruct those fragments with multiple films, allowing the viewer to reside within this temporal complexity of the natural world, a world our mind connects and blends to establish a previously inexperienced “reality.” Before doing the films, I was working with glass as a photographic medium – emulsions on glass where you would not only see the image

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


on the glass itself but you would see reflected images on the glass. You end up with this glass substrate that has multiple layers of information upon it, reflected, transmitted, and embedded. You realize that the glass substrate becomes a vehicle for interpreting the complexity of its surroundings. Ultimately, I projected film on glass and realized that the film projections themselves were powerful enough to recreate spaces, and I appreciated the degree of freedom that film offered. As that work progressed and was shown in galleries in New York and Europe through the 1970s, I wanted to find a way to work with the conceptual ideas that were emerging from the films, but make them more permanent and experienced architecturally. A parallel influence was my long-standing interest in a particular reading of stained glass and my conviction that the practice had failed to evolve. Over and above the illuminated imagery, it seems to me that the most vital aspect of stained glass is the projected light, a kind of projected myth and precursor to cinema. The static narrative elements of stained glass are activated by the dynamic and temporal nature of daylight, imbuing an interior with multiple layers of information. It is very much the idea that all light has content defined by its source and passage through space and time. It became evident after doing multiple types of film installations that it was possible to work in a more concrete architectural way, introducing apparatuses into the built environment to manipulate existing light sources. In 1985, recommended by Ed Barnes, my studio was

JCDA, Structural Glass Prisms, 1985, CTS Chapel, Indianapolis, IN. Photo: Balthazar Korab

James Carpenter & Dale Chihuly, Neon & Ice, 1970, 1992

selected to create a window for his Chapel at the Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana. This gave me a chance to directly explore my ideas about glass in architecture. Within the very simple architectural space, the Structural Glass Prisms is an interpretive device that transforms information coming from nature external to the space and reframes that information within the space. In a way, the window aperture is a substitution for the notion of filming itself. The device operates like the camera and projector, modifying and representing an abstracted and constantly changing view of the exterior environment. The Structural Glass Prisms is a precursor, entirely free of electronics, of today’s exploration of augmented realities. The conventional view through the window is maintained while additional information is layered within the window plane and expanded into the interior volume. When illustrating the transition from film installations to the design of the public realm, I often show two works separated by ten years, but closely related, Migration and the Luminous Glass Bridge. Produced in 1976, Migration is a film installation that transposes a segment of a river into the gallery setting while the Luminous Glass Bridge, an unbuilt commission from 1987, re-engages people with the idea of the river itself as part of their action of crossing the river. Instead of just going from one side to the other, pedestrians are led for some distance along the river’s path, the bridge platform becoming like a filmic device that concentrates natural light and qualities of reflection and refraction. The pedestrian becomes immersed in the film itself, moving along the spooling abstraction of the river below. Making the jump from film installation to the bridge obviously requires expanding the scope associated with studio arts. Engineering has always been a strong personal interest as

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

a method of understanding nature in terms of making art and designing for the public realm. From its beginning, my studio, established in 1979, was set up to capitalize my multiple interests, operating within a zone bounded by art, architecture, and engineering. There is actually a very powerful potential in that lack of definition, because it tends to make our opportunities much broader. Even though many people have preconceived ideas of what it is we do, the reality is that our interventions span a variety of types, from infrastructure projects, building skins, landscape, and bridges to smaller, more intimate aesthetic commissions. For me, it is a very important goal to have the fluidity of being able to move between these different poles and shifting our role. Our agenda based on what the opportunity is. We want to maximize our ability to impact the public realm and, after almost 40 years of this approach, we have collaborated with executive architects to lead the planning and design of architectural projects. Our sister firm, Architecture Operations D.P.C., established in 2013, where I am a principal, allows the studio to work at the scale of architectural commissions. The goal for my studio from the very beginning is to focus on architectural opportunities, and almost all my associates are trained as architects, but we all share an interest in working very closely with materials. We have the opportunity to take a project from beginning to end, stay very close to the process of building a project, and simultaneously have that project be something that provides a more distinct voice within the public realm. The work has a direct role to play in terms of enhancing the public’s shared perception and, in that sense, we share some of the simultaneously expansive and reflexive aspects of art. There is no question that our work is explicitly informed by the character of the site. Often there 11


JCDA, Sky Reflector-Net, 2014, Fulton Center, New York, NY Photo: David Sundberg, ESTO

is a fragment within the architecture that we can utilize to bring about a much broader reading of the site itself. The intervention may be relatively discrete, but its power is such that it can transform the architecture and inform occupants of a much broader world both in and out of the architecture, even at a very large scale. The best example of this is 7 World Trade Center, which was the first tower to be rebuilt after 9/11. The client, Silverstein Properties, brought us into the project to collaborate with the architect, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, as artists able to integrate the broad aesthetic vision and focused technical challenges of the site. This project represented a breakthrough in terms of scale and responsibility. The question for us was how to harness the unique, enriching, and engaging characteristics of the site, located near the southern tip of Manhattan surrounded by water. Our goal was to bring the unique characteristics of light, reflected on the water and captured in the atmosphere, within the seven-inch depth of the skin of the building, sheathing the building with light. Both the base of the building and the curtain wall exploit the physical depth of the building’s envelope. We extended the boundary condition at the base of the building, developing a double skin of stainless steel which is 50 percent open yet obscures views into the 80 ft. high electrical transformer vaults behind it. More importantly, the podium screen captures a volume of light created by the interaction of 12

the inner and outer skin, while LEDs between the two screens are programmed to maintain the luminous sense of the podium’s depth from dusk to dawn. The curtain wall achieves a parallel goal with an outboard reflective glass partially lapping over the spandrel, which features a curved daylight reflector. This apparatus results in an enhanced response to the sky and the sense that light is emanating from the building into the public realm. This is important as light is a resource in the urban context, and towers especially need to sustain light in the collective experience of the public realm as well as light in the private experience of the building’s occupants. We always consider how to effectively and strategically use daylight to enhance the interior space while simultaneously using the building’s envelope to heighten the presence of light and appreciation of its qualities in the urban environment. Glass allows us to layer many different components of light simultaneously, augmenting our ability to share a transcendent experience of nature. As I mentioned earlier, glass allows for light information to simultaneously reside upon, within, and beyond its material. I think that from my earliest work there has always been a fundamental interest in nature, and by that I mean ecological systems and the remarkable properties of light as it exists in different environments. The work with film was exploring how light activated and defined those environ-

ments. The work has always been rooted in light as a tool to reconnect ourselves to nature, when estranged by our cities and lifestyles. How do you keep engaged with these critical, collective issues about ecology when you are living in an urban environment? I have focused on 7 World Trade Center, but since that project we have continued to produce variously scaled, integrated projects such as Ice Falls, a water feature within the Hearst Tower in New York City, and Sky Reflector-Net, the signature feature of the Fulton Center transit hub in Lower Manhattan. However, our responsibilities have also expanded significantly as we have been tasked with the lead design of museum expansions such as the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and the Bornholm Museum in Denmark as well as work for the University of Chicago and Duke University that bridge infrastructure, identity, and wayfinding. We also have led the design of commercial towers such as newly built 860 Washington Street along New York City’s High Line and 20 Martin Place, a tower in Sydney, Australia. It is impossible to present the full range of our work, but I hope I have elucidated our overarching conceptual goals and the fine-grained levels of detail and in-depth levels of knowledge across a broad spectrum of disciplines that they require. Whether the goal is to rehabilitate or preserve the public realm, our method is to integrate the substance of light into the experience of urban life, reclaiming the powerful human connection to nature and our inherent response to its power. __________________________________ James Carpenter has worked at the intersection of architecture, art, and engineering for nearly 50 years, advancing a distinctive vision based on the use of natural light as the foundational element of the built environment. Originally trained as a studio artist, Carpenter founded the cross-disciplinary design firm James Carpenter Design Associates in 1979, deploying these aesthetic principles on large-scale architectural projects. Applying a profound knowledge of materiality and craft, Carpenter has striven to integrate a collective experience of nature within the built environment. Carpenter has been recognized with numerous national and international awards, including an Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. He holds a degree in architecture and sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and was a Loeb Fellow of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


LIFE T IME MEMBERS HI P AWA RD

Acceptance Remarks By Jutta-Annette Page

Jutta-Annette Page

This award is an entirely unexpected and very humbling honor. It came as much as a surprise to me as the invitation to join the board in 2003, after I had just moved from Corning to Toledo, extended by then president Michael Rogers. The GAS Conference in New Orleans, pre-Hurricane Katrina, was my first – and what an introduction to the organization, especially since it featured one of Laura Donefer’s famed glass fashion shows! Museum curators, generally non-artists, are part of a minority voice on the board of GAS, which oversees an organization that is run by artists for artists working in glass. While the bylaws of GAS have been amended over the years, including during my tenure, to allow for an increase in the number of board members due to the complexity and size of GAS, the proportion of non-artists to artists has remained constant to assure the intended spirit in which the organization was founded in 1970. GAS is not a brick-and-mortar organization such as Pilchuck Glass School or the Corning Museum of Glass. While it does not need to maintain buildings or other physical assets, its funding model is still rooted in the 1970s and largely relies on the support from the community. GAS’s primary income largely depends on membership fees and the revenue from the annual conference. These financial realities remain a continuous concern for the board. During my 10 years on the board, Executive Director Pamela Koss provided guidance and consistency to Presidents Anna Boothe, Jeremy Lepisto, Shane Fero, and myself with personal dedication and institutional knowledge. Communication among board members, who often had never met each other in person, was and still is primarily by email and by the infamous monthly conference calls. Up to 20 people, sometimes including staff and conference co-chairs, are trying to plow through agendas that get longer the closer the annual conference approaches. Despite their sometimes marathon length (one memorable conference call lasted three hours), discussions accomplished much and were refreshingly free of the jargon often heard during meetings in other non-profit organizations. “We are getting too much into the weeds here,” or “Let’s circle back to topic A,” or (my favorite), “This discussion is just circling the drain!” are not heard, and justifiably so because these culture-specific

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

figures of speech would be unfamiliar to the non-native English speakers that make up the polyglot board. Board members speak their mind, sometimes with great fervor, but always in plain language. That’s not to say there are no personal agendas. Efforts are being made to have a board diverse in nationality, gender, sexual orientation and, unique to GAS, in representing a range of artistic glass techniques. While we’ve made progress overall, the board and the GAS community, still has a ways to go to be diverse and inclusive. The grim news of the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, to which GAS participants woke up on the Sunday of the Corning conference weekend, makes this an even more urgent goal. I have never encountered a community that is more generous than glass artists. GAS is still an organization run by artists for artists, and it retains a spirit of sharing at its core. I was very privileged to be invited into this community and grateful for your friendship. If you ever get asked to serve on the Board of GAS, accept the call if you possibly can. It will be a challenge, but it will also enrich your life. __________________________________ Jutta-Annette Page entered the museum field as a post-doctoral fellow in Byzantine art at Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, in Washington, D.C. After serving for a decade as curator of European glass at The Corning Museum of Glass, she joined the staff of the Toledo Museum of Art as curator of glass in 2003, to which the responsibilities of curator of decorative arts were soon added. A respected author in her field, Page has completed an extensive array of publications and lectures on topics ranging from ancient to modern and contemporary glass, the history of jewelry, European tapestries, and furniture. She holds a PhD and MA in the history of art and architecture from Brown University, an MAE in jewelry, metalsmithing, and industrial design from Rhode Island School of Design, and an MA and BA in visual communication and art from Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in Germany.

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International Student Exhibition Awards Thank you to The Glass Furnace Foundation for generously sponsoring the 2016 GAS International Student Exhibition. In addition, we extend our appreciation to the exhibition jurors: Jutta-Annette Page, Susie Silbert, and Raven Skyriver. We are also grateful to the institutions that contributed a combined value of over $4,500 toward the student awards.

FIRST PLACE Dylan Martinez, Untitled, Ball State University

SECOND PLACE Leana Quade, Release, Alfred University

THIRD PLACE Suhyeon Kang, Untitled, Rochester Institute of Technology

HONORABLE MENTIONS Teri Bailey, Perceived Transgressions, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Noelle Wiegand, 46.8523N, 121.7603W, Ball State University Francesca Souza, #3, Alfred University Kit Paulson, Touch Me Not, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXHIBITION AWARD DONORS Student Exhibition Awardee Leana Quade, Student Representative Emily Kuchenbecker, and GAS President Cassandra Straubing at the International Student Exhibition.

$1,000 or more: The Corning Museum of Glass $500-$999: Glass Axis, His Glassworks, Inc., Jim Moore Tools, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Steinert Industries, Inc. Up to $500: Pratt Fine Arts Center, Salusa Glassworks

GAS 2016 Student Scholarships We thank jurors Shelley Muzylowski Allen, Mireille Perron, and Boyd Sugiki for evaluating all of the entries in the student scholarship competition.

General Student Scholarships - $1,000 each Nathalie Houghton, University of Texas at Arlington Jubee Lee, Virginia Commonwealth University Anna Lehner, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Erin Murdock, The University of the Arts Michelle Pennington, University of Texas at Arlington

Becky Winship Flameworking Scholarship - $1,000 Generously funded by David Winship of Glasscraft, Inc. Kit Paulson, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Each year, the Glass Art Society recognizes the achievements and potential of those members currently enrolled as full-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Applications are evaluated by a jury of art professionals, and selected students are awarded scholarships to attend the annual GAS conference in order to learn, connect, and grow as artists. Becky Winship Flameworking Scholarship recipient Kit Paulson in her flameworked creation at the Glass Fashion Show.

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


CREATING CONTE X T: GL ASS IN A NEW LIGHT

Laura Donefer sculpting a piece of glass as part of her collaborative demo with Jeff Mack (not pictured) in the Amphitheater Hot Shop.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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K E Y N OT E LEC T U RE

Realizing the Promise of the Glass Age By Wendell P. Weeks Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President, Corning Incorporated (Adapted from keynote address to the Glass Art Society, June 9, 2016) At Corning, we spend an enormous amount of time working on the science of glass. We’re constantly engineering it in new ways to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges. How do we make air cleaner? How do we communicate better? How do we improve the way people interact with information and each other? No question, glass has been good to us. But we also simply love this material. We love how it forms, how it feels, how it handles light, and how it takes on color. We love its curvaceousness, its clarity, and its complexity. Most of all, we love how alive it is.

Wendell Weeks describes Corning’s love affair with glass at the Glass Art Society’s 45th annual conference in Corning, NY.

Remarkable Technical Properties After more than 30 years at Corning Incorporated, I remain fascinated by the unique technical properties of glass. One property that surprises many people is its strength. The theoretical strength of glass is 10 gigapascals. To put that into perspective, imagine a scale that measures the pressure under an elephant’s foot. To get this scale to read 1 gigapascal, you would need to stack 10,000 elephants on top of each other. Second, glass is inherently stable. Perhaps you’ve heard people say that the glass windows in medieval cathedrals are slightly thicker at the bottom than at the top because of relaxation that occurred over the centuries. The reality is, it would require 20 trillion times the age of the earth to create a visible change in the thickness of a glass window. Third, glass is one of the most transparent materials known to man. The glass used for optical fiber is 30 times more transparent than the purest water, and only about one percent less transmissive than air on a clear day. Glass is also virtually impermeable. It’s been used for thousands of years as a container because of its effectiveness at protecting contents from contamination. A molecule of oxygen takes about two weeks to pass through a piece of high-tech plastic one-millimeter thick. That same oxygen molecule would take more than seven billion years to pass through one millimeter of silica glass. Next, glass is one of the world’s most sustainable engineering materials. Silica glasses get their stability from a continuous 16

Dan Dailey

network of silicon-oxygen bonds, which remain intact from the time the component sand is mined, through the life cycle of the material. That’s why glass objects endure for centuries. Glass can also be recycled infinitely without losing strength, purity, or quality. Finally, glass is incredibly versatile. Artists can mold, cast, blow, or draw glass to create the desired shape, because its viscosity decreases in a smooth and continuous manner with increasing temperature. From an engineering perspective, silica is an extremely gracious collaborator with its friends on the periodic table. Scientists have added at least 50 other elements to silica glass to create glasses with unique physical, thermal, or optical properties. And that gets to the heart of what we do at Corning. For 165 years, our scientists have taken this remarkable material and optimized it for sophisticated technical applications. So how are we exploiting some of the properties that I just noted? We’re taking advantage of glass’ strength to make mobile devices more durable and damage resistant. We’re exploiting the thermal and dimensional stability of glass to develop high-performance displays, which feature

smaller, more densely packed transistors and require more rigorous manufacturing conditions than standard displays. We’re using the extreme transparency of glass to improve the speed and capacity of optical fiber to support the 40 trillion gigabytes of data that will be in use by 2020. Finally, we’re taking advantage of the impermeability of glass for a broad range of applications including long-lasting displays, better substrates for integrated circuits, and new architectural components. Corning is building on a 165-year track record of life-changing innovations that include the first glass bulbs for Thomas Edison’s electric light, the world’s first low-loss optical fiber, and the world’s first antimicrobial cover glass. That begs the question: Why do we believe that this is the Glass Age?

One of the World’s Most Transformative Materials It’s a pretty audacious claim, for several reasons. First, because glass has been around so long. Glass objects are among the oldest manmade materials, most likely dating before 3,000 B.C. And natural glass objects are among the oldest found in our solar system.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Far left: The glass used in optical fiber is 30 times more transparent than the purest water. Left: Recent glass innovations include flexible, ultraslim Corning ® Willow® Glass, which is thinner than a dollar bill.

The glass in the Libyan Desert is estimated at 26 million years old, and lunar soil brought back by Apollo astronauts contained tiny silica glass spheres that were approximately three billion years old! Glass has also been responsible for so many revolutions. It’s changed the way we see and understand the world at both the macro and micro level. Telescopes expanded our understanding of the universe, while microscopes enabled the discovery of bacteria and viruses, leading to life-changing developments such as vaccines and antibiotics. Glass changed the way we see ourselves and portray our surroundings. Mirrors, for example, led to the formal use of linear perspective during the Renaissance and inspired artists such as Rembrandt to paint self portraits. Some philosophers even argue that mirrors changed our notions of individuality and encouraged introspection. Glass has also changed the way we interact with those around us by increasing the speed of communication and allowing access to information on demand. Yet, we continue to unlock its mysteries.

The Glass Age I believe we have entered the Glass Age for several reasons. First, because of the ubiquity of glass and its central role in our day-to-day lives. We interact with glass screens on our computers and smartphones; take pictures through glass lenses; transmit and receive information via glass fibers; protect materials in glass covers and containers; and incorporate decorative glass elements into our homes. Second, the pace of glass innovation is accelerating. In the past ten years alone, glass scientists have unleashed capabilities that we couldn’t have imagined a short time ago. At Corning, we’ve developed glass that can withstand the impact of a steel ball, not to mention whatever abuses we dish out to our smartphones. We’ve developed flexible glass that’s slimmer than a dollar bill. And, of course, we’re not the only ones forging new technology frontiers in glass. For example, scientists at Mo-Sci Corporation have developed bioactive glasses that heal flesh wounds by stimulating the body’s natural defenses.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

The third reason I believe that this is the Glass Age is because of the overwhelming response Corning received to its video, A Day Made of Glass. That video generated more than 25 million views on YouTube. But even more remarkable was the number of people from all kinds of industries who contacted us about helping make those technologies a reality or using glass to solve problems that we hadn’t even conceived of. In the five years since the video’s release, Corning and other innovators have made tremendous progress bringing that world to life. Today, infotainment walls are dissolving the boundaries between the real and the virtual by integrating digital content, social networking, and home and office management capabilities. Interactive retail windows are bridging the gap between online shopping and “brick and mortar” stores, while digital fitting rooms allow customers to experiment virtually. Smart hubs in your home will soon allow you to control appliances, manage calendars, and display images on customizable interfaces. And nextgeneration connected cars will feature head17


up displays, interactive dashboards, and cascading consoles. So there’s a strong technology case that we’re living in the Glass Age. But in many ways, the story is still missing the human case.

The Challenge Ahead I recently brought one of Corning’s major customers to the Corning Museum of Glass after hours. As we walked through the beautiful galleries, my customer began to interact with the exhibits. He asked, “How can I make the look and feel of my products have the same effect on people that this artwork has on me?” That’s the challenge that we face as a technology company and the challenge that I extend to glass artists and designers. How can we activate that feeling? How can we take this technological moment that’s applying the functional advantages of glass to address challenges in this modern age, and create a human moment that helps make the world a more stirring and moving place? Ask yourself how you can help. Reach out to your design friends. Use social media to help educate and tell the real story of what glass can do and how it makes you feel, because we won’t realize the true potential of a Glass Age through a technology movement alone. We need to use glass to activate the fundamental joy of being human, anchored in our past with manmade glass objects going back to 3,000 B.C., but reaching for the future and stirring in us a sense of wonder, beauty, and connectedness. __________________________________ Wendell Weeks has served as Corning’s CEO since 2005 and chairman since 2007. As CEO, Weeks has focused on creating new growth drivers and building a bigger, more agile company. He is known for his deep engagement in innovation and his close collaboration with customers to solve tough problems. He is also an enthusiastic ambassador for the technical and aesthetic properties of glass. Weeks earned a BA from Lehigh University and an MBA from Harvard University. He serves on the board of directors at Merck & Co. Inc., Amazon.com Inc., The Corning Museum of Glass, and the Corning Incorporated Foundation. 18

Corning’s specialty glass is helping to enable cascading consoles and other features of next-generation cars.

Sculptures like Lino Tagliapietra’s Endeavor are inspiring technology companies to design products that create powerful, emotional connections.

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WIL L SON LEC T U RE

Shards of Incidence By Buster Simpson (Notes from Buster Simpson on his lecture “Shards of Incidence”, Willson Lecture, GAS Conference, 2016) Shard Cornice (2000) and Incidence (2002) are two projects that share a conversation about the intrinsic qualities of glass as material and its associations with social and economic values at the edge – between desire and need. Shards Cornice was first exhibited in 2000 at the Henry Art Museum, then in 2005 at the Bellevue Arts Museum, and is now in the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass and currently on exhibit. Incidence was a temporary installation for the opening of the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, in 2002; it was located in the top plaza reflecting pool where it remained on view until 2008. Shard Cornice repurposes detritus of ornament into a deterrent of intrusion, drawing from the tradition of placing sharp objects, often broken glass, along the cornice as a defensive barrier. Glass shards were gleaned from the dumpsters and studio detritus of some of the most skilled art glass studios and then redeployed as a pragmatic means of homeland security. Art critic Sheila Farr, in review of a show at the Bellevue Arts Museum in the Seattle Times in 2005, remarked, “Shard Cornice, a wall of concrete blocks topped with multicolored blown-glass castoffs, sure to detain the most discriminating home-invaders.” Shard Cornice is a baroque, seductively vulgar and transparent acknowledgment of social discrepancy and, as such, glass is often the first target of that discontent. Ironically, here the detritus of aggression is appropriated in the service of a defensive posture. Incidence responds to the phenomenon of the incidence of ambient light on glass, which provides an ever-changing reflection of the sky and surrounds. Incidence reflects the geometry of architects Arthur Erickson’s and Wyn Bielaska’s signature conical burn cone Fibonacci cladding. Incidence is in response to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack and references a series of performances and installations – Glass Card House, created in the early 1980s and constructed of 3 ft. x 2 ft. sheets of Spectrum Glass to reference iconic card houses. The assembled structure was approximately nine feet high. A performance of constructing Glass Card House was conducted at the Pratt Art Center during the 1981 GAS Conference in Seattle.

Carbon Vail, 2011, stainless steel mesh, cable, light emitting diodes, installated in two parking garage helices, each 99’ diameter x 66’ high, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Shard Cornice, 2003, glass shards, adhesive, concrete masonry units, 7- 8’ high, 26’ long, Corning Museum of Glass Photo: courtesy of Bellevue Arts Museum

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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This performance, which consisted of precariously stacked glass sheets held only by glass-to-glass friction, presented a condition of chance. The eventual collapse of the card house during the performance supplied shards to incorporate into an early version of Shard Cornice. These two pieces relate to Purge Diptych (1983-1990), recently shown as part of Sublime. Les tremblements du monde at the Centre Pompidou-Metz in 2016. The diptych consists of a document of two “street actions,” one that heals a wrong, and the other that confronts that wrong. Shard Cornice and Incidence present a parallel concern: “if not this, then this.” __________________________________

Incidence, 2002, plate glass, 4’ x 8’ x 120’, The Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington

Buster Simpson, an active artist since the 1970s, has worked on major infrastructure projects, site master planning, signature sculptures, museum installations, and community projects. He received his MFA in 1969 and, later, the Distinguished Alumni Award in Architecture and Design from the University of Michigan. Simpson is the recipient of numerous awards including NEA fellowships and the Americans for the Arts Artist of the Year Award in 2009. Simpson has exhibited at the New Museum, MoMA PS1, the Seattle Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, Capp Street Project, the Museum of Glass, Tacoma, and had a recent retrospective at the Frye Art Museum. Simpson’s work includes numerous public commissions throughout North America. He often melds social and ecological concerns into an aesthetic, and continues to employ intervention and temporary prototypes as a way to inform his more lasting public works. 20

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L AB IN O LEC T U RE

Glass: The Art & Technology of a Material of the Information Age By Peter L. Bocko, PhD Introduction The Labino Lecture opened with two observations regarding the domain of glass. First, the advancing information age has stimulated a proliferation of glass technology applications. In fact, I argue that glass has become the enabling material technology of our profoundly interconnected society, surpassing the role of semiconductor silicon. Second, and coincident with the first, glass has emerged and thrived as a purely expressive medium in art, nucleated by the Studio Glass Movement in the 1960s and proliferating over the ensuing decades. It is a remarkable coincidence that over the past 50 years glass, our oldest material science that was technologically advanced even in antiquity, has become such a diverse medium in disparate modes of human communication: technological and artistic. This can be described as an explosion of “vitreous creativity!� Is there a reason for this remarkable coincidence? The goal of this talk is to attempt to answer this question through the eyes of a glass technologist who also has an unschooled, but deeply emotional, connection with glass art. Three candidate hypotheses come to mind. First, there may be a shared technological advance that has stimulated the proliferation of technological applications and artistic creativity. Searching for a common contemporary technical capability employed by both the glass technologist and glass artist would be evidence of this, but no proximate purely technical advance is a plausible candidate. One notes that some glass artists still seek to replicate the hot glass techniques and palette of centuries past, while scientists are breaking new ground in glass technology. Second, there may be sociological reasons; perhaps both the emergence of the information age and the adoption of glass as an artistic medium were simply parallel aspects of post modernism. This may be true, but it is beyond the meager capabilities of this author to even attempt to fake an argument along sociological lines. Finally, and most plausible, this confluence of trends may simply be manifestations of the intrinsic nature of glass itself. Its versatility in delivering three dimensions of value has enabled innovators in both technological and artistic domains. In this talk, I support this

A template for establishing technological value in information age applications. Engineered glass composition and an agile manufacturing process map to three attributes that determine function in the end application.

point through glass art and the words of the glass art community, looking for resonances with the technological domain.

The Information Age and Enabling Glass Technologies How can we characterize the information age? Immersion in information is the key descriptor; it is ubiquitous, interactive, and compelling. Progress is measured by relentless improvement in the seamless flow between and among users and their devices, as well as the ability of users to transform information into action (i.e., continuous adaptation to their environment). To make a complex story as simple as possible, three key glass technologies (with a fourth that is emerging) have enabled much of this progress in the information age. These include the optical fiber, the flat panel display substrate, and chemically tempered glass, which all support the multiplicity of technologies that mediate the user interface such as touch screen and large screen displays. Engineered glass is emerging as a packaging solution for the integrated circuits in mobile devices. Progress in optical properties, integrity of form (e.g., ability to maintain dimensional precision in application), and surface have enabled advances in information immersion.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

The role of the glass technologist is to establish and continuously refine glass attributes to create value and function in the end application. One can imagine information age technologies that may make obsolete present glass-based applications, however, the versatility of glass in the three attribute dimensions is more likely to proliferate applications.

The Dimensions of Glass as an Artistic Medium Dominick Labino, whom this lecture series honors, catalyzed, with Harvey Littleton, the nucleation of the American Studio Glass movement. Labino, perhaps feeling creatively constrained as a technologist in the glass industry, used glass as a creative outlet but also contributed to the Studio Glass Movement by developing technologies, such as furnace designs appropriate for the artist’s studio, and making glassmaking formulations accessible. He also reverse engineered the lost artistry of past glass masters but kept these techniques and formulations to himself. But, more than anything, he showed the many dimensions of artistic expression that were possible, employing exquisite innovations in both color and form and inspiring the present generation of glass artists. If you read how Labino and other glass artists characterize the emotional power of

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glass as an artistic medium, they point out its abilities to represent conflicting attributes simultaneously, to manipulate and hold light, to evoke motion, and transition from solid to liquid. The versatility of glass to support the entire optical palette is unique. Beyond mastering the continuum of transparency, translucency, and color, almost any optical effect seen in matter – scattering, reflection, iridescence, birefringence, dichroism, diffraction – is possible in glass art. I especially note the mastery of sculptor and warm glass pioneer Edris Eckhardt in employing glass composites with metal to evoke mystery through iridescence. Evening Dress with Shawl by Karen LaMonte employs light scattering to create the spectral impression of an unseen body as compelling as any literal representation of the female form. Optically, glass is capable of capturing the ephemeral. I was trained as a physical chemist and was startled by René Lalique’s Bacchantes Vase (a mass-produced item, not a product of the artist’s studio) which, through the interplay of reflected and transmitted light, recreated the rare and beautiful phenomenon of critical opalescence, which is almost never seen outside the laboratory. In the graduate course I teach on glass science at Cornell University, I emphasize something that my students in materials science engineering should already know: that glass, unlike many of the materials they study, is not at equilibrium. It can be asserted that the reason that artists have found glass so forceful at representing action and transition is because, in a sense, it is still in motion! It is not that the glass artist is able to employ its thermal properties to simply freeze the material in a liquid-like state; in a sense, it is us who are frozen in a moment of time in the ongoing dynamism of art. Lest the reader think this is an academic point and that glass is, after all, a rigid solid, scientists at Corning took a sheet of glass and monitored it’s physical dimensions over a couple years. They found that it had indeed undergone infinitesimal movement over that time. Eppur si muove! But why are the natural forms of glass, and their ability to evoke movement and change, so aesthetically pleasing? The Seaform Series of Dale Chihuly, notably Scarlet Seaform with Yellow Lip Wraps (1989), formed purely through

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Karen LaMonte’s Evening Dress with Shawl and Nocturne 5 are especially noteworthy in the glass’ manipulation of light. Light scattering and spectral absorption combine to evoke feminine beauty.

Dale Chihuly’s Scarlet Seaform with Yellow Lip Wraps was formed purely through heat and gravity and is illustrative of the tendency of glass to form minimal energy surfaces studied for centuries for their efficiency of filling space and their inexplicable beauty. Photo courtesy of Chihuly Studio

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heat and gravity with minimal intervention of tools, is illustrative of this capability. In essence, the hot glass artist set the boundary conditions of the work, and the glass found its own form, which is evocative of the minimum energy surfaces of abstract mathematics, objects studied for centuries for their efficiency at filling space and their inexplicable beauty. Perhaps, it is our nature to recognize beauty in the effects of physical law on our space, and glass as a medium has an unalloyed capability to represent that in the artist’s vision.

A Shared Template for Artistic and Technological Glass in the Information Age The attribute template applied to engineered glass products employed in the information age, that of the interplay of light, form, and surface, applies to the artistic domain. Several of the works highlighted in this lecture can be applied to a simple model of artistic functions, similar to the way in which technical products can be applied to technical functions. This extraordinary coincidence in the information age arises from the unique and transcendent ability of glass to mediate human communication through form, surface, and light.

The Sins of Glass in the Information Age – Redemption through Art? As a retired technology executive who relentlessly promoted the capabilities of glass in the information age, I share both pride and regret for what technological glass has wrought. Does our immersion in information enhance the human connection, or does it subvert it? Are lives enhanced or overwhelmed? Are we served or intruded upon and manipulated? The exploitation of glass’ capabilities has enabled the mixed blessings of the information age, like any technology in any age of human history. There is, to me at least, the artistic capacity of glass to illuminate human and transcendent themes of redemption.

The generalized attribute template, light, form, and surface, applied to the power of glass as a medium in the artistic domain.

Dr. Peter L. Bocko is recognized as one of the foremost glass experts in consumer electronics with 35 years in various leadership positions at Corning Incorporated, retiring in 2014 as chief technology officer for Corning Glass Technologies. Bocko joined Corning Incorporated in 1979 and was a principal in Corning’s participation in the flat panel display revolution. His focus for much of his career was on high technology applications for glass in Asia, and he was based in Tokyo for five years of his career. Dr. Bocko is the holder of 11 patents that span diverse fields of optical fiber, flexible glass, novel materials, and display technology. He has authored numerous technical publications in glass and was a frequently invited speaker

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

at industry conferences. In 2009, Dr. Bocko received a Special Recognition Award from the Society for Information Display (SID) recognizing his central role in delivering enabling glass innovation to the display industry. From 20112012, Bocko was technical adviser for Corning’s acclaimed “A Day Made of Glass” series and is credited as a visionary behind this depiction of a display-centric, interconnected future. He was often featured as a media commentator on the information age and electronics futures, most recently appearing in the PBS Nova Special “Hunting the Elements” with David Pogue. Now based in Painted Post, New York, Dr. Bocko continues to consult and teach a graduate-level course in glass science at Cornell University.

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S T R AT T MAN LEC T U RE

Of Our Time: Contemporary Art, Craft, and the Encyclopedic Museum By Emily Zilber The relationship between craft, the contemporary, and the encyclopedic museum is full of promise. We seek to navigate these areas thoughtfully at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), one of the nation’s largest art institutions featuring a collection of over 500,000 objects spanning the history of human making. Contemporary art is just a small fraction of this story, while craft is arguably the whole story: our collection documents changing craft traditions and skilled making across millennia. What avenues for conversation might emerge if we reframed the MFA and other encyclopedic museums as large and diverse craft museums? How and where might contemporary craft exist in the encyclopedic museum? By looking at the MFA’s efforts to answer these questions, we can see some strategies that the encyclopedic museum might use to deepen and expand public understanding of craft and its artists today. The MFA actively collected contemporary craft and design in its first years, virtually in concert with its opening in July 1876. A Tiffany and Company pitcher, made for and purchased from the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, was the first work of contemporary craft to enter the museum’s collection. In its early years, the museum collected contemporary objects made by a robust community of craftsmen with workshops in Boston, an intellectual center of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. This dedication to craft was echoed in later efforts through landmark programs like Please Be Seated, the first effort by any museum to commission contemporary furniture makers to produce seating for the collection that could also be used by gallery visitors. Today, contemporary craft is a strong part of the museum’s collection. As we have seen, innumerable new questions and modes of making enter the landscape of contemporary craft; the museum has continued to acquire works across media that engage these ideas. Building on this kind of longstanding commitment, what is it about the encyclopedic museum today that might make it a special platform for presenting contemporary art and craft? Context is key. Encyclopedic museums, with their broad historical collections and various galleries and presentations, offer the unique potential to explore objects across multiple frameworks. Some of these may – and should – contradict or question one another. 24

Tiffany & Co., Pitcher, 1875, Silver, copper, 21 x 10.6 x 9.5 cm, Gift of Gideon F. T. Reed Photo: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Rather than tell one rigid art historical narrative, a highly contextualized approach to presentation acknowledges that there may not be one “right” framework from which to consider the crafted object, acknowledging art’s capacity to engage multiple meanings. At the MFA, contemporary making is currently on display in a surprisingly large number of contexts. In 2011, the museum’s renovated West Wing, designed by I.M. Pei and originally opened in 1981, became the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art. This space features the museum’s contemporary collection across media organized thematically and positions contemporary craft as one vital aspect of a broad and changing contemporary art world. Spaces allow artists working in dissimilar media and forms, but with similar concepts or interests, to converse with one another. For example, the ceramist Ken Price and painter Ellsworth Kelly both focus on color and flattened surfaces, while the jeweler Giampaolo Babetto and the sculptor Tony Smith take an interest in Vitruvian

proportion and purity of form to create objects that engage the body in very different ways. Fiber artist Sheila Hicks and sculptor Josiah McElheny take on notions of repetition of form, while glass artist Karen LaMonte and sculptor George Segal both think about the presence and absence of the human body. Because artists from across a wide variety of artistic communities engage with techniques, forms, and materials appropriated from the decorative arts, they participate in conversations about craft in our contemporary galleries. We not only collect artists who see themselves as members of certain types of craft communities but also so-called “cross-over” practitioners who take on the increasingly blurry boundaries between disciplines like art, craft, design, and fashion and challenge rigid systems of classification. In addition to the broader thematic spaces of the Linde Family Wing, the Daphne and Peter Farago Gallery is dedicated exclusively to international contemporary craft. Here, we explore craft in its own context, having conversations specific to the field’s history, material qualities, focus on process, and lineages amongst teachers, students, and educational institutions. This is a different, but no less significant, conversation, that helps our visitors understand not only what is so special about craft but also the tremendous evolution it has undergone just since the middle of the 20th century. Works on view in the Farago gallery could become part of the stories told in our thematic galleries, and vice versa. The ability for objects to transition from space to space is key to what the large and diverse platform of the encyclopedic museum can offer. Contemporary craft appears in many other spaces throughout the museum beyond those already referenced. In 2010, the museum opened a new 53-gallery wing dedicated to displaying the art of North, South, and Central America in a fully integrated, cross-media fashion. In a gallery focused on abstraction at midcentury, the gesture and energy of work by ceramist Peter Voulkos dialogues with that of his friend and colleague, the painter Franz Kline. Native American galleries house works by glass artist Preston Singletary and ceramists Jacquie Stevens and Diego Romero, amongst works from the past. In 2011, the MFA opened the nation’s first dedicated gallery exclusively focused on the display of jewelry across time

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and included contemporary work in numerous presentations. Japanese, Chinese, and Korean galleries each include works by contemporary artists, ranging from glass to ceramics to basketry, alongside historical material. A 2011 ceramic sculpture by the Korean artist Yee Sookyung, which plays on traditions of celadon glazing and kintsugi (repair using gold), now speaks to similar works from the past; when it was first on view at the MFA it was in the galleries of the Linde Family Wing amidst an installation focused on artists today who draw on history for inspiration. Here, it existed in the company of works by artists including Cindy Sherman and Fred Wilson. Temporary exhibitions also present vital contexts for exploring craft today. New Blue and White (2013) looked to the way that historical blue-and-white ceramics inspired contemporary artists to produce works ranging from ceramics to jewelry to installation to fashion. Historical reference served as a visual and thematic unifier for the exploration of contemporary topics in craft ranging from upcycling, ecological and political impulses, memory and identity, and accumulative display and collecting. Nature, Sculpture, Abstraction, and Clay: 100 years of American Ceramics (2015) was the MFA’s first exhibition of American ceramics from its collection since 1984. 75 objects explored continuity in American artists’ approach to clay over the past 100 years. Through the MFA’s holdings in a single medium, it was possible to see how certain broad types of experimentation and practice – an interest in the natural world, experimentation with glaze and texture, the use

Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, September 16, 2011 Photo: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

of the ceramic surface for drawing and design, and an interest in sculptural form – have been consistent areas of investigation, even though they have manifested in different aesthetic forms over the past century. Conversely, the exhibition Crafted: Objects in Flux (2015) introduced a selection of international and cross-generational artists who share a key goal: to encourage us to question “craft” as being bound to a limited framework or definition in the context of art making, and to see it in new ways. While the works on view in this exhibition conspicuously straddled boundaries, they also deeply engaged with mining the relevancy and potential of craft for artists today, particularly in the areas of performativity, shifting modes of

Kenneth Price, Cubist Cup, 1973, Glazed ceramic, 10.2 x 15.2 x 12.7 cm, The Daphne Farago Collection, © Kenneth Price Photo: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

making and the idea of re-tooling craft practice, and engaging with space and architecture. Each of these three exhibitions brought a different kind of conversation about contemporary craft to our visitors, reinforcing its rich potentiality. Craft can and should exist across a number of contexts in the encyclopedic museum. As the MFA builds its contemporary craft holdings, we find direction in embracing interdisciplinarity and subjectivity. The ability to shift a narrative or offer multiple narratives about craft to our visitors not only serves to profoundly root objects in history but also makes them more accessible out of context. By taking an interest – through the lens of craft – in a wide array of objects ranging from traditional to experimental, conversations about craft, materiality, and art making today productively broaden. __________________________________ Emily Zilber is the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s first Ronald L. and Anita C. Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts. Recent projects at the museum include the exhibitions Nature, Sculpture, Abstraction and Clay: 100 Years of American Ceramics (2015) and Crafted: Objects in Flux (2015), which is accompanied by a full-length publication. Prior to joining the MFA, Zilber was Assistant Curator at Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. She has edited and written for numerous publications, speaks regularly on topics related to 20th and 21st-century decorative arts, craft, and design, and is a founding member of the Boston-based consortium The Commonwealth of Craft. Zilber holds a BA in art history from The University of Chicago and an MA from the Bard Graduate Center for Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture.

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LI T T L E TON LEC T U RE

Eternal Craft and Other Imponderables By Judith Schaechter GAS would like to thank John Littleton and Kate Vogel for their support of this important lecture. I hesitate to say anything mystical or deeply philosophical, (since I feel both foolish and unqualified to do so) but here goes. First off, my philosophy of art is that what we call “craft” is the eternal condition. Art is a grandiose offshoot that is a mere 600 years old and it’s dying fast. Craft will remain after art has left the premises. Art is being swiftly killed off by the very thing that distinguishes it from craft, and that is that it exists for its own sake, alone. In other words, it is suffocating to death from its own purity. Craft, however, is contingent, it is utilitarian, and/or it derives meaning from processes and materials as opposed to pure concept. In this case, I hope I am a craftsperson! A completely different way of thinking about art and craft is that craft is the lesser, and art is the crème de la crème on the spectrum of human made and conceived things. Regardless of what we are discussing – teacups, footstools, conceptual web-based installations or dimensional creamo – art is the stuff that’s so transcendent and sublime it earns the highest rank in a hierarchy for that reason alone. Pasteur is credited with saying, “There’s no difference between pure science and applied science, only good science and bad science.” In that case, I hope I am an artist! I have come to the conclusion that no one can stop me from claiming both! I am fairly certain that many people experience my pieces kind of like this: Judith Schaechter is an artist who makes images in stained glass of anguished women set against highly decorative backgrounds. People often see my work all at once as a single group of images in a show or reproduced in an article but to me, all of my pieces are vastly different, and they arose over long periods of time. But, yeah, I get it; there are common themes – anguished women and lush, decorative backgrounds. I doodle a lot, and I would go so far as to say I don’t have “ideas” per se. I steal a lot from art history and popular culture. But in order to launch a project, I need to literally draw it out of me. The ideas and inspirations are things that arise, like a swamp monster, from the murky depths of imagination – which is a lot more vague than it sounds! I don’t see things in my 26

Everything I have ever made (up until 2014).

head and draw them. I draw them in order to see them. I tend to doodle certain categories of images: flowers, animals, and female humans’ faces. Why? I honestly have no idea and can only give a circular response: because they interest me. I can, however, say a few words with hindsight as to the significance of “realism” to my work. First off, perceptual realism (i.e., realistic realism) is not of interest to me. My flowers and faces don’t exist in nature. I have an urge to distort and reinvent. One reality is plenty in my life! When I make my work, a broad overview seems ridiculous. But here’s what I think is a thread that ties a lot of my work together. I consider art to be the equivalent of a sewage treatment plant. All the bad stuff of life goes in and is subject to some sort of alchemical process that renders it safe, even desirable, to consume. Important in that process is beauty. It’s important because beauty is not just the look of the thing (if it even is that), but it is the actual catalyst that transforms the ugly into the palatable. In other words, if you work with ugly themes you can draw them carefully. You can use visually exciting or harmonious color combinations. You can deploy rhythm, pattern,

and light, all qualities that are universally attractive to the senses. You can craft them well. Every single aspect that isn’t the subject matter can be done with reverence and care. And that will neutralize the poison. I realize that is the philosophy of a 10 year old, but it’s mine regardless. I was born in 1961 and as a young artist, I wholly embraced the notion of downtown, gritty, funky ugliness. But I got tired of it as the sole channel of my expression, and I craved the multifaceted delights of combining beauty with ugliness. I had a hunch that by contrasting them, both could be made more interesting and authentic (at least for me). I had always been interested in the seductive aspects of beauty because I always felt so ugly myself. I thought, well, these artworks could be my proxies and stand in my stead as a more attractive version of me. When my teachers told me beauty wasn’t important to art, I was horrified! There goes my one superpower! So I chose to ignore them, such was its importance to me. Beauty has long been a very tricky thing in the arts, especially after WWI and the Industrial Revolution. Art despises being told what to do, and all the mandates governing aesthetics were

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demolished during the modernist period. But therein lies the rub: beauty is always good, and for this reason we get confused and the role of beauty has been a bugaboo in art for most of the 20th century and remains a residual source of discomfort. Beauty is still not taken very seriously. Is it good for us like spinach or is it good like candy? Is it pleasurable or nutritious? Is it morally good, or sensually good? Is it mind-good or body-good? What asking the eyeof-the-beholder question ignores is that beauty can be both (or neither) simultaneously. The way it can be both is by associating it with love, as did Sappho (and contemporary philosopher Crispin Sartwell). Beauty, in this way of thinking, is an experience not a quality. Beauty is an analogous feeling to love in art. It feels a lot like love because we love the art we find beautiful, and we find an artwork beautiful because we love it. We also imagine that the artist loved it, so we empathize with that and receive the same inspiration. I have come to define beauty as more than sensual attraction and more than mere visual glamour applied to ugly thoughts. In order for beauty to be Art it must transcend the sum of its parts and confer a transcendent – dare I say it, spiritual – experience on others. I would define that as having to do with inspiration and

empathy, as just mentioned. Beauty (and love) must contain both. Inspiration is the word we give to a rush of positive life affirming force. It’s the striving motion upward that is in eternal, perpetual anticipation. Inspiration connects us upward with a greater, cosmic context. While inspiration is tall – high, if you will – then empathy, on the other hand, is wide. Empathy is the positive life-affirming force that connects us laterally and allows us to see that all things are connected to the earth and to each other. Empathy is the reason perfection is never beautiful (but perhaps merely pretty) because empathy requires that we love our neighbor and of course, the “neighbor” within our own selves. You can never disavow ugliness while being empathetic. It is like a yin/yang, one principle giving rise to the meaning of the other. One final thing: Why do we have the universal experience of love? Because we die. Life is precious because it is precarious. The fact that life is fragile, that there is a looming threat of inevitable loss that causes us to value it and to protect it with every last measure of devotion. If people didn’t die, we would have no need for empathy or compassion or even simple caring for others. If we were immortal, we would not have to take care of the sick. We would not have to care for the weak; we would not have to care

Judith Schaechter, The Life Ecstatic (detail), 2016, stained glass, 31 x 29” Photo: Dom Episcopo

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

for anything because it would take care of itself. End of story. How very dreadful. “Sex and death are connected in nature too; sexless organisms like the cancer cell or the amoeba are immortal; sex arises only with mortality. Sexual reproduction is nature’s trick to out-fox death; the species is preserved though the individual dies.” – Paul Kreeft, Love is Stronger than Death (1979) Beauty in art, therefore, is that which we appreciate because we would be bereft without it. We all know we value, and thus protect, that which we love, sometimes with our own lives if need be, so strong is our love. This is a positive feedback loop; we love it more because it’s beautiful! Then, voilá, it’s even more beautiful than before because we love it. And so on and so forth we spiral upward toward some sort of sublime apotheosis of consciousness. Yes, I am basically saying that beauty is inspiring and inspiration is beautiful. Yes, it’s a tautology. But doesn’t that mean that we can claim the right to some kind of epic, wonderful hamster wheel action? That when we are uninspired, we can find inspiration by seeking beauty and when things are hideous, anesthetic, and nihilistic we can seek inspiration to transform them? Since I am talking about my work here, I will say that perhaps not everyone finds my work inspiring or empathetic or beautiful or ugly. Some may find it meh! It’s probably too much to require that an artist reach everyone, although I admit that I strive for that. Therefore, one of my main concerns is that my pieces be eternal and universal so many people can empathize with them. For this reason I make images of human figures, and I make the figures and situations hard to place and date. The empathy part of beauty is also why I find it so important that my characters be ambivalent, forever on the brink of a breakthrough. It bothers me, though, that casual observers see them as depressing. I am fascinated with the nuances of human expression. I try very hard to create faces that express several emotions at once, preferably conflicting ones. So they are never just in agony; but agony tinged with ecstasy; grief offset by hope, rage tempered by serenity, for example. I think that’s an accurate reflection of how many people feel most of the time. 27


Now about those backgrounds: they take a long time to make, longer than the figures. There is this thing in the two-dimensional arts known as the figure/ground dilemma which is the thing that distinguishes the second dimension from actual reality (there is no figure/ ground dilemma in life or sculpture). This is what makes the background so important, because it lies at the crux of what makes us human, and that is the ability to recognize and utilize symbolic abstractions. So, what the figure/ground dilemma refers to practically is the question of what you do in the background after you’ve made a figure. This is critical because one cannot help but identify with the figure, so where it is becomes a reflection of where you are. As it was explained to me (by my art history professor at RISD, Dirk Bach), art is kind of like a “you are here” map. The “loveliness” of my backgrounds perhaps acts as a foil for the ambivalent, struggling figure. Or maybe it’s a projection of their possible psychological state, a hallucination, a dream, or even a visual representation of their speech if they could talk. However you want to see it, I consider them an extension of the figure. Glass is a magical medium. I am using that word specifically because it alludes to the sort of Vegasy glitz that has caused some to disrespect it as a medium and to distrust it as a serious contender for art making. Glass is one of the few materials that looks good before you touch it and that’s dangerous because anything you do to it risks ruining it, as opposed to say, clay, upon which anything is a vast improvement. But glass can be far more than merely superficial. Abbot Suger, the 12th-century monk who designed St. Denis, cited the spiritual promise of stained glass when he said, “stained glass is enlightenment embodied.” And how true that can feel in a 12th-century cathedral even if you are not religious! But the flip side of that is that stained glass is particularly guilty of disillusionment, presumably because it promises so very much that, when it falls short, it is extra disappointing. Poor stained glass suffered as a medium when the Protestant Reformation cut demand and suffered further as art became more and more separate from the church. When I started working in glass, my first thought was that no one had done anything new with it in centuries, with the exception of Tiffany (whom 28

I happen to dislike). I liked the challenge of working with a risky, unpopular tradition and I particularly liked its neglected history. As it turned out, the distorted, anguished figures and decorative backgrounds that looked like a pantomime of teenaged angst when I did them in oil paint, looked a lot more authentic in stained glass. Perhaps they needed real illumination to make them seem as though they were burning inside. And so glass it was. And why does it stay glass? Because deep knowledge is an amazing, freeing thing. SO MANY ARTISTS NEVER GET THERE! You have no idea what you are missing! The rewards are incredible! You think concept is important? You think thinking and ideas are important? You should see how they evolve when you stop flitting from one medium to another! The notion that you choose the material best suited to your idea is false, dangerous, and egotistical. Your ideas, my ideas, all ideas are not that important or original. Deep knowledge of material is like playing a game to level 50 instead of level 1 or 10 or whatever. Amazing, untold things are revealed! You have no idea the ideas at level-50 commitment! And yet, devoting oneself exclusively to a singular branch of material knowledge (i.e., being a glass artist) is often seen as somehow unintelligent – a case of confused priorities or an unhealthy obsession. I believe this is primarily a reflexive notion that material and technique are “body” things and thoughts are “mind” things. Current neurology suggests there is no divide. But, alas, it is perceived that a deliberate and willful pursuit of material and process is mutually exclusive from more profound content. As long as we insist on a Cartesian mind/body split in artwork, we will see material and process as the inferior to concept’s and subject’s perceived superiority. Its that simple. But just because monomaniacal devotion is out of fashion doesn’t mean one should apologize; if anything, this type of focus is one of the surest paths to discovery, originality, and deep spiritual truths. The true path doesn’t put a brain in a vat and expect it to spew out deep thoughts. Remember, every single thought you have is the response to sensory stimuli. Every last expression, every brilliant thought you ever share is accomplished via muscle movements.

There’s no other way out! The true path for art and life is to strive to integrate mind and body as equals and insists that they are mutually dependent on each other for their existence. __________________________________ Judith Schaechter lives and works in Philadelphia. She has exhibited internationally and is the recipient of many grants, including the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, the Joan Mitchell Award, the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, and a Leeway Foundation grant. She is also a 2008 USA Artists Rockefeller Fellow. Her work is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Hermitage in Russia, The Corning Museum of Glass, The Renwick Gallery, and numerous other collections. Schaechter’s work was included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial and GLASSTRESS 2012 in Venice. In 2013, she was inducted into the American Craft Council College of Fellows.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


SA X E EMERGI N G A R T I S T PRES E N TAT I ON

Mystic Truths of American Exceptionalism By James Labold As a nation, America has been striving to create a national identity since its founding, while at the same time priding itself on being a melting pot of immigrant cultures. The U.S. also prides itself on American exceptionalism, the concept that there is something unique about our nation among all nations in history. The U.S. has one of the largest wealth gaps in the world, the largest military in the world, and the largest prison population in the world; these are all exceptional, but these are not the same as the unique and divinely inspired ideals that the term American exceptionalism refers to. Robert Bellah explored the U.S.’s mythologizing of its cultural ideals and heroes in his 1967 essay “Civil Religion in America” in which he declares that “there actually exists alongside of and rather clearly differentiated from the churches an elaborate and well-institutionalized civil religion in America.” 1 Growing up in the greater Philadelphia area, I spent summers visiting historic sites such as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the Gettysburg

James Labold, Divisive Ruling, 2015, hot blow mold assemblage, mixed media, 6 x 12 x 25”

Far left: James Labold, Martyrs of Will and of Deed: JFK, 2015, hot blow mold assemblage, mixed media, 6 x 6 x 32” Left: James Labold, Martyrs of Will and of Deed: Lincoln, 2015, hot blow mold assemblage, mixed media, 6 x 6 x 31”

Battlefield. Could these be viewed as pilgrimages to the sacred sites of the American civil religion? When I visited, I was certainly indoctrinated with patriotic tales of sacrifice and the ideals of the founding fathers. My personal history, politics, and moral perspective play a large part in the genesis of my work, which also functions as a visual record of my attempts to reconcile my own perceived contradictions. In attempting to address contemporary and historical American culture, it often seems appropriate to use mass-produced objects representing American figures, sites, and themes. The quality of these reproductions are sometimes idealized, sometimes simplified for mass production, and some seem to be incredibly inaccurate copies of their originals. Transforming the Capitol Building into a cologne bottle seems very odd. Was it a coded message from the Avon ladies that Congress stinks? If one was to take an orthodox or fanatical approach to the American civil religion, would these objects be treated as votive figures or heresy? These layered symbols can create allegorical narratives. Art critic Craig Owens explores

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

allegory as a link between the past and the present in the “Allegorical Impulse: Toward a Theory of Postmodernism”. I found Owens’ view that in allegory “one text is read through another, however fragmentary, intermittent, or chaotic their relationship may be” 2 to be an apt description of how I was beginning to read the mystic roots of the revolutionary era imagery through Bellah’s American civil religion, as I began working with contemporary icons of American exceptionalism’s mythology. The fragmentary and sometimes chaotic nature of allegory, which still somehow manages to create a web of content, brings us to Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of deterritorialization.3 Deterritorialization refers to the process of breaking down or decoding relations, although this seems to shift meaning throughout their writings, perhaps getting more to its essence of breaking down, abstracting, and simultaneously expanding the context of and relationships between concepts and subjects. Deterritorialization became a vehicle for me to process these connections between popular conspiracy theories and the American civil religion, if only in some fragmentary way. The Myth is Real: Mystic Truths of American 29


Exceptionalism is a visual exploration of the psychology of the American civil religion and American exceptionalism using appropriated objects and the iconography of early America, contemporary capitalist culture, and Neoclassical architecture. Drawing on sources ranging from mysticism to postmodern theory to psychoanalysis, I created a body of work comprised of traditional sculptural objects and installations, with a focus on the properties of glass and neon. Throughout this work, efforts were made to decode the underlying origins and meanings of national symbols while also recontextualizing them into contemporary icons and sacred spaces. Moldmaking became essential to my work, since most of the source material, reproductions of American icons, was originally formed from molds. By copying, combining, and distorting the originals, my process plays with the malleable side of history. The work, which began as wax assemblage, often continued into blown glass forms, where hot glass is blown into a lost wax mold. This hot blow mold technique allowed for a great level of detail without the weight or annealing time of thick cast glass forms. Taking the ideas of an American civil religion to their (il)logical extreme, my more traditional object-oriented sculptures draw on varied sources to function as icons and idols for this imagined religion rooted in contemporary and historic American culture. Divisive Ruling has its origins in found material, in this case a rubber mold of a female bust found in the garbage. I pulled a wax, and I added a blindfold – the traditional attribute of Justice – and extended the form with Neoclassical architectural elements. These added elements connect the allegorical figure of Justice to the physical structure of the justice system housed in the Supreme Court Building. The title alludes to both the ability of a court ruling to be divisive, as well as the manner in which government rules can be divisive among the general public. The U.S. Supreme Court is a single body, composed of different individuals with different political loyalties. In this piece separate parts form a single body. Martyr of Will and of Deed: Lincoln and Martyr of Will and of Deed: Kennedy each consist of six different heads of their namesake president. Each head comes from the same original mold, which has then been modified. 30

Each piece was initially created in wax, then divided into smaller sections, blown into hot molds, and reassembled cold. Repeating and modifying the heads of the presidential martyrs echoes the distortions of historical perspective, while referencing the classic monumental form of the column. Cast glass works such as Icarus and Capital Endowments also exploit found materials, moldmaking, and assemblage to recontextualize existing imagery as mythic figures or forms. Icarus reimagines a 1960s-era astronaut figurine as a character from classical mythology. Capital Endowments repeats the form of an Avon perfume bottle modeled on the U.S. Capitol Building until it becomes a phallic monument crumbling under its own weight. The same themes of mysticism and Americana, appropriated and recontextualized imagery, and monumental architecture come together as installation work in The Myth is Real. This gallery installation is composed of several smaller vignettes operating as independent works. Four neon silhouettes of Predator drones circle the room, starting near the entrance and heading toward a glowing tower at the rear of the gallery, Monumental Failure. The tower’s smooth white façade is exposed as a crumbling plaster and wood construction. This could be read as either being in ruin or in repair. The bright orange extension cord is strung up through the pieces as if it were a construction site; the neon tubes work but are clearly not where they should be. Above the obelisk, a convex security mirror gives the viewer a better perspective of the top of the pyramid, while simultaneously giving the eyes at the top of the tower a better view of the viewer. Eye in the Sky, a neon all seeing eye mounted on a black reflective backing coming through the clouds, keeps watch over the entire scene. Babel of the Dissident and Patriot plays off the thrift store origins of much of my source material while referencing historic depictions of the Tower of Babel. Finally, The Silent Majority Crashes FDR’s Party references the gradual dismantling of FDR’s social programs as Richard Nixon’s “silent majority” came to dominate conservative politics through the late 20th century. Two battling and intertwined snakes represent both major political parties, two opposing forces forming one confused mass amidst the ruins, while referring back to historic depictions

James Labold, Capital Endowments, 2015, hot cast glass, mixed media, 27 x 8 x 8”

James Labold, Monumental Failure, 2015, blown glass, neon, wood, plaster, found objects, 1 x 1 x 10’ Photo: John Candelaria

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


of the snake in both the Gadsden Flag and earlier mythologies. In The Myth is Real: Mystic Truths of American Exceptionalism, I have created a new language of signs and symbols based on those of the American civil religion and the mythology of American exceptionalism. By exploiting the malleable properties of glass and the process of moldmaking, I have been able to reproduce source images and manipulate them into new forms. The incorporation of neon creates an artificially lit environment, which is both contemporary and mystical. Drawing on these disparate visual and conceptual sources, and approaching them through both traditional sculpture and installation, has allowed me to explore the broad spectrum of narratives of nationalist mythology created by American icons and images. 1. Robert N. Bellah, “Civil Religion in America,” Daedalus 134, no. 4: 50 years (2005): 40-55. 2. Craig Owens, “The Allegorical Impulse: Toward a Theory of Postmodernism,” October 12 (Spring 1980): 67-86. 3. Gilles Deleuze, and Felix Guattari, Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2009).: 33-36.

James Labold, The Myth is Real, Mystic Truths of American Exceptionalism (installation view), 2015, mold blown, kiln cast, and hot sculpted glass, neon tubing, OSB, wood, plaster, insulation foam, security mirrors, found objects, dimensions variable. Photo: John Candelaria

__________________________________ James Labold was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He received his BFA from Tyler School of Art in 2004 and an MFA from Ball State University in 2015. Labold’s glass and mixed media work explores the connections between patriotism and mysticism through objects and installations. He is inspired by the ideals embodied in the historic sites of the American Revolution as well as the crumbling factories and neighborhoods surrounding them. His work has been included in New Glass Review in 2010 and 2015. Labold was awarded a 2014 Rosenberg Residency in Salem, Massachusetts. He currently lives and works in Muncie, Indiana.

James Labold, The Silent Majority Crashes FDR’s Party (installation view), 2015, hot sculpted glass, neon, plaster, insulation foam, found objects, dimensions variable, columns approximate height 4’. Photo Credit: John Candelaria

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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SA X E EMERGI N G A R T I S T PRES E N TAT I ON

Instinctive Glass By Ito Laïla Le François

The wild, primitive state of things is our forgotten nature. I feel I have to take back what was lost, what belongs to me. As a human and an artist, I am interested in ancient human lifestyles, old stories, and old techniques. My work is inspired by the beauty and ugliness of living beings. Instinctively, metaphors emerge. I dig into my gut, through scraps of remote knowledge to find what remains. I have a visceral need for freedom, to be crude, and to feed that freedom. At the moment, femininity, violence, and obsession with the body govern me. In my creations, anatomy and territory become one while the cycle of death and life looms. Bones, organs, and muscles merge with weather, mountains, and rivers. I fragment and accumulate internal and external structures. Intuitively, I sculpt the materials for their symbolism and beauty; I distort figures in order for them to take power. The range of media I use in my work occupies an important place in my creative process: glass, clay, wood, wire, bronze, and stone. Often, many complex ideas blend together in one piece. Despite somewhat aggressive concepts, sensuality and nurturing dominate. The past mingles with the present. I started my studies in glass at Espace Verre, a glass school in Montréal. After two years of the three year program, I decided to take a break and move on to a sculpture program to develop a sculptural approach to my work. Then, I returned to glass for my final year of training, and I started combining glass and other materials together. After six years of craft studies, I enrolled at Concordia University in

Ito Laïla Le François. Photo: Mélodie Dulck

Montréal to learn more about visual art. I would like to present my work and the ideas behind it. Coyote Tremblay is a mixed-media sculpture that was inspired by an old Mexican legend, La Loba. La Loba is a story about an old woman who travels through the desert looking for lost bones. Her objective is to patiently reconstruct a skeleton. After much work, the skeleton comes to life and turns into a wolf. This wolf then runs into the desert and turns into a human being. In my piece, Coyote Tremblay, I touch on obsessive themes that transcend my own art: the empty belly and the cycle of life and death. This sculpture was a turning point in my

Ito Laïla Le François, L’élégance de Charles, 2015, clay, glass, felt, fur, steel, 30 x 34 x 18”

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process. Since then, I have been working in a similar direction and have assembled pieces with instinct and freedom. Elle s’est fait décarcasser en sortant du ventre de sa mère, means “she was disembowelled as soon as she came out of her mother’s womb.” The piece is a sculpture made of glass and wood that visually represents a hanging human body. This sculpture talks about my perception of how environment and culture determine identity. It is a composition representing my belief that a person’s birthplace, sex, and education will influence their destiny. I am using different symbols: decapitation means to be disconnected from a vital part, and suspension represents being taken over or being forced. Visually, I like the contrast between the curves of the blown glass and the straight faces of the coldworked tips. I like to use different materials and create a link between them, a unity. Meurs et reviens was a research piece. It was my first installation for a solo exhibition on the north coast of Québec in 2013. I travelled to this region of Québec for the first time to create work about my roots: my Métis ancestors from the Mingan. During my journey and my stay, I was impressed by the power and grandeur of the natural elements: rivers, waves, and the vastness of the sea. The sparseness of human presence and the coexistence between First Nations and Canadians was inspirational. In the sculpture, Meurs et reviens, I attempted to express the movement between ground and sky and the cycle of water with evaporation and rain.

Ito Laïla Le François, Caller le Caribou, 2013, glass, wood, steel, fure, stone, 8 x 4.5 x 4’ Photo: Michel Dubreuil

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Caller le caribou is essentially a woman’s body shaped like a landscape, and flowing out of her belly is a river of blood in red glass. There is a comparison between veins and rivers, those things that nourish earth, beings, and life. This piece represents another pivoting point at which it became clear that nourishment was omnipresent in my art, a metaphor illustrating the link between nature and our body. Par le ventre is a piece about what we eat and the effect it has on the body. In the piece, I used different symbols: a heart disconnected from its own body; an empty belly with maggots inside of it; a big human hand used to show the impact of our presence; a vulture head put on a human body. This bird feeds on dead animals, like us. This unhealthy character lives on a grey cloud, full of pollution. And with rain, the pollution spreads. Defoliants are used in modern agriculture to facilitate the mechanical harvest. This powerful herbicide was used as a chemical weapon during the Vietnam War, and at that time it was named Agent Orange. The chemical violence we put into our land has repercussions on everybody. We are nature. In my sculpture Defoliants roots, the elements in orange glass represent adipose cells. In those cells we find an accumulation of pesticides. Poison stays in the body, and never comes out; it moves from organ to organ and from mother to child. The consequences are sometimes deformities. This sculpture speaks loudly to me; it is a concentration, an amalgam of my major concerns. It brought to light the link between our body and our territory through our diet. During the realization of La mort aux champs (Death in the field), I shared my house with a vegan person. This friend opened my eyes to modern agriculture. Almost everything grows with some poison in it. Almost everything we grow is to feed other animals that ultimately will feed us. Our consumption creates huge pressure on the land and on our bodies. In fact, I now see the countryside as less bucolic, but instead, more like a place for the exploitation of natural resources and animals without rights or freedom. Despite the harshness of the subject in the piece, poetry is present with the representation of wind movement and the soft shapes of glass. To create, I need vast quantities of repetitive shapes. I start with a subject like modern

agriculture and then decide what I would like to illustrate like, for example, the beauty of a field and its fragility. I start to look for simple solutions, for example in this piece, a glass branch that simply slides into the grain, also made of glass, mechanically (so it is easier to transport and simple to assemble). With repetition, my shapes become more defined. Each material I work with is used in a simple way. Simple shapes join together to generate and express more complex concepts. The use of glass in my sculptures is central. I use a lot of accumulated glass in my installations. I try not to think too much about the selling price or the space it may use in a collector’s living room. Other materials like wood and clay are made to give impact to the glass and give a specific space for glass. The glass elements always represent living things and natural figures and forms like plants, animals, cells, and rivers. In my sculptures, the glass components are the most striking features and could not be replaced by another material. Glass is absolutely essential in my creative process. __________________________________

Ito Laïla Le François, Meurs et reviens, 2013, glass, wood, clay, epoxy, fur, steel, hair, installations : 6.5 x 8 x 6.5’

Ito Laïla Le François was born in Québec in 1985 and holds diplomas in sculpture and glass art. Her works are unfolding chimeras with strong primitive touches as she examines the beauty and ugliness of living beings. In her creations, the human and animal anatomy are omnipresent, looming with death and the coexistence of life. She studied sculpture for three years at Maison des métiers d’art de Québec and later enrolled in the visual arts program at Concordia University in Montréal Québec. Le Francois won the Royal Bank of Canada Glass Award in 2015.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

Ito Laïla Le François, Racines défoliantes, 2016, clay, glass, felt, acrylic, 2 x 7 x 5’. Photo: Michel Dubreuil

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SA X E EMERGI N G A R T I S T PRES E N TAT I ON

The Aesthetic Lens By Wil Eldridge Sideman

I prefer to define myself as a sculptor who works with glass. I make this distinction because I believe the path towards the work that I make today began long before I was ever introduced to glass as an expressive material. Being born and raised on a small rural farm, I learned to work with my hands at an early age. The farm became the foundation for all of life’s early lessons, and through observing this lifestyle, I quickly noticed how physical labor was required in order to receive any kind of reward. I realized that every year there was a certain order to tasks, eventually leading to an end result. I began to apply these concepts to my everyday life and my hands became my primary asset when it came to problem solving. I learned to work through ideas, materials, and processes physically, and this is how I analyzed and understood the world around me. Eventually, I left Maine and the farm and relocated to Boston, Massachusetts. It was here that I began to study for my BFA at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Slowly, my studio practice began to develop and my interest in glass, began to expand. Intrigued and captured by the process of blowing glass, I became obsessive about the material and found that nearly all of my focus was directed towards process. I spent the first few years stumbling through idea development while being engaged exclusively in the physical act of making. At this time I began to analyze my own life, wondering what had initiated the decisions that started me down this path. It was through this self-reflection that I began to understand my own methods of problem solving, and I immediately noticed the connections between my developing practice and my upbringing. It became easy for me to find metaphors between the situations or emotions I was experiencing and life on the farm. I thought back to ideas about seasons, cycles, and physical labor. By examining the processes and tools used in splitting wood, I began to focus on ideas dealing with separation and division. The wedge became both form and concept and it gave me the opportunity to delve deeply into a subject I felt I could truly explore. At this point my studio became a tool to help me better understand myself and the world around me. With the same obsessive behavior I was expending in the hotshop, I began to examine and comb through ideas about memory, family, 34

Wil Sideman, Piscatoribus Sacrum, 2013, wood and glass, 10 x 10 x 18” Photo: Elizabeth Lamark

community, and place. All the while I was looking for objects or forms, which would serve as placeholders for these memories or were the embodiment of a moment. I used them as a starting place for research and a way to, ultimately, better understand my own life. Eventually, I began to look beyond myself and look for answers or connections within my lineage. My grandfather, Edward Hawkes, was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and was the definition of a New Englander. His life was heavily shaped by both the geographical location he occupied and the objects he interacted with. Steeped in tradition, Ed had a way with words and was a skilled storyteller. It was through these stories that I began to understand more about his life and the ideas he represented to me. I was fascinated by the stories that Ed told and the romantic nature of this oral history. It became the starting place for new ideas. Instead of a sketch, I began to use the written word as the preliminary step in my studio practice. I continued to use these romanticized memories as a starting place for the work and quickly began to see my attraction to the specific objects associated with them. At this time, I had entered the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and began studying for my MFA. At RIT I had the time, resources, and guidance to delve deeply into these new ideas, and I let the object become my primary focus. The objects I was attracted to contained stories, and they expressed them through the

visual wear, and concealed them under layers of paint. They were imbued with importance and this value only increased through time. They were specific to place, to families, and ultimately to the individual. They often maintained little to no material worth, yet, were coveted by those who owned them. These were specialized objects, qualified only by their unique and perceived attributes. I define them as narrative objects, items that promote thought and inspire intrigue. I looked closely at the objects familiar to my community or my region’s past. I was interested in what occupied the dark corners of the garage or the rafters of the shed. I was intrigued by the piles of rope in the backyard and tools carefully organized against the wall. It became my intent not only to elevate these objects from their natural setting but to inspire thought and reflection on these commonly overlooked scenarios. I set out to record my own historical fiction, focusing on empowering the narrative details within these true objects. By filtering information I collected through my own aesthetic lens, I was able to discover and uncover the beauty within these objects. Over the course of the last several years, I have been lucky enough to spend a great deal of time as an artist-in-residence at some truly amazing locations. This time gave me the opportunity to start, to fail, and to try again, analyzing all of the steps in between. Through these new explorations I found the work of

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


George Parker Bidder. With the help of the Marine Biological Association, I began to research Bidder’s work and found a particular project especially intriguing. In the early 1900s George Parker Bidder released around 1,000 glass bottles into the North Sea. These bottles were specially modified to sink to only a few meters off the sea bed. Over time, these bottles would move with the current and eventually be picked up by ocean fishing trawlers. They would be returned, along with the coordinates where they were found. This information collected served as data to demonstrate and record the currents in the North Sea. When considering the technology available today, using something as primitive as a message in a bottle to collect complex data, seems almost impossible. This elementary approach to data collection was not only impressive but through my eye, incredibly romantic. I became intrigued by this idea of romantic research and began to think of ways to apply this to my own studio practice. I thought of my own ways to mine data, but instead of focusing on the most efficient and practical approaches, I instead thought of research in the same way as I did my previous objects – not necessarily as utilitarian, but instead as opportunities to capture poetic moments. By dropping saltwater onto glass slides and allowing it to dry, I could then use a projector to cast light through the slide and create an image. Images created by this method were vastly different from one another and allowed an opportunity for the viewer to engage with an abstract and microscopic

Wil Sideman, Joined, 2010, wood and glass, 4’ x 4’ x 6”

representation of the environment around them. After collecting sufficient information, I was able to compare each slide to the next with no true scientific understanding but, instead, simply appreciating the formal differences between them. By using CAD and CNC software, I was able to process and translate this information, ultimately creating three-dimensional representations of the images found within the slides. I used these forms as molds that I could form glass over and into, creating subtle representations of the crystalline structures found in the salt. Similar to the objects I was so fascinated

Wil Sideman, Bottles for Bidder, 2016, glass and paper, 23 x 4 x 23”. Photo: Elizabeth Lamark

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

by, these new slides are a record of both place and of time. The human hand had been removed, and we were left with a more quiet, subdued narrative, specific only to place. What was once an elementary approach to problem solving back on a farm in Maine has developed into a research-based studio practice. Through my own aesthetic lens, I am able to continually investigate and analyze myself as well as the world around me. __________________________________ Wil Eldridge Sideman was born and raised in New England and received his BFA at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. He has received scholarships from and attended workshops at Pilchuck Glass School, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and Penland School of Crafts. In 2013, Sideman received his MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has since been a visiting artist and lecturer at the Massachusetts College of Art and North Lands Creative Glass. Sideman has continued to exhibit his work at venues both nationally and internationally. He participated most recently in artist-in-residence programs at North Lands Creative Glass and STARworks in North Carolina. Sideman is currently a visiting assistant professor of glass at the Rochester Institute of Technology. 35


T ECHN OLOGY ADVA N C I N G GL AS S LEC T U RE

3D Modeling and Rendering for Glassmaking By Jin Won Han Thanks to the Glass Art Society, I received the Technology Advancing Glass (TAG) grant in 2015. My proposed project was to create a series of video tutorials on how to apply 3D computer modeling and rendering to glassmaking. The content of the videos will be specially designed for glassmakers. Each clip will introduce a different way of drawing glass objects in a modeling software called Cinema 4D.

The Beginning The first time I learned 3D modeling skills was in 1992. I started with a program called 3D Studio Max. I was a freshman, full of curiosity, and I tried to experience a lot of different mediums such as glass, ceramic, metal, drama, robotics, and computer graphics without knowing how to merge them into my work. In 2007, at Pilchuck Glass School, I had an opportunity to take a class, “Mind Meets Matter” taught by Ken Rinaldo and Joe Cariati. The class was about combining two skills, 3D modeling and glassblowing. In the morning portion of the class, we learned how to use Cinema 4D to design objects and create 3D renderings. In the afternoon, we brought our designs into the hotshop to realize our virtual creations. I was fascinated by the idea of combining these two media, and I saw the benefits of using 3D modeling for designing glass. Since then, I have been developing new methods for using Cinema 4D to create some of my glass works. A rendered image of Glass Boat.

A screen shot of Glass Boat in Cinema 4D.

Why 3D rendering? 3D modeling and rendering is a useful tool for designing glass. Unlike two-dimensional sketches, 3D modeled objects can be observed from every direction. Unlike 3D mock-ups with an opaque material such as clay or plaster, 3D rendered objects can have textures with glass-like characteristics, such as transparency, translucency, reflection, and refraction. These features give the designer a better idea of what the real glass object will look like. Once the main body of an object is drawn with the program, modifications can be made quickly, so refining designs becomes more

flexible and efficient. The benefits are even greater when you design more complex works, such as large-scale structures with multiple components. Due to the accurate and realistic visualizations, 3D modeling and rendering can also be a powerful tool for collaborative and commissioned work. It helps in showcasing and sharing one’s ideas with others.

Glass Boat Project Glass is a picky material. It rarely allows us to make mistakes. 3D modeling can be a good planning tool to avoid the risks. In 2012, I started to build an 8 ft. long, bubbly glass boat. Before I started, I created rendered images of the boat to figure out how many bubbles and glass bars I would need. With the model, I was able to measure the amount of materials needed and determine the length of time I would need to complete the project.

Mandala Project Currently, I am working on a project, creating geometric patterns with a variety of elements, named Mandala. For the project, I am using Cinema 4D to help navigate complicated patterns. To create the object, I first drew each element and arrayed multiples. Then, I added more layers by repeating the elements in different sizes and positions. With the computer, I could easily adjust and organize the elements to create complex designs in a short time. Once the design was finalized, I printed the 36

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Jin Won Han working on the lathe. Photo: Youngki Shin

layers separately and used them as guidelines for hot torch assembly. In this type of work, I want to minimize the chance of redoing or fixing since that would create a higher risk of cracking the whole piece. The 3D modeling and rendering helps me not only visualize the object, but also prepare the steps, so the flameworking process becomes more predictable and successful.

Teaching Experience I have taught 3D modeling and rendering at workshops throughout the country. In 2009 and 2012, I conducted flameworking demo sessions at the GAS Conference introducing this method to glassmakers. In 2010, at Penland School of Crafts, I taught a class titled “From Virtual to Real” that covered both flameworking and 3D computer modeling techniques. I also taught a similar course, “In Your Wildest Dreams,” at Pilchuck Glass School in 2014. Through demos and the teaching experiences, I believe that I have developed good insights on how to utilize 3D modeling for glassmaking and how to introduce it to glassblowers.

Let’s Draw Glass in 3D Let’s Draw Glass in 3D is a series of video tutorials that introduce how to apply 3D computer modeling to glassmaking. The series is still in process and will be composed of 11 clips. Each clip will be about 10 minutes long and will show different ways of drawing glass objects with Cinema 4D. The tutorials will be recorded with Cinema 4D R15.

Jin Won Han, Glass Boat, 2015, flameworked, 94 x 36 x 17”. Photo: by Yun Jin Kim

Contents 1. Why 3D rendering? (https://vimeo.com/101446228 ) 2. How to draw solid forms (Primitives) (https://vimeo.com/170290702 ) 3. How to draw blown forms (Lathe NURBS) 4. Deforming (Bend, Twist, Tape) 5. Cold cut (Boole) 6. How to draw linear forms (Sweep NURBS) 7. Assembling (Array, Metaball, Symmetry) 8. How to make glass glassy (Textures) 9. How to make glass shine (Light and Camera) 10. How to make glass explode (Simple Animation) 11. Fun effects (Stained glass, Bas Relief) In the first video, Why 3D Rendering?, I explain the benefits of using 3D modeling for glassmaking and provide some examples of my work, designed with the software, to motivate the viewers. From the second video to the last, I am introducing basic skills to create glass objects. I am trying to make each lesson simple and easy enough to encourage beginners. As an application, some of the clips will show how to make glass pieces by famous glass artists. The final videos will be available on YouTube, Vimeo, and on the Glass Art Society website. Maxon, the producer of Cinema 4D, offers a 42-day, free-trial version of their software that you can download it from their website, www.maxon.net. For students, you can download an 18-month trial when you submit proof of your student status. You can also check Maxon’s tutorial series, Getting Started with

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CINEMA 4D at www.cineversity.com. People often say, “Every material speaks its own language.” I think every technique speaks in different ways and results in different outcomes. For me, adapting different techniques is always thrilling. 3D modeling has been helping me develop unique designs in flameworking. Through ongoing experiments, I believe I can create many exciting hybrids of 3D modeling and glass. I hope that my video series initiates more interest in utilizing 3D modeling, and I hope it helps more glassmakers step into a world of new possibilities. __________________________________ Jin Won Han was born in South Korea. After finishing a BFA and MFA in metal crafts at the Seoul National University, she moved to the U.S. to study glass at the Rhode Island School of Design. After she received an MFA in glass, she taught at the Rochester Institute of Technology and worked as an adjunct research professor at the University of Western Ontario. Han has presented many visiting artist lectures and demonstrations internationally. She is currently working as a lecturer at the University of Sydney. Since 1992, she has been interested in a variety of materials and methods, including metal craft, ceramics, glass, performing arts, robotics, and computer graphics. She enjoys interdisciplinary works. Currently, she is mainly working with 3D modeling and flameworking.

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Fusing Studio Glass and Engineering: 3D-Printed Molten Glass By Michael Stern

Initial experiment of molten glass being ladled into flowerpot. Photo: John Klein

Crucible being refilled by a furnace gather. Photo: Markus Kayser

Glass being extruded from the bottom of the Vitrigraph Kiln. Photo: Markus Kayser

I am both a mechanical engineer and a glassblower. In 2005, I enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as an undergraduate to study mechanical engineering. During my freshman year, I found my way into the Glass Lab, where I became enthralled with the art of glassmaking. Glassblowing became a major thread in my life. I filled as many free moments as I could working with glass. The medium grounded me by providing an outlet for creativity and an experimental playground to explore engineering and physics. Each year, the MIT Glass Lab introduces a dedicated group of engineers and scientists to a new material and a new relationship with form, fabrication, and function. We approach blowing glass with the language we know best, becoming caught up in discussions of heat transfer and process planning. In a culture where academics focus mainly on the intellectual, glass and glassblowing becomes a refuge for the tactile and concrete. The mutual influence of my scientific and artistic pursuits at MIT formed the foundation for the design work I am pursuing. Over the past 10 years, my glass practice has evolved to include an increased focus on teaching. Instruction necessitates the capacity to verbalize my understanding of the process. In my personal work I have had two foci: glass as a means of passing light and shadow and, recently, the application of Venetian cane techniques. As I have become more skilled both in glassblowing and in mechanical engineering, I have found myself searching

for a common ground between the two. Professionally, after finishing my bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, I began to work as a design engineer at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory focusing on rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing. My academic and professional background, combined with my love of glass, fueled my desire to find an opportunity to build the first molten glass 3D printer. Ultimately, the molten glass 3D printer arose from collaboration between a team of graduate students as a project for an additive manufacturing class at MIT. The four original founders of the project were Markus Kayser, John Klein, Shreya Dave, and myself. We were a multidisciplinary group, coming from the MIT Media Lab, Mechanical Engineering Department, and Materials Science Department, and as a group we had a wide range of perspectives that enabled a multifaceted view of the challenge presented by 3D printing glass. With my background in glassblowing and connection to the MIT Glass Lab, I brought the team there to conduct the initial tests. Peter Houk, director of the Glass Lab, joined the team as advisor and mentor, offering time to experiment in the Glass Lab on the project along with his expert knowledge of glassmaking and equipment design. The first tests involved ladling molten glass into a flowerpot and then progressed to using the Bullseye Vitrigraph Kiln to begin to extrude filament. Our first success came with a Vitrigraph when we discovered that if left stationary while extruding, the filament that emerged would fall

in coils that grew on themselves and formed tall elegant towers. Peter and I took one of these early towers and joined it to a blown vessel, creating a half-printed and half-blown goblet. This initiated a long-term interest in creating a series of objects that fuse 3D-printed glass with traditionally blown glass. Our success in creating coiled towers indicated that printing an object was a matter of adding computer-controlled motion to the Vitrigaph Kiln. Markus and John guided the team to construct a CNC stage and then married a motion control system to it. The printer then became fully functional. By gathering from the furnace we loaded fined glass directly into the Vitrigraph, and, by relying on liberal torching to prevent cracking, the team was able to successfully print the first glass objects. Characterized by inconsistencies, they nevertheless demonstrated the potential of this method. Heartened by this success, the team started to search for further backing for the project. The support of two organizations propelled the project forward. We won the 2014 TAG Grant from the Glass Art Society, and Professor Neri Oxman of the Mediated Matter group agreed to provide her guidance, insight, and expertise while hosting this project out of her research group for John Klein’s master’s thesis. With this additional support the glass printer resumed its rapid development. Two new researchers joined the team, Chikara Inamura, an architect-turned-structural engineer, and Giorgia Franchin, a visiting material scientist from the University of Padova in Italy.

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Upgrades to the printer centered on the need to eliminate the inconsistencies present in the prints from the process’s first iteration. The team determined that there were two main causes for the errors in the early prints. The first came from the long distance that the filament dropped from the bottom of the crucible to the glass print, creating room for it to migrate and to vary in height. We decided that these errors could be remedied by introducing a heated nozzle. The heated nozzle directly delivered glass to the programmed point in space with great repeatability, and the layer height was now controlled, not by the height the glass settled at but, instead, by the distance between the nozzle and the previous layer of glass. This second detail meant that small errors in the print during the initial stages did not compound and result in dramatic errors in height during a long print. The second source of error came from the uneven heating of the object by torching as it was being printed – a problem ameliorated by adding a kiln, operated at the glass annealing temperature, to house the build plate. The addition of the annealer eliminated the need to torch prints, thereby reducing inconsistency and preventing cracking. Additionally, we found that printing in the annealer had the benefit of creating much stronger bonds between print layers as a result of the hotter interface. These new features dramatically improved the quality of the glass printed objects, proving our hypotheses of the main sources of error to be correct. With a glass printer that now met our expectations, we began to characterize its performance. We explored different layer heights, feed rates, and operating temperatures to find an effective operating point. Next, we concentrated on determining the printer’s strengths and limitations. We investigated two key limiters: the minimum turning radius and the maximum overhanging angle of the printer. With this greater understanding of the printer’s capabilities, led by Chikara, we created a series of designs for glass objects built in a parametric design environment. Over the next couple of months, we printed dozens of different shapes, progressing from simple geometric forms to ones of greater complexity, testing both aesthetics and the technology, and continually updating our understanding of the process’ limits.

Auto-coiled tower during forming. Photo: Markus Kayser

A blown and printed goblet.

During this development process we also met P. T. Brun, an MIT mathematician who studied the auto-coiling phenomenon for his PhD. We forged a partnership that has been mutually fruitful. He has been working with us to further explore how the physics of auto-coiling can be understood and then controlled with our system. Patterns generated by the auto-coiling can be described as a function of the flow rate of the glass, standing height of the nozzle, and the feed rate of the printer during molten glass deposition. Coupling the thermal and motion control of the printer, this physical phenomenon was captured in the form of highly intricate objects. This has opened a new possibility of printing objects with greater complexity and resolution. Finally, we began to formulate the first exhibit of the glass objects. We discovered, with a little surprise and great delight, that a small light source, such as that of a single LED, produced glowing arrays of light projecting from the object. The layered glass and complex curvature of the glass create both areas of intense shadow and bright light, defining unique patterns for each object. The first show consisted of a series of 20 pieces transitioning from the flawed earliest work to the most successful prints, each individually illuminated. This original show has been closed, but objects were divided between a show now on view at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design

Museum in New York, and at the MIT Museum in Cambridge. With the recent support of Mori Building Co., Ltd. and the addition of Daniel Lizardo to our team, we are now redesigning the printer with the goal of building a more robust system capable of creating both larger and more complex objects. Please stay tuned for future work.

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Acknowledgements This research was created in collaboration with the Mediated Matter group at the MIT Media Lab, the Mechanical Engineering Department, the MIT Glass Lab and Wyss Institute. Researchers include: John Klein, Michael Stern, Markus Kayser, Chikara Inamura, Giorgia Franchin, Shreya Dave, James Weaver, Peter Houk, and Professor Neri Oxman. We would like to thank Associate Professor John A. Hart for his support of our work and for his technical advice in the course Additive Manufacturing (2.S998) in Spring 2014. This project was supported in part by the Glass Art Society through the Technology Advancing Glass Grant. Giorgia Franchin was partially supported by a scholarship awarded by Fondazione Aldo Gini in Padova, Italy. We would also like to thank Professor J. Meejin Yoon, department head and MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning, as well as Professor John A. Ochsendorf from MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Professor Neil Gershenfeld 39


from MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms for his guidance and support. We thank Forrest Whitcher for collecting IR images; Mary Ann Babula for cutting, grinding, and polishing; Michael Tarkanian and Daniel Lizardo for their assistance with polariscopy and mechanical tests in the MIT Mechanical Behavior of Materials Lab; and Kyle Hounsell for recording high-speed videos during mechanical tests. We also wish to acknowledge Corning Incorporated for viscosity measurements and technical advice, as well as Skutt Kilns and Smart Ceramics for support during the printer design and building phases. In addition, we wish to thank Joi Ito, director of the MIT Media Lab, for his continuous support. __________________________________

Early 3D-printed glass objects in the hands of Markus Kayser, John Klein, Shreya Dave, and Michael Stern.

Michael Stern graduated from MIT in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a passion for glassblowing. He then worked as a rapid prototyping engineer before returning for a master’s degree, which he received in June 2015. Michael has researched design processes for 3D printing and, during his graduate program, combined artistic skill with technological expertise, forming a team that brought together MIT’s Media Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Glass Lab to develop the first molten glass 3D printer.

Caustic patterns of a 3D-printed glass structure. Photo: Andy Ryan Glass 3D printer on display at the MIT Media Lab. Photo: Daniel Lizardo

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L EC T U R E S

Lifetime Achievement Awardee James Carpenter giving a lecture about his practice.

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Why Glasstress? By Adriano Berengo I have often been asked why I created Glasstress and what compelled me to take on the monumental task of putting on an exhibition of contemporary art and glass in the Venice Biennale of Art. The answer may be in my Venetian heritage and my career in glass. In 1989, I founded Berengo Studio, a glass studio on the island of Murano with the goal of bringing together contemporary artists and glassblowers to produce works of art in glass. I was inspired to take this journey by Peggy Guggenheim’s experiments in the 60’s with Egidio Costantini. As a Venetian, I knew of her legacy and her importance in the art world. She and Costantini worked with artists like Pablo Picasso and Max Ernst and incorporated their contemporary ideas into the world of glass. Together they broke the barriers that had limited glass to its traditional decorative role.

Wael Shawky, Cabaret Crusades, The Secrets of Karbalaa (Marionette), 2014, glass, fabric, enamel, thread, 15 x 50 cm. Photo: Achim Kukulies

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A portrait of Adriano Berengo in 2012 by the Berengo Studio 1989 furnace, Murano, Venice. Photo: Hugo Thomassen

Over the past 30 years, Berengo Studio has followed in Peggy Guggenheim’s footsteps and collaborated with acclaimed artists from all over the world. One of the first was Martin Bradley, a painter and intellectual, and then Kiki Kogelnik, considered the foremost pop artist in Austria, followed by Koen Vanmechelen, a young artist from Belgium. Vanmechelen’s first project was the Walking Egg, a work representing the fragility of human beings who venture into the world. Its success led Vanmechelen to develop the Cosmopolitan Chicken Project, which used the chicken as a metaphor for his ideas on biocultural diversity. Berengo Studio has invited over 300 artists from around the world and from every discipline to collaborate with our maestros. At first we just invited those from the visual arts, primarily sculptors and painters, but then we realized that creativity has no discipline, so we included architects, designers, fashion designers, and even musicians, including Pharrell Williams, in our

roster. Most were not glass artists. In fact, most had never used glass as a medium, and many had never stepped foot in a glass studio before coming to Murano. It was an amazing experience to watch these artists in the studio exploring the possibilities of this amazing material. It was the combination of their conceptual approach with the great ability of the glassblowers at Berengo Studio that created the art. I wanted to show these amazing works to the art world. In a strange way, a historic 16th century palazzo on the Grand Canal, the Palazzo Franchetti, provided the impetus for the first Glasstress. In early 2009, I was given the opportunity to mount an exhibition in this magnificent palazzo during the 53rd Venice Biennale of Art, an international art exhibition in Venice that has been ongoing for over 100 years, but has not seen glass since 1972. It was an opportunity to bring glass back to the biennale in “the city of glass” after being absent for almost 50 years. And, so, Glasstress was born.

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Martin Bradley, My Chess Set, 1992, Murano glass, 440 x 540 cm Photo: Guido Baviera

With Cocurator Laura Mattioli, we borrowed extraordinary works from collectors and museums worldwide to present a historical perspective of glass from the last century to the present. It was surprising to our visitors because the works were by famous artists – Joseph Albers, Jannis Kounellis, Man Ray, César, Louise Bourgeois, Dan Graham, Lucio Fontana, Daniel Buren, Giuseppe Penone, and Robert Rauschenberg – names not associated with glass. However, I wanted the art world to see not just the past, but my vision of the future. So, new works were included, most realized in our studio just for this exhibition. Anne Peabody, Marya Kazoun, Kiki Smith, Jan Fabre, Tony Cragg, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Joseph Kosuth, and Fred Wilson became the new face of glass. Glasstress 2009 was a rich and satisfying experiment for me but a total shock to the art world, as it shifted attention from the material itself to the ideas expressed in glass. People marveled at the works, the concepts, and the art. Glass had made its surprising debut into the art world. In the next biennale, Glasstress 2011 was curated by a roster of well known curators: Lidewij Edelkoort, Peter Noever, and Demetrio

Tony Cragg in Berengo Studio, 2009, Murano, Venice Photo: Francesco Allegretto

Paparoni, with the contribution of Bonnie Clearwater. In 2011, I also opened a second Glasstress venue on Murano in a glass studio that had not been used for decades, but the glory holes, the smokestained walls and windows, and workers’ graffiti gave witness to its past. It has become home to our permanent collection. Glasstress 2011 gave birth to the wonderful and now famous work by Javier Perez, Carroña. In our studio on Murano, Perez’s blood-red Murano chandelier was hoisted to the ceiling and crashed to the floor where black ravens fed on its scattered shards. This very special work has been featured in other exhibitions and is now in the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass. In 2013, Glasstress: White Light/White Heat was presented in partnership with the London College of Fashion and the prestigious Wallace Collection in London. The show included major established visual artists, designers, and fashion designers, including Ron Arad, Alice Anderson, Rina Banerjee, Hussein Chalayan, Matt Collishaw, Tim Noble and Sue Webster. The year 2015 saw another exciting partnership with the State Hermitage Museum in

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Saint Petersburg, Russia to create Glasstress Gotika. Its cocurator, Dr. Dimitri Ozerkov, combined historical works from the Hermitage’s collection of medieval objects with newly commissioned artworks in glass, all with a Gothic theme. One of the stars was Wael Shawky, an Egyptian artist, who realized 350 marionettes in glass in our furnace. The marionettes were characters in the final film of Shawky’s Cabaret Crusades trilogy, which presented the ransacking of Constantinople during the Crusades. Cabaret Crusades was first shown at MoMA PS1, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar, the Louvre in Paris, and soon at Castello di Rivoli in Turin. After these successes, Glasstress became a traveling exhibition hosted by institutions around the world: the Makslas Muzejs Rigas Birža in Riga, Latvia; the Millesgården Museum in Stockholm, Sweden; the Beirut Exhibition Center in Lebanon; the London College of Fashion and the Wallace Collection in London; and the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York. While introducing Glasstress New York, Philippe de Montebello, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, remarked to the audience of NYCARTS Primetime: “For hundreds of years glass has 43


__________________________________ Adriano Berengo is a graduate of Ca’ Foscari University in Venice and studied comparative literature at the State University of New York. In 1989, he founded Berengo Studio and, since that time, has devoted his career to glass and his mission of taking glass to a new level as a medium for contemporary art. In 2009, he presented the first Glasstress, an exhibition of contemporary works created in glass at his studio on Murano. Glasstress is now known as the “classic” collateral event at the Venice Biennale of Art, the oldest and largest contemporary art show in the world. Berengo recently founded Fondazione Berengo with the aim of continuing his work and helping to ensure the preservation of the centuries-old traditions of the glass maestros of Murano.

The Fondazione Berengo exhibition space. In the foreground: Javier Perez, Carroña, 2011, Murano glass chandelier, stuffed crows, 20 x 235 x 300 cm. Photo: Francesco Allegretto

been viewed by some as simply a decorative or functional medium. Glasstress New York, on view at the Museum of Arts and Design, shatters those notions. Here you will see dynamic new glass works from both established and emerging artists, architects, and designers from around the world.” Glasstress became more than an exhibition; it was a kind of cultural movement in the world of glass. In recognition of this, in 2014, I founded Fondazione Berengo as a cultural institution to preserve the glass community’s efforts and artworks and also to collaborate with other art institutions to present exhibitions. In 2016, Fondazione Berengo sponsored a solo show by the renowned British sculptor Tony Cragg at the State Hermitage Museum and Glassfever at the Dordrechts Museum in Holland, featuring over 80 works of art and glass created in our studio over the past 30 years. We also had the honor to sponsor and present a tribute retrospective of the world, famous architect, the late Dame Zaha Hadid (1950-2016) at the Palazzo Franchetti during the Venice Biennale of Architecture.

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So, the question remains: why Glasstress? Because Glasstress shows that contemporary ideas have a place beside the traditions of glassmaking. Because Glasstress provides a new approach, making artists, curators, and critics “think” in glass, not seeing it as a limitation but as an exciting new medium. Because Glasstress offers artists limitless possibilities for experimentation. Because Glasstress offers glass masters new potential and new ways to use their skills in this new era of glass. Because Glasstress is my tribute and thank you to the island of Murano and the city of Venice. Finally, Glasstress gives us all in the glass world the chance to write new chapters in the histories of both glass and art.

Kiki Kogelnik, Octopus, 1996, Murano glass, 60 cm Photo courtesy of Berengo Studio

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Tricks with Fritz: A Survey of Rare Historical Glasses By Fritz Dreisbach “Amusing examples of glassblowing, trick glasses … were designed to be as difficult as possible to drink from without spilling the alcoholic beverage within. The goal of this exercise was to amuse the onlookers at the expense of the drinker.” 1 For over 50 years I have worked with a variety of glass techniques – blowing, casting, engraving, cutting, and polishing – creating many categories or styles of glass objects including goblets, sculpture, vases, toys, and ceremonial vessels. Inspiration for my work has evolved from historical research in books, exhibitions, and private and public collections mostly in Europe and the U.S. This presentation focuses on one of my favorite genres known as trick, joke, or puzzle glass. In An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass,2 Harold Newman uses the names Scherzglas, Scherzgefass, or Verre Surprise to describe these obscure glasses, which are little known and poorly documented. The majority of glass jokes, puzzles, and tricks that I have found were created in Northern Europe during the Renaissance through the 19th century. I discovered my first trick glass in 1968, while teaching glassblowing at the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio. Since that first encounter with a trick glass, I have tried to determine their method of trickery while attempting to duplicate them. I do not make copies, forgeries, or fakes. Rather, I study the original glass to ascertain both how and why it might have been blown centuries ago. To insure against misinterpretations of fraud or forgery, I purposely change the colors and sizes of my research glasses from those of the original historical objects. First, my goal is to see if I can determine the actual trick. How does the glass work, and what is the intended surprise? Next, I try to make an accurate copy of the original object in order to demonstrate how it operates, an impossible act with fragile museum articles. Often, I do not completely comprehend the extent of the surprise until I make my own model – testing it on my friends, of course. Over time, I have experimented with trick glasses, adding my own ideas. Sometimes I attempt to disguise the existing working mechanism of the trick glass with colored bits and optic ridges. Adding new tricky parts can make the operation more of a surprise, increasing the puzzle factor for the observers. The trick glasses

Fritz Dreisbach demonstrating how a trick goblet functions.

that I discovered in museums, galleries, auctions, and library sources can be divided into six categories (or surprises): splash, gurgle, pinkel, straw, siphon, and mysterious. “… trick glasses, those from which the manner of extracting liquids is not at once obvious, as well as those tending to deluge the drinker immediately upon starting to drink (or slightly after the start) represent a group not conforming to standard types.” 3 1. Splash: The first and best-known group of trick glasses includes yards of ale, boots, and horns that will splash and drench the unsuspecting drinker if not held correctly while attempting to drink from them. 2. Gurgle: Gurglers, including Kutrolfs, make gurgling and burping noises as a person attempts to pour or drink from them. 3. Pinkel: A type of goblet, nicknamed pinkel glass, has a small, usually hidden, hole in the

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side of its hollow stem that the operator covers with a finger until the unsuspecting recipient takes hold of it. A wet stream is released as the jokester removes their finger. 4. Straws: The only way to safely drink from these examples is to manually suck up the liquid. There are two kinds of straw glasses: one is a mug with a hollow straw handle, and the other is made in two parts with a figure, typically a stag with open mouth, requiring the drinker to suck on the stag’s mouth to start the liquid moving up the straw. 5. Siphon: My favorite category is the true, automatic siphon! This trick depends upon the height of the liquid poured into the cup, which determines whether or not it will emit a surprising stream of liquid. Only a high liquid level causes embarrassment. Therefore glasses from this last group are often referred to as a greedy cup or a Pythagoras glass. 45


Fritz Dreisbach, Ruby Joke Mug with Foot and Straw Handle, 1980s, blown glass, 9.5” high

Fritz Dreisbach, Emerald Green Siphon Trick Goblet with Three Whiskers, 2000, blown glass, 13” high

6. Mysterious: I have encountered glasses that were tricky to fabricate but do not appear to have a joke function. They are fun to look at, but they don’t do anything! One of my dreams is to educate and encourage other glassblowers to use this information and invent new tricks with a contemporary twist. Parties with tricks are always humorous and fun when an unaware, surprised guest quickly and unexpectedly becomes the center of the joke, providing curiosity and laughter for all. __________________________________

by his peers, Fritz has presented hundreds of lectures and demonstrations in over 185 individual institutions for over 50 years in North America, Europe, and Asia. His artwork is represented in numerous public and private collections across the globe, including The Corning Museum of Glass, Hsinchu Culture Center, Museum of Glass Kamenicky Šenov, Museum Boijmans van Bueningen, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art and “…all the usual suspects.” Much of the information in this article will be expanded in his pending book about tricks, jokes, and surprises and, additionally, will appear as one of the chapters in Dreisbach’s other forthcoming book on the history of the beginning of contemporary American glassblowing, which includes his own 50-year career with glass.

Fritz Dreisbach lives on Whidbey Island and works in his glass studio in Freeland, Washington. Pilchuck Glass School presented their 2015 Brychtová/Libenský Award to Dreisbach, “acknowledging his extraordinary talent and high achievement in the world of contemporary glass.” An independent artist, Dreisbach is developing a series of wheel-carved and cameo-cut glasses, in addition to his singular show pieces: playful goblets, trick and joke glasses, toy vehicles, and Mongos. Combining his two loves of glass and travel, Fritz continues to make art, consult for glass factories, teach workshops, and present lectures around the world. Coined the “Johnny Appleseed of Glass” 46

Fritz Dreisbach, Fullerton California Horse and Stag Sipping Straw Goblet, 2007, blown glass, 14” high

1. Catherine Hess, and Timothy Husband, European Glass in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles: Museum, 1997. Print. 2. Harold Newman, An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass, London: Thames and Hudson, 1977, Print. 3. Jermone Strauss. Glass Drinking Vessels: From the Collections of Jerome Strauss and The Ruth Bryan Strauss Memorial Foundation: a Special Exhibition, Corning: The Corning Museum of Glass, 195

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Modern Venetian Glassblowing Technique: Are Its Roots in the Renaissance or the 19th Century? By William Gudenrath The notion of “living links” with the past seems to fascinate us, sometimes irresistibly, sometimes even irrationally. For example, is a long-isolated, newly discovered tribe in, say, Africa really an exemplar of the practices of hunter/gatherer societies that thrived tens of millenniums ago? Can we be sure that observing such a people today provides us with an unblemished window into an otherwise inaccessible past? Closer to home, do 20th-century films of some Middle Eastern glassblowers working in “traditional ways” afford us an authentic view of Bronze Age workshop practices? In both of these instances, I think that we tend to assume a high degree of continuity from generation to generation but, in reality, this may not be the case. Along these lines, I’ve always wondered exactly what I am seeing when I visit a glass factory on Murano. At some point, the tour guide – invariably a salesman – always says something like, “For 500 years, using the fire, the sand, our breath, and a few simple tools, we have made the glass just as our ancestors did....” Way back in 1982, on my first serious fact-finding trip to Murano, while watching Lino Tagliapietra and Carlo Tosi (known as Caramea), I accepted that rather romantic view without question. Much later, I began to wonder. These renowned maestros are of the same generation. They apprenticed under maestros who were similarly celebrated in their day, and

William Gudenrath

William Gudenrath, Covered Goblet and Carafe (for Sophia and Owen), two objects made by William Gudenrath in the style of late 17th-century Venetian glass vessels, 18” Photo: Nick Williams

for decades they worked in some of the best factories on Murano. From our first conversations, they both spoke admiringly of the island’s rich history and their close, unbroken connection with it. Soon, I developed the curious impression that the Renaissance had only recently occurred, and that these gentlemen were, indeed, living links with the 16th-century workshop practices of the golden age of Venetian glass. My questioning of this notion of unbroken continuity began with my rather recent careful study of Venetian glass of the 18th and 19th centuries. My real passion, both as a glassblower and as a historian, has long been earlier 16th and 17th century Venetian glass. Incidentally, this remains my favorite period and style in all of glass history.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

As I read, I gradually became aware that the monopoly that Venice enjoyed in making luxury glass for the elite throughout Europe during the Renaissance began to crumble in the mid-1700s. This was because, in addition to changing tastes that turned customers away from Venetian glass, various European countries successfully made their own fine glass. The Venetian glass industry began to wither, and, eventually it would collapse. By 1807, when Napoleon ordered the factories closed, no sophisticated glassmaking was taking place on Murano. Only beads and simple tableware were being made. It is not until the 1840s that we begin to see any signs of the return of advanced glassworking. But return it did: by the 1860s, Venetian glass looked pretty much like Venetian

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Dutch Treat, three replicas by William Gudenrath of 17th-century Venetianstyle glass vessels probably made in the Netherlands, max. H 9” Photo: Harry Seaman

glass again. All of the forming and decorating techniques were back in place. Deceptively, Venetian glass of this period – often termed revival glass – may look as if nothing had happened, as if there had never been a hiatus of 75-plus years. But, aesthetic differences aside, there are a host of technical variations between objects of the two periods. Some differences are subtle, and some are utterly fundamental. These differences between Renaissance Venetian glass and revival Venetian glass have lately been a focus of my study. This came about for two reasons. The first was preparation for my 2016 Corning Museum of Glass e-book, The Techniques of Renaissance Venetian Glassworking, and the second was the fact that I am occasionally asked to help determine whether an object is earlier or later. Intuition and gut reaction aside, I have long wished for an illustrated list of highly specific technical differences between objects of both periods. I am happy to report that my list can be found by going to http://renvenetian.cmog.org and selecting from the table of contents, “A Comparison of Earlier (1500-1700) and Later (1850-1900) Venetian Glass.” This organized assessment of differentiation can, of course, be of help to curators, collectors, and dealers. For studio glassblowers who admire Venetian glass, it is interesting to discover that the corpus of Venetian goblets actually encompasses two completely separate categories: earlier and later. From a specialist’s point of view, these objects are as different as apples and oranges. So, in terms of glassblowing techniques, exactly what are we seeing when we watch Davide Fuin, for example, make a goblet today? 48

Davide is the most admired Muranese goblet maker of his generation. I first saw him in 1982 when I sought out Caramea at the Toso Vetri d’Arte factory. Caramea was the foremost goblet maestro of his day, and Davide was his second assistant, working alongside his father, Michele Fuin, the all-important first assistant. Caramea’s glassblowing lineage extended back to the early days of the revival – the mid1800s, no doubt. For me, the key question is this: to what degree did it reach back to earlier times? That is, were the sophisticated techniques being practiced on Murano around 1710 transmitted intact through the decline and fall of the Venetian glassmaking industry, which occurred between roughly 1750 and 1850? If not, in terms of the finest, most virtuosic skills, Caramea’s techniques are based much more on the practices of the revival period than on those of the Renaissance.

Thus, by extension, Davide – having been apprenticed to Caramea – probably uses glassblowing techniques related much more closely to the 19th century than to the 16th century. To be certain, neither is better nor worse; they are simply more different than we may have suspected. For me, and perhaps for others, too, it is very interesting to learn that this is not at all what we are led to believe when we visit Murano. In a way, the history of Venetian glass is all the more impressive if we see it as a story of reinvention rather than simply revival. __________________________________ William Gudenrath is the resident advisor of The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass, as well as a glassblower, scholar, lecturer, and teacher. He is recognized internationally as one of the foremost authorities on glassmaking techniques of the ancient world through the 18th century. In addition to numerous publications, he is the subject of several video productions. He received degrees in music from North Texas State University and the Juilliard School, is a Fellow of The Corning Museum of Glass, a past member of the Board of Overseers of the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, and a former board president of UrbanGlass in Brooklyn, New York, where he now sits on the International Advisory Committee. His original glass objects are sold in exclusive stores and galleries nationwide.

Round Up the Usual Suspects!, a collection of replicas by William Gudenrath of a selection of 16th -18th-century Venetian glass vessels in the Corning Museum of Glass collection, max. H 14”, Photo: Harry Seaman

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


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Gathering a Crowd: A Look at Glassmaking Demonstrations of the Past By Rebecca Hopman and Alexandra Ruggiero Consider the demonstrations that occur during Glass Art Society conferences: attendees have the chance to watch artists demonstrate skill and process, often to a full crowd. Even for those of us well-versed in glassmaking, there is an element of magic when watching a glass demonstration. That component is even greater for the general public – those who haven’t seen this material worked before and don’t understand the reasons why it has the ability to take on such varied forms. Artists captivate audiences, turning traditional techniques into mesmerizing spectacles. These demonstrations, however, aren’t something that developed within the framework of our contemporary glass community. Demonstrations have a long history as an engaging form of education and entertainment. A demonstration is meant to present skill, technique, and process to either a knowledgeable crowd or to the general public. Although every demonstration has an element of performance, at its root, a demonstration is meant to educate and inspire. In the collection of The Corning Museum of Glass and Rakow Research Library are objects and materials that exemplify the popularity of glassmaking demonstrations from the 17th century to the present.

Scott’s splendid glass working exhibition in miniature, probably United Kingdom, probably 1830, Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, CMGL 138463

Itinerant Glassworkers & Traveling Troupes Many forms of popular entertainment and (sometimes dubious) education were available to the public long before glassmakers toured the globe, including medicine shows, musicians, and acting troupes. The earliest known itinerant glassworker advertisements date to the 17th century and establish three components central to the next four centuries of glassmaking demonstrations: lampworking and glass spinning,1 an impressive display of glass, and trinkets for sale. The itinerant glassworker trade reached its peak in the 19th century. Glassworkers like Mr. Scott, traveling in 1830s Brighton, appealed to audiences’ curiosity and wonder with glass models of bridges, coaches, ships, and – perhaps most impressive – Scott’s hydraulic skeleton, which was “kept in continual motion by itself” and imitated the circulation system.2 Demonstrators like Professor Owen sought to distinguish themselves as more than mere entertainers, targeting their advertisements to

the middle and upper classes. Attractions like circuses, wonder shows, and dime museums were seen as lower-class diversions.3 Those who wanted to be taken seriously styled themselves as purveyors of moral and educational opportunities. This is likely why Owen used the title of professor and tapped into his audiences’ desire for scientific knowledge.4 The twin components of entertainment and education are perhaps best combined in the form of the glass steam engine. Soon to be an essential element of every itinerant glassworker’s repertoire, the first glass engine was likely built by George Woodroffe around 1848. In 1846, George and his brothers, Charles and William, formed the Bohemian Troupe of Fancy Glass Blowers.5 George was credited with building a number of engines, including the Fairy Queen and the Crystal Gem. Actual steam engines were largely responsible for powering the Industrial Revolution, and the public enjoyed seeing the inner workings of these glass

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

models. The Fairy Queen and the Crystal Gem were joined by many others, including Excelsior, the Queen of Beauty, and General Garfield.6 Female glassworkers were an integral part of traveling troupes during the 19th century.7 Although they accounted for only a small percentage of all itinerant glassworkers, women like Madam Nora Allen and Madam J. Reith led their own troupes. Others, including Adalorra Allen, Madam Louise, Mrs. F.A. Owen, and Eliza and Lizzie Woodroffe, were featured on advertisements alongside their male counterparts. The tradition of itinerant glassworkers gradually died out after the advent of cars, radio, movies, and television. Once people could seek out their own entertainment and education, there was less demand for traveling demonstrations.8 Glassworkers who remained in the trade began their own businesses or demonstrated at fairs, amusement parks, and other tourist attractions, continuing to walk a fine line between entertainment and education. 49


World’s Fair Demonstrations Expositions were popular and educational cultural events in the 19th and 20th century, presenting exhibits of contemporary knowledge on topics like natural history and fine arts.9 Displays of manufacturing, technology, and innovation attracted large numbers of exhibitors, foreign participants, and visitors.10 World’s Fairs provided platforms for glassmaking demonstrations; both itinerate workers and large firms often demonstrated on fair grounds. At the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, the Philadelphia-based company Gillinder and Sons constructed a working factory on the fair premises. Visitors observed all aspects of glass manufacturing: blowing, pressing, engraving, cutting, and annealing.11 They could also purchase glass souvenirs made in the fair factory, such as this cup in the shape of an inverted liberty bell. The demonstrations were an instant success, cited as “one of the most […] attractive venues on the Centennial Grounds.”12 Visitors watched glassmakers constantly at work, “stirring the hot metal within the main furnace, carrying balls of [glass] on the end of their metal sticks, and performing other duties involved in: ‘the mysteries of glass making.’” 13 Itinerate glassworkers were also present at the Centennial Exhibition. The Woodroffe family, for example, demonstrated lampworking at the west end of the Gillinder factory. In addition to creating

Mug, Gillinder and Sons, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 1876, Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, 2009.4.210, gift of Anna and Karl Koepke. Pressed: “MANUFACTURED AT THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION BY/ GILLINDER & SONS”; “PASS & STOW PHILADA/MDCCLIII”

glass trinkets and ornaments, they took the opportunity to display one of their elaborate glass steam engines. Glass demonstrations at World’s Fairs continued in 1893 at the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition, where visitors could see glass being made by itinerate workers and at factories built by the Libbey Glass Company of Toledo, Ohio, and the Venice & Murano Glass Company of Italy.14 In addition to glassblowing, visitors could see coldworking processes, the

spinning and weaving of fiberglass, and mosaic production. Booklets available in both factories were used as instructional tools, providing definitions of glassblowing terms like cullet and gaffer, alongside detailed explanations of how glass is made; temperatures needed to melt, work, and anneal the material; and other glassworking processes. Corning Glass Works, Owens-Illinois Glass Company, and the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company created the Glass Center of the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The pavilion was constructed almost entirely of glass blocks, plate glass, and structural glass. Five-thousand years of the history of glass was displayed to educate the public on the extensive history of the material and provide a platform for understanding the new and industrial modern miracles of glass.15 The companies suggested this display “presented a panorama of the historical development of glassmaking, and of its diverse applications in [both] industry and art.” 16 Inside the pavilion, visitors could find flameworking and glassblowing demonstrations, looms that created fiberglass, and a fully operating, miniature bottling plant.17 Like the exhibits mentioned above, these demonstrations were a popular attraction, delighting audiences by showing technique and properties of glass in an engaging and exciting manner.

Woodroffe’s glass steam engine, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 1858, Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, CMGL 161820

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Engaging Contemporary Audiences The Glass Center at the 1939 New York World’s Fair was significant also, in that it provided inspiration for our own glassmaking demonstrations here at The Corning Museum of Glass. Demonstrations have been an important part of the museum since it opened, focusing at first only on flameworking demonstrations. Early visitors to the museum could also see glassblowing in the Steuben building. Much like the demonstrations at World’s Fairs, this afforded visitors the opportunity to watch glass production within a factory setting. The museum’s glassblowing demonstrations as we know them today developed in the 1990s. Glassmaking demonstrations have always been, and continue to be, an important way to demonstrate skill, technique, and process. Glassworkers’ ability to engage an audience while simultaneously demonstrating techniques is essential to impart knowledge on the viewer while retaining a sense of entertainment and wonder. The tradition of demonstrations continues today across The Corning Museum of Glass campus – including in the repurposed Steuben factory building, our new Amphitheater Hot Shop – and at institutions worldwide. This longstanding practice of glassmaking demonstrations, dating back to at least the 17th century, continues as an integral component of our glass community, providing entertainment and education to audiences at museums, institutions, and glass studios. To see additional materials in the collection of the Rakow Research Library, or to learn more about itinerant glassworkers, visit http://libguides.cmog.org/itinerant. 1. “Glass spinning” is a term that is used on these advertisements to describe either lampworking or drawing fine strands of glass. 2. Scott’s splendid glass working exhibition in miniature, [United Kingdom]: [1830], CMGL 138463, Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York. 3. Robert M. Lewis, ed., From Traveling Show to Vaudeville: Theatrical Spectacle in America, 1830-1910 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003), 2-3. 4. Fred Nadis, Wonder Shows: Performing Science, Magic, and Religion in America (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005), 10. 5. The Woodroffes were Scottish, but they understood the value of associating themselves with the Bohemian tradition of lampworking. Much like Owen used the title of “professor” to convey importance and education, the Woodroffes used “Bohemian” to imply a certain level of skill and expertise.

Postcard of lampworker Pat Keeler in Hall of Science and Industry, 1951-1959, Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, CMGL 107114. 6. Very few of these engines have survived to the present day. Excelsior and a hand fire engine, Columbia, both in the collection of the Lightner Museum, St. Augustine, Florida, are two known surviving examples. 7. Each of these women styled herself “the only lady glass artist in the profession,” or something to that effect. 8. Brooks McNamara, Step Right Up (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1976), 16-17. 9. Jane Spillman, Glass from World’s Fairs, 1851-1904 (Corning, NY: Corning Museum of Glass, 1986), 6-7. 10. Spillman, Glass from World’s Fairs, 1851-1904, 6-7. 11. “1994 Gillinider Glass: Story of a Company,” Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center, accessed June 3, 2016, http://www.wheatonarts.org/7926-2/ past-exhibitions/1990-to-1999-exhibitions/ 1994-gillinder-glass-story-of-a-company/ 12. Frank Leslie, Frank Leslie’s historical register of the United States Centennial exposition, 1876 (New York, NY: Frank Leslie’s publishing house, 1877), 267. 13. Leslie, Frank Leslie’s historical register of the United States Centennial exposition, 1876, 267. 14. Spillman, Glass from World’s Fairs, 1851-1904, 44. 15. Glass Incorporated, The miracle of glass: its glorious past, it’s thrilling present, its miraculous future, as presented at Glass Center, New York World’s Fair (New York: Glass Inc., 1939). 16. Steuben Press Release, Steuben Re-creates 1939 World’s Fair Exhibit in Fifth Avenue Shop (Corning, NY: 1989). 17. “Glass Inc.,” 1939 New York World’s Fair, accessed April 14, 2016, http://www.1939nyworldsfair.com/ worlds_fair/wf_tour/zone-5/glass_inc.htm

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__________________________________ Rebecca Hopman joined the Rakow Research Library in 2013. As the outreach librarian, she acts as a bridge between the library and the community through newsletters, social media, tours, programs, and events, and the library’s oral history project. Hopman provides leadership and expertise for library outreach to internal, local, regional, national, and international communities. She also provides reference and instruction services for both on- and offsite patrons, and conducts regular assessment of outreach activities. Hopman earned a BA in history, English, and German from Augustana College and a MLS specializing in archives and records management at the University of Maryland, College Park. Alexandra Ruggiero joined The Corning Museum of Glass in 2012. As curatorial assistant, she assists with acquisitions, exhibitions, cataloguing, and research of the museum’s glass collections, with a focus on the American, modern, and contemporary collections. Ruggiero is cocurating the 2016 special exhibition, Fragile Legacy:The Marine Invertebrate Models of Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka. Ruggiero earned a BA in art history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA in the history of decorative arts through the Corcoran College of Art + Design and Smithsonian Associates in Washington, D.C. 51


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Tele-vision: Handmade CRTs & Partnering with Industry By Elizabeth Potenza I once convinced a cathode ray tube (CRT) manufacturer to help me make a time portal to reanimate my deceased grandparents through electricity and light. The story begins with a box of decaying VHS tapes, and it ends with me, an artist, collaborating with Thomas Electronics, a manufacturer of a niche and antiquated television technology. The artifact that remains of this story is a three-channel video, illuminated within three hand-blown cathode ray tubes powered by the working guts of 1960s blackand-white televisions. As hand-blown glass, the forms of cathode rays tubes – once common industrial objects – take on different shapes. The geometries I chose to blow allowed me to make what I call physical edits to the footage shown within. The convex and concave bulbous forms bend and warp the imagery rendered on the uneven surfaces of the glass tubes. This intentional degradation of information is synonymous, in my mind, with the loss or blurring of memories and our inability to halt the effects of time. From conception to completion, this project was an interdisciplinary, epic hack that interlaced indispensible knowledge from a mish-mash of hobbyists, aficionados, nerds, scientists, librarians, engineers, electricians, technicians, colleagues, advisors, artists, and friends. The impetus for this project stemmed from one particular VHS cassette, it was a layered recording my grandparents made to document a road trip. A confluence of circumstances combined in that recording evoke, for me, a unique feeling akin to time traveling. In 1958 my grandparents took a crosscountry drive with my 14-year-old father and his younger brother who was about 10. In 1987, when I was a little kid, my grandparents projected the silent, reel-to-reel, 8 mm footage of their trip for my family. While doing so, they re-recorded the projection with a camcorder onto a VHS cassette and narrated the story of the footage as we watched. In 2014, as I listened anew to the recording of them back in 1987 narrating the footage they shot in 1958, time felt overlapped and compacted, blurring the distinguishable feeling between then and now. I wanted to reanimate these memories in a physical way that a digital projector screen could not. I decided I needed to make a “crystal ball,” one through which I could feel that I was creating a literal space for these memories to 52

Elizabeth Potenza. In the Interest of Containing Time and Space, 2015, hand blown and hand-fabricated CRT vacuum tubes, the working guts of 1960’s era black-and-white televisions, home video footage, butternut-wood cabinetry, dimensions vary. Photo: Shaun Griffiths

be explored. That literal space I was looking for was the interior of a cathode ray tube. In short, cathode ray tubes are analog instruments that recreate imagery by converting physical energy from wave signals to electrons. The intensity of the wave, supplied from the source of the signal, is directly related to the intensity of the electron beam. As more or less electrons impact the phosphor screen, more or less light is produced. It is through this process that illuminated moving images are presented. The physical action of energy blasting from an electron gun and bursting into light within a literal crystal globe was the metaphor and tool I was looking for to bridge the gap that separated my present from the familiar voices and images preserved from the past: a space to visualize memory. Media that is considered analog is so called because it is analogous – it is a physical translation of an event captured in wave patterns – and being physical it is susceptible to interference and decay in a raw and living way. This aspect of the analog media felt interesting to me as an artist, rich with metaphor, and tangible. Consider this: in the case of the VHS

cassette I was working with, the recorded home movie supplies an electronic impulse that conducts the electron beam within a CRT. This action is materializing a recorded series of memories. Whether the impulse is neurological or electronic, the impulse is the media through which a memory or a video recording is delivered. Of course, the human brain has the benefit of imagination – of visualizing a memory without the need for external implements – but with analog media, it is the media itself, whether a wax cylinder or the Mylar tape of a VHS cassette, which holds a physical record or memory of the information it contains. It is a memory bank, analogous with a time and place. What is compelling to me is a VHS cassette, just like the wax cylinder, wears out over time, losing its ability to accurately reiterate its contents; and so do our memories. Media has a lifespan. It ages. It decays. It becomes obsolete like our memories and our bodies. The lore surrounding the crystal ball encapsulates the idea that, by gazing into the space of the globe, one is granted the power to transcend the limitations of time and space; it enables us to virtually travel through both the contents

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


__________________________________ Elizabeth Potenza was born in southeastern New England, the daughter of a very resourceful, do-it-yourself Yankee craftsperson. Her interests in glass led her to Massachusetts College of Art, where she received a BFA in 2004. She then spent two years apprenticing with master glassblowers, Jan-Erik Ritzman and Sven-Åke Carlsson, in Transjö, Sweden. Potenza learned the traditional approach of Swedish glassblowing and gained an appreciation for the industrial history of glass. She aspires to participate in a contemporary dialog concerning the interdisciplinary potential of art, industry, science, and craft traditions. Potenza received an MFA in 2015 from Alfred University, where she is currently teaching glass and sculpture.

Norman Mayville, an electronics plus specialist at Thomas Electronics, teaching Potenza the “Western Union” splice. Photo: Karen Bond

of our minds and beyond the literal confines of the present. Tele-vision literally means to see across great distances. Constructing this metaphysical portal was beyond my capacities as an individual artist, necessitating collaboration with industry specialists. I somehow convinced the wizards at Thomas Electronics to transform the blank tubes I blew into functioning CRTs! Twenty years ago, the consumer demand for television sets would have barred me, an individual artist, from the proprietary secrets of the industry. The feasibility of my project was in part due to the fact that the mainstream commercial application for this technology has dissipated. During my time with Thomas Electronics there were moments that my project offered opportunities for each technician, scientist, and electrician who worked on the project to practice their honed abilities in unusual ways. The unique shapes of my tubes required their usual approach to be modified. I accompanied my tubes throughout the process, and I paid special attention to how people did their jobs. I watched as each specialist and step in the process altered the tubes’ appearance and function. It was in all of the little steps that make up the big steps that I really saw the impact of each individual’s hands whose role was essential. In this visual evidence I can find the vestiges of each individual’s identity and applied knowledge.

Within these formative moments of recognition, I found myself reflecting on a series of questions that stem from my work as a glassblower and that have been evolving in dialogue with the space I occupied as an artist collaborating with an antiquated industry: What happens to the cultural and communicative knowledge of obsolete trades when their application loses their viability? And how do we preserve the applied manual knowledge associated with those trades that, unpracticed, will fall away from skilled hands in silence if it is not collected, and if it is not shared? As an artist, I had the freedom to reimagine an out-of-date technology in light of the phenomenology at its core. Additionally, being an artist working in partnership within industry, enabled me to form intricate interdisciplinary collaborations with individuals whose skills drew upon decades of applied knowledge. Sometimes the space left in the wake of obsolescence makes room for the artist to reinterpret the function and purpose of the disused and the left behind objects and technologies, and perhaps within these appropriated applications the relevant technologies and specialized skills of the past won’t be forgotten but, rather, transformed to illicit new experiences.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

Elizabeth Potenza, 2015, forming a CRT tube from recycled x-ray shielding glass. Photo: Andrew Oesch

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

Lino Tagliapietra puntying his piece during his demo in the Amphitheater Hotshop.

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HO T G L AS S DEMO

There are Many Ways of Walking By Maria Bang Espersen

Maria Bang Espersen pulling and bending hot glass (Soft Series) with (l-r) Ross Delano, Amy Krüger, and Chris Giordano. Photo: David Licata

This year, I was invited by GAS to give a demo at the 2016 GAS Conference in Corning, New York. I had never been to a conference before and did not know exactly what it involved, but I had an idea that my audience would be mainly people interested in glass technique. What did it mean that I, being very experimental and low-craft in my approach, had been asked to give a demo? Demos are given with the purpose of giving others an insight into how something is made, most often so they might apply it to their own practice. However, almost all of my work is so simply made that even a beginning glassblower could make it, so my demo could never be about teaching a particular technique. While considering what position I should take, I realized I could introduce an approach without any concern for traditional techniques. I could show the audience the experimental, playful approach that I so highly value for all the rewards in discoveries it yields. What I chose to present to my viewers on that early Friday morning in a town full of glass traditions was a different way of looking at glass. There were no technical heroics. Instead, I presented the audience with ways of manipulating the characteristics already inherent in hot glass such as exploding, cracking, and dripping as well as very simple pulling and bending. Besides showing some of these

unconventional “techniques” I have discovered over the years, I also read a story to my audience. For me, giving an introduction to questions that are ever present in my practice is as important as the introduction to my physical approach to making. The following is the story in its full length. We think that forward walking is the most common kind of walking. But really, there are so many kinds of walking that are used all the time. Many people walk backwards for instance. And it is not to say that there is anything wrong with backwards walking. I really couldn’t say. I know too little on the subject. No, I am just observing. Seeing that there are multiple ways of walking. I, myself, can be a little wobbly in my walk at times. Not everyone notices it, but I know, of course. Others might not know when they are walking any different from forward. Forward is after all what is talked about the most. Within the different types of walking, there are different styles that people use. When you walk backwards, for instance, you can turn your head, so that you won’t walk into anything. Or you can face forward. Pretend to move forward while really walking backwards. This is risky, of course, because you never know what you might stumble upon. Anything can be in your way then.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

But you can also have other people guide you while you walk backwards. They will make sure you won’t walk into anything big and dangerous. And will tell you what to avoid along the way. Some people are very good at walking backwards. It is a sport to them. To see how far they can go without making any obvious mistakes. Some enjoy it so much, it is all that they will ever do. There can be many reasons why backwards walking is so appealing to some. It can have to do with the concept of familiarity – That if only you continue to walk backwards you will only go where you have already been. When it comes down to it, it is really safer to walk backwards than forwards. Nothing can truly surprise you then. You have seen it all before. You recognize everything on your path and it makes you feel more at ease. It is comforting to recognize things. It is safe. Moving backwards is a bit slower than moving forwards. The risk of getting hurt is smaller simply because of the speed. Things take their time. There is no need to rush. You know where you are going, anyways. No surprises there. Walking forward is different. It is a territory filled with hidden explosives. Bombs that can go off whenever. Since no one has been there before, nobody has yet mapped out all the danger. It is much more about trying and just seeing what comes of it. It is not safe, like dealing with what you already know. Moving forward is much more work, too. You have to distinguish failures from what might have greater potential. And this is not necessarily easy. It might feel like you are doing the wrong thing, because nobody can guide you. Fumbling around in the dark can be very unpleasant. You never know what you will find. If it is soft or sharp, you don’t know. You have to touch it before you can know. And not everyone wants to do that. The risk is too big. It feels better to only touch nice things. And you can do that when you walk backwards, but not when you move forwards. Moving forward is scary. There is no safety net if you fall. You wouldn’t even know what you would fall onto if you fell. To some people even standing still can be offsetting. When you look forward, your vision 55


is filled with things you have never seen before. Nothing is recognizable. There are only things you don’t understand. We have been told that we should understand things. If you understand something, it means that you are smart. Clever. If you can recognize things, categorize them, and pass that knowledge onto others, it is a good thing. Simplicity is rewarded. As human beings, the smartest creatures on earth, we should be able to understand everything. Knowing is good. If you don’t know, if there is something you cannot explain, it simply does not exist. And when walking forward there are so many of these unknowables. Not knowing really isn’t good. It is a waste of time. Why deal with the unknown when you could have security in knowing? It is so good to know. To know that you belong somewhere. To know that you are like other people. To know facts. Put your mind at rest. Nothing more to worry about. It is simply simple. The new is never simple. It might constantly change before your eyes. Unstable knowledge. However strange it might sound, some people prefer the new. The unknown. It is exciting. It can create an adrenaline rush not unlike parachuting. The fall from great heights. Some only believe in the new and wish never to look back – certainly never to walk backwards. They don’t understand the need for security, but appreciate something new. Sometimes they like the new just for the sake of it being new. The excitement of a discovery can be more appreciated than its content. As long

Maria Bang Espersen, detail of Soft Series, 2014, glass

as it is new it is good. A spectacle to enjoy. Unquestionably. Some people walk neither forward nor backwards. They walk diagonally. Or possibly up or down. They have weird movements that can’t be compared to anything else. They are floppy. They walk as if they were under water. As if gravity didn’t exist. Flying, at times. No rules seem to apply to them. It is often difficult for others to understand their movements. It doesn’t look like anything else. They might not even understand it themselves. One minute they walk to the side, the next they move upwards. Not necessarily because they want to, but it is something that just happens. They stumble a lot. For no particular reason. And there isn’t much they can do about it. They seem to not mind. Rather, they seem to embrace it all. Experiencing from all kinds of angles. Our surroundings really can be viewed from so many different angles. Some positions have been taken several times, others not

even once. Some of the positions we don’t even know about. Nobody ever moved in that direction before. How can we know what position to take and in what direction we are supposed to walk? I mean, how do I know if I should walk forwards or backwards, up or down? Which direction will be the right one for me? And which one will most benefit other people? Sometimes I wonder if I even know which direction I am walking. You would think it was easy to feel if you moved forwards or backwards, but this is not always the case. No matter in which direction we move, and no matter how aware we are, the direction always influences everything we do. After all, walking is the most basic of all movements when wanting to go from one place to another. __________________________________ Maria Bang Espersen holds a BA from the Royal Danish Academy, Bornholm, Denmark, and a three-year technical glassblowing education from Kosta School of Glass in Sweden. She has received numerous awards including the International Glass Prize (2012), the Jury’s Special Award at the Coburg Prize (2014), and the Talent Award of the Jutta Cuny Franz Foundation (2015). She has attended residency programs at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass, WheatonArts, Playa Fellowship Program, S12 Gallery in Norway, Sunderland Glass Centre in England, and Het Glazen Huis in Belgium. Espersen works within video, installation, performance, and sculpture. Her approach to glass is experimental and playful, as she invents her own techniques rather than follow traditions.

Maria Bang Espersen, Pure Interactions (stills from video), 2013, video (6.30 min)

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


HO T G L AS S DEMO

Ravaged By Age By Deborah Czeresko

Deborah Czeresko, The Hand of the Maestro Pino Signoretto, 2016, digital drawing, 24 x 36”

Ravaged By Age was a demonstration hybrid where object meets action. It engaged two simultaneous but related projects designed to engage with the glass studio space as part demonstration and part education. The Ravaged demo sought to capitalize and expand on the platform provided by the traditional glassblowing demo, that of an audience viewing an expert glassmaker in situ separated by a physical and metaphorical boundary, similar to a customary classroom. Ravaged took a different approach. Instead of allowing the audience to be voyeurs, Ravaged intended to absorb the audience into the experience of making. It gave the audience the tools necessary to engage with the mind of the demonstrator and the other participants. It accomplished this through stream of consciousness narration and dialogue with the project leads. The audience could hear live amplified sound of the artist’s thoughts concerning the development and the origins of the demo. The audience was encouraged to have a conversation vis-à-vis the impact of Alzheimer’s disease and the creative process while watching the action. There were two teams working simultaneously in the glass studio. The first team, headed

Peg E. of Fort Hudson Health System, Fort Edward, NY, Untitled, 2015, watercolor,12 x 12”

by the author, constructed the work worn finger of the legendary glass maestro Pino Signoretto. Being emblematic of human endeavor and mastery, Pino’s hand was chosen as an icon of skill and labor. The object was meant as both an homage to an individual but also to an industry, that being artisanal glass manufacturing. Within the digital age’s evolving landscape of labor and craft production, the time of the maestro as a venerated hero of economic and cultural importance is a phenomenon that cannot be replicated. It is no revelation that cheaply mass-produced products, whether fabricated by hand or machine, have irrevocably dominated manufacturing and caused the close of many reputable factories. The current distinction is that the information age – with it’s inherent allure of robotics, artificial intelligence and rapid prototyping – is attempting to simulate hand craft on an individual level. As such, it is poised to question the relevance of human fabrication in a studio environment as well. A second team, from the organization Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron, created a threedimensional rendering of a painting by an Alzheimer’s patient from a nearby nursing home. Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron is a cross-

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generational community arts project. Their focus is to use art to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and act compassionately to those touched by it. The group was able to engage with the audience regarding the nature of the disease through an ongoing narration. Information on how to participate with the group outside of the demonstration was made available to conference attendees. The completed sculpture was later presented to the artist’s family as a remembrance of their loved one at this stage of their life. Ravaged supplanted the traditional demo, which centers on the revered glass maestro, with a modernized version that takes into account the contemporary climate of glass fabrication, which tends to be project based and oriented toward small production. Ravaged proposes a model that is predicated on the idea of the singular maestro evolving into a democratically influenced artist who makes uses of the collective experiences and specialties that exist within the team. The artist-gaffer on the team may be the idea generator and drive action, but he or she also can freely solicit technical and formal information from the collective, whereas in the past, the maestro-gaffer would 57


be responsible for providing all of the expertise and guidance to the fabrication team. Ravaged By Age used the demonstration strategy of parallel, thematically related events linked through a vocalized interior monologue. The demo introduced the paradigm of a modular-collective gaffing team instead of the traditional singular maestro authority. Ravaged reflected on transitioning states of human physicality including individual limitations imposed by physical and mental deterioration, and it questioned the relevance of the human hand to craft with the advent of radically new and varied digital fabricating methods.

Czeresko (r) performing the lead in “Medea” with Alexandra Young (l), staged at Brooklyn Glass by Patricia Coleman of Disembodied Voices in 2014. Photo: Abi Maryan

Participants Included: Team 1, Maestro Hand: Deborah Czeresko, artist/gaffer Danielle Brensinger Carina Cheung Skitch Mannion Suzanne Peck Team 2, Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron: Rosemarie Oakman, project lead James Akers Elise Betrus __________________________________ Deborah Czeresko began working with glass in 1987 after completing a BA in psychology from Rutgers University. She has a master of fine arts from Tulane University. Since graduating, she has been an instructor at Tyler School of Art, New York University, Parsons School of Design, and LUCA School of Arts, Belgium. She has been a visiting artist and lecturer at numerous universities and schools throughout the U.S. and Europe. Czeresko began stretching material categorization through participation in the performative glass group, the B Team, whose aim was to infuse the art world with the potential of glass and the glass world with the potential of art.

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Members of the Alzheimer’s Glass and Iron team, (l-r) Elise Betrus, James Akers, Rosemarie Oakman, with Deborah Czeresko (second from left) after their demo at GAS. Photo: Chris Tolbert

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


HO T G L AS S DEMO

Classico Moderno By Laura Donefer and Jeff Mack Laura Donefer, about to apply a bit to a large blown piece that she is creating with Jeff Mack.

“The exuberant Laura Donefer moves beyond flameworking to an alchemical collaboration with her polar opposite, the glassblowing virtuoso Jeff Mack, to achieve classical vessel forms that shimmer with vitality.” From the article by James Yood, “Into the Vortex.” Urban Glass Quarterly #130 spring 2013 Laura Donefer: In 2010, I was invited to be a Glass Artist Pavilion Project (GAPP) artist at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion. Part of the mandate was to explore the museum’s vast collection and basically riff off an object that caught my fancy. After searching through the entire museum, I became mesmerized by a beautiful New England Glassworks loving cup from around 1833, about 11 inches high with two handles that swooped through the air like swan necks. Back in the hotshop, I realized that I needed some major assistance to recreate that classical form before I could texture the entire surface with Doneferian abandon. My knees were actually trembling when I got up the nerve to approach the manager of the Glass Pavilion, the renowned glass master Jeff Mack, imploring him to help me. Jeff was not really com-

mitted to me embellishing his perfect classical form with all my crazy textures, but after about an hour of combining our talents, a new collaboration was born and we have never looked back! I liken working with Jeff over the past six years to a long and crazy road trip, knowing where we start out but never knowing where we will end up! Each “Classico Moderno” is a masterpiece of teamwork, technique, and sheer craziness, with a modicum of blind faith thrown in for good measure. Both of us have learned so much from the glass, slowly and sometimes not so patiently extracting lessons from our hot taskmaster. During our collaborationexploration, the pieces have exploded, cracked, fallen off, gotten too thin, gotten too big and unstable, and sometimes were just plain ugly! But one thing about Jeff and me and our band of incredible teammates is that together we have persevered, honing our techniques and concepts until our unique collaboration became a tightly choreographed, fiery dance. What began as an exciting GAPP artist collaboration with Jeff Mack has become a life change for me. Not only have we successfully blended our two very diverse styles to create original artwork, but we have melded our lives

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

together as well. That holler for help in the hotshop has turned into a deep friendship. Even better, our families are linked, too, and there is a great bond between all of us. My heartfelt thanks goes to Jeff Mack for allowing me into his life, in more ways than one. May we keep on celebrating glass and friendship for decades to come! Jeff Mack: Working with Laura Donefer is always exciting and extreme. Laura is a life-rich person and her practice involves celebrating that richness through personal connection and expressing love. At first I resisted but, soon enough I was helplessly drawn in. This fortunate entanglement with Laura is one of the most wonderful things that I could do with glass in my life. Each work session is a journey and an adventure. Each piece tells a familiar, yet exciting and unique story. There is so much I could say about this collaboration. It goes well beyond Laura and me. The team is “the band.” The gig doesn’t happen without them. So I have a lot of gratitude for everyone who has stepped in to help make these pieces happen. The process has taken on a life of its own. It even has its 59


Jeff Mack applying a handle to his collaborative piece with Laura Donefer.

own language. It draws people in, they want to help, and they all have input and impact on the outcome. For me, it has gone from an exercise in form and texture with a fellow artist to become a ritual, a dance, and a celebration. The piece becomes, in every aspect, a reflection and three-dimensional recording of the creative performance of glassmaking – pushing the process and practitioners to their limits. It has become less about the piece and more about the process, perfecting its flow, managing interactions, working with surprises, and having fun. Mostly what I feel with regards to this collaboration is gratitude that I get to work with Laura in this way. It’s an amazing way to create with another person. It is an incredible process, and I’m glad Laura has shared it with me.

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Laura Donefer has been using glass as her primary medium for more than 34 years, often in combination with diverse materials. Known for her innovative, colorful blown glass and flameworked Amulet Baskets, she also pushes the boundaries with work that explores ideas concerning memory, assault, bereavement, joy, and madness. Donefer has taught workshops and given lectures worldwide. Her work is in many public and private collections, including The Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, and the Museum of Fine Art in Montreal. Donefer has been honored with many awards, among them the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Glass Art Association of Canada, the Honorary Lifetime Membership Award from the Glass Art Society, and the International Flameworking Award. Every few years she organizes one of her wacky, exuberant Glass Fashion Shows, a fantastical spectacle for the international glass community to enjoy.

Jeff Mack is an artist, craftsman, and educator who has been working with glass for over 20 years. He has worked in numerous settings, from artist assistant and factory production to museum programming. Mack also has extensive experience creating glass for internationally recognized artists and designers. His own work is rooted in personal expression through craft and has touched on many aspects of the material, ranging from intimate vessels and sculpture to public artworks.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


HO T G L AS S DEMO

Part of the Tradition, a Corning Gaffer By Eric Meek 1915 – developed borosilicate glass 1926 – invented the ribbon machine for the production of bulbs 1934 – produced the Hale telescope mirror for Mt. Palomar 1936 – developed aluminosilicate glass 1942 – begins the mass production of cathode ray tubes 1951 – founds the Corning Museum of Glass, in celebration of 100 years of prosperity in the glass industry 1962 – a thin, chemically strengthened glass is developed for the automotive industry (abandoned in 1971 and considered one of the company’s biggest and most expensive failures) 1970 – developed machinable glass ceramic 1970 – developed commercially viable optical fiber cable developed 2005 – developed what was to become Gorilla Glass

Steuben Eric Meek working on a large blown form during his demo.

The following are narration notes from my presentation on the history and tradition of glassmakers working in Corning. The object I created was a vessel that represents the style of glass and the style of working which developed in Corning over the past 150 years. Having been part of the Corning glassmaking community for nearly 20 years, I’m proud to represent that heritage through my role as Hot Glass Program Manager at the Corning Museum of Glass. We’ve all converged on Corning again for the seventh time and artists from all over the world come here to teach, learn, research, and be inspired. I’ve been part of the Corning glass community since 1996 when I took my first class at The Studio. Over the past four years, it has been my job to re-imagine the space of the Amphitheater Hot Shop and make it relevant in a way that pays homage to the past and inspires our guests for years to come. This has lead me to some critical questions: Why Corning? Why here? Why glass? What is it about this place that has made the name synonymous with glass? To answer these questions, it’s best to look to the past.

Corning Glass Works In 1851, Amory Houghton established the Union Glass Company in Sommerville, Massachusetts. In 1864, he sold that company and bought a controlling interest in the Brooklyn Flint Glass Works in Brooklyn, New York. In 1868, due to material costs and transportation and labor issues, the decision was made to move up the Hudson, through the Erie Canal system, to Corning. The company became known as the Corning Flint Glass Company. Their main product was blanks for the cut glass industry. The name soon changed to the Corning Glass Works and, building on the innovative material research approach of the Houghton family, expanded into the production of a diverse line of products. Key developments for the Corning Glass Works, now Corning Inc., were: 1878 – produced the first bulb for Edison’s electric light 1905 – phase out of crystal blank production 1908 – formed an official research department, one of the first in the country

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The Corning Amphitheatre Hot Shop is next to the former Steuben blowing room. Working here every day, I think about the role this place has played in the history of Corning. Steuben was the pride of Corning Inc., a representation to the consumer of the excellence and expertise that was expected from every one of the company’s 34,000 employees. How did Steuben come to be? Before Steuben, an independent cutting shop was on the second floor of the original Corning Flint Glass Company Factory. In 1885 John Hoare, who was famous for making cut glass for President Lincoln, purchased and became the proprietor of the cut glass department at the Brooklyn Flint Glass Company. Hoare eventually established a cutting shop in Corning when the Brooklyn Flint Company moved their business there. By 1870 there were 100 glass cutters in Hoare’s shop. The foreman at the time, Thomas Hawke – another Irishman – would go on to found Steuben, eventually employing over 400 cutters by the early 1900s. In 1903, Hawke founded Steuben Glassworks and hired the English designer Frederick Carder to design and operate the new enterprise. • Hawke wanted independence from the blank producers, Corning Glass Works, Dorflingner, and Stevens and Williams.

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• Carder built the first ten pot furnace in an old foundry building located about where Dennison Parkway intersects at Bridge St. • Due to labor difficulties in England, Carder looked to hire Swedish glass makers from Dorflinger in New York and other U.S.-based glassmakers. • Among those glass cutters were masters Johnnie Jansen, Hennig Overstrom, Olaf Johanson, and Tommy Swanson. • By 1933, all 18 glassworkers were Swedish. • By 1917, there were 27 employees at Steuben. In 1918 the Corning Glass Works acquired Steuben Glassworks due to economic conditions and the wartime difficulty of obtaining raw materials, including lead and coal. Frederick Carder remained with Steuben and led the company, as part of the Corning Glass Works, to produce art and ornamental glassware. At that time, Steuben had a 10 pot furnace and a 16 pot furnace. The larger pot was used to produce light bulbs, while the smaller was used for art glass production. Carder retained control of Steuben until 1932 when Arthur Houghton Jr. decided to shift the focus of Steuben away from the colorful Carder Steuben designs to colorless glass. That year also saw the move of the factory from Erie Ave. to the Corning Glass Works main plant. Carder remained the artistic director for Corning Glass Works designing for Steuben and many of the company’s other divisions. He retired in 1959 at the age of 96. In 1932 the glass experts at Corning created an optical glass that transmitted the entire light range, including ultraviolet, and had a very high refractive index. At this time, Steuben adopted the “Steuben Trilogy” corporate philosophy:

The delicate excellence possible only when the finest crystal is worked with the ultimate in craftsmanship into designs that come alive with style.

Steuben was sold in 2008 and closed in 2011 paving the way for the new Contemporary Art + Design Wing and the Amphitheater Hot Shop, which is built where the Steuben factory once stood.

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Eric Meek applying a bit to his demo piece.

Conclusion Now our team works every day in this Amphitheater Hot Shop. Living in Corning, it’s easy to feel an ache of loss for the storied crystal manufacturer, Steuben. My demonstration today was an homage to everyone who has picked up a blowpipe in this town before me. Living in Corning and understanding its rich history of innovation gives our team the confidence that we are part of the story of constant evolution. Sitting here, we enjoy the success of Corning. When you walk around the museum and even around town, you feel the omnipresence of the international, successful, corporation – Corning Inc. Living in Corning and being part of the tradition, we know the people behind the success. We know about individual accomplishments, individual vision, individual hard work, and sacrifice. That knowledge inspires us to create, work hard, continue to innovate, continue to create, and continue to make beautiful things out of glass.

__________________________________ Eric Meek has been a gaffer at The Corning Museum of Glass since 2002, and is now the manager of the museum’s hot glass programs. After graduating from Bowling Green State University, Meek worked in the production studio at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. He went on to receive his MFA from Kent State University and taught at the Glasfachschule Kramsach in Austria for six years. When working with glass, Meek draws upon tradition and fine craftsmanship to realize modern, elegant forms.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


HO T G L AS S DEMO

This Ain’t Popcorn By Michael Meilahn Fer left: Michael Meilahn working with his team in the hotshop. Left: Michael takes a final look at his piece while it’s torched.

The aim of my demo was to use large and small multi-hinged metal molds to form objects that are indicative of my personal experience. This Ain’t Popcorn, promised a glass object that was definitely not popcorn! To deliver on my demo assertion, I produced an object with deep meaning and the conceptual overtones of pop art. After graduate school, I chose to return to the family farm, not to abandon art, but to live the way I chose: build a studio and persevere in an art career. When I turned 50, I planted my first genetically modified seed. I decided to focus my energy on the social issues surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMO). The ear of corn is my iconic image of choice, because corn was the foundation of indigenous American cultures for thousands of years and still is today. And, currently, U.S. farmers produce in excess of $60 billion annually from corn alone. I started blowing glass 48 years ago. We knew very little about melting glass, not to mention glassblowing techniques, and color bars were unknown to us. My early years were spent blowing objects in clear glass and pouring paint into the hollow forms. So, functional and decorative vessels were not my concern. From the start, my focus has always been on form and composition. A lot has changed from those

years to today, where technique is available around the corner. During my career, I worked with lots of materials in conjunction with glass: aluminum, bronze, iron, concrete, neon/light, copper, audio, and video. Through the last 20 years, I have been working with conceptual ideas, focusing on more contemporary materials and concepts. In 1998, I focused my attention on an installation and created a piece called Field of Mines, which consisted of 16 blown black glass spheres of various sizes – 12 to 30 in. in diameter – with numerous blown-glass ears attached at random points on each. All the spheres were suspended on bungee cords, hung from the ceiling and hovered two feet off the floor. The concept here was the idea of making a minefield, because of the explosive confusion about GMOs. The word contemporary means “of today.” Bungee cords and genetic modification like each other. We took the objects to a photo studio to capture motion and specifically to see how far we could bounce and sling the glass until smashing. The audio of the crash became just as important as the visual aspect. What followed in 2006, was the making of the large, multi-hinged bronze mold (40-in. tall) – initially made on a 4 ft. mandrel with a 4 in. diameter

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

– using basic materials such as chicken wire, papier-mâché, and clay for surface treatment. That object was then dipped into casting wax and, eventually, cast into bronze. The hinging and the final fabrication became the most complicated aspect of the mold – so I thought. The blowing into the mold became a tremendous challenge. Scale, weight, prep, timing, annealing tricks, and the physical demand lengthened the learning curve. In 2007, I made an installation called Corn Zone, which consisted of 28 large stylized ears of corn each pierced with morphed glass objects, suspended on bungee cords, and three video projectors. Corn Zone debuted in Davenport, Iowa, at the Figge Art Museum in 2008 and became a permanent part of the Figge Art Museum Collection through an anonymous gift in honor of Thomas Gildehaus, a museum supporter and member, serving on the Board of Trustees 2003-2009 and as Board President 2005-2009. “In Corn Zone, Meilahn simulates the experience of walking through a cornfield by suspending 28 ears of corn from the ceiling. Ranging in color from a bright Prussian blue to more muted hues of soft yellow and peach, each larger-than-life ear of corn has been impaled by a slender, squirming stalk that appears 63


to sprout new life. Working closely with video and sound artist, Nick Nebel, to create a fully immersive environment, Meilahn underscores the potential promise and dangers of modern agricultural practices by including a video and audio component in the installation. Video projections and the sound of chirping birds and rustling leaves create an impression of bounty and prosperity. The light from the projectors illuminates the corn, casting gently swaying shadows on the wall behind them to contribute to the illusion. The startling sound of glass crashing disrupts the atmosphere of tranquility, serving as a potent reminder of the risks that we face when attempting to modify nature.” 1 “I can tell you from personal observation that all kinds of visitors are fascinated by the Corn Zone – it has universal appeal.” – Tim Schiffer, Executive Director of the Figge Art Museum, October 13, 2015 Farming and making art have many similarities and requirements, two of which are clear to me: perseverance and constant attitude adjustment. More recently, I have made several other conceptual installations, some kinetic and some with audio/video, emphasizing a balance between bronze and glass with the final challenge being location adaptation. Demonstrating an artist’s skills in an hour and a half is often challenging when working outside of your own studio. As I made adjust-

Michael Meilahn, Lady Luck, 2015, blown glass and cast bronze, 51 x 22 x 18”

ments, it became apparent that this was more of a performance rather than a demonstration. So, for all of you who attended my demo, I sincerely thank you for your support and your stellar enthusiasm. It certainly was hot, but not popcorn! I felt honored to participate in the 2016 GAS 45th Annual Conference and privileged to demonstrate in the The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass. I must say that the staff

at Corning was impeccable in every way, especially Harry Seaman, as he went out of his way to accommodate my needs. I also must thank the Glass Art Society staff for their assistance, advice, and upbeat interaction. My team: Jay Wilcox-Meilahn, Cory Kwakkel, Dawn Passineau, Ann Wilcox-Meilahn, and Jane Meilahn were there for me. What more can I ask? This all makes for fun, success, and fond memories. 1. Figge Art Museum, Celebrating 10 years. Davenport, 2015, pg.116, www.figgeartmuseum.org

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Michael Meilahn, Field of Mines, 2006, 24 glass spheres suspended via bungee cords with video and audio components, 24 x 16 x 32’

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Michael Meilahn served in Bolivia with the Peace Corps and later returned to academia, earning his graduate degree in art. He then returned home to farm and to build his art studio. In time, the art imagery became a story about farming, which demanded a more creative venue. His work has evolved into conceptual mixed-media and installation configurations centered on the iconic image, an ear of corn, representing eons of time, evolution, selective breeding, and survival of the fittest. Meilahn has consistently shown in galleries and museums across the U.S.A. and internationally. New Glass Review chose his work in 1980, 1987, 2000, and 2010.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


HO T G L AS S DEMO

Spoonful of Sugar By Patrick Martin It was a great honor and privilege to demonstrate at the 2016 Glass Art Society Conference in Corning, New York. The primary goal of my demonstration was to focus on furnace casting into graphite molds. Basic ladling, process concepts, and casting preparation were discussed and explained. Mold design, and the pros and cons of using graphite, was also mentioned. Questions and dialogue with the audience continued throughout the fabrication of the two cast glass sculptures. Furnace casting into graphite molds is a very immediate and direct method of creating multiple glass forms that can later be assembled into multi-part sculptures. This precise, controlled process affords more potential for intricate, complex, and larger-scale works and has been a method of fabrication for me for years. Usually, after annealing, the glass forms are finished and later combined using metal fasteners to complete the final sculpture. For this demonstration we created two pieces using two graphite molds, one was an oversized 10-inch nail and the other was a four-inch pill. The process became turbo charged by assembling the piece hot using a

Patrick Martin casting glass into a graphite mold.

Patrick Martin, Untitled, 2010, cast glass and metal 18 x 17 x 1�

team and a glory hole, something I have never done in the past. After the forms were ladle cast and allowed to cool, they were pulled, using metal tongs, from the mold and fastened to the main piece on the blowpipe by preheating the connecting parts. The team was broken into two groups, one for casting the forms and one for assembling the piece at the bench. The hot construction method allows for more spontaneity when designing the sculpture on the pipe and permits the cast glass forms to become more fluid through reheating in the fabrication process. One of the principal advantages to this practice is the speed with which a multi-part glass sculpture can be constructed. It is also a great system for working out new ideas and concepts in a quick and direct manner. I would like to thank the Glass Art Society staff and The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass staff for their expertise and professional

support. I would also like to thank my team of Roberta Eichenberg, Nic Dikin, Zach Arroyo, Jeff Bohlman, and Sam Bland for their talents and hard work in creating these new works for the conference. __________________________________ Patrick Martin infuses sociopolitical themes in his mixed-media sculptures to create a discourse between form, space, and content. He has received numerous awards and grants while maintaining a national exhibition record. Martin earned his BA from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and his MFA from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has taught at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington, Unitec Institute of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand, and Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is currently a Professor of Art at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas.

Graphite molds used to make components for sculpture.

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HO T G L AS S DEMO

Lec-Blo: Bowls By Lisa Zerkowitz and Boyd Sugiki

Boyd Sugiki, Striped Bowl, blown glass. Photo: Mike Seidl

When we received the call to do this demo, one thing came to mind: bowls. For more than a decade Boyd has been enamored with the bowl, drawn in by a form defined by a subtle line and created by heat and centrifugal force. With some trepidation, and after much discussion, we decided to approach our time in the hotshop as something that could be meaningful to the student. Though we believe we are all students at heart. With the student in mind, our bowl demo consisted of three parts:

1. Blowing a striped bowl in black, white, and clear glass The techniques used in the Striped Bowl began as a collaborative design project we tried in graduate school. Tubes were cut and fused together in an oven, later to be picked up and blown out. The result was a service set that looked something like incalmo. After finishing school, renting a coldshop was much less expensive than renting a hotshop and, as a result, over the years, we took this process much further.

2. A PowerPoint presentation breaking down the process of blowing a low bowl In each and every workshop we taught, Boyd would spend a lot of time drawing diagrams on chalkboards and dry erase boards. In an effort to make our workload lighter, Boyd created 66

posters and diagrams that we travel with. In addition, the use of the iPad for instructional purposes was also brought into the hotshop to aid in the student’s understanding of process. The allure of the low bowl set the stage for a more thorough bowl lecture, including diagrams, which was introduced at GAS.

3. Blowing a low bowl in clear, with commentary Hidden beneath the tooling are varying turning speeds, tool placement, and subtle angle adjustments, as well as pressures being applied in multiple directions all in the same heat. We think this, along with the notion that so much is happening that you cannot see, is what makes the bowl most interesting. Key things to think about are:

a. primary and secondary forces being applied b. four points of contact c. sideways force

In 1997, Boyd had his first teaching experience outside of school at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle. He remembers being terrified in the interview with the education director, but she gave him the opportunity to teach. Since then, we have taught at many schools and in many countries, but one thing remains the same and that is the excitement and eagerness of the students. Throughout the years, it has

been hard to know if we have taught them or they have taught us. We have had the pleasure of watching glassblowing from outside the bench, from a different viewpoint, and viewing things from a new perspective has allowed us to be students all these years. A word of advice: look from outside the bench. There is so much to learn in the bench with the pipe in your hands, but there is much to learn from the outside as well. I applaud Boyd for his courage to test the waters with the multi faceted approach taken for our demo at GAS. I love that for so many years people tried to get him to wear a microphone during demos and he finally did it! All of these great years teaching at The Studio helped pave the way. We have watched and listened to countless demos by CMoG glassblowers and they have magnificent skill communicating with the audience. We both really enjoyed (who knew?) doing the demo in the Amphitheater Hot Shop at GAS and nerves subsided as soon as we dipped into the furnace. We thank the GAS staff, the board members, and those on the conference planning committee for giving us this wonderful opportunity. We love the lec-mo, how about the lec-blo? __________________________________ Boyd Sugiki was first introduced to glass at Punahou High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. He went on to receive a BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Lisa Zerkowitz earned a BA in studio art from University of California, Santa Barbara. She received her master’s degree in art education from Rhode Island School of Design, while simultaneously completing the undergraduate program in glass. Boyd and Lisa make exhibition and design work independently and produce a line of studio glass collaboratively under the name Two Tone Studios. They maintain a studio in Seattle and enjoy lecturing and demonstrating throughout the U.S. and abroad. They continue to teach workshops at schools such as The Studio at The Corning Museum of Glass, Pittsburgh Glass Center, and Penland School of Craft.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


C O LDWORK I N G DEM O

Glass Engraving: Traditional Skills, New Insights By Katharine Coleman The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass hosted my demonstration of glass engraving at the 2016 GAS Conference. It is often a challenge to present engraving on glass, a slow and somewhat painstaking operation, in a sufficiently interesting manner in just an hour and a half. The engraving of even a small bowl takes me more than a week of full-time work. I feared that a demonstration would have all the appeal of an Olympic long-distance walking race in slow motion, compared with the theatrical 400 m finals of glassblowing. Engraving is therefore seldom a spectator sport, except for other engravers and a few dedicated enthusiasts. Amy Schwartz, director of The Studio kindly introduced me, and I am grateful to her and the team at The Studio for presenting me so well, in the well-equipped engraving studio, with a camera and screen to allow visitors to see what was happening on the glass between my hands. My demonstration aimed to show how I engrave on blown, thick-walled, clear lead crystal forms through a single or double color overlay. The two demonstration pieces (goldfish bowls) were small because of the limits of transatlantic cabin luggage, but sufficient to show what an uncut blank looks like in contrast to a finished piece. Both were blown in clear lead crystal with a double overlay of ruby over yellow glass. The demonstration bowl appeared a deep dark red all over, the top already cut and polished to allow one to see right into the piece to mark up the design on the outside surface. The finished bowl looked contrastingly light and colorful, with both overlays exposed, ranging from a dark red to pale yellow to white, white being the abraded surface of the clear glass. To my mind it is no longer necessary to engrave with the photorealism associated with 19th and early 20th-century classic clear or cameo glass engraving. But it is important to acquire the traditional skills enjoyed by those earlier engravers so as to be able to express one’s own ideas fluently and engagingly on one’s own designed glass – whether it is kilnformed or blown. Learning a technical skill like this is much the same as learning to play a musical instrument; through practice and experience, one gains the ability to express oneself more accurately, clearly, convincingly, and originally. I demonstrated how one can now readily mix techniques and tools including the drill,

Katherine Coleman demonstrating at the 2016 GAS Conference. Photo: Pavlína Cambalová

copper wheel, stone wheel, diamond wheel, and polishing wheel, selecting whatever tools perform the task best. For example, it is almost impossible to cut fine lines through a color overlay with diamond or stone wheels without obtaining an ugly v-shaped trough, because both wheels cannot be made sufficiently narrow and pointed to avoid removing the color either side of the cut line. For lines through a color overlay, the copper wheel can cut the finest of fine lines, even if it is necessary to cut repeatedly into the same line several times to obtain the line depth required. A copper wheel need only be some 1.5 mm thick and up to 6 cm in diameter to perform comfortably and can be sharpened like a knife. Thus, the copper line wheel is the champion of champions, permitting thick lines, or fine lines the thickness of a hair, polished or matte lines, all in precisely the size required; the copper wheels can be made any size (up to 10 cm) at the bench by the engravers themselves using a knife, file, and hammer. Diamond wheels are expensive, so one cannot have a full range of sizes and they do eventually blunt. Stone wheels make superb lines, but again are difficult for deeper fine lines. Using the little goldfish bowl as my model,

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

I drew the fish outlines on the outside of the bowl with a Sharpie, lightly running over the Sharpie lines with a fine small diamond bur in a Fordham drill to fix the line before going over the engraved lines with ink once more. The scratched surface of those engraved lines on the glass is absorbent, so the ink line is well fixed and will not run away with handling under water or with oil and grit until it is removed by the cutting wheels. The design on my goldfish bowls required the removal of most of the colour from the background. This area of background is useful for making exploratory cuts to precisely ascertain the overlay colors’ depth and to plan how to treat more complicated details like fins, eyes, etc. This is partly why I do not use sandblast to remove the background color – seldom are overlay colors absolutely identical and it is always useful for experiments. Furthermore, I prefer the surface texture of a wheel-engraved surface, it has more life to it than the flat sandblasted surface. After marking up, I selected a large coarse diamond (D76) wheel of almost flat profile, (a good stone wheel of similar profile would have served equally well), removing the background around the fish. A smaller, finer diamond wheel 67


Katherine Coleman, Goldfishbowls IX, 2016, blown lead crystal with double overlay (ruby on yellow on clear), 12 cm. A finished piece showing the brightness and definition of the colors once the background has been removed.

of about D46 (diamond grain size in cutting wheels gets finer the lower the number; D46 is useful as it can be directly polished with Polpur wheels without the older system of pre-polish stones and then cork/pumice polish) was used to scoop out the rounded form of the fish body and the preliminary cutting of the fins. I explained that I do not strive to represent every last scale and detail on such an engraving – it is more important to suggest a fish form in motion. Jiři Harcuba’s mantra, “Less is more!” certainly prevails in my work. Glass engraving is finally rising from the doldrums of some 40 years, thanks to Harcuba’s efforts and those of a new generation of younger engravers, including April Surgent and Pavlína Čambalová, not to mention many other exciting young contemporary European and Russian engravers. I am currently proud to be helping organize a touring show of work by some 31 contemporary European engravers that began in Stourbridge, United Kingdom, in May 2015 and has since been hosted by European glass museums including Het GlazenHuis in Lommel, Belgium; Galerie Aventurijn in Epe, Netherlands; Glasmuseum Rheinbach in Germany; Museum of Glass Kamenický Šenov in Czech Republic; The National Library of Tallinn, Estonia; Suomen Lasimuseum (The Finnish Glass Museum) in Riihimaki, Finland; and it will move to its final show at the 68

A selection of copper, stone, diamond, Polpur, and felt wheels for engraving.

Glasmuseum-Frauenau, Germany. At Rheinbach and other stops, we have run workshops with the glass schools to show some of the potential of contemporary engraving, and it has been gratifyingly successful. We have now been invited by other European glass museums in other countries to do another run in a couple of years time, as the response to this movement by visitors and students has been overwhelmingly positive. Glass engraving is enjoying a new resurgence of interest. Blowers make way! Our discipline is no longer regarded by all as obsolete, and the future is, thankfully, looking brighter. __________________________________

Honorable Mention at the Coburg Glass Prize in 2006. Her work can be seen in many public collections, including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Musée des Arts Contemporains in Lausanne, Switzerland, the National Museums of Scotland, the National Museums of Northern Ireland, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, United Kingdom, the Veste Coburg , the Alexander Tutsek Stiftung, and the Ernsting Stiftung in Germany.

Katharine Coleman learned glass engraving from Peter Dreiser at Morley College London (a night school) from 1984-1987. She teaches regularly at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass, Bild-Werk Frauenau in Germany, West Dean in the United Kingdom, recently also at the Escuela del Vidrio in La Granja, Spain. The inspiration for her work is the beauty to be found in the ordinary, whether natural history or modern architecture. She feels strongly that glass engraving no longer needs to be traditional in style or content. Coleman has won many awards, including the Member of the Order of the British Empire or MBE (a British state medal presented by Queen Elizabeth II) in 2009, and THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


C O LDWORK I N G DEM O

Let the Coldshop Set You Free By Jennifer Crescuillo

Jennifer Crescuillo. Photo: Ben Corda and Cody Bryant

Many glass students from the academic environment (myself included) are first introduced to coldworking as an accessory to their work in the hotshop. They are usually taught how to remove punty marks, how to polish optical lenses, and perhaps how to sandblast surface designs. Many students across the U.S. are also subjected to the dreadful “cube project,” where individuals must grind a perfect cube to various grit levels, from rough to polish. Most often this instruction comes at the hands of a hotshop worker (no offense blowers! I heart you, too!). Although well meaning, the combination of such a soul-crushing assignment with uninspired instruction usually results in an unfavorable opinion of the coldshop. Imagine the possibility of the inverse; your first assignment in the hotshop is to blow a perfectly straight, three-part Venetian goblet; you are instructed by an engraver, and you have been given only the most bent beginner blowpipes with which to complete this task. After an assignment in which you are almost destined to fail, the words “Venetian goblet” would trigger a Pavlovian association with torture and disappointment. Such an experience might even drive you completely out of the hotshop unless you absolutely have to work there. So it goes with the coldshop all too often.

Students are emotionally damaged during their first experience there, never to return. Most academic programs are not able to provide specialized instruction in every glass discipline. Hotworking is often favored, being the most popular and compelling studio to the neophyte, like a moth to the flame. Approaching the coldshop through the eyes of the blower is not expected to change widely, unless a new mindset is encouraged, and the cube project is re-conceptualized. The ability of workshop schools such as The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass, Pilchuck Glass School, and many others, to feature a wide variety of rotating instructors across disciplines provides the opportunity for students to gain much more specific knowledge in coldworking. Lesserknown aspects of glassworking can be discovered through the workshop format. The focus of my demonstration is an approach to the coldshop as the limitless beginning of the sculptural process, not the nightmare inducing torture chamber it has become for so many people. The coldshop is not only a place to decorate vessels or flatten bottoms, but also a place to create unique qualities and sculptural elements with glass. I focus on the deeper inherent applications of each tool, which I think of in terms of profile

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

and texture. Each tool’s profile refers to the full range of sculptural shapes – concave or convex – possible. The flat laps are flat/convex; the belt sander is convex; the right-angle grinder is convex; the lathe is concave; the saw is concave/flat, etc. Texture refers to the various systems within the coldshop – loose grit, diamond flat pads, resin smoothing pads, silicon carbide belts, electroplated diamond, sintered diamond, etc. – and the interaction of those systems. Understanding the wider potential application of each machine, accessory, and combination of machines and systems allows the artist to create any shape, contour, and finish. During the demonstration, I began with some of the roughest tools, the saw and diamond flat lap. I demonstrated dado-cutting, which I use to plane the surface of uneven glass and remove large amounts of material in a short amount of time. I use the saw for its inherent profile, a thin slice, which is very rough and quick because it is small and only engages a small surface area of the glass. I try to do as much shaping and material removal as possible on such a fast and effective machine in order to be time efficient and to mentally feel as if the process is going quickly. This technique is especially good for thinning out a portion of a blank, removing a thin amount of overfill on a piece of cast glass, or planing an uneven surface. When the surface area to be ground is larger than about six inches in diameter, this technique can be much faster than grinding the same surface on the grit or diamond flat laps. This is because of the inherent nature of the tool: it only contacts a small surface area in a very aggressive way, as opposed to the flat laps, which, depending on how they are used, contact a larger flat surface area and will grind the glass at a much slower rate. By understanding the profile and texture of the saw I can use it safely and effectively for much more than just cutting my glass in half. This is an example of the philosophy I promote through my work and teaching. I employed this same approach to the diamond flat lap in my demonstration. The diamond flat lap is a very versatile tool for the independent artist with a private studio. Many grinding, smoothing, and polishing pads can be used on just one machine, and a variety of flat, faceted, and convex forms can be shaped on 69


this tool. Most beginner coldworkers are shown the diamond flat lap only to grind and polish flat surfaces. Preconceived notions persist, and what can be done on a flat lap is very limited in most people’s minds. Interestingly, a surface with a simple curve is actually more effectively shaped on the diamond flat lap than one would think. The same principle from the saw applies to the flat grinder: when a small surface (tangent to a curve, in this case) is engaging the tool, the tool becomes more aggressive and effective. The philosophy of understanding how to be most effective with each tool, and not only using the machinery for its most apparent applications, helps the coldworker-in-training to avoid boredom. In addition to machines like the lap wheel, lathe, belt sander, and saw, hand grinding with loose silicon carbide grit can open infinite sculptural possibilities. Loose grit has no inherent profile. It conforms to the shape of the surfaces being ground against each other. After rough shaping is done with the saw, diamond flat lap, lathe, or sandblaster, loose grit can be used in conjunction with water and a piece of glass, metal, or sandpaper to advance the surface through the sequence of grits, from rough to the desired finish. Many hand-finishing techniques are adapted from the stone carving and lapidary industries and research into those disciplines can be enlightening for the coldworker-in-training. I also demonstrated other rough hand techniques such as chipping, flaking, and hammering. I used a copper bopper and an elk’s horn point from the flint knapping community to create flakes and conchoidal fractures along the edges of glass components. I also used a jeweler’s hammer to create more aggressive chipping with impact fractures in the glass. Rough textures such as these can be very unique and spontaneous in combination with other grinding techniques created by the machinery and with hand finishing. Truly, the sculptural possibilities are endless, especially when interacting with glass from other studios like the hot, flame, and kiln shops. In my studio practice I am constantly facing unique coldworking obstacles and opportunities to grind and polish unusual shapes and irregular surfaces. I operate High Polish Studio with my partner, Andrew Najarian, who is also a coldworker. We fabricate glass and coldwork 70

Data Frozen, 2015, kiln formed and polished glass, 11 x 11 x 4.5” Photo: Ben Corda and Cody Bryant

VHS Cartridge, 2016, kiln formed and carved glass, 5 x 10 x 1.3”. Photo: Ben Corda and Cody Bryant

for artists and designers on a contract basis. We find working on these diverse projects to be a great benefit to our problem solving, a.k.a. coldworking, repertoire. The pressure to be time efficient in service of the client and the sheer volume of hours spent coldworking has trained us to have an intimate understanding of each tool. I credit much of my knowledge in the area to my teachers in university and workshop settings and to Andrew Najarian. Us grindsmiths are few and far between, but I am lucky to have one of the best right next to me in the studio to problem solve with every day. I would very much like to thank the Glass Art Society for having me as a demonstrating artist this year. We are all lucky to have GAS so that we can connect and share ideas and techniques and further our artistic community.

__________________________________ Jennifer Crescuillo is an internationally exhibited artist currently living and working in Silver Point, Tennessee, with her family. She first started working with glass at Bowling Green State University where she received her bachelor of fine arts degree in glass. Crescuillo continued her education at Southern Illinois University where she earned her master of fine arts degree in glass in 2010. She has worked at various glass studios, such as Pilchuck Glass School, The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, Pittsburgh Glass Center, and others. She was awarded a fellowship at the Creative Glass Center of America in the fall of 2014. Together with her partner, Andrew Najarian, Crescuillo owns and operates High Polish Studio, which specializes in custom and contract coldworking services.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


FL A M E WORK IN G DE MO

Out of the Bubble – Flameworking Today By Carmen Lozar I was so very honored to present at the GAS Conference in Corning, New York. Roving from the Corning Museum of Glass’ new wing through the beautiful hotshops to the Blaschka exhibit, I truly felt as if I were in a glass wonderland. My demonstration for the 2016 GAS conference was to be technically informative while also serving as an open forum that discussed the trajectory of flameworking today. Juggling a demonstration that required a blow hose and a conversation may have been overly ambitious, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I am extremely grateful to Mike Shelbo, Eric Goldschmidt, Rick Schneider and many other audience members for their contributions to our discussion. For my demonstration I completed a small solid figure reclining in a hollow bathtub. For the figure I used a newly developed color called “Tantric” from the color company Molten Aura Labs located in Ashville, North Carolina. I am an artist who consistently uses the figure in my work, but I have had years of frustration searching for good skin tones in borosilicate glass. Now, because of the explosion of interest in the flameworking field, new colors are abundant, and I am happy to have finally found skin tones that suit my needs. The bathtub was made of a translucent white 32 mm heavy wall tube that was manufactured in China. I began the project by creating the shape of the bathtub and then proceeded to pierce the top surface of the bathtub with small holes. I sealed a small 12 mm glass tube to the end of one side of the bathtub. This tube acted as Carmen Lozar

Carmen Lozar, Bubble Bath, 2016, glass and bubble solution, 3 x 2 x 6.5”

both a handle and a way to fill the bathtub with bubble solution once the piece had cooled. The final object was meant to be fun and experiential for the audience; when air is blown into the tube the small figure becomes surrounded by bubbles in her bath. The conversation I initiated with the audience was also meant to be lively, and I believe it touched on some important topics in the glass field today. It is a good time to be a flameworker; the industry is alive with energy and interest. Enthusiastic young collectors are abundant, manufacturers are exploring the possibilities of borosilicate glass, and a young generation of artists are pushing technical boundaries in amazing ways. Many of these functional flameworkers have fully realized the potential of social media and have reached out and recruited a new generation of glass collectors. Well-known artists in the functional flameworking arena have the equivalent of a large midwestern town following them on Instagram. To reach so many people and capture their attention is a boon for the glass community, but also a responsibility not to be taken lightly by artists. I have found that functionality has long been a part of any discussion when explaining that you are an artist who works with glass. Vases, goblets, bowls, and lighting are often a collector’s first entry into appreciating sculpture made out of glass. Many talented pipemakers are striving to educate their collector base, encouraging

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

the notion that a collectable artwork does not always need to be functional. One can see the evolution of this education from the appeal that has arisen around acquiring flameworked pendants and small sculptures by well-known functional artists. I would like to add that these are just my observations. I am in no way an authority on this burgeoning world, but there does seem to be an interesting shift occurring that may define the glass movement for the next 10 years. Functional flameworkers have cultivated a new glass marketplace through the use of social media, and this marketplace has the potential to support, educate, and encourage the art of working with glass in the future. __________________________________ Carmen Lozar was born in 1975. She shows her work throughout the United States and is represented by Ken Saunders Gallery in Chicago. Lozar lives in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois where she maintains a studio and is a member of the art faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. She has taught at Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Crafts, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Appalachian Center for Craft, the Chrysler Museum of Art, and the Glass Furnace in Istanbul, Turkey. Lozar has had residencies at the Corning Museum of Glass and Penland School of Crafts. Carmen Lozar was the keynote speaker and demonstrator at the 2008 International Flameworking Conference in Salem, New Jersey. 71


FL A M E WORK IN G DE MO

The Language of Flowers By Kari Russell-Pool I have spent the last 25 years navigating the complications of identity. Wishing to share my future children’s last name while maintaining my maiden name professionally, I have used both names in different contexts. However, 29 years after the fact, I learned that, due to a clerical error, I had been mistaken about my own maiden name. Born Kari Russell, I chose to change my name to Russell-Pool when adopted as an adult by my stepfather but was instead renamed Pool. As a consequence, identity and the driving forces that lead us to discover and craft our own singularity are never far from my mind. What I know is my identity is not my identification. I come from a long line of makers: women who express love and mark the milestones of their loved ones’ lives by knitting, quilting, cross stitching, and creative homemaking. I can do all these things, with the exception of growing houseplants. It was the lack of greenery in my living spaces that first led me to create my own using glass. In the novel The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh tells the story of a woman who communicates her complicated emotions through flowers, and employs a dictionary of flower meanings, while defining her personal identity. I’ve developed my own language of flowers over the years with which to express ideas that reference my relationships with home, identity, and family. Like the Impressionists, I am interested in translating rather than duplicating my subjects. I employ color and line to draw the eye toward the details I wish to highlight, capturing a spirit of abundance and movement. I began my demonstration for GAS by sharing a color wheel comprised of glass flowers, in order to show a range of variations, and went on to demonstrate three of the flowers from the sample. I focused on three main areas of interest: the formal construction of a petal that can be easily adapted to different species; the use of color overlays, powder applications, color inclusions, and solid color highlights; the techniques for building simple and more complex flowers with soft glass. The first petal demonstrated was a basic teardrop. My color focus was on achieving a white outlined effect. I should note that commercially available flameworking canes are solid rods made of a singular density of color. My glass canes are created from gathers of 72

Kari Russell-Pool, Lemon Amphora (detail), 2008, glass, 5 x 8”

clear furnace glass that are rolled through colored glass powders prior to being encased in clear and pulled. This uniquely translucent pallet is infinitely variable by both altering the density of color applied and layering transparent colors over opaque ones. My pallet is further expanded with the later addition of glass powders in the torch when sculpting individual elements. I first melted half the amount of glass needed for my petal stock, elongated the shape, and rolled through several applications of opaque white powder. After allowing this to cool slightly, I attached a feeder cane to the tip and rolled this over the white, wrap-encasing it bead-style. I am careful during this step to hold the feeder cane just outside the top of the flame with the tip concentrated on where the feeder meets the larger mass. Once wrapped, you have an elongated mass of glass whose hot

outer core quickly and evenly heats the cooled inner layer. After reheating it thoroughly in the flame, while only slightly compacting the shape, I rolled several times through an opaque red powder, reheating between applications. Once the red is thoroughly melted in, I hang the glass upside-down and with my flat mashers, immediately squash the blob into a disk. The white outline becomes visible as the red outer glass is stretched thin at the edges of the disk, allowing the inner color application to show through. The flame is then traced around the outside edge of both sides of the disk prior to being pulled out into a longer rectangle with tweezers. I adjust the thickness of the disk to suit the desired petal. A thinner disk is better for longer, wider petals because the disk will not stretch too much. For smaller petals, I leave the disk a little fatter so the resulting longer petal stock is not too thin.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Kari Russell-Pool, Color Wheel, 2016, glass and wood, 9 x 9�

I made an alternate version of this same petal in which I used scissors to cut the colored glass blob into an open v shape. I traced a thick solid black stringer onto the inside of the v, and then inserted a prepared white length of petal stock into the crook of it. After using the flame to heat one side of the v, I was able to stick the white inclusion firmly in place before coaxing the blob back into shape and healing the cut with the flame. After working this back into a blob in the heat and later flattening it into a disk, the result was a red disk with a faint white outline and a thin center stripe of dense white, outlined in black and ready to be pulled into petal stock. I made two basic flowers using the same teardrop shaped petal but oriented differently. Each flower used the same technique to place the petals. I heat the end of the petal lightly and concentrate the heat on the place of attachment. After the first petal, in addition to heating where the next will go, I also heat the abutting edge of the previous petal. This ensures that in the final flower the petals are fused to the center as well as each other. The last touch is a reheat, and a gentle bending where the flower meets the stem before cutting it off with tile biters into an annealing oven. I concluded with a Dahlia flower. Using

Kari Russell-Pool, With All My Love, 2008, glass and wood, 24 x 24�

prepared petals in six ascending sizes, I stressed the importance of having more petals than you think you need. The base of my flower begins as a green hip and transitions into a thick green disk that sits perpendicularly atop the hip. Once the disk is the width of my flower, I add a conical application of glass to the top and color it with powders that complement the petal color. This mass will later act as the main vehicle for reheating and keeping the petals warm. Beginning in the center with three of the smallest petals, I work outwardly in rings, taking care to center the first petal in each consecutive ring in the gap between the petals of the previous circle. The same technique is used as in the simple flower, but here the petals are only fused to the base and their fellows in their same ring. After completing each ring of petals, I take a moment to pour heat into the back of the flower using the flame. This allows the mass of glass to stay hot enough to keep both the hip and the petals from cracking. I give the petals an occasional quick flash in the flame. After each layer, I assess and use a gentle flame to warm any petals I wish to adjust. When the top of the base is covered with petals, the finished flower gets a quick reheat and bend at the stem before being put away into an annealing oven.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

__________________________________ Kari Russell-Pool is best known for her innovative approach to flameworked glass which has been characterized as creating form from pattern. She employs objects to tell the stories that compel her narratives. From quilts and teapots to sailors’ valentines, she is interested in the transformation of an object into an heirloom. Filled with personal content and commentary about our present society, the hard work of relationships, and experience as a mom, her work tells many stories. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1990, Kari shares a studio in Cleveland with her husband and sometime collaborator, Marc Petrovic. Her work can be widely viewed in public collections, among them the Mint Museum of Craft and Design, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.

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L EC - M O S

GAS Vice President Natali Rodrigues introducing Kirstie Rea before her lec-mo.

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


LEC -MO

Beyond Surface By Mica Okuno, Momoo Omuro, Naoko Kato, Yoko Hirosawa, and Yoko Yagi We five female Japanese artists are going to share some of our “技 – waza,” key techniques we use in creating our works. Mica Okuno When I make a wax prototype for kilncasting, even if it is as big as 50 cm in diameter, I make a hollow core by using a self-made wax sheet. I pour the plaster mixture into the hole of the inside of the wax shape as well as around the outside of the piece to make a mold. The merits of making a wax prototype hollow are: 1. Shorter time required compared to the lost-wax process. 2. Easy to remove the wax from the big, open plaster mold by peeling it off, unlike the lost wax process. 3. Possible to see the inside view while making the wax prototype. In other words, I can make a prototype while checking the inside space whenever needed. Momoo Omuro I work in pâte de verre. I showed how I create decorations on the surface of my pieces. My technique borrows from the traditions of both pottery and metalwork in that I use stamps to make patterns. Potters have long used stamps, stamping patterns on their work. We can see examples of this in pottery from around the world. Metalwork also has a history of using stamping techniques to decorate the surface. Steel stamps can achieve extremely fine lines. In my glassmaking, I use the technique of impressing patterns for making molds with bamboo stamping tools. For me, pâte de verre remains a stimulating technique, and I continue to explore new possibilities in that world. Naoko Kato When I work with glass kilncasting, I use Shigaraki water clay to make my model. By using spatulas and my hands, I search for shapes that bring back memorable scenes of events in everyday life that have left an impression on me. This process makes various marks that remain on the surface of the model. I leave a good amount of marks on the glass – to the extent that they do not interfere with the penetration of light. For that reason, I try to keep the machine use to a minimum. I polish by hand using waterproof sand paper

Mica Okuno, Light Nest, 2015, kilncast glass, 85 x 15 x 14 cm

Yoko Hirosawa, Pairidaêza, 2015, blown glass, silver foil, 30 x 15 x 15 cm

as much as I can. By doing so, I believe my feeling remains within my work. When I make a plaster cast, I use Gift, a Noritake Company product, whenever I want to leave the surface texture neat and smooth. Generally, Gift is suitable for making small products such as wax model accessories. Considering its shrinkage and strength factors, it is not suitable for making large products. However, Gift can be used together with G2.

the process. I want to create my glasswork like drawing a picture or composing a poem and infuse poetry in each piece of art.

Yoko Hirosawa My work is mainly glassblowing, and I incorporate gold and silver foil in my process. During our presentation, I talked about why and how I use these materials. I use thicker gold and silver foils because they provide three-dimensional effects. A unique quality of gold is that it is unchanged as time goes by, while the quality of silver will change. I treasure the color that only glass can create and the warm feeling that is brought about by melted glass. So, I shared how I make glass color with deeper tones. I also talked about what interests me now: all things related to tea. Respecting the traditional form of the tea ceremony, I am taking on the challenge of making tea utensils with glass, which is an unconventional material for these items. I took the opportunity to talk about my passion for my work. I think strong willpower is needed for making glasswork, and the power to determine the right moment is essential to

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

Yoko Yagi I’ve been fascinated and obsessed with making murrine by fusing sheets of glass since I learned the technique at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass in 2001. My simplest one has 17 sheets of glass measuring 51 x 51 x 100 mm that become a pattern of stripes. And so far, my most intricate pattern has contained 123 pieces of glass strips to make the same 51 x 51 x 100 mm block. This is the link of the video I showed during the talk: https://youtu.be/xEjRJToGkyY. As a tip, it is better to take photos before firing those blocks because from time to time, colors in those blocks will change through firing. You had better have those images, if you’d like to reproduce them. Since I have started making octagonal box form pieces, I have faced breakage problems. There are so many possibilities that might be the cause of the problem. It took about two years until I finally found new material to use as my mold. Selben is the one. This product is a white ceramic powder. Using this product, I can now see a possibility of success making octagonal boxes again. I’ve dreamt about when the day would come that I would be able to see the completion of this type of work. 75


__________________________________ Mica Okuno studied at Tama Art University in Japan and Gerrit Rietveld Academie in The Netherlands. She teaches at Tama Art University and many other institutions. She has received awards from the Contemporary Glass Triennial in Toyama and from the International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa in Japan. Her work has been published in New Glass Review 27 and 34, and her work has been collected and exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide. Momoo Omuro graduated from Musashino Art University’s metal course, having previously worked at a traditional metal casting studio. She studied glass at Surrey Institute of Art in the United Kingdom and Tokyo Glass Art College in Japan, after which she started working with pâte de verre. Momoo has exhibited in Ornament at Glasmuseum Ebeltoft in Denmark, and International Pâte de Verre and Other Cast Glass Granulations at the Museum of American Glass in New Jersey, as well as many other exhibitions in Japan and abroad.

Momoo Omuro, Bowl, 2015, pâte de verre, 12.5 x 22.5 x 22.5 cm Photo: Keisuke Osumi

Naoko Kato, The Rain, 2013, glass, 32 x 39 x 15 cm Photo: Mareo Suemasa

Naoko Kato graduated from Joshibi University of Art and Design in Japan with a bachelor of fine arts degree, majoring in glass. She has been teaching at her alma mater since 2001. She has received several awards, including the Special Exhibition Pâte de Verre at Notojima Glass Art Museum in 2016 and Sanyo Onoda Contemporary Glass Art Exhibition in 2015. She has participated in many exhibitions nationwide. Yoko Hirosawa studied at Tokyo Glass Art Institute in Japan and Rochester Institute of Technology in the U.S. In 1996, she established her own hot glass studio. Yoko has been teaching at Joshibi University for the last 10 years. She has participated in exhibitions in Kunstmuseum in Germany, the Glasmuseum Ebeltoft in Denmark and many places in Japan. Her work received special recognition at the Tanko Biennial The Art of Tea Ceremony in Kyoto, Japan.

Yoko Yagi, Hope, 2013, fused, kiln formed, diamond ground glass, 5 x 31 x 31 cm

Yoko Yagi was inspired by the glasswork of Klaus Moje, whom she apprenticed. Yoko has been fascinated by making murrine from sheets of glass since she learned the technique under Rudi Gritsch in 2001 at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass. She won the Silver Prize in the International Exhibition of Glass in Kanazawa Japan, 2004. Yoko has participated in numerous worldwide exhibitions, including SOFA and The Art of Fused Glass in New Mexico.

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Lino Tagliapietra, Ombelico, 2015, 18.75 x 14.25 x 26.5�. Photo: Russell Johnson

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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Judith Schaechter, Birth of Eve, 2013, stained glass, cut, sandblasted, engraved, painted, stained and fired, cold paint and assembled with copper foil, 57 x 31”

Tim Drier, Blue Decanter with Cups, blown glass, 20 x 7” Photo: Jeff Glenn

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Maria Bang-Espersen, Craftformation, 2012, glass, video, projection, dimensions variable Photo: Dorte Krogh

Pavlina Cambalova, Inner Child, 2007, engraved, sandblasted glass, 15 x 30 cm

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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Roger Parramore, Liturgical Vase Series 4, flameworked glass, tallest 36”

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Andy Paiko, Pumpjack, 2013, blown, sculpted, aseembled, water jet cut glass, cast bronze, brass, leather, steel, reclaimed wood, motor, kinetic, 52 x 20 x 42�

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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Raven Skyriver, Sea Turtle, hot sculpted glass

Carmen Lozar, Shell, 2014, glass and wood, 12.5 x 6.5 x 4.5”. Photo: Rick Kessinger

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Jocelyne Prince, Glory Studies, 2015, live event at UrbanGlass, Brooklyn

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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John Moran, Stand Your Ground, 2013, glass, resin, latex, enamel, fabric, 40 x 65 x 35” Photo: Edwin Pieters

Boyd Sugiki, Bora Bora Bowls, 2010, blown glass, 9.5 x 11”. Photo: Mike Seidl

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THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


LEC -MO

Of Esoteric Craft By Daniel Mirer This lec-mo focused on the processes I use to make my work. I brought in an array of custom tools and molds, with examples of the finished work and accompanying images. I also presented sketches and design drawings illustrating the progression from concept to mold and tool design to finished ware. I had a series of animations that showed, step-by-step, how various pieces are made. Lastly, there were two videos: one showing stemware production and one showing a core-forming technique used to make candlesticks. This journal entry highlights a few of the topics covered in the presentation.

Tube Top Candlestick Process A thick tube is blown and opened at the tip. A 3/4 in. graphite reamer is used to standardize the inner dimension. The assistant holds the reamer while the gaffer squeezes the outside with the newspaper. After annealing, the tube is cut on the saw. Filling it with plaster beforehand reduces chip-out. The inside of the tube section is ground to a standard taper. The tube is heated in the garage and placed upside down on a graphite holder. The nub of the holder is slightly recessed from the top of the tube. A post is made on an iron. A hot bit is added and formed with a footing tool. Another

Tube top candlestick process illustration/animation.

bit is added, tooled, and stretched into a stem. The tip of the stem is heated, then pressed into the opening of the tube. The tube is fire-polished, and the piece is taken off the punty.

Core-formed Candlestick Core A core is made from plaster/silica with glass fibers. Enough fiber is used to the point that the mixture is too thick to pour. The mix is spooned into a rubber mold to produce a plug of the standard taper-sized candle. The plug is dried and then heated in a kiln to 1000°F.

Encapsulation A bubble is made on a blowpipe and formed into a tube with an open end. A graphite rod is used to ensure the inner dimension is 7/8 in. The core is dropped into the tube with the taper facing away from the blowpipe. The tube is heated, then squeezed around the core with the newspaper and jacks. The tip of the tube is sheared closed. Forming The capsule is gathered over three times. Care is taken not to overheat the core, as this causes bubbles to form. The gather is shaped to an Far left: Jar process illustration. Left: Jars

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

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hourglass/cooling tower form with a distinct waist and foot. The waist is torched and taken for a final reheat in the glory hole. The Stretch The blowpipe is placed vertically into the stretching jig. The foot is dumped into the bottom graphite ring, and remains there while the pipe is slowly raised along the alignment registers. Once the full height is reached (about 26 in.), the pipe is clamped into place. A windshield is placed around the glass to prevent uneven cooling (and subsequent bowing of the stem) from the ventilation draft. The piece is left to cool for 3-4 minutes, then is broken free from the pipe and annealed. Finishing The top of the candlestick is cut off on the saw, exposing the core. With the help of some water, the core easily crumbles away leaving a tapered hole to accept a candle. The saw cut surface is ground and polished.

Jar Process 1. The primary form is blown and annealed. 2. The piece is cut into sections. The bottom cut is done on the saw and ground flat. The top cut is scored and cracked off. 3. The bottom section is put on a graphite plate in a top-loading oven. This is brought up to 1050°F. A bubble is blown into the section, taking care not to over-blow or under-blow. 4. After annealing, the bubble is cracked off and the edges are finished. This leaves a flange for the top section to cover.

Stemware Production I produce a line of drinkware that is decorated with gold leaf. All the designs are blown into molds of various materials – including graphite, steel, and aluminum – then cracked off and fire polished. Many of the molds can be re-used to create different designs, depending on the height of the cut off and any addition of bits (handles, feet, etc). From a single mold, multiple designs can be produced. The mold is milled from graphite, and has a fitted plug made from aluminum. With the plug in place, the result is a cup. If the plug is removed, an additional nub is molded from the bubble, which is later pulled into the stem of a wine glass.

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Core-formed candlesticks , 24” x 6”

Specialized tools used in making stemware • A wooden paddle is used to shape and flatten the foot. • A graphite block shapes the gather and distributes a mass of material into a nub at the tip. After the bubble is blown out, the remaining nub of glass is pulled into the stem. • A stem puller/chiller has a metal end with a notch to pull the stem. The wooden body straightens and chills the stem, and also acts as a caliper. • A graphite footing tool provides a consistently sized foot. The diameter and thickness are adjustable. • The stem-pulling jacks shape and stretch the stem from a heated nub or additional hot bit. A ball is formed while stretching the stem. The attached paddle flattens the ball into a post on which the foot will be dropped.

Stretching jig for candlesticks.

__________________________________ Daniel Mirer began his education at age 16, attending the Rochester Institute of Technology where he received his associate’s degree in applied science. He continued to study at Alfred University, where he received his BFA, and the Pukeberg School of Design, Sweden. A resident of Corning, New York, Mirer has been an independent designer/maker since 2004. He creates a range of products including tableware and home decor. In the past few years, Mirer has been involved with the hot glass program and the artist-in-residence project at The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


LEC -MO

Pixelated Particles By Jessi Moore I was thrilled to have the opportunity to present a lec-mo at the 2016 GAS Conference in Corning, New York. In my lec-mo, Pixelated Particles, I spoke in depth about image transfer onto granulated glass. I have utilized printmaking as a resource to create images on glass for some time. Printmaking shares many commonalities with glassmaking. Both have an intimate relationship with the multiple. Glassmaking is a skill only learned through repetition. Printmaking, by design, has the ability to produce multiples. With this in mind, it makes sense that these two mediums can be combined with success. While the choice of image is as important, if not more, than the process of transfer, this paper will delve into a technical explanations of applying enamel images to pâte de verre.

In my lec-mo, I explored the following ways to create an image on pâte de verre:

Pâte de Verre image transfer techniques (l-r): masked and sandblasted glass, enamel printed onto Bullseye Thinfire and transferred to glass, and enamel printed onto plaster and transferred to glass.

1. Using a resist and sandblasting 2. Printing to Bullseye ThinFire, a paper-like substrate 3. Printing to a plaster/silica substrate This essay will focus only on the third printing method, printing glass enamels to a plaster/ silica substrate. While there are many ways to create images on glass, printing to plaster and packing pâte de verre over the plaster has given me the most desirable results. There are a few advantages to printing to plaster as a way to transfer images to pâte de verre. First and foremost, unmarred plaster is a beautiful printing surface to work with. Unlike printing directly onto pâte de verre, the smooth surface of plaster can allow an unblemished print to be applied. Additionally, the plaster naturally draws water into the surface. This allows the enamel to sit well on the surface. The way plaster wicks water also helps when packing glass onto the surface of the plaster. There are many subtle nuances to this process, and I will attempt to describe them in detail.

1. Screen Prep I use the screen printing process to create my images in enamel. Screen printing is a procedure where a fine mesh (110 in this case) is coated with a UV-sensitive emulsion in a dark room. This emulsion is essentially watersoluble, UV-sensitive glue, about the consis-

Misprint examples (l-r): warped plaster creates a blank space in the composition, ink stickage in the screen due to viscous enamel, ink spread due to enamel being too runny.

tency of Elmer’s Glue. When exposed to UV rays, the glue hardens into a plastic. Before exposure, the emulsion can be rinsed away with water. The simplest way to expose a screen is to use the sun, but light boxes and exposure units will also work. I use copy machine transparencies with my image printed in black ink to expose the screen. Where there is black ink on the transparency the light from the sun is blocked, where there is no black ink the light can pass through and contact the screen and emulsion. The dark ink blocking the light leaves the emulsion beneath it in a water-soluble state. When the screen is rinsed, the emulsion

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

washes off the mesh material in the shape of my image. Once a screen is created, it is easy to push enamel through it, onto the plaster substrate.

2. Enamel Prep Dry, powdered enamel is mixed with a suspension medium. I use Reusche brand enamels and a screening medium from the same manufacturer. During the presentation there was some excellent crosstalk about other possibilities of suspension mediums. Gum arabic was one possible alternative suspension medium that warrants further investigation.

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The final enamel print on glass.

Jessi Moore, Grandpa (detail), glass and enamel

3. Plaster Prep

6. Firing

All my demo pieces were printed onto a 1:1:1 mixture of plaster, silica, and water. All measurements are done by volume. Typically, I print onto the plaster/silica mold within a day or so of creating it.

I use a very quick schedule to fire this type of mold. For this firing, the ramp up to process temperature is dictated by the mold thickness and how damp the mold is when loaded into the kiln. Typically I heat these molds around 200/300°F per hour until they reach process temperature. Process temperature can be anywhere between 1275°F and 1450°F for 15 minutes. At the temperatures and hold time described above, the granules of glass will stick together but provide different aesthetic results. Lower temperatures will give the pâte de verre a more sugar crystallike look with very loose and erodible edges. At higher temperatures we begin to see the top surface of the pâte de verre become more glass-like and the edges of the glass begin to be more structurally sound. Because of the drastic differences a few degrees can make in the final product, the importance of test firing your own kiln cannot be overstated. Temperature, insulation, and element location are all factors that will make a difference in the final product.

4. Printing Once the enamel is mixed, it is applied to the screen and squeegeed through onto the plaster bed. If the enamel is not mixed correctly a variety of problems can occur. If the mix is too viscous it will stick in the screen, if too watery the print will spread and distort. With practice it becomes easy to visually check the viscosity of the ink prior to application.

5. Packing Glass I use Bullseye fine frit for my pâte de verre. Mix the fine frit with water and gum arabic to achieve a fluffy and slightly sticky consistency. It’s important that the glass is not too wet or too dry; it should be easily compressible but not overly saturated. The damp glass is spooned over the plaster and enamel print and compressed using wood or soft metal (copper) tools. When I am tamping the glass down I am looking to achieve an even pack. The more even the glass is tamped the more even the results will be once fired.

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As always, the GAS Conference was an inspiring and enlightening time. I would like to thank the Glass Art Society and the Corning Museum of Glass for inviting me to present and for hosting such a wonderful event. __________________________________ Jessi Moore is a glass artist living in Corning, New York. She currently works as the special projects team leader at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass where her job involves a variety of tasks related to teaching and glassmaking. Moore served as student representative on the Glass Art Society board of directors in 2011-2012 and has an MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. In her personal work, Moore’s art is primarily an investigation into the fallibility and distortion of human memory and can be seen at www.jessimooreglass.com.

7. Divesting After firing and annealing, the enameled glass tile pulls easily off the plaster mold, with the enamel well adhered to the granulated glass. Any residue of plaster can be washed away with water, leaving the final print vitrified onto the glass. THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


LEC -MO

Multiple-Layered Thin Pâte de Verre By Etsuko Nishi In moldmaking, ceramic fiber has generally been used for insulation. This lec-mo introduces a new use for ceramic fiber as a mold material in pâte de verre. The proposed mold material and production techniques have technically extended the possibility of personal expression and have enabled the creation of designs that would be problematic with traditional plaster silica molds. These challenging designs, such as double- and triple-layered work, can now be produced by the proposed method in this lec-mo. Furthermore, thin work in pâte de verre can also be created. Ceramic fiber is not generally used as a substitute for plaster, but for complex shapes or work in thin glass, it can be very useful. Another advantage of ceramic fiber is that it can be reused; however, it is not suitable for solid or large work.

Background I was first drawn to glass when I saw how to make stained glass on a TV program in high school. I moved from Japan in 1980, and lived in Seattle for seven years. Pilchuck Glass School introduced me to a lot of glass art, and in 1987 I took Klaus Moje’s class and was very influenced by his approach. The beauty of the quilts and African cloth fascinated me and inspired me to produce my first series, Fabric into a Glass, while living in Seattle. In this series I used ceramic fiber in the production process to shape the glass. In 1988, I became a graduate student at Australian National University. Three important events happened while studying in Australia that marked a starting point in my work: 1. I discovered the cage cup of the third century of Roman period. 2. I observed a beautiful woman wearing a scarf and the sight of her profile was also very beautiful. The light would stop for a moment and the fabric would become translucent. 3. I saw a thin and delicate pâte de verre vessel by Albert Dammouse at Museé d’Orsay in Paris. Since I started working in pâte de verre, I have been striving to express the hidden softness of the glass. I have also been exploiting the fragility and delicacy of the material as my technical objective. My aesthetic objective is to explore complex and beautiful shapes. Color is

also an important element for me. In Australia, my glass became colorful by the beautiful blue sky and the sunshine. In London, my glass had fewer colors due to the London weather and its effect on clothes. In Japan, my glass took on a pale color in the tradition of the Japanese Kimono and the four seasons.

Process Step 1 - Overall Shape: It will be shaped like a vessel and generally composed of gentle curves. Step 2- Design of Inner and Outer Layers: The inner layer and the outer layer will be of a similar design, and the colors will be in harmony with each other. Step 3- Glass Preparation: Wash with water, remove the powder from the big particle glass, and dry out. Use 0.25~0.5 mm granulated (sugar size). Step 4- Ceramic Mold Preparation: Step 4.1: Mix sodium carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC). Mix CMC: water; ratio is 1:20 by weight. Step 4.2: Compounding of water and glue. Mix the ceramic fiber: CMC: water; ratio is 2:2:1 by weight. Ceramic fiber paste does not adhere to the rubber gloves. Shape the ceramic fiber into a mold. You can use almost any material such as cardboard, wood, or plastic. Step 4.3: Aluminium foil can be easily peeled off the mold. Step 4.4: Spread ceramic fiber paste into the mold. Step 4.5: Drill through the bottom of the ceramic fiber mold to create the double structure. Step 4.6: Place in the mold to dry in the kiln at 250°F. Step 4.7: Take out the dry ceramic fiber mold. Step 4.8: Peel off the aluminium foil. Step 5-Drawing the Design onto the Mold: The ceramic fiber mold is now ready to receive the design. Step 5.1: Draw your design on the inside of the mold. Step 5.2: Draw your design onto the outside of the mold with a ceramic pencil. Step 5.3: Cut the ceramic fiber to match the outside of the design.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

Step 2.4: Hand mixing water, glue, and ceramic fiber.

Step 4: A completed ceramic mold.

Step 4.3: Aluminum foil being peeled off the biscuit mold.

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Step 6-Applying the Glass for the Inner Layer: Step 6.1: Mix the glue and glass (glass should be 0.25~0.5 mm); ratio is 10 Glass (g): 2 CMC paste (g): 1 water (g) by weight Step 6.2: Apply the glass to the inside of the mold. Step 7- Firing the Inner Layer of Glass: Step 7.1: Firing Schedule Firing Schedule for the Inner Layer Process

Temperature

Time

Heating

Room Temp. → 520°C

5 hrs

Soaking

N/A

10 mins

Heating

500°C → 770°C

30 mins

Soaking

N/A

30 mins

Heating

770~780°C →480°C

2 hrs

Soaking

N/A

2 hrs

Heating

480°C → 50°C

16 hrs

Step 8 -Applying the Glass for the Outer Layer: After firing the inside of the glass, turn it upside down and the ceramic paper pattern made in step 5.3 will be stuck onto the outside of the mold. Use the ceramic fiber paste as an adhesive. Step 8.1: Place the glass on the mold by hand and smooth the surface of the glass with a spatula. Step 8.2: Remove the bottom of the cap, connecting the inner and outer layers. Step 8.3: Put glass all over. Step 9-Firing the Outer Layer of Glass: Once the glass paste has been applied to the outside of the mold, it is placed in the kiln. Firing Schedule for the Outer Layer Process

Temperature

Time

Heating

Room Temp. → 500°C

10 hrs

Soaking

N/A

10 mins

Heating

500°C → 770°C

30 mins

Soaking

N/A

30 mins

Heating

770°C → 480°C

3 hrs

Soaking

N/A

3.5 hrs

Heating

480°C → 50°C

16 hrs

Step 10-Removing the Ceramic Fiber Mold: The mold should be sprayed gently with water from time to time during removal to dampen down the dust from the fibers. The mold can be removed from the space between the two layers of glass quite easily, using a small palette knife and dental surgeon’s tools. While removing the mold it is important to wear a protective mask and surgical gloves because of the dust. 90

Step 5.3: Cut ceramic fiber to match the outside of the design.

Step6.3: Applying glue and glass inside the mold with a rubber spatula.

Step 8.3: After removing the bottom cap, filling the mold with glass.

Step 9: Firing the outer layer of glass.

Post Script In 1986, I travelled to the Corning Museum of Glass by airplane. Due to fog, I arrived at Ithaca Airport and went to Corning by taxi. My second visit to the Corning Museum of Glass was for the 2016 GAS Conference. This time, because of a flight delay out of Chicago, I arrived at Ithaca airport again. Elmira Airport doesn’t seem to like me very much! There is a Japanese adage, “What happens twice will happen three times.” I sincerely hope that there is no third time.

__________________________________ Etsuko Nishi was born in Kobe, Japan. She attended the Royal of College of Art, where she earned a master’s in philosophy in 1999. She has exhibited in galleries worldwide, including Matsuya Ginza, Osaka Takashimaya, Heller Gallery, Chappell Gallery, and Marx-Saunders Gallery. Her work is in the collections of Museé des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Corning Museum of Glass, Seattle Art Museum, Suntory Museum of Art, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Koganezaki Glass Museum, Museum of Arts and Design, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, among others. She is currently a lecturer in the glass department at Osaka University of Arts.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


LEC -MO

Simple Yet Complicated By Andy Paiko Motivated by my preference for blowing glass in the hotshop alone, as well as a default tendency towards visually complex forms, my making process has evolved over time to resemble a kind of three-dimensional collage. Rather than relying on the finished glass object to maintain its autonomy upon exiting the annealer, I tend to consider its relationship with other objects, working together, to determine a more nuanced and elaborate (and often functioning) whole. This is achieved through layering different processes and techniques – some simple, others complicated – as a means to an end. The end goal is to communicate an objective sensory experience through subjective aesthetic decisions, hopefully resulting in unique forms and new ideas. Unique forms and new ideas are answers to the questions that makers/thinkers ask themselves: Why do I need the thing? When do I need the thing? How much will the thing cost to make? Where will it be made? What will the thing be made of? What resources will be required? What will be its function? Does the thing need to function? Who will the thing be made for? Why would they buy the thing? How will the thing get there? How will the thing be made? Focusing on the last question on this list is the domain of the lec-mo, so the following article will highlight a few of the exploratory techniques I shared during my slide presentation. However, I would argue that most of these questions are equally important. Emphasis should be placed on problem-solving skills more than technique alone, because reliance on technique and the avoidance of problems limits creativity and has a homogenizing effect on output. Just like the generative theory of evolution, artistic evolution has a tendency towards complexity and/or refinement as a function of selective elimination. Building complex forms from simpler components begins with planning and research. First, I break down the ideas or objects I’m attempting to make into easily digestible (or

Andy Paiko, Pumpjack, 2014, blown, sculpted, assembled, water jet-cut glass, cast bronze, brass, leather, steel, reclaimed wood, motor, kinetic, 54 x 17.75 x 40”

makeable) parts. Since the reason the object exists is dependent upon the relationship of its component parts, I determine which parts are essential to the perceived or suggested functionality of the piece. I start with those parts first and build from there. I buy manuals and references. I sketch the parts out first from different angles. I make a model to determine scale, proportion, and arrangement. I make as much in the hotshop as I can to save myself time coldworking, but I don’t limit myself to making everything hot. The hotshop is expensive and inefficient. I consider making the parts out of something other than glass. I keep in mind that one thing always leads to another, so I’m willing to change direction or build in a way I hadn’t planned.

Glue Joints The joining of two annealed pieces of glass using adhesives is less about the glue used than about how the joint is prepared. I use several different types of adhesives each for different applications: glass to glass, glass to metal, glass to plastic. Different curing times and degrees of strength, sheer, expansion, flexibility, and clarity are all important factors when deciding what product to use and when. I recommend making different types of joints with different products and strength testing them, stressing them, and experimenting. Here are a few rules that I like to keep in mind when engineering a joint:

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

• Keep it clean. I use denatured alcohol, but fresh and dry off the lap wheel is even better. • Coldwork the joint so the surfaces to be married are identical: exactly the same diameter and shape with no beveling of any kind. I leave a roughly 400- to 800-grit tooth on the surfaces, which disappears after joining. The joint should ideally be invisible, with no inconsistencies in color density. All of the parts have to read as a cohesive whole. • Use a bubble level whenever possible. • I abide by the general rule that any glue joint should be a minimum of 1/3 wider in diameter (or thickness) than the thinnest feature of the glass piece. Under stress or concussion the glass should always fracture before the joint. • Engineer the joint so that no one can tell where the piece has been joined. Keep in mind that most pieces are traditionally viewed below eye-level. • Assembly order is important. Sometimes pieces need to be coldworked, then joined together, then coldworked some more before the next joint is made. • Make jigs for grinding odd parts consistently at odd angles. I have a plumb-bob suspended directly over my lap-wheel.

Mechanical Joints A good number of the methods for joining glass I’ve developed have resulted from solving problems related to shipping. Adding multiple 91


parts to a piece may increase its complexity, but it will also increase its size, weight, and shipping cost. A monolithic piece will be inherently more fragile because it will carry more momentum when transported and will be harder to repair if damaged. If a piece is designed to be modular, or able to be disassembled into parts and reassembled, these risks can be minimized. Examples of techniques for making mechanical joints provided at the lec-mo included: • Potted hardware (nut and bolts inserted into blown/drilled cavities) surrounded by appropriate low-expansion epoxy. • Drilling/hot-forming holes and assembling glass parts with metal or lamp hardware. I use leather washers and gaskets where the metal and glass interface. Rubber in contact with air deteriorates quickly. • Using ball bearings and axles in fitted, core-drilled/mold blown holes. • Creating glass-on-glass and glass-on-metal interfaces that minimize friction. • Gathering on threaded copper pipe fittings. • Blowing into metal cage forms and annealing them together or separately. • Creating Calder-style balancing wedges, hooks, and pins. • Using embedded set screws that can grasp other components. • Using magnets. • The squished rubber cork technique for gripping smaller-form interiors.

Hot and Cold Techniques for Predictable Outcomes When making multiple parts that you intend to reintegrate into a larger structure, most of the time, the dimensional tolerances are very tight. Making multiples of such critical components betters your odds for successful marriages after annealing, since a greater number of combinations and permutations of the multiple components exponentially raises the odds of a perfect fit. Try to be as efficient as possible. For example, make one part the day before so you have one on hand as a reference the following day. Consider making a steel mold to marvercast into. After released from the mold, the part can be picked up on a punty rod and either manipulated or added on to at the glory hole. This makes dimensions and volumes more 92

Andy Paiko, Thompson Lamp, 2016, blown, sculpted, etched, lacquered, assembled glass, wiring, lamp hardware, 12 x 7 x 20”

Andy Paiko, Metronome (detail), 2015, sculpted, etched, lacquered, assembled glass, brass, leather, kinetic, 10 x 9 x 28”

predictable and patterns more regular. Moldblowing can work in a similar fashion. Construct a mold that will relate to a piece of hardware you already have on hand, rather than trying to nail it hot at the bench.

Alternative Materials and Processes Not everything needs to be made out of glass. Many things probably shouldn’t be. This might include structural support components, precise pieces, parts that need to conduct electricity or make sound, and the like. Embrace the technology we now have at our disposal. While I have yet to utilize the mind-boggling capabilities of 3D printers, they are a good example of a process that might be combined with hotshop techniques to achieve a novelyet-predictable result. • Pieces of glass are relatively easy to make molds of. Those molds can be cast out of bronze. Bronze or aluminum parts cast from glass components can have a glassy look, but with greater strength. • Embedding copper wire in glass can be useful for physical and electrical connections. • Water jet cut glass parts, such as a glass sprocket that accepts a steel chain, for example; it can be useful for mechanically animating a kinetic piece. • The same is true for laser cut parts designed to integrate with glass parts. New laser cutting

machines can cut wood, steel, aluminum, brass, copper, and stainless mirror. A detailed drawing can be scanned and uploaded to a computer in a CAD program.

Happy problem solving! Many thanks to GAS and the Corning Museum of Glass. __________________________________ Andy Paiko is known for ambitious, technical works that explore the metaphorical and symbolic tension of form versus function. He received his undergraduate degree in studio art from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, in 2002 and has been working as an independent studio glass artist ever since. Through several apprenticeships, he has studied color chemistry, hotshop fabrication, traditional reproduction, and Venetian techniques. His dedication to solo glassblowing has allowed him to develop his own method of collage-style assemblage that merges his fascination with engineering, science, and visual art. His work has been featured in print publications such as American Craft, Glass: The Urban Glass Art Quarterly, the Corning Museum’s New Glass Review, and is included in public museums and private collections worldwide. In 2015, he received a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Award. He currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

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Folding Light By Kirstie Rea This lec-mo specifically covers my recent work, the folded and draped forms from the last five years. I will cover the ideas behind the work but also discuss processes, materials, and some technical issues I have encountered while developing these works. I have worked with glass for over 40 years, starting in 1974 with stained glass. With my latest work, I have discovered so much about materials, processes, and techniques I’ve been using – things I didn’t know I didn’t know. I’ve never been a tech head, and I am in awe of those who are and who love this essential part of working with glass. I find material science fascinating but feel that if I was to know and understand it all I’d never have time to make, explore, and research - and some of the magic of making might not happen. This year, I have been in full-time residence at Canberra Glassworks as the 2016 Creative Fellow, an incredible opportunity. Canberra Glassworks is housed in Canberra’s original powerhouse building. It is a powerful building with powerful light. Since being in residence, I have realized how much my thinking about light and its ability to sculpt has been reinforced. It recalls my time as the creative director of the facility in its first eighteen months, when the Glassworks first opened. It was so busy during the setup and the opening year, I clearly remember longing to be outside, out of the walls, out of the city, drawn by the lure of the light that seeped into the building all day. I resigned from the position in 2008 and went back to the studio full-time. The following year, I developed a body of work that explored the power of structure and form alongside the searching power and call of light outside, the lure of blue and beyond. Visually, these works are a long way from my current work but there is a strong connection and conceptual base shared with current works utilizing the folded processes. These days I still spend as much time as possible away from the city, in the bush. I have been investigating in more depth how light throughout the day and across seasons affects how I see, feel, think, and how I translate this into glass. With the most recent work, place as a location is still important but the specifics of a place, not so much. I ask myself, “has place become no place? Has actual location lost its place and been overshadowed by presence

Kirstie Rea, Freedom of Leaving, 2016, glass and MDF wall box, 1160 x 150 x 95d mm. Photo: David Paterson

which is brought alive by light?” I want the work to be an invitation to feel place as I feel it, not necessarily see it as I see it. Embedding myself in places I love is as much a physical thing as it is mental. Hopefully, the latest works are somewhere between what is there and being there. Being there is important. It has led me to question how much is the new work about the body in the landscape? This was not the case in previous work. Involvement of the body has crept in sometimes without me realizing it. In the work, We always swam (2013), I thought when making it,

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it was about landscape, the places of rivers and lakes of my life; but looking back, I see it now as more about the sensation of water on the body, of temperature, of place, of location. The glass “towel” forms being about body, place, and sensation. In the shadow of the apricot tree (2015) is not so much about the family backyard apricot tree but about the sensation of taste, aroma, and the body’s memory of picking, cooking, bottling the fruit. It’s about longing and love, the engagement of the senses attached to these times and activities. Spending time alone in the bush, the company of solitude being my shadow, I’ve thought about how that company comes and goes with light – it’s taller, longer in the morning and evening. I’m alone at midday or all day on a cloudy day. Considering shadow has reduced my reliance on color to represent place. Color has slowly leached out of my current work. In 2011, I spent a semester at the Alberta College of Art and Design. Alberta was a new landscape, new light, color, and feel but alongside a familiar sense of open space and big skies. I reflected on warm blue days back home and created the first folded blanket forms. They involve simple folds, one fold per firing, just letting heat and gravity fold the glass. I don’t at any stage manipulate the glass in the kiln. It’s possible but seems awkward and unnecessary. The glass has to be way hotter to be manipulated and results in a highly fire polished surface. Technically – what are the processes I use? I have brought a series of stages showing the folding of a blanket form for a single layer of 3 mm Bullseye glass – they are: Cut and then edge the sheet glass on the belt sander. Sandblast the surface and engrave if required. It is important to edge the form on the belt sander from a raw cut edge, as there are many micro fractures along the edge. I am not taking the glass beyond slumping temperature so these micro fractures won’t heal as they would be in full fuse.

Firing 1: First Fold Place glass over anything you can balance the sheet of glass on. I use a ceramic element rod covered with a layer of ceramic fiber paper. If you just use shelf primer on the rod the glass may be tricky to remove. 93


Finally I would like to thank Jeremy Lepisto for his friendly, in-depth technical advice and Canberra Glassworks for the incredible opportunity this year of being in residence as the Creative Fellow. Thank you GAS, Corning, and all involved in presenting this conference. __________________________________

Kirstie Rea, Between Boulders, 2016, glass, wall shelves, 155 x 1220 x 150d mm. Photo: David Paterson

Firing 2: Second Fold Balance glass over the same set up. As I have become more adventurous with how these forms can fold I now balance the glass off center by weighting it with bits of kiln shelf as counter weights. These slide off as the glass slumps.

Firing 3 The form needs a final settle slump to allow it to look naturally folded. The firing schedule for each fold is slightly different. The main difference is lengthening the annealing time as the layers tack fuse together. I follow Bullseye’s annealing for thick glass chart as if the glass was at least twice as thick as it is. As a starting point, the thinner and smaller the glass sheet is the hotter the process temperature needed to achieve a fold due to less weight in the material. For the larger blanket forms, I use 2 fully fused layers of 3 mm Bullseye, adding another firing to the process. These fold at a lower temperature. The second set of examples I brought with me is for a folded and draped form using 2 mm clear Bullseye. These samples show the progression through firings to produce the folded forms.

long annealing. Cracks are always in the third or fourth firing as more layers touch and tack fuse. I have kept increasing the annealing time and resolved most cracking. I believe this is shape-induced stress caused by a lack of fine multi-zone temperature control in the kilns I am using. I know this can be addressed with multiple thermocouples in the kiln but I have not had the opportunity to introduce these to the kilns I am using.

Kirstie Rea is an independent artist practicing in Australia. Her glassworks are focused on kilnforming and coldworking processes. She has exhibited internationally and has had solo exhibitions in Australia, the U.S., New Zealand and Hong Kong, and her work is included in collections around the world. She has taught in several academic glass programs, including the Australian National University, Sydney College of the Arts, University of South Australia, and the Alberta College of Art and Design. In 2009, Rea received the Ausglass Honorary Life Membership Award for her contribution to glass education in Australia.

Kirstie Rea, In Place, 2016, glass, wall shelf, 720 x 340 x 250 mm Photo: David Paterson

Firing 1 – Corrugate the glass over stainless steel rods. Firing 2 – Stand the glass on edge and let the corrugations compress. Firing 3/4/5 – Fold or bend the glass to

whatever form is required. Small cracks developing where some layers touch down has been a problem despite extra94

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Just Hot Enough: Relatively Low Temp Kilncasting By Nathan Sandberg

Preparing to sift glass powder over a stencil.

Introduction This spring at the Palace Theater in Corning, I set out to introduce a packed theater to my artwork, the challenges I have encountered while learning to make it, and the steps I take to succeed in the kiln. I prefer to work with glass in a kiln due to the strict level of control I have over the conditions within the kiln and therefore the glass. The range of temperatures that will cause Bullseye glass to deform or change shape is around 1150°F -1550°F with glass usually being introduced to a casting mold at around 1525°F or above. At this high temperature the glass looks and behaves like a very slow liquid being poured. It will eventually flow to fill every detail of the mold. For a number of years now I have produced work using the lower end of the temperature range. My objective is to stick disparate grains of glass frit together so they will hold a form but not actually soften them to a point at which they move and flow within a mold. If heated correctly, around 1310°F or so, I can expect every grain of frit that is placed within a mold to stick together and hold a solid form. But it isn’t easy.

Materials & Process My favorite mold material by far is vermiculite board. It is essentially high temperature wood and can be cut, drilled, and screwed together with the same tools that one would use to build with wood. Just be sure to wear a

Positioning the vermiculite board mold over sifted glass powder layer.

respirator and have an adequate dust collection system when processing it, as it will produce a lot of dust that isn’t toxic but still shouldn’t be inhaled. After cutting, prefire the board to burnout any organic contaminants that may adversely affect your glass once it is in place. Burnout the boards by simply standing them on edge in a kiln and fire 500°F per hour to 1530°F and hold for 30 minutes. Then, you can rapidly cool the kiln. With the burnout complete, predrill your holes and screw the mold together using either 2 in. stainless steel deck screws or coarse thread drywall screws. Stainless screws are ideal as they will last for many, many firings. Avoid any screws that are galvanized or coated. To keep glass from sticking to the mold, I apply 5-6 layers of Bullseye Shelf Primer and then dry the mold by firing quickly to 500°F and holding for fifteen minutes. I also apply the primer to two cordierite/ mullite kiln shelves. The mold and glass will sit on one of the shelves and the other shelf will go on top of the glass, within the mold. On the primed kiln shelf, I start by positioning a simple stencil and proceed to sift a thin (1-2 mm) layer of powder over the stencil. It is common for a number of layers of colored glass powder to be sifted directly onto the primed surface as I work from the foreground to background on side one of the artwork. After the layer of powder is finished I remove the stencil and bring the primed vermiculite board mold into position. I then start filling what

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is essentially a box with ¾ in. layers of coarse frit, spreading it across the surface evenly and making sure to tamp down each layer firmly with a piece of wood or brick before adding another layer. Compressing the room temperature material as much as possible before firing reduces the amount of settling the glass experiences during the firing and allows me to control the finished thickness of the piece. Once the mold is filled to the correct depth with frit (usually about 4 in.) I’ll position another stencil on top of the packed volume of frit and apply a few thin layers of powder before installing the second shelf, primer side down, on top of the powder. Spraying water on the non-primer side of the shelf helps a suction cup to stick long enough to lower the shelf into place without unnecessarily disturbing the powder layers. With the shelf, mold, frit, and powder in the kiln, the final step before firing is adding 10 to 20 pounds of bricks on top of the second shelf. The amount of weight depends on the area of the piece underneath. The top shelf and the bricks will do a few things: 1. Ensure a similarly flat surface on both sides of the slab. 2. Shield the glass on top of the slab from direct exposure to the elements in the roof of the kiln. Provide pressure that allows me to fire to a 3. lower temperature and still bond the grains of frit together into a solid, stable form.

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Firing Mass and volume are important aspects within my work. I prefer the work to be able to stand on it’s own without adding a base or support system so I am usually aiming for around 3 - 4 in. of thickness in a 16 x 15 in. slab, post-firing. Given my artistic and practical expectations, work of this nature was originally challenging to make. Ten years ago, anytime I set out to make a piece that was thicker than 1 in. or had a variable thickness to the piece, I would end up with what looked like a crust on the top surface and the glass at shelf level would appear to barely be fired; it was a bit crumbly and it definitely wasn’t a stable, solid form. I blamed the under-fired bottom of the piece on the fact that the glass at shelf level was furthest from the main heat source, roof elements, and it was buried (or insulated) by 3 in. of glass. And who knows what’s going on heat wise in the middle of the slab? I always picture a rattle: a solid shell, loose frit shaking around in the middle! Before purchasing a handheld data logger pyrometer, I tried many different approaches to getting more heat under the shelf, to the glass at shelf level. Raising the shelf to 4-6 in. above the floor helped a bit. Placing a shield or barrier between the top elements and the glass helped a bit. Raising the shelf and installing a barrier was another step in the right direction, so was modifying my firing schedule and firing

Close-up of powder being sifted over stencil.

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very slowly. But what really made the difference was installing elements in the floor of my kiln and making it possible to control when certain elements were on or off. The data logger allowed me to fire test slabs and monitor the temperature of the glass at three distinct locations within the slab of glass itself as I made changes to the kiln setup and firing schedules. Since I can hook four thermocouples to my data logger I was also able to monitor the kiln controller and then compare the temperatures within the glass to the temperature of the kiln as well as the schedule of the program. Keeping in mind that there are many variables to consider when writing a firing schedule for a particular project, here is what I find most reliable in my kiln when firing a 15 x 16 x 3.5 in. slab: 1. Bottom elements only until 1050°F 2. Heat 75°/hr to 1000°F 3. Hold at 1000°F for 3hr (during this time the ∆T between glass and kiln gets to within 35°F) 4. Turn top elements on at 1050°F 5. Fire to 1310°F at 200°F/hr with all elements on 6. Hold for twenty minutes at 1310°F 7. Cool at 100°F/hr to 900°F 8. Hold for 12hr at 900°F 9. Cool at 3°F/hr to 800°F 10. Cool at 5°F/hr to 700°F 11. Cool at 20°F/hr to room temp

Testing When in testing or experimental mode, I’ll make a 3 in. thick slab of frit in the same manner as I just described. The difference being that as I load the frit and/or powder into the mold, I also insert three disposable thermocouples (think temperature probe/thermometer). One is inserted at shelf level under the frit. Another is placed in the middle of the volume of frit, with another on top just under the second shelf. Yet another thermocouple is inserted through a hole in the wall of the kiln to double check that the kiln itself is reading temperatures accurately and firing according to program. I make these disposable thermocouples cheaply by purchasing bulk thermocouple wire and attaching a plug that fits into my data logger to one end while tightly twisting the two wires together on the other end. That’s all there is to it! The low overhead makes them disposable. I can leave them in the slab for the whole firing and successfully monitor temperatures from room temp, up to top temp, and back to room temp. I get minute-by-minute data in the form of charts and graphs. However, if my goal is to make a piece of artwork, I cannot embed thermocouples and leave them in for the duration of the firing as this would disturb my powdered surfaces and produce artwork with wires sticking out of it! For these reasons, when producing finished work I need to rely on the data collected from my test firings, a bit of intuition and insight from

Nathan loading mold into kiln.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


one rigid, non-disposable thermocouple inserted into the middle of the volume of frit. This single thermocouple allows me to have an idea of how hot the glass is in the middle of my slab (the most insulated area, furthest from any heat source) up until about 1050°F, at which point I pull it out of the glass and out of the kiln before it fuses in place. The rest of the firing continues without any extra thermocouples. A final point I tried to make in Corning was that I figured out how to successfully make the work without the data from the independent thermocouples. I rarely sit in front of my kiln with a calculator and a pile of charts when trying to decide how to program a particular firing. At times, I would rather struggle to make the work by trial and error over the course of years, but that gets expensive and you don’t go anywhere very quickly especially when having to anneal pieces of glass that are three inches thick. Taking advantage of somewhat modern technology has fed my curiosity, confirmed (and denied) my assumptions, and made the whole process quite a bit more efficient and repeatable. __________________________________

Nathan Sandberg, Paver 5, 2014, Low temp kilncast glass, 16 x 15 x 3.5”

Nathan Sandberg, Glimpse, 2015, Low temp kilncast glass, 16 x 14 x 3”

Nathan Sandberg is an artist and educator living and working in Portland, Oregon. His primary art material is glass, although his installations commonly make use of other materials like wood, metal, and concrete. While relentlessly producing artwork for the past 12 years, he has made a name for himself as one of the top kiln glass educators teaching today. When he isn’t in his studio focusing on kilncast glass, he can be found presenting fresh, innovative curriculum at a wide range of studios, schools, and art centers around the globe. His work has received critical recognition through awards and gallery exhibitions.

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100% Homemade By Judith Schaechter I called my lec-mo 100% Homemade because I was raised to be ferociously independent and to take care of all my business myself. Without even really thinking about it, I channeled my studio practice into a very small, DIY business (even though I had never even heard of “DIY” at the time). It was very important to me that everything be done as inexpensively as possible, as I was never planning on making much money at this, and something I could lift myself, afford myself, create myself and, yes, control myself. I went to Rhode Island School of Design and they furthered the DIY thing by impressing upon me the need to fabricate my own equipment. I don’t have any pictures of my first sandblast cabinet which I constructed from found materials including dishwashing gloves, metal flashing, and car mats, but I assure you it was an excellent example of outsider art and not especially functional. All of this is to say,if you are interested in setting up a stained glass studio, you can do so in a very low-tech way that is not too terribly expensive but only one catch: if you need a sandblaster, you need a place to put it… hopefully forever.

Studio Setup The basic equipment needed for a stained glass studio is some type of light table, a work table, a glass storage rack, a kiln, and a glass grinder. A light table can be as simple as my first one, which was a trash-picked window sash propped on bricks with a light bulb underneath it. My current light table is one of the most expensive things in my studio, but still reasonable, and the LEDs that light it match the light box situation I am creating work for. You will need a work table to assemble on and a glass storage rack. Secondly, you need a kiln. My first kiln was a Neycraft dental wax burn out oven that I still have and still use. The interior is only 8 x 8 in., so for about 12 years, I could fire nothing larger than that. Later I bought a Denver fusing kiln that I still use today. Its interior size is 19 x 19 in. For cutting, I have one of those hobbyist style router grinders that I have set up on a jig so I can press hard and grind faster. This wears down the motor, but you go faster and they are cheapish, so it’s all good. The biggest pain in the butt, by a long shot, is a sandblasting set up. I told you about my first cabinet and compressors, but later, when 98

Judith Schaechter soldering a piece. Photo: Nicole Stranko

I broke down and asked for help, I got a 5 hp compressor with a Dresser motor, a 2-phase pump, and a 100-gallon tank. I use a Skat blast cabinet. Has no one told that company that “scat” is a word for animal feces? Well, don’t use that, use sandblast media, which I will get to shortly.

Technique and Design Often, I try to experiment with the techniques available and invent new techniques, so this is just a generalization. Before I go into further technical details, an important aspect of the look of my work is that the glass is stacked (I am using that term to distinguish from the layers of flash). Often parts of the image are two to five pieces of glass deep. For this reason, the glass I select is usually much lighter than intuition would lead you to think was necessary – but that color gets intense fast!

Sandblasting The first step after cutting the glass is to do any sandblasting that needs to be done. Sandblasting is a process by which one can remove

areas of the colored layer by abrading the surface with sand at a high pressure. I use a variety of resists to create stencils for sandblasting, including glue and masking tape, but the most common type of stencils I use are hand-cut, translucent adhesive vinyl (i.e., Rubbermaid contact paper) or a photographic film (Rayzist) that is adhered to the glass. Remember, when making your own Rayzist stencils in Photoshop, black = blast! Lately I have been sandblasting sheets with no stencils at all simply in order to “break into” the surface so I can hand carve it. Sandblasting is not a magic thing that wizards at Hogwarts learn in order to make beautiful tonal images. A sandblaster is a ham-fisted, crude machine. It makes a line the width of the nozzle plus the distance it is held from the surface (and the angle). In my world, sandblasting is all about prep and not at all about image creation. I sandblast at a psi between 80 and 110 and I use 120 or 220 alumina oxide grit. Always wear a respirator! Alumina oxide can cause silicosis, so don’t be a dummy and wear a respirator with the proper cartridges.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Engraving After sandblasting, I engrave smaller details with a flexible shaft tool using diamond ball burrs and cold water. I also use diamond files to further refine the engraving. At this point, I own three engraving tools and they are all a bit different from each other in functionality. For 20 years, though, all I had was a Foredom flexshaft, and that’s a fine place to begin. The Foredom has many advantages. Mainly, the motor is far away from the hand piece so you can do it with lots of water splashing about without being in danger of electrocuting yourself. You can also use some pressure…you shouldn’t, but you can! The downside of a Foredom is that the hand pieces is not very ergonomic, and if it’s not in good condition (and the ones in schools never are), then it’s like trying to draw with a jackhammer – and about as fun. Later, I got a Proxxon tool. The Proxxon tool is a hobby tool. The motor is in the handpiece and it has a low rpm. So what is it good for? It is excellent for light duty carving as the hand piece is the weight of a pencil. I also use it to rough up the areas I will be hand filing. This will add untold hours to the lifespan of your wrist and forearm. Finally, about 5 years ago, I invested in a Nakanishi Emax Evolution. This is a premium piece of engraving equipment that engraves the living bejeezus out of the flash layer at a high rpm and is quite easy to hold for hours on end. The downside is that the motor is in the handpiece, and it sounds like a hive of angry bees when it’s in use. It also might give you nightmares about dentistry. Both the Proxxon and the Emax will only allow for a single-sized mandrel. So, to engrave you pretend it’s a drawing tool and ignore all the awkwardness of the hand pieces and noises and git to the gittin’. You will develop some interesting muscles over time. The burrs one uses are diamond ball-shaped burrs and lots of cold water. Since I am on a light table, I keep a store of bath-sized towels to stanch the flooding. That’s about it. It’s not rocket science. After a few weeks of practice, your work will be as good as your drawings are.

Filing One day, in the course of engraving with one of those tools, I realized that since it is a

diamond tool, there is no real need to actually power it. So, I unplugged. This was a real breakthrough. Since around 2001, I have been exploring the delightful world of hand filing the flash. I use the 80 grit 3M Starlite files, the roughest, since even at that coarseness it is exceedingly painstaking and time consuming. But, oh, the results! This is the technique that makes the smooth tonal transitions in the flash glass so creamy and delicious!

Painting The next step is painting. The only color I use is black or brown Reusche vitreous paint (not the same as enamel). I use them with water and maybe a bit of glycerin to make them smoother. Then there is silverstain. Silverstain is silver nitrate mixed with a gamboge base. It is painted on, fired at about 1050°F, and then you wash the gamboge off and voilà! The silver has stained the glass by sinking into the surface the same way blueberry juice stained your white polo t-shirts. Both of these materials will last eons. I paint the vitreous paint on with simple liner brushes and sable filberts. If the tip isn’t blunt enough you can burn it a bit. Applying the tonal areas of paint is a personal thing, but I sort of pounce the brush. In order to get a smooth gradation from light grey to dark black, one must expect to do two or three firings. Sometimes I do a lot more. It depends. Then, I go back and forth and engrave some more, and paint some more, until the hellhound at my heels is satisfied. I do occasionally tint areas of my pieces with cold paint. For this, I use a high quality transparent oil paint. I do not use it to create imagery, ever. I use it only to tint an existing glass color and only in a piece that will be in a lightbox since it is not lightfast even if it says it is, and I hope my pieces last for eternity. To apply it, I wipe it on with a paper towel and wipe all the excess off to create a tint.

Polishing The areas that are engraved or sandblasted will be textured and no longer shiny and slick. When I want it shiny and slick, I hand polish it to 400 or so and sometimes fire polish that (1330 °F). Or I use a very thin wash of Golden acrylic varnish, 10 parts water to 1 part varnish. Very thin.

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Assembling Finally: the reason there is a lot of color in each section of my windows is that the flash glass is stacked – sometimes up to five pieces deep. Some of the faces I’ve made have used a layer of blue on clear flash, a layer of brown on clear, pink on clear, and red on clear. There’s no particular predetermined order – just what looks good. These glasses are incompatible so when I assemble them, they are not fused or glued. Once all the parts are done for a window, I assemble the piece using copper foil, also known as the Tiffany Technique, since he invented it. In the layered areas, I use a wide copper foil. Then I solder it together, frame it with zinc, and it’s done! Remember, despite all this technical talk, all of which is predicated on 35 years of trial and error, there are no rules you can’t break! Well, one rule, and that’s don’t break the law. But besides that, you are free to try anything. Just remember, that nine times out of 10, breaking the so-called rules leads to a dead end, one that will require hours of wasted time and tons of wasted, expensive glass, frustration, heartache, and panic. The tenth time, however, the door to the meaning of life and nirvana is opened up to you in such a way that you will gasp with delight, inspiration and astonishment. The choice is yours! Game on! __________________________________ Judith Schaechter lives and works in Philadelphia. She has exhibited internationally and is the recipient of many grants, including the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, the Joan Mitchell Award, the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, and a Leeway Foundation grant. She is also a 2008 USA Artists Rockefeller Fellow. Her work is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Hermitage in Russia, The Corning Museum of Glass, The Renwick Gallery, and numerous other collections. Schaechter’s work was included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial and GLASSTRESS 2012 in Venice. In 2013, she was inducted to the American Craft Council College of Fellows.

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Meaningful Gibberish: Cup Making as a Platform to Study Notions of Doing and (un)Doing Things Well By David Schnuckel I. Prelude I had the privilege of presenting a paper written for the Robert M. Minkoff Foundation Academic Symposium at UrbanGlass in October of 2015. The paper addressed the efforts the RIT glass program had put forward to integrate digital technologies into its curriculum. A big part of preparing my thoughts for that paper obligated me to think hard about contemporary notions of making, to reconsider the idea of working with our hands and how the digital could impact this very fundamental value within our field when it comes to our glassworking, our glassmaking, our teaching of glass, and our learning about glass. I see Meaningful Gibberish as a partner piece to that lecture, presented at the Academic Symposium. That lecture was about considering the value of the digital in conjunction with the physicality of making; this lec-mo motivated me to reconsider the value of working by hand in general, of physical engagement with material, of bodily performance within process, of experiencing creative activity in the flesh, and making split-second creative decisions in real time. This lec-mo is an ode to human touch; a tribute to the virtues of toil and the glories of labor, a contemplation of what words like quality can mean, what being at work fully entails, and where the value of skill can truly reside.

II. Focus and Footing When first invited to present a lec-mo I was drawn to the premise of this sort of presentation: an opportunity to discuss and demonstrate process. I love the challenge of deflecting focus from my usual artist talk, which speaks towards what I attempt to investigate within my work, to instead direct focus upon what I attempt to investigate within my working. In fact, I have used the invitation to present a lec-mo as the impetus to develop and investigate a body of new work specifically for the presentation – designing and conducting a project that contemplates glassworking process for this particular lec-mo. In turn, Meaningful Gibberish is a two-part piece that examines two very important – yet very different – facets of my making practice. The front half of the presentation uses a very specific glassblowing process as a vehicle 100

Lavish Puddles, Blown Glass, Time, Temperature, 2015. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Lamark

for speaking about quality work and working, the ethics of discipline, and beliefs about skill…a chapter focused on talking about the language of doing things well. The back half of this presentation uses the exploration of an unlikely intersection between blown glass and kilnforming as a vehicle for speaking towards the virtues of curiosity, the function of wonder, and the significance of stumbling upon something unknown and unplanned for – a chapter focused on talking about a language – of (un)doing things well.

III. Speaking and Skillfulness “If you have no technique, you have no language. If you have no language, you cannot speak.” - Jack Wax, 2013 This is an interesting quote that I stumbled on within the past year as a post on The Glass Virus’s Facebook page. The Glass Virus is an initiative introduced by Jens Pfeifer and Marc Barreda in late 2013 at the first Robert M. Minkoff Academic Symposium. This post facilitated a small thread of conversation within the context of glass education, but for me illuminated a subconscious link to my personal relationship to skill building and some unpleasant childhood learning lessons regarding workmanship.

Like all children since the beginning of time, my little brother and I hated doing certain chores, doing them quickly and sloppily to get them out of the way time and time again. The quality of our work would guarantee a weekly scolding from Mom and Dad and the promise of redoing those chores, but under their scrupulous, highly critical supervision – usually causing those chores to take us so much longer than it normally should have to prove a point. It took time for that lesson to sink in, but when it did, it really did: “Don’t do things just to get them done; …do things for the sake of doing them well,” is a piece of wisdom that turned from parental scolding to a personal manifesto once glass entered my life, back in 2000. But the notion of doing anything well with glass – especially in the beginning – seems so mysterious and complicated for such a long period of time. Glassblowing asks for a budding practitioner’s full commitment for a serious period of time to become truly meaningful; not fun or enjoyable or amusing, but meaningful. Glassblowing rewards those who put the time in. All of those many, many moments of personal advancement in conjunction with those many, many more moments of heartache and failure is where one acquires his or her chops – where a point of ability and wellness develops.

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Journal submission doesn’t allow for a thorough representation of what was presented during the lec-mo. It was first written as a 25-page essay and then translated into a highly visual presentation; a presentation that included a slideshow of 367 slides (hosting a total of 592 images) and 6 video clips. Although Meaningful Gibberish is best experienced as a publicly delivered performance, its content can still be accessed in full as a downloadable e-book at davidschnuckel.com. David Schnuckel, composite process image of Residue, 2016, blown and kilnformed glass, time, temperature 20 x 20 x 1”

Referring back to the Jack Wax quote above, this connection between technique and its ability to communicate in a visual way has all sorts of conversational implications. However, the one of most interest for this talk is the one considering “skill,” eventually leading me to develop work specifically for this lec-mo to focus my attention on this interesting parallel between linguistics and working methodology. To help me identify how I define a language of doing things well, I’ve used the cup making process as a performative vehicle to focus my thinking on issues of sound workmanship. If linguistics is a scientific study in the structure of language, then cup making, in this case, is pursued as a study in the structure of what wellness can truly mean, what the term craftsmanship fully encompasses, and where the value of skill within our working truly resides.

IV. Language of Doing Things Well At this point of the lecture I played a 24-minute video that documents my team of Eric Meeker, Tate Newfield, Alex Morrison, Meng Du and me constructing a singular cup in RIT’s studio. As the video played, I spoke about what the cup – making process tells me about what doing things well means and what all wellness consists of for me. It was a conversation that included – but wasn’t limited to – issues regarding risk, the value of repetition, ethical implications within our working, definitions of quality, labor facilitated by dignity, the presence of ritual, of perpetually looking ahead, cup malfunction, the role of failure, the role of wrong-

ness within my procedure, and the fruits of discipline, patience, and humility as a byproduct of blowing glass, to name a few.

V. Language of (un)Doing Things Well Although non-religious, I can’t help but find an interesting parallel between art practice and organized religion; systems of belief and activity motivated by a sense of wonder, a search for meaning, a sense of curiosity, and that feeling we get when we encounter something beyond our understanding, yet we are moved by it and, somehow, enriched. I equated the back half of this project with the notion of speaking in tongues, what I’ve been calling Meaningful Gibberish: thinking about language rooted in logic that makes sense in a straightforward way, then thinking about language off the beaten path of the common vernacular – obscure, yet still articulate and revealing. I then showed and discussed eight investigations within the Meaningful Gibberish project that used my finished cups to explore and understand the choreography of their ruining. Images of process and finished work in conjunction with video documentation were used to illustrate my findings and observations, both cognitively and in studio.

VI. Conclusion Meaningful Gibberish was a 70-minute, multimedia experience presented at capacity on June 9th, 2016, during the 45th Annual GAS Conference in Corning, New York. The word count I’m obligated to respect within this GAS

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David Schnuckel has earned degrees from Anderson University (BA in fine arts,‘03) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (MFA,‘10). His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including entities such as the Museum of American Glass in Millville, New Jersey, the Glazen Huis of Lommel in Belgium, and Glasmuseet Ebeltoft of Denmark. Schnuckel’s work has been reviewed and published in a variety of publications and resides in several public and private collections, including that of President Bill Clinton. He has been invited to teach, lecture, and demonstrate for students stateside, as well as in Japan, South Korea, Scotland, and Ireland. Currently, Schnuckel serves as a visiting assistant professor in the glass program at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

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S P EC I A L E V E N T S

Artists from Alfred University walking the runway at the Glass Fashion Show.

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FIL M

The Flame-ation Project: A Look Behind the Scenes at Flame-glass Animation By Mark Eliott

Mark Eliott and Jack McGrath, Dr. Mermaid and the Abovemarine (animation still), 2010, Dr. Mermaid in her gill suit. Photo: Jack McGrath and Vanessa White

What is Flame-ation (or flame-glass animation)? Think claymation but with molten glass: figures and forms shaped in the flame are photographed with tiny incremental changes to produce sequences of animation. Sparkling, translucent objects that are usually seen as hard and brittle appear to move, stretch, and morph on screen. Evolving shapes are formed from rods and tubes with a gas/oxygen torch and photographed in front of a green screen every minute or so. Temperatures need to be carefully managed for many hours at a time to avoid drooping or cracking. On the digital side of the equation: the animator spends countless hours at a computer cleaning up individual frames and compiling them into animation sequences that are digitally composited into a field of multiple animations and background imagery before being edited into a film. This process can be likened to making a moving collage or painting a picture with live brushstrokes. My presentation involved introducing three short films. The first was a documentary about my collaboration with filmmaker Jack McGrath, The Flame-ation Project: A Look Behind the Scenes at Flame-glass Animation. It included explanations of our technical and creative working processes as well as excerpts from our films, installations, and exhibitions such as Glassimations at Canberra Glassworks curated by Lienors Torre and our first Flame-ation workshop.

The second film was Dr. Mermaid and the Abovemarine, a whimsical narrative with an environmental message about a marine biologist who converts a World War II submarine wreck into a fish hospital in Bondi, Australia. This film was made at the Sydney College of the Arts and has been shown in many venues including the Glasmusseet Ebeltoft in Denmark and the 2011 GAS Conference in Seattle. However this edit featured a new, more rhythmic soundtrack, composed by Ben Fink, which included sound effects produced by blowing into water-filled glass vessels, guitar, vocals, and a partially submerged saxophone. Interestingly, the digital looping approach used by Fink to generate beds of sound from short phrases neatly mirrors the looping used by McGrath to produce continuity in many of the animations. For example, making a fish appear to swim by looping a sequence of tail movements produced by softening and bending the glass. The third film was the documentation of our installation titled Experiments in Living Glass #2, in which animations derived from abstracted glass sea-life forms were projected in the dark through these same objects mounted on a bed of sand and creating a scene reminiscent of the deep ocean. This homage to life and evolution, previously shown at the Gallery of Western Australia and the Society for Animation Studies Conference in the UK, features the relationship between the object and the screen. The glass

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forms are animated and illuminated by the history of their making. Interesting refractions and reflections appear in the projection due to distortions in the glass. Why am I interested in pursuing The Flame-ation Project? In part, I want to bring glass to life and life to glass. By “bringing glass to life,” I mean portraying glass to an audience as a liquid and dynamic substance, one that often challenges our attempts at control. This is how I think many artists experience working with glass; it is almost akin to a collaborative dance. Collaborations of all kinds involve uncertainty and negotiation, opening up the possibilities for improvisation, happy accidents, and a state of creative aliveness. On the flip side, by “bringing life to glass” I mean using glass’ life-like qualities to describe living organisms, as did Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka. I often address issues that are of central concern to me as a human organism – such as the protection of the environment – that we hold in common with the greater family of life. I also want to share with an audience my intimate relationship to craft processes and materiality, which is a large aspect of my art practice as well as of McGrath’s approach to animation. For him, the creative trajectories of stop-motion and CGI (computer-generated image) animation are both valid, yet they diverge. In reality, our work combines both hi-tech and low-tech approaches. The making of Dr. Mermaid included flameworking, greenscreen, glass objects, fish tank puppetry, liveaction footage, still images, sound recording, voiceover, and software such as Dragon,

Mark Eliott, 2016. Photo: Manjit Dugal-Eliott

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Photoshop, After Effects and Final Cut Pro. In addition to the concept and finished work, we are interested in the messy improvisational area between the two. Why animation? Animation is a natural vehicle for the imagination because you can make it all up. When I was a kid I used to love drawing and painting; animation, to me, is a natural, temporal extension of this. It is also a perfect medium for storytelling. We hunger for stories and stories are by nature animated. An artwork, be it object, text, or film can provide only the seed of a story. It may exist as a title – like the cover of a book – but it comes to life only in the moment of perception, as a sequence of narrative movement through which the mind travels. Bringing together glass and animation seems like a natural fit – both have commonalities in their use of light and movement. Glass is inherently animated, not only due to its elasticity when molten, but because it changes in refraction, reflection, and illumination as we move around it and as the light changes. Glass forms – be they hot or coldworked, cast or fused – still carry the memory of their liquid and plastic states and often convey movement through the shifting of light. By including the object together with projection in an installation, each supports the other. The object grounds the animation in the truth and materiality of the static glass. The projection illuminates and animates the object and provides scope for endless narrative possibilities including the processual story of making. Currently, we are experimenting with the incorporation of live performance. The closest precedent to our project, technically speaking, can be seen in the 1948 film Inspirace produced by Czech animator Karol

Jack McGrath, Mark Eliott, and Vanessa White experimenting with puppetry in Natalie Rose’s fish tank in 2009 at the Sydney College of the Arts. Photo: Natalie Rose

Zeman and lampworker Jaroslav Brichta. Flame-glass animation sits within the context of a tiny but unique community of artists who combine both glass and animation in diverse ways such as making glass multiples in the hotshop, projecting animations through cast glass objects, digitally manipulating images of glass forms, painting and sand-drawing on glass plates, or producing work with CGI glass simulations. The validity of our particular approach depends on its application. For flame-glass animation to emerge as an identifiable and compelling creative genre, a variety of projects need to be developed by Jack McGrath and myself, as well by others with different ideas, until a significant body of work manifests. I want to thank Shelbey Lang, the whole GAS crew, and the Corning Museum of Glass for enabling my presentation. I want to thank

Mark Eliott and Jack McGrath, Experiments in Living Glass #2, 2015, flameworked borosilicate glass, sand, projected animation, sound, installed at SAS conference, Kent, UK. Photo: Jack McGrath

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the Australian National University for funding my trip. I also want to thank all those who have contributed to the project, in particular, Jack McGrath, Daisy De Windt, Vanessa White, Michael Kennett, Ben Fink, and my partner Manjit. Our upcoming projects include setting up a Flame-ation Station at the 2017 Ausglass conference Canberra, in which visiting flameworkers will be invited to make improvised animation sequences. We will later composite these into a whimsical short film with the working title, Alternative Theories of Evolution. We are also interested in taking a mobile film rig to the studios of international flameworking artists to record sequences, as well as running more flame-ation workshops in which students participate in a collaborative film project while learning basic flameworking and animation skills. __________________________________ Mark Eliott produces borosilicate sculptural work. He also ventures from his house of flamework to explore other media and collaborate with different artists. His experimental project with filmmaker Jack McGrath explores the possibilities of animation with flameworked glass. This is now also the subject of Mark’s PhD research at the Australian National University. He holds both research and studio master’s in glass and an associate diploma in jazz studies (saxophone) from Sydney University. Mark lives with his family at Bondi Beach, Sydney. Other interests include teaching, interactive demonstrations, playing music, writing, and the environment. He is currently taking action on climate change by purchasing carbon credits as well as conserving materials and energy in his art practice.

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L AUR A DONEFER ’ S G AS GL AS S FAS HI ON S H OW

Adrenaline Rush By Mavis Pinworm

It was the day before the highly anticipated Glass Fashion Show when I sat down in the open cafeteria of the Corning Museum of Glass with Laura Donefer, glass artist from Canada, for what I knew would be a precious amount of time. The Glass Fashion Show, now in its 12th incarnation, is her brainchild, but she had no idea that it would practically take over her life! “Just 15 minutes,” I promised her, but it didn’t matter, because she loved talking about her GFS “baby.” She explained, “In 1989, I was the president of GAAC, the Glass Art Association of Canada, and GAS, the Glass Art Society, was coming to Canada for their very first international conference, and I knew a big splash was needed to make a big impression on the rest of the glass world... I wanted people to know that Canada could put on a really extraordinary show.” She rented the huge ballroom at the Royal York Hotel, convinced 40 glass artists to make costumes, and “voila!” a legacy began. “We learned a lot at that first show,” Laura says as her husband snickers in the background. “I was very naïve back then, not realizing that it would be kind of dangerous! A medusa helmet of snaking neon tubes shorted out and really shocked the model wearing it, but she lived. There were all these barefoot models, because I had not realized that glass costumes are likely to break all over the stage. By the end of the very first Glass Fashion Show the catwalk was covered in bloody footprints!” Regardless of those first pitfalls, that fashion show was a massive hit. In 1991, the annual GAS Conference was slated to return to Corning, New York – an ideal place to host Glass Fashion Show 2. However, there was only one possible impediment, Donefer was pregnant with her first and only child. That was no deterrent to her enthusiasm or her determination to let the show go on. The big question on her mind was, “How do we top the first show?” At some point she turned the reigns over to her dear friend Ginny Ruffner, because her daughter, Ana Matisse, decided to come a month early, right on the day of the actual show. Laura kept close tabs on everything, phoning and faxing up to the last minute. Then, in 2001, the show was back in Corning and Ana Matisse, now 10 years old, the very baby that chose to be born during the 1991 Corning conference, opened the show to the music of 2001: A Space Odyssey!

Laura Donefer, the creator of the Glass Fashion Show, on the runway at the Corning Museum of Glass.

Jasen Johnsen playing a hot sculpted glass guitar.

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Jennifer Hecker, artist and model.

Model Tai Drake wearing a Lisa Falk creation.

Rik Allen, artist and model.

Yes, there have been 12 eventful shows, but she has some favorites. “Oh… New Orleans,” she says lovingly. There was a wild live band right on the catwalk, and it resembled more of a burlesque show than a fashion show. Karen Willenbrink made a fabulous costume with glass feathers for a seven-foot tall transgender model, and there were many professional strippers dressed in – well – not a lot, but what was on them was glass. The atmosphere was wild. Beau Anderson was the King of Mardi Gras, bedecked in just the right amount of fantastic Beau Beads. Laura had injured herself during the rehearsal and needed two hunky glass boys to carry her down the catwalk. It was unforgettable. Fast forward to 2016, and the show promised to be the one to remember. Over 100 costumes were included in this year’s show with many participants from the U.S. and Canada, but also from Italy, Turkey, Argentina, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and Portugal. It had become a truly international affair. “I started cajoling people right away, as soon as I had the actual date of the show from the folks at Corning and GAS,” Donefer says. “There were people that I absolutely had to have on that stage for my vision to come to fruition.”

One of those was California artist Kathleen Elliot. “I have never participated in the Glass Fashion Show, or even seen one,” Elliot explains, “So I had some things to overcome – first off, how to attach her signature botanical pieces to a dress.” She made the dress by hand and started experimenting with dye and fabric paint, to no avail. Her final solution was regular spray paint that actually made the dress stiff and easier to attach glass pieces to the finished garment. Experimenting with attachments was a challenge also. “Nature is my first love,” Elliot says, “and my fear of what we are doing to it…I fear for our future in the world.” The beautiful pieces were a little heavy, however. To glue or Velcro? Eventually she opted for sewing them on. The result was an ethereal gown covered with healthy fish, frogs, lily pads, and a corsage of pods at the shoulder, not to mention the six-pound headpiece that altogether made Elliot look like a goddess of nature. Lucio Bubacco from Italy was a late entry to the event. Although he planned to attend the conference with his two nephews and his assistant Nicola Dona, he had not planned to enter the fashion show. “At first, Laura said, no, Lucio, it is so late, the show is in a few months… but then she asked for my ideas. I faxed the

drawings and when she saw them, she said she loved it. I created the sketch and handed it to Alessandro and Nicola.” They designed the costume with Byzantine influences, little arches made of glass, and it took about three months. “I made the crown when I got to Corning,” Lucio says. The costume, modeled by nephew Alessandro Bubacco, was a complete hit. “It gave them an additional purpose,” Lucio explained. “They were attending the conference anyway, but having the costume to create let them feel more engaged because they had this joint project that allowed them to be part of the show.” If social media was any indicator of popularity, the Zeus costume was a winner, as Instagram and Facebook feeds filled up with images of Alessandro creating a mythic pose on the catwalk. Eric Goldschmidt also contributed by making the blown lightning bolts carried by Alessandro. Another incredibly popular piece was the 80-100 pound glass coat created by artist Charlynne Lafontaine of Ottawa, Canada. Former curator at the Corning Museum of Glass and art critic William Warmus proclaimed “I want this,” on Facebook Saturday night after the show. This was not only Charlynne’s first fashion show, but her first GAS conference as well. “Kinda hooked now,” she says. She derived

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her inspiration for the spiny purple costume from a fur coat once owned by her grandmother. “The coat is flameworked boro, blown with two holes to put a wire through. It took nearly two years to complete,” she says. “And besides, Laura said ‘the more glass, the better’.” Sabina Boehm of Washington was another artist late to the game. “I created these three glass corsets for the Erotic Art Festival here in Washington and then thought of the fashion show,” says Sabina. “At first Laura was taken aback at the very late date, but changed her tune when she saw the photos.” The three corsets representing an angel, a devil and something in between are a reflection Boehm’s own quest for balance in her life. All the pieces were made of copper wire and boro glass. Boehm created a plaster cast of her own body to act as a model while she created the pieces. “It’s hard to visualize the final piece as you are creating all these small parts. Making the plaster cast helped me because I could lay them down in a 3D shape and get an idea of the finished look.” In total, the three corsets took three months to make after she came up with the idea. “The work was intended to be an installation, but ended up being more like a performance piece, and a real labor of love,” she says. The pieces were worn by two models being the angel and

the devil and Boehm herself modeled the “in between” piece. They were part of the opening act for the show with Josh DeWall with his flameworked guitar and Jasen Johnson who created his hit sculpted glass guitar in a tribute to the late David Bowie. Laura Donefer says, “This was all a part of my vision… I wanted to see them playing their guitars up there on the catwalk... and they made my dream come true!” With Glass Fashion Show 2016 now just a memory, work has begun on a video and book to catalog the event so it can be revisited by all who were lucky enough to be in the audience or on the catwalk, and also for those who could not make it. Laura says to her faithful posse of glass fashionistas, “We were the hit of the conference and for a few hours the most popular people in the entire glass world!” Before you email Laura begging to be included in the next Glass Fashion Show, remember the event only happens every four or so years. As that conference has not been announced yet, it might be time for some creative reflection. However, nothing will stop you from starting your costume right away. As you start your sketches and Google past episodes of Project Runway, just remember, the mantra for the day, “You can never have too much glass!”

Kait Rhoads modelling for artist Carol Milne.

Sally Prasch and Mike Souza modeling their own creations.

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Participants, in order of appearance: Opening Act: Jasen Johnsen, artist, with help from Karen Willenbrink-Johnson Sabina Boehm, artist, with models Cat Burns & Carrie Strope Josh Dewall, artist Monica Witt Meek, modeling for artist Erina Kashahara Laura Donefer, Mistress of Ceremonies 1. Jennifer Hecker, artist, with escort Eric Meeker; jacket by Kathy Poeppel 2. Sten Neuber, artist 3. Lisa Falk, artist and model Tai Drake 4. Austin Fields modeling for artist Ray Queen 5. Jin Won Han, artist ,with model David J. Benyosef 6. Katelynn Rigdon, Madeline Almeida, Aubrey Barnett, Sarah Eben, modeling for artist Debbie Savage 7. Kit Paulson, artist 8. Cara Dimassimo, artist 9. Kagen Dunn modeling for artist Michelle Pennington 10. Kait Rhoads modeling for artist Carol Milne 11. Sara Beth Post & Alex Hoppe modeling for artist Amanda Nardone 12. Agustina Ros, artist

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13. Jason Marstall, artist 14. Jeanne-Sophie Neoyookai, artist 15. Evelyn Dubarry, artist 16. Noel Welch & Emily Cale, artists 17. April Mayerson, Francis Mack and Danielle Burger modeling for artist Evelyn Mayerson 18. Catherine Sentigar modeling for artist Susan Bloch 19. Theresa Jorgensen modeling for artist Morgan Graff Bogart 20. Natali Baird, artist 21. Lea de Witt, artist 22. Isabelle Alepins & Emilie Lister, artists 23. Stephanie Leblond, artist, modeling with co-artist Jean Francois Boivin 24. Alessandro Bubacco modeling for artists Lucio Bubacco & Nicola Dona 25. Sara Sally Lagrand, artist 26. Kathleen Elliot, artist 27. Barbara Yerace, artist 28. Janine & Tayelor Herron modeling for artist Katrina Ruby 29. Madeline R. Smith, artist 30. Ross Delano & Christy Waterhouse, artists 31. Dudley Anderson with escort Eric Meeker modeling for artist Kristi Totoris 32. Vera Donefer artist/model; hat by Bronwen Heilman 33. Jacci delany, artist 34. Karina Guevin with Michael Mangiafico, artists 35. Charlynne Lafointaine, artist with model Kurt Walther 36. Rik Allen, artist; space pack by artist Wayne Strattman 37. Virginia Easterday modeling for artist Jennifer Judge 38. Melanie Persia, artist 39. Beth Hylen, artist; dragon head by George Kennard 40. Sally Prasch & Mike Souza, artists 41. Carmen Simmonds, artist with escort Eric Meeker 42. Nathalie Houghton modeling for artist and model David Licata 43. Deborah Carlson, artist 44. Jenna Efrein, artist 45. Claudia Lipschultz, artist 46. Ekin Aytac modeling for artist Simone Kestelman 47. Devon Fero modeling for artists Robert Mickelson & Lisa Demagall 48. Rita Neumann, artist 108

Alessandro Bubacco modeling for artists Lucio Bubacco and Nicola Dona.

49. Jamie Grove, artist 50. Jeff Lindsay, artist 51. Emily Nelson modeling for artist and model Suzanne Peterson 52. Carolyn Wang, artist 53. Julie Fawn Craig, artist 54. Emily peterson, artist 55. Eunsuh Choi, artist 56. Anne Giese & Jamie Boudreau Snoddy modeling for artist Marc Barreda 57. Melanie Breiterman, Matt Forgile, Sklar Amburg, Cayla Crowel, Holly Fels, Karina Escobar, Patty Clune, Nancy Evans, Edwin Rodriguez, & Robert Minkoff modeling for artist Nancy de Dubois 58. Artists Laura Beth Konopinski, Jason Forck, and artist and model Valerie Herrero 59. Heather Larivee, artist 60. Leah Allison, artist 61. Sherri Taus, artist 62. Omur Duruerk, artist 63. Alex Fresch, artist 64. Shoko Hasegawa, artist 65. Austin fields modeling for artist Chelsea Rousso 66. Eric Markow modeling for artist Nancy Weisserwood

67. Stephanie Elayne Ashley, artist 68. Cassandra Straubing, artist 69. Courtney Downman modeling for artist Gabriela Wilson 70. Sibelle Yuksek, artist and models Jasmine Thompson & Emily Davisson 71. Sandy Dukeshire, artist 72. Elisa Minasian, artist 73. Yasemin Sayinsoy, artist 74. Yesim Sanatci , artist 75. Julia and Robin Rogers, artists 76. Karen Burrows & Jade Chupka modeling for artist Teresa Burrows 77. Angus Powers’ monster jam with models Sarah Blood, Trevor Pierce, James Labold, Leana Quade, Nadine Saylor, Karen Donnellan, John Moran, James Ronner, Josh Hershman, Daniel R. Volk, J. Moreno

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PA N E L S

GAS attendees at the Corning Museum of Glass Auditorium.

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PA N EL : AT-RI SK YOU T H F ORUM

What Next? Opportunities for At-Risk Youth After High School Moderator: Andrew Page Panelists: Barbara Heisler, Tracy Kirchmann, Hector Daniel Maldonado, Robert Minkoff, Amy Schwartz Experts on using glass art to teach underserved students met to discuss what happens after high school graduation, when many of these glass art programs will end for students. They identified a need to build resources and programs to further educational experiences and career training into college years and beyond. Panelists presented various perspectives on this topic, from personal experiences as a student or instructor, to a philanthropist on supporting the most promising students in this field, to program directors talking about specific initiatives that address this issue head-on, such as three programs from GlassRoots, and the “Expanding Horizons” partnership between The Studio at The Corning Museum of Glass and the Robert M. Minkoff Foundation. The presentation began with a brief discussion of terminology and how the term “at-risk” began to be used after it was coined in a 1983 report by a commission convened to study the state of education in the U.S., and became widely used in fundraising. However, the term is falling out of favor and many program heads, instructors, and students prefer the term “underserved youth” to describe their target demographic. What follows is a condensed summary of each panelist’s presentation. There was a 15-minute question-and-answer session following the prepared remarks.

GlassRoots Programs Address Needs of Young Adults Post High School by Barbara Heisler

Founded in 2001, GlassRoots is a nonprofit, hot glass studio in Newark, New Jersey, with a mission to ignite and build the creative and economic vitality of greater Newark, with a focus on underserved youth and young adults, through the transformative power of the glass art experience. Through involvement with GlassRoots’ arts, area residents of all ages are empowered to think creatively and realize new visions of their futures through the art of glassmaking. Widely renowned for excellence in collaborative programming, GlassRoots presents high quality, rigorous, innovative, relevant, and diverse programming that both reflects and expands the community’s interests. Using the fire and danger of glassmaking to engage area youth over 15 years, more than 16,000 students have developed lifelong skills including patience, teamwork, creative problem 110

Corning curator Kelly Conway leads the 2015 Expanding Horizons students and mentors on a tour of the new contemporary art wing.

solving, discipline, and resilience. In our secondary school programs, students gain handson experience in chemistry, physics, math, and engineering while becoming entrepreneurs as they create and market their glass products. Those who walk through the doors enter a world away from the streets, promising them opportunities to explore their creativity and potential beyond the classroom. GlassRoots believes that participation in glass art directly contributes to the development of intellectual and personal capacities. For young people who have often been frustrated or failed in school, the experience of success in our studios impresses upon them that learning matters, and thus they become more willing to do the hard work of learning. In addition, students gain a sense that they could be agents of their own learning and make a positive change in their own lives and in their surroundings. However, once students leave high school, they often lose any supports for taking those positive steps toward future sustainability and development. Three post-high school programs address this gap: one leading to a career, one to supplemental income, and one opening a path to college. New Jersey has the largest concentration of scientific glass manufacturers in the nation and many of these companies are running three shifts to meet the demand for the manufacture and repair of this specialized glassware. GlassRoots’ 12-week Varis Scientific Glassblowing Training program prepares young adults

for entry-level jobs in this field. Through the new program at GlassRoots young people with high school diplomas can compete for positions in the STEM fields with favorable compensation on a pathway to the middle class. In The Bead Shop program, flameworking skills are taught and equipment and supplies are provided to allow students to create commercially viable, artistic products. At the launch of their individual business enterprise, graduates have artisan-scale production contracts, equipment, tools and supplies, raw materials, and operating space along with training in business fundamentals, legal issues, customer service, and an online presence for the products they create. Just launched, The GlassRoots/Penland Collaborative aims to start young adults on a path to college in a unique partnership between these two highly-regarded arts organizations. Upon completion of this 12-week program, students will have earned 9 college credits and are ready to start college here in Newark through articulated agreements. GlassRoots Executive Director Barbara Heisler welcomed inquiries into these and other initiatives via email: bheisler@glassroots.org.

The Need for Continued Support by Tracy Kirchmann

I’ve been fortunate to be part of our glass community at a time when glass artists, educators, and collectors see the value in providing underserved youth access to the material that

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Hector Maldonado (holding the pipe) during Expanding Horizons 2015 at The Studio at Corning.

has changed every one of us. As a glass artist and educator, I’ve been irreversibly changed by the wisdom, generosity of spirit, and dedication of my students. I’ve been amazed by their triumphs as well as disheartened by their struggles. I’ve seen glass, when coupled with meaningful relationships, dramatically redirect the trajectory of a teen’s life in as little as a few months. I believe in the transformative power of glass. Long before I began working with young people and using glass as a tool for social practice, I experienced this metamorphosis myself. I was fortunate to find the magic, science, camaraderie, and art while studying glass in college. Undoubtedly, I worked to create opportunities for myself, but I cannot deny that my privilege (being a white, educated middle-class woman in America) did not also play a huge hand in my success. I made the most out of the opportunities in my path, but I’m very clear that the playing field, even in our liberal outspoken arts-community microcosm, is dramatically uneven, as is the world. It’s beautiful, incredible, and staggering to see the support for underserved students, but it’s not enough to level the playing field, and it’s not enough to create equality. We need to create economic opportunities, scholarships, and employment opportunities for our student graduates. As a high-school instructor, I see the consequences of the abrupt end of all support for these students after graduation. Many times students from underserved communities entirely lose access to glass because of the costs. Most of my own graduates are working while attending school, or working more than one job to support themselves or their family.

The scholarship recipients for Expanding Horizons 2015 photographed outside of The Studio at Corning.

By virtue of thier skin color and socio-economic status they are not equal and will not be until we make it so. The social, economic, and emotional hardships these kids face in childhood do not go away after childhood. In fact, things get harder. Students from 18-23 years old are the most overlooked group of young people in our society. The small successes achieved in high school can easily be forgotten by any young person, but especially for populations that are discriminated against, criminalized, and provided less educational and economic opportunities. My students live in communities where their friends are more likely to go to prison than to college. We need to create additional tiered programs to provide continued support, education, and mentoring for these graduates. We need to continue to provide opportunities to train interested youth in education, provide peer-to-peer mentoring opportunities, and job opportunities. We have to maintain relationships with them and continue to aid them in their personal growth while they mature and ultimately, flourish. None of us get to where we are on our own, and making a commitment to youth glass programs in underserved communities is a lifetime commitment. I know that our community is committed to continuing to support these young peoples’ efforts in glass art, their educations, and their desire to raise their voices to articulate their life experiences in glass. If we take the time to ask, and we take the time to listen, and if we take the time to reach out, we just may get the answers we need. All my students are survivors, not by choice but by birth. They don’t want pity, they want the

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

opportunities that they have been fighting for their entire lives. You can see it burning in their eyes like the fire we all adore. The passion that glass and art ignited in their heart, has taught them empathy, teamwork, and what it means to have a purpose. It’s our duty to enable, protect, and provide them continued opportunities while they incubate hope for their futures.

Expanding Horizons at the Studio at The Corning Museum of Glass by Amy Schwartz

Expanding Horizons has several goals, but one of the main goals is to increase technical knowledge. To that end, the students had regular lessons and practice in glassblowing. Every day, a different student led a prepared lesson to his or her fellow students, and a proposed lesson is part of the application process. Through these lessons, students learned that everyone has something to learn from each other. As we all know, glassblowing is a highly collaborative team experience. Students participated in the program as teams, supported each other, and worked on group projects. The six participants each had a mentor as a main supporter and this was usually an instructor from the student’s home base program. Having them along provided a level of comfort for our students, some of whom had not before been away from home. Another important part of the program is the professional practices we share with the students. Students learned from designers. They had an opportunity to learn what it would take to be hired to be part of the CMoG demonstration team. They spoke with collectors and curators. They worked with museum buyers to 111


understand how to sell their work. They learned about marketing, social media, and photography from the Museum’s professional staff. These are important parts of being a glassmaker or an artist. It isn’t just about gaining technical skills. And of course, since the program is at The Corning Museum of Glass, the students and their mentors learned glass history. They had a tour of our new Contemporary Art + Design Wing and visited the Rakow Research Library. Using our galleries as a resource and by spending time with artists such as Laura Donefer who came from Canada to spend a day participating in our program, students explored glass as a medium for expression. Elsewhere in The Studio, there were ongoing classes with artists from around the world. Expanding Horizons students were able to engage with those classes and meet the other artists, students, and instructors. Finally, we wanted the students to have fun. We wanted them to relax and be comfortable in this new and different environment. When you are relaxed and enjoying yourself, you can learn and grow. We look forward to next year’s Expanding Horizons program. Our second annual program will have some improvements such as learning opportunities especially for the mentors. We look forward to growing this program.

Glass as a Material of Transformation by Robert Minkoff

The Minkoff Foundation has been working to promote awareness and networking of at-risk glass programs since 2014, when it sponsored the first At-Risk Youth Panel at the Chicago GAS Conference. The foundation helped several programs with their travel budgets so they could send people to attend this conference, and also rented buses to bring conference attendees to a tour, hotshop performance, and reception at the glass studio at Little Black Pearl, a charter high school on the South Side of Chicago run, at the time, by Tracy Kirchmann. There were many great connections made between programs from different parts of the United States, which, because of their limited time and money, had not been able to develop contacts across wide geographic distances. The foundation did this again in 2015 at the GAS Conference in San Jose, and again here in Corning in 2016 because there is a great need to network, share best practices, and make connections that can move the field forward. One issue that has come up repeatedly at these gatherings is what happens when the students finish these programs – where can they turn next to work with glass? 112

The Expanding Horizons partnership between the Minkoff Foundation and The Studio at The Corning Museum of Glass seeks to do what the title says: broaden the perspectives of the most-promising students in these programs, who usually have only experienced glass at their own local programs. By flying them to the biggest glass museum in the world, showing them the incredible collections, library, glassmaking facilities, and retail store, the students are treated like professional artists, and hopefully come away with the knowledge that glass can be more than a high-school program, but possibly a career and a lifelong means of expression.

The Power of Affirmation

by Hector Daniel Maldonado The arts community offers many possibilities for those of us coming from disenfranchised communities, where luxuries such as travel, vacation time, and even the arts are not affordable. Programs geared to help provide scholarship opportunities have positively impacted my future, and organizations such as The Corning Museum of Glass, The Studio, GlassRoots, and UrbanGlass have helped alter my view of the world and the possibilities life has to offer. In order for people to grow, there needs to be affirmation. There needs to be a person or community that can tell someone that they are able to take the leaps and bounds needed to succeed. Most of society has consistently told my community that they are unable to succeed or unable to achieve wondrous feats, yet the glass world has done the opposite. It has shone light on a path we could not see. Many of the communities I am part of are not able to see this light because they have yet to see the wondrous world of glass and the amazing people who are a part of it. I am unable to express anything but gratitude to the many people I have met in this world of art. Before being fully immersed in the glass world experience, a lot of my life was devoted to learning and perfecting the few skills I knew. My love of learning has only intensified as I’ve met many people from the glass world. From learning who they were, how this community has shaped them, and how different their lives were before and after the experience, I understand more about people, communities, and being a part of something much larger but somehow secret to the world. I would have hardly explored outside of my own city, let alone my own state, and I would have never been able to speak about my life. I would have never been able to speak about my hardships and the amazing people from this amazing community that helped me overcome them all. Thank you!

__________________________________ Barbara Heisler served as the interim executive director for one year at GlassRoots, then became the organization’s third executive director in 2014. Formerly on staff at both Parsons School of Design and the New England Conservatory, Heisler has made the arts a centerpiece of her work in community development and community building, seeing the arts as a pathway for innovation, equity, and excellence. Tracy Kirchmann was born and raised in Chicago, and holds a BFA and MFA with a specialization in glass art. She ran the glass program at Little Black Pearl Art and Design Academy in Chicago, where she designed and implemented a variety of STEAM based, educational, and entrepreneurial glass programs for youth. Hector Daniel Maldonado graduated from Science Park High School, where he began taking classes at GlassRoots in Newark, New Jersey. He is currently a college student at Drew University and took part in the inaugural Expanding Horizons program in 2015. Robert M. Minkoff is the managing trustee of the Robert M. Minkoff Foundation, which supports the advancement of glass art, in addition to its work funding health and human services organizations. He is an active donor, whose foundation has initiated artist residencies, symposiums, and programs to support at-risk youth organizations. Andrew Page is the director of the Robert M. Minkoff Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting glass art as well as health and human services programs. He also serves as the editor in chief of GLASS: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly. Amy Schwartz joined the Corning Museum of Glass in 1995 to create The Studio, the artistic and educational glass working facility at the Museum that provides programs for people of all ages and all levels of glass expertise. Schwartz designs curricula, hires internationally recognized glass artists as faculty, oversees selection of students, distributes scholarship funds, and directs residency, walk-in, group, and school programs. She oversees the Expanding Horizons program.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


PA N EL : CAREERS I N A R T

Creating Context: All Together Now Moderator: Tina Aufiero; Artistic Director of Pilchuck Glass School. Participants: Robin Cass, Amie McNeel, Rachel Moore, Jackie Pancari, Kait Rhoads, Norwood Viviano; all 2014 Hauberg Fellows. Through this panel presentation and discussion, we would like to share our evolving understanding of what artistic collaboration is and can be as mid-career artists. All the panel participants participated in the 2014 Hauberg Fellowship, a ten day long residency at Pilchuck Glass School.

Artistic Background and Thoughts on the Hauberg Fellowship Robin Cass Although she includes a range of materials in her sculptures, Robin Cass has worked with hot glass as her primary artistic medium for over 25 years. She was trained in the discipline of traditional Italian glassblowing and uses these skills in new ways to create compelling biomorphic forms. Her current work explores themes of discovery, perception, and wonder. “The most prized specimens in any collection are those that diverge from the norm or defy classification. Although it is our nature to categorize and define, we relish the sense of wonder that accompanies an enigma.” Amie McNeel Amie McNeel enjoys the challenge of negotiating many different materials and processes within any one sculpture and implementing various formal design constraints. She is interested in broad issues surrounding human impact on environments and eco systems as well as our collective and individual responsibilities for sustaining curiosity and wonder in our daily lives. “I approached the Hauberg residency with an interest in exploring dichotomies inherent in my work. Through this collaborative exchange, I’ve been able to reflect on our diverse ways of making and examine my own individual practice with a broadened perspective.” Rachel Moore Rachel Moore is an interdisciplinary artist and a curator. She concentrates on sculpture, design, and curatorial work with a focus on socially and environmentally responsible projects. Jackie Pancari Jackie Pancari’s work explores the elemental and physical properties of optical phenomenon, light, and glass. “Before I went to Pilchuck for the Hauberg Residency, a very good friend gave me an article

Norwood Viviano, Global Cities (panoramic installation view), 2015, blown glass, vinyl cut drawings, stainless steel cable, and MDF plinth, dimensions variable. Photo: Tim Thayer/Robert Hensleigh

clipping by chance, a letter Sol LeWitt wrote to Eva Hess in 1964. I asked each artist to rewrite, in their own words, a portion of this passage. We all came together and created an intaglio print which is when the collaboration, conversation, inspiration, and brainstorming came together.” Kait Rhoads Kait Rhoads’ sculpture investigates organic growth systems. “At Pilchuck, I focused on the start of a new series of work exploring natural decorative architectural elements using water jet cut and hand engraved industrial plate glass. I liked setting up a communicative framework of alliances, or collaborative structures, with my Hauberg Fellows, and I feel that the results fed my hunger for peer interaction in unexpected ways.” Norwood Viviano Utilizing digital 3D computer modeling and printing technology in tandem with glassblowing and casting processes, Norwood Viviano creates work depicting population shifts tied to the dynamic between industry and community. By showing how landscapes and populations move and are modified as a result of industry, his work creates a 3D lens to view that which is invisible or forgotten. His use of blown glass forms and vinyl cut drawings are micro-models of macro changes at the regional, national, and international level.

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Artists’ Takeaway from the Collaborative Haugberg Fellowship Robin Cass If you’re the kind of artist who appreciates the support and/or pressure that can come from being accountable to a set of colleagues, then consider pursuing (or creating) coordinated group experiences like the Hauberg Fellowship. These kinds of opportunities allow artists to initiate and shape their own “team” and build a micro-community that can benefit all members. Amie McNeel Five simple things: 1. You have to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is empowering. 2. And if you’re vulnerable then you need to respect and trust the people you are working with. No, you don’t need to know your collaborators personally; you need to respect them or their work. Trust happens within the collaboration. 3. You’ve got to be willing to negotiate the boundaries of self and self-authorship. Contrarily, don’t leave your ego at the door. Take your ego with you and learn how to work with it and though it. You need the confidence and strength that is tethered to your ego. 4. You have to figure out the (myriad) ways in which you can communicate with others. Be attentive, considerate, and listen. 113


5. The goal for me in terms of participating in collaboration is to grow beyond any work I can create alone. Jackie Pancari It is okay to not know what you are going to do. It is important to stay open to new possibilities. It is a vulnerable place to be, but this is where communication, brainstorming, and new ideas develop. For me, this is the joy of working together and collaborating and sharing. The conversation and the making with other people is an incredibly stimulating process. It takes me off my predictable path and gets me thinking and learning about other things. Kait Rhoads The collaborative effect: through our ongoing conversations and close association, the way that I look at my work, make work, and market work has changed. In the last two years since Pilchuck it seems I have gained ambition; the work has grown in scale and I have pushed it to evolve. I think that being supported and challenged through this friendship matrix has accelerated the process. Norwood Viviano The individual projects I create in my studio require me to talk regularly with architects, urban planners, engineers, GIS specialists, and experts in 3D printing. The Hauberg Fellowship created an exciting new path for experimentation, research, and creative practice through an intense shared dialogue focused on developing collective and individual goals. __________________________________ Tina Aufiero is the artistic director of Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. She earned her BFA in sculpture-glass from Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA in design and technology from Parsons. She also pursued a master’s at New York University in feminist theory and performance.

Jackie Pancari, Reflective Translation, A Letter from Sol LeWitt to Eva Hesse, 2015, blown glass, mirrored plate glass and reflective material, each panel: 14.25 x 25”, blown sphere 7.5”

Robin Cass earned her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from Alfred University. An educator and artist, she has been a faculty member in the glass program at the Rochester Institute of Technology since 1998, and is currently serving as associate dean of RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences. Amie McNeel is currently teaching in the 3D4M program at the University of Washington in Seattle. She specializes in combining metal, clay, wood, and glass where methods of carving, casting, and fabricating are integrated. Her sculptural forms are influenced by natural systems and the designs of scientific devices used in collection and observation. Rachel Moore received her BFA from Alfred University and her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and was a Fulbright Fellow in Greece (2009-2010). Moore has exhibited her work in museums and galleries nationally and internationally including Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art

Robin Cass, Reclining Perspicalyx, 2014, hot-formed glass, silver, mixed media, 5 x 18 x 6”

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and DYNAMO (Thessaloniki, Greece); Figge Art Museum, Iowa; Muskegon Museum, Michigan. She is currently the assistant director and curator at Helen Day Art Center in Stowe, Vermont. Jackie Pancari briefly joined the staff at the Exploratorium in San Francisco as a toy buyer for the store, after earning a BFA from Tyler School of Art. She then earned her MFA from Alfred University. She has taught at the College for Creative Studies and Alfred University. She is a New York Foundation for the Arts grant recipient, a Frederick Carter Fellowship grant recipient. She is represented in many museums including the Corning Museum of Glass. Kait Rhoads received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from Alfred University. In 2001, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to study sculpture in Murano, Italy. She lives in Seattle, Washington, where she curates (a little) and makes sculpture. Her work is in the collections of the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Palm Springs Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Shanghai Museum of Glass in China. Norwood Viviano received his BFA from Alfred University and his MFA in sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. His pieces are held in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague; the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin; and the Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington, as well as in private collections. Viviano is currently an associate professor and sculpture program coordinator at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


G REEN PANEL

Time’s Up: Now/How to Go Green? Sharing Real Knowledge on the Many Ways We Can Increase the Sustainability of Our Studio Practices. Moderator: Toots Zynsky Panelists: Rachel Berwick, Fred Metz, Amber O’Brien, Mark Weiner, Durk Valkema The participants on this panel include people who have real answers, in-depth experience, their own studio practices, and have been working on positive solutions to the challenges and concerns we all share for the continued growth and health of our field and our environment locally, globally, and on a daily basis in our individual studio practices. Whether or not energy costs rise or fall, planet Earth needs us all to consume less traditional fossil fuels, use resources more efficiently, and continue to develop and utilize alternative energy sources. Durk Valkema is trained as an artist and has evolved quickly into a “rare kind of engineer.” He established Integrated Glass Systems in Amsterdam in the early 1970s. He was the first to introduce the nozzle-mix Tempest burner in 1972/3 and built his first flue-gas heated annealer in 1975. He has been at the forefront of developing energy-efficient glass technologies for both private glass studios and industrial production systems around the world for decades. He was one of the first to look at all the equipment in glass studios as an integrated whole and has made considerable contributions to our field by reducing energy consumption by nearly 60 percent in both private and industrial furnaces he has designed and built. Notably, in 1978, he was asked to design and build a system for Ann Wolff and her business partner, master glassblower Wilke Adolfsson, in which he integrated the functions of both the furnace and annealer by using flue gases to heat the annealer and the coldshop. He also minimized energy consumption and running costs by making smarter use of insulation, refractory materials, and a nozzle-mix burner system with sophisticated process controls. The resulting lower running costs enabled Ann and Wilke to develop a very successful line of work without having to fall back on mass production, also allowing Ann to make the unique pieces for which she became so well-known. Among the key issues he discussed were: low melting glass; reduction of CO2 and NOX emissions while melting glass; filtration; new fining systems for glass batch; new practical melting systems fit for smaller melts (50-150 kg);

Amber O’Brien with her research project Glass Art Energy about energy efficiency in the glass community at the University of Hawai’i.

improving glass quality; reducing issues of cords and seeds; “the best way to save energy is to turn the furnace off” (bringing laughs from the audience); sustainable practice through smarter chemistry and better engineering: lower melting glass, hardy refractory bodies, rethinking studio set-up and practices; the concept of running a furnace intermittently as opposed to continually; “so called mini-melters come to mind.” Durk is a true wealth of knowledge in this area of sustainability and has been for a very long time. Mark Weiner has been blowing glass since 1978 both for himself and as a highly regarded master gaffer for others. As operating manager of Martha’s Vineyard Glassworks (MVG) for the past 24 years, his extensive experience running a full glass studio and business brings a very real and practical perspective to the cost realities, and therefore the ongoing need for sustainability upgrades, for all aspects of a hotshop. One important thing he cited was the basic necessity of constantly monitoring energy usage. The general consensus is that lower running costs of equipment help free the artist to develop a successful line of work without having to fall back on mass production and provides them affordable access to a top quality

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

glassworking facility that allows them to make unique pieces of art work. Art and technology, especially when it comes to glass, must go hand in hand. There is a symbiotic relationship where the freedom of the artist (both time-wise and financial) is increased when the efficiency of the technology is increased. We can’t lose sight of the fact that we still use way too much energy in our field and the technological revolution must continue reducing this. Fred Metz, founder of Spiral Arts in Seattle, is well known as one of the U.S.’s top glass studio equipment builders. During his “Five Steps to a More Efficient Hotshop” presentation, he boiled down the basic steps every studio can immediately begin taking to increase their sustainability and much was in sync with Mark Weiner’s report on maintaining as well as improving MVG. 1. Eliminate waste: Practice responsible production, close the door, use the right size equipment for the job. Stop focusing on just energy consumption: 2. Track your energy consumption but start calculating energy used per piece. 3. Go after the easy free stuff first: Tune your combustion system, fix heat leaks, and stop over-annealing.

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4. Minimize the use of toxic materials in your practice: Use a powder booth (preferably a HEPA, not a DIY). If you’re casting lead glass you should rethink that. 5. Invest in more efficient gear: Install recuperation systems, if you don’t already have them. Equipment rebuilding and maintenance are key to basic fuel economization. Insulate! Rachel Berwick is both an artist and educator. Following several years on the sculpture faculty at Yale University School of Art, she joined the glass faculty at the Rhode Island School of Design where she now serves as department head. In her words “educators and artists are the very ones who should be working on identifying and articulating the problems and then experimenting and exploring new solutions.” She believes that educational institutions have an obligation to address sustainability in the academic environment. To that end, RISD now offers a program concentration called Nature-Culture-Sustainability Studies. She says, “the common sense measures that Fred and Durk have outlined are crucial. To me, they speak to the very essence of stewardship. We are all makers. As makers we have to think about the materials we use and how we use them. If we teach our students to think about the world outside of the studio as connected to the world inside the studio, then we help them to understand that what we do as artists is always connected to the larger world.” In celebration of 50 Years of Glass at RISD, the school will be launching a scholarship fund and a sustainability initiative. Bravo RISD! Amber O’Brien, a welcome last minute addition to the panel, is currently in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa conducting research in energy efficiency specifically related to the future of glassmaking. Her goal is to develop a website that can be used as a primary resource for environmental funding requests by gathering data about glass facilities around the country through surveys and by asking questions about the future of glassmaking. Energy use, budget, policy, and funding are pressing issues. Her website intends to promote dialogue and information exchange on increasing energy efficiency in private and university level glassmaking facilities. The goal of her website is to serve as a comprehensive database to educate all who are interested, provide information and resources addressing energy efficient glassmaking practices, and make information available on state-of-the-art technological advances. 116

In conclusion, the end goal of a sustainable studio practice may seem daunting both financially and time-wise, but this presentation provides many step-by-step ways for all of us to begin to reach this goal. Parallel in importance to all of us doing our part to further this sustainability goal, is insuring that we, along with upcoming generations of young artists, can continue to enjoy and expand the breadth and depth of our artistic practices and knowledge, while continuing to have the freedom to experiment with this extraordinary material with its boundless possibilities for artistic expression and discovery. Among the many people in our audience who posed questions and shared information, a great surprise was artist Robert DuGrenier who spoke briefly about the sustainable practices he has long incorporated in his Vermont glass studio and farm – solar energy being a very important component. He extended an invitation to visit and share this knowledge. Also worth noting, Jim Baker, director of Pilchuck Glass School, said that by investing in new energy efficient equipment systems, they have cut their yearly fuel bill in half. I would like to thank all the panelists for their willing participation and contributions while on the panel and to this report. __________________________________ Rachel Berwick’s multimedia installations have been exhibited at venues such as the Serpentine Gallery, London; the 26th Biennale de Sao Paulo; Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; the Smithsonian American Art Museum; and Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York. She has received awards and fellowships from organizations such as the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Smithsonian Artists’ Research Fellowship and the Robert Rauschenberg Residency. Berwick was on the faculty at Yale University School of Art in the sculpture department from 19911999 before joining the faculty at The Rhode Island School of Design where she is a professor and head of the glass department. Fred Metz works at Spiral Arts, Inc., a Seattle company he founded in 1995. Spiral Arts, Inc. builds quality tools and innovative equipment for glassblowers. Amber O’Brien has been involved with the glass community for the past four years in Rhode Island and Hawaii. She is currently pursuing a bachelor of fine arts degree at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Besides her own creative work, she also serves as UHM Glass Lab’s studio assistant and as the president of Glass Art Family, a student-run organization. In this

latter role she has spearheaded fundraising and outreach projects and coordinates the Visiting Glass Artist in Residency Program. Having received the 2015 UHM research award, she is working to increase energy efficiency in the glass world by creating a user-friendly public platform that collects and provides data to inspire the application of sustainable and mindful practices. Durk Valkema attended the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and worked with Stanislav Libenský at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. Today, he designs and executes his own sculptural works and engineers glass systems and equipment for studio artists in Europe and the United States. Valkema works with hot and cold glass to analyze the architectonic principles of form and to develop kinetic plays of shadow and light. Through his broad technical and practical knowledge, in combination with aesthetic insight, Valkema acts as a sounding board in the development of competitive and technically innovative design for both art glass and product design. He specializes in designing and building costeffective, fuel-efficient furnaces, annealing kilns, and related equipment. Mark Weiner has been the managing partner and lead glassblower of Martha’s Vineyard Glassworks for the past 24 years. Prior to that, he was a freelance glassblower who worked for both production studios and various artists. Weiner has also worked in the industry at places such as Daum Cristallerie (Nancy, France), Fenton Art Glass (Williamstown, West Virginia), and various small studios in Murano, Italy. Toots Zynsky “is one of a small, core group of pioneering artists who made contemporary glass a worldwide phenomenon,” in the words of Tina Oldknow, former curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass. Defying categorization, her pieces inhabit a region all their own, interweaving the traditions of painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts have earned her many awards and honors in the U.S. and abroad. Most recently, she was chosen as Corning’s 2016 Specialty Glass Artist in Residence. She received her BFA in sculpture/glass from Rhode Island School of Design in 1973 and since then has lived, worked, exhibited and traveled on five continents.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


REMEMBRANCES

Klaus Moje working on a Bullseye roll-up. Photo: Russell Johnson. Courtesy of Bullseye Glass Co.

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I N M EMORIAM

Klaus Moje AO 1936-2016: A Visionary in Glass By Richard Whiteley Originally published in School of Art News, Australian National University School of Art. Republished with permission from the author. Lightly edited to adhere to GAS writing style guidelines. It’s rare for any individual to impact and influence a field in as many ways as Klaus Moje has achieved within contemporary glass. The innovation manifest within Klaus’ work and his approach to teaching dynamically changed the way we think about glass as a medium for creative expression. His approach and his work also created a whole new industry of kilnformed glass as a medium, which is now internationally known and practiced by hundreds of artists across the planet. Klaus was born into glass, working in his family’s glass factory in Germany before establishing his own studio in the city of Hamburg. Klaus was an apprentice in a trade, however, was drawn to glass as a medium for creative expression and in the mid-1970s began researching Egyptian and Roman mosaic glass processes for his work. Through a period of intensive studio testing, that saw several years of failures, Klaus established techniques of working the medium that had not been seen within the vibrant and new Studio Glass Movement. Studio Glass had begun in the U.S. during the 1960s when a critical mass of artists began exploring glass for creative expression outside the context of industry and mainly focused on hot glass or hand-blown glass techniques. In 1979 Dale Chihuly, then artistic director of the Pilchuck Glass School and a highly regarded artist in his own right, learned of Klaus and his new work. Dale invited Klaus to Pilchuck, which is located north of Seattle, to share his working methods and ideas and the pair became life-long friends. It was on this trip that Klaus met the owners of the Bullseye Glass Company in Portland, Oregon, who shared his interest in mosaic glass processes. Inspired by Klaus’ new work, Bullseye spent the next 18 months researching and developing a palette of colored glasses that would be worked together in the kiln, and in the process resolved some significant technical problems that Klaus had been experiencing within his studio. In 1981, Bullseye sent Klaus a gift to his studio in Germany in the form of a crate of their new 118

Klaus Moje. Photo: Heide Smith

glass. At that time Klaus had only a few months to undertake experiments with this new material because he had already been invited to start a new program for glass education in Australia. Klaus’ collaboration with Bullseye continued throughout the rest of his life with founding owner Dan Schwoerer and Lani McGregor, both of whom became friends and collaborators. Klaus arrived with his wife, Brigitte EnderMoje, in Australia in 1982 to become the inaugural head of glass at the School of Art in Canberra (later to become part of the Australian National University). He began teaching his first intake of students in early 1983 and from the start his program changed education methods. I was fortunate to be one of Klaus’ first generation of students along with local artists such as Kirstie Rea, Helen Aitken-Kuhnen, Mikki Brown-Trail, and Judi Elliott. I don’t think any of us realized what we had undertaken. Klaus’ goal was to build a glass education program from scratch, and in doing so, establish an approach that was fundamentally different to what had existed before.

As students we were encouraged to experiment with ideas and this new material endlessly. What was significant, and I remember vividly, was that Klaus built a community that was self-determined and accountable. There was little in the way of assignments and tasks; we needed to set these ourselves and explore our own ideas as undergraduates. Klaus instilled within us the importance to be aware of the wider world and to see ourselves within that landscape, and that was far more valuable than any formal teaching structure. He taught us that we needed to be masters of our methods rather than merely just masters of a material. Klaus’ approach to teaching was to get us into the studio every day and encourage us to work through our ideas. He worked under the belief that the skills and knowledge needed would form naturally, as they are needed, as we found our way. And he was right. He gave us marathon slide lectures about what was happening around the world, and I see now how informed we became, all through his lens and passion. He inspired us to dedicate ourselves, and this

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


remains one of the most important dimensions and ambitions to have within teaching. Within his work, Klaus pioneered a new canvas, that of the medium of kiln-formed glass. He then developed this process and produced the most innovative and emphatic statements within the medium. His powerful use of multiple contrasting colors and strong abstract composition forms defined his work. The sublime technical language that carried this work was barely visible, and his works presented an original way of working glass for a new generation. The processes he developed, or redeveloped, were first employed by Egyptian craftspeople thousands of years ago, and how an artist saw the possibility for works using these techniques in a contemporary context still amazes me. We just take it for granted today; kiln-formed glass is a clearly understood and well-articulated medium. However, when Klaus was working with these processes in his studio in the mid-1970s there was little, except his powers of observation from ancient glass, to go on. In building this language, Bullseye Glass were also pivotal in developing this medium and its uses for the sector, and today the use of this material and kilnforming techniques is now global. Klaus’ work still defines this area of creative expression. Many students who worked with him or who were influenced by him have also made significant contributions to this medium. Graduates from the program such as Jessica Loughlin, Kirstie Rea, Mel Douglas, and Cobi Cockburn are just a few. However, Klaus’ work is still unique and still as original as was his thinking. Klaus continued to develop his voice over his career and there were several significant chapters for his work, including the masterful and large-scale wall works as well as the rollup series that were a hybrid process of kiln-formed glass and hot-glass processes. Klaus was also clear that he wanted his work to be viewed for what it was and within its own dialogue. I can remember when he was working on one of his museum exhibitions and the curator was developing the catalog essay, within which he had articulated a link from Klaus’ work to certain qualities of abstract expressionism. Klaus was less than enthusiastic about this. “My work did not need to be contextualized or supported through associations with other work or mediums,” he said. “The way to appreciate glass was through looking at it.”

It was soon after Klaus left teaching to focus on his work that he began to receive a significant list of awards for his work and achievements, some of these include: the 1995 Australian Creative Fellowship (known as the Keating Award after Prime Minister Paul Keating); the 2000 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Glass Art Society (and to date Klaus remains the only Australian artist to have received this prestigious award), United States; the 2001 Australia Council Emeritus Award; the 2004 Urban Glass Lifetime Achievement Award, New York, United States; in 2008 Klaus became an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia; and in 2013 he received the Libenský | Brychtová Award from the Pilchuck Glass School, an award that is presented to artists associated with this highly influential school. Later in his career, Klaus made a significant contribution to the conceptualizing and realization of Canberra Glassworks, a $12 million public access facility for contemporary glass in Canberra, Australia. Many artists and groups supported the project, which included bipartisan support from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government agency. Klaus was involved in the early planning of the facility and played a key role in lobbying government on the merits of this project. The facility opened in 2007 and has become a landmark project that is internationally recognized alongside the program he started at the Australian National University. Klaus served on the board of Canberra Glassworks until 2013 and he was still making work until recently when his health began to waiver. Throughout his career Klaus had significant support from his family especially his wife Brigitte Enders-Moje, a highly regarded ceramic artist in her own right. Through his work, leadership within education, and advocacy for projects, Klaus has made Australia an international destination for contemporary glass of the highest quality. Klaus’ vision for excellence was matched by his distinctively personable approach. We have all benefited from his persistence and have grown within the culture he envisioned and realized. It's hard to imagine a world without him; Klaus changed what glass could be, how it was taught and along the way he touched everyone he met. He was an outlier, an innovator, and leader in equal measure.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

__________________________________ Associate Professor Richard Whiteley is the current head of glass and convener of craft & design at the School of Art, Australian National University.

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I N M EMORIAM

Anne Gould Hauberg (1917-2016) By Barbara Johns A totem pole stands at the entrance to Pilchuck Glass School to honor its founders: Dale Chihuly, Anne Gould Hauberg, and John H. Hauberg. Carved of a cedar tree and embellished with glass features, the pole was a collaboration between carvers at Alaska Indian Arts and Pilchuck glass artists. Anne is represented at the top. It was she who saw the promise and proposed to her husband, John, that they support the young artist Dale Chihuly’s summer camp in the mountains. With their support Pilchuck grew to be the internationally renowned school it is today. The glass community lost a passionate friend and advocate with Anne’s death on April 11, 2016, at the age of ninety-eight. Anne Gould Hauberg was born in Seattle on November 13, 1917, the third generation on her mother’s side in a city barely 60 years past its white settlement. Her father, architect Carl F. Gould, designed the core buildings of the University of Washington campus and the Seattle Art Museum (now the Seattle Asian Art Museum). Anne studied architecture at the University of Washington and the Cambridge School of Architecture and Design in Massachusetts, where, together with her father’s influence, she developed a design sensibility that guided her lifelong. She saw the big picture, made unexpected connections, fiercely pursued her goals, and persuaded others to follow her.

Anne Hauberg, in a workshop at Pilchuck Glass School in the summer of 1986.

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Anne Hauberg, wearing a crown by Ginny Ruffner, was dubbed the Queen of Everything at Pilchuck Glass School.

Her early civic engagement was shaped by family life. She and John Hauberg, an heir of the Weyerhaeuser timber family, were married in 1941. When two of their three children were born with developmental disabilities, she refused to institutionalize them as was standard practice. Her determination led to the founding of the Pilot School for Neurologically Impaired Children at the University of Washington. It continues today as the Experimental Education Unit within the Center for Human Development and Disability. The holistic and interdisciplinary approach that marked the Pilot School was to be a hallmark of Anne’s engagement. She was a founding board member of the Seattle Creative Activities Center, which provided free art classes for children. She was an early member of Seattle’s Municipal Arts Commission and a founder of the Committee of 33, which worked alongside the Commission to fund city beautification projects. When Interstate 5 cut through downtown, she led a march advocating a lid over the freeway to reconnect the sundered area, a goal achieved fifteen years later and the first of its kind in the country. She fought for the preservation of Pioneer Square, the historic heart of Seattle when it was threatened by urban development, and of Seattle’s famed public market in 1971. Anne’s support of artists became her lifelong endeavor. Her support was individual and institutional. She founded Friends of the Crafts

in 1965, and in 1972, the Pacific Northwest Arts Center with the goal of one day building an arts complex on John’s mountainside tree farm. One of the inaugural exhibitions was glass from the first summer workshop led by Chihuly and Ruth Tamura. Although the arts complex was never realized, Pilchuck thrived. Anne loved going to campus, befriending artists, supporting them by buying their work, and encouraging others to do so. Her glass collection today belongs to the Tacoma Art Museum, where she was a trustee. She was a founding board member of the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, and a champion of the University of Washington’s degree program in studio glass. Among her many awards are the Washington State Governor’s Arts Award (1972), the King County Arts Service Award (1987), and the American Craft Council’s Visionaries Award (2000). To the artists at Pilchuck, she was the “Queen of Everything.” Surviving Anne are her daughters Fay Hauberg Page and Sue Hauberg, grandchildren Catherine Page and Benjamin Page, and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by John, from whom she was divorced in 1979, and her son, Mark, who died in childhood. __________________________________ Barbara Johns is an art historian and curator and the author of Anne Gould Hauberg: Fired by Beauty.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


I N M EMORIAM

Ron Desmett (1948-2016) By Vicky Clark

Ron Desmett

You can’t talk about Ron without talking about his wife, Kathleen Mulchay, or vice versa. The two talents have been a team for almost 40 years; both are talented artists. They were co-founders of the Pittsburgh Glass Center and accomplished what no one believed possible, the founding of an arts center that is still thriving. Appropriately, they were honored together as Artists of the Year in 2013-14 by Pennsylvania Governor, Tom Wolf. Yet, as much as they worked and lived together sharing a creative vision, they were also individuals pursuing their own paths. Ron earned a BS in art education from the University of Akron and an MFA in sculpture from Carnegie Mellon,where he met Kathleen, a multi-disciplinary artist: a painter, a ceramist, and a glassmaker. He was an artist who mastered new mediums to communicate his ideas. One thing that connected all of his work was the layering of ideas and forms. In his paintings, he recycled art history, finding new meaning in works from the past. In his recent glasswork, he reinvented the process of making glass, producing black lidded vessels that contrasted with the transparent and pristine qualities of typical glass vessels. This work was inspired by and made in nature. His newest pieces touch on surrealism in his arrangement of old and new smaller pieces into quixotic and thought-provoking assemblages that reflect sculptural concerns. They seem particularly pertinent to our fractured present. His career has been full of successes – shows, commissions, publications, honors, residencies – and his work is in major collections, including the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Corning Museum of Glass, as well as several private collections.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

Most of all, Ron was a true mensch: a man who loved to cook, who built his house and studio, who surrounded himself with other creative talents. He had a fantastic circle of friends, some of whom were with him during his final moments, marking the end of his battle with cancer. He was the best kind of human being, a kind, compassionate guy who loved and supported his wife and his friends and who made a difference in our creative world. __________________________________ Vicky A. Clark has worked as a curator of contemporary art at the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. She has taught at Pittsburgh-area universities and is a prolific writer and critic. Clark recently returned from a US Embassy sponsored visit to Pakistan, where she lectured at universities and helped foster future collaborations with artists, dealers, and curators.

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CONFERENCE EVENTS & PROGRAM

Conference attendees enjoying the Closing Night Party outside the Corning Museum of Glass.

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Glass Art Society’s 45th Annual Conference Program Corning, New York, June 9-11, 2016 Events and Ongoing Activities June 9-11: Registration, Information Table, Technical Display, Education and Professional Resource Center __________________________________

Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Various Venues: Pre-Conference Tours Palace Theatre: The Glass Theater Film Screenings Dale Chihuly & James Carpenter: “glass blowing” GAS II: Penland School, Penland, NY 1972 Glass Fashion Show 2009 Pilchuck: A Dance with Fire, introduction and Q&A by Jim Baker Sand Bubbles: Dorflinger Glass Factory, 1916 __________________________________

Thursday, June 9, 2016 CMoG Amphitheater Hot Shop: Hot Glass Demonstrations Lino Tagliapietra, Ostuni Jocelyne Prince, Luminous Flux, Live Event CMoG Auditorium: Opening Ceremonies Lifetime Membership Award Acceptance: Jutta-Annette Page Lifetime Achievement Award Acceptance and Lecture: James Carpenter, Light in the Public Realm Keynote Address: Wendell Weeks, The Glass Age CMoG Courtyard Hot Shop: Hot Glass Demonstrations Josie Gluck and Michael Shunke, Organized Chaos Devin Burgess and Pablo Soto, Long Distance Exquisite Corpse CMoG Innovation Hot Shop: Flameworking Demonstrations Salt, The Sculptural Approach (problem solving from a sculptural perspective) Eric Goldschmidt, Holy Sheet – Sculpting Sheet Glass on the Torch CMoG Studio Cold Shop: Coldworking Demonstrations Niels Cosman, The Fine Line CMoG Studio Engraving Shop: Coldworking Demonstrations Katharine Coleman, Glass Engraving: Traditional Skills, New Insights

Caitlin Hyde flameworking at the Corning Museum of Glass Innovation Hot Shop.

CMoG Studio Hot Shop A: Hot Glass Demonstrations Stine Bidstrup, Stories from the Back of the Eye Michael Meilahn, This Ain’t Popcorn CMoG Studio Hot Shop B: Flameworking Demonstrations Kari Russell-Pool, The Language of Flowers Roger Parramore, Eschewing the Variables and the Highest Possibility for Success Rakow Research Library Parking Lot Taste of Tech Palace Theatre: The Glass Theater Film Screenings Dale Chihuly & James Carpenter: “glass blowing” GAS II: Penland School, Penland, NY 1972 Glass Fashion Show 2009 Pilchuck: A Dance with Fire Sand Bubbles: Dorflinger Glass Factory, 1916 Lec-Mo Presentations Dan Mirer, Of Esoteric Craft Judith Schaechter, 100% Homemade David Schnuckel, Meaningful Gibberish The Rockwell Museum: Opening Reception

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

__________________________________

Friday, June 10, 2016 171 Cedar Arts Center – Drake House: International Student Exhibition & Sales CMoG Amphitheater Hot Shop: Hot Glass Demonstrations Laura Donefer and Jeff Mack, “Classico Moderno,” A Jeff Mack and Laura Donefer Collaboration Beth Lipman, Burdensome Objects CMoG Auditorium: William Gudenrath, The Techniques of Renaissance Venetian Glassblowing Buster Simpson, Willson Lecture – Shards of the Anthropocene Emily Zilber, Strattman Lecture – Of Our Time: Contemporary Art, Craft, and the Encyclopedic Museum CMoG Courtyard Hot Shop: Hot Glass Demonstrations Eric Hilton and George Kennard, Metamorphosis: Cold to Hot and Back Again Eric Meek, Part of the Tradition, A Corning Gaffer 123


CMoG Education Lab: Goblet Grab CMoG Innovation Hot Shop: Flameworking Demonstrations Akihisa Izumi, Amicello Carmen Lozar, Out of the Bubble: Flameworking Today CMoG Studio Cold Shop: Coldworking Demonstrations Pavel Novak and Martin Rosol, A Look Into Coldworking CMoG Studio Engraving Shop: Coldworking Demonstrations Max Erlacher, Glass Engraving Overview CMoG Studio Hot Shop A: Hot Glass Demonstrations Maria Bang Espersen, An Introduction to the Basics of Glassblowing Patrick Martin, Spoonful of Sugar CMoG Studio Hot Shop B: Flameworking Demonstrations Tim Drier, Working with Rollers Mike Gnann, Quadruple Klein Corning’s Gaffer District: Crystal City Stroll Fireworks Display LUXUS Exhibition Corning Incorporated Headquarters Auditorium: At-Risk Youth Panel, What’s Next? Opportunitites for At-Risk Youth After High School – Andrew Page (moderator), Hector Daniel Maldonado, Barbara Heisler, Tracy Kirchmann, Robert Minkoff, Amy Schwartz Labino Lecture: Dr. Peter Bocko, Enabling and Expressive Medium of the Information Age: Art & Technology of Glass Saxe Emerging Artists Presentations: James Labold, The Myth is Real: Mystic Truths of American Exceptionalism Ito Laïla Le François, Instinctive Glass Wil Eldridge Sideman, The Aesthetic Lens Corning-Painted Post High School Auditorium: Lecture - Elizabeth Potenza, Making a Hand-Blown Cathode Ray Tube: Re-using Technology and the Presence of the Hand within Industrial Processes

Palace Theatre: Lec-Mo Presentations Yoko Hirosawa, Naoko Kato, Mica Okuno, Momoo Omuro, and Yoko Yagi, Beyond the Surface: 5 Female Japanese Artists Creating Tranquilly Exquisite Works in the Pursuit of Excellence Etsuko Nishi, Multiple-Layered Thin Pâte de Verre Kirstie Rea, Folding Light Bernd Weinmayer, Tyrolean Plasma Power Film Presentations Murano: The Unbearable Lightness of Glass, Intro and Moderation by Shane Fero, Q&A with Emanuel Toffolo and Caterina Toso The Flame-ation Project: A look behind the scenes at glass animation, Intro and Q&A by Mark Eliott Rakow Research Library: Portfolio Review Radisson Hotel Corning Ballroom: Auction Preview __________________________________

Saturday, June 11, 2016 171 Cedar Arts Center – Drake House: International Student Exhibition & Sales CMoG Amphitheater Hot Shop: Hot Glass Demonstrations Raven Skyriver, New Normal Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz, Bowls CMOG Auditorium: Lectures Adriano Berengo, Why GLASSTRESS? Rebecca Hopman and Alexandra Ruggiero, Gathering a Crowd: A Look at Glassmaking Demonstrations of the Past CMoG Auditorium & Amphitheater: Glass Fashion Show CMoG Courtyard Hot Shop: Hot Glass Demonstrations Adam Holtzinger, Pattern Play John Moran, Life-Like: Sculpting a Realistic Hand CMoG Innovation Hot Shop: Flameworking Demonstrations Caitlin Hyde, The Mighty (tiny) Tardigrade Cirque de Science Junichi Kojima, DOT! CMoG Studio Cold Shop: Coldworking Demonstrations Jennifer Crescuillo, Let the Cold Shop Set You Free

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CMoG Studio Engraving Shop: Coldworking Demonstrations Pavlína Čambalová, Soul Engraving CMoG Studio Hot Shop A: Hot Glass Demonstrations Deborah Czeresko, Ravaged by Age Nick Mount, Soft Geometry CMoG Studio Hot Shop B: Flameworking Demonstrations Lisa Demagall, Delighting in the Details Michael Souza, Tricks of the Trade Corning Incorporated Headquarters Auditorium: Careers in Art Panel, Creating Context: All Together Now, Tina Aufiero (moderator), Robin Cass, Amie McNeel, Rachel Moore, Jackie Pancari, Kait Rhaods, Norwood Viviano GAS Membership Meeting & 2017 Preview Green Panel, Time’s Up! Now/How to Go Green - Rachel Berwick, Fred Metz, Durk Valkema, Mark Weiner, Toots Zynsky (moderator) Technology Advancing Glass Panel Introduction by Wayne Strattman Michael Stern, Molten Glass for 3D Printing Jin Won Han, 3D Rendering for Glassmaking Corning-Painted Post High School Auditorium: Lectures Fritz Dreisbach, Tricks with Fritz: Construction Techniques for Ancient and Contemporary Joke Glasses Littleton Lecture – Judith Schaechter, Eternal Craft and Other Imponderables Palace Theatre: Lec-Mo Presentations Masahiro Asaka, Sculpting with the Elements Jessi Moore, Pixelated Particles: Pâte de Verre and the Printed Image Andy Paiko, Simple Yet Complicated Nathan Sandberg, Just Hot Enough: Low Temp Kilncasting Film Presentations Degenerate Art: The Art and Culture of Glass Pipes, Intro and Q&A by Marble Slinger Rakow Research Library: Informal Poster Presentations Q&A Hour with Educators Radisson Hotel Corning Ballroom & Lobby: Auction Preview Live & Silent Auction

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Presenter Abstracts Stine Bidstrup

Lino Tagliapietra

Hot Glass Demo Stories from the Back of the Eye This demo will combine glass in its molten state with basic digital pattern-making techniques to look at the fabric of potential relationships between glass and vision, with respect to optics and perception.

Devin Burgess and Pablo Soto

Hot Glass Demo Long Distance Exquisite Corpse Soto and Burgess will make heavily patterned incalmo cups in their respective North Carolina and Vermont studios without consulting each other. A third party will decide in what order to put the cups. The artists will then have to deal with whatever lands in their laps and design on the fly. Corning will be the test site to see if they really do think alike.

Pavlína Čambalová

Coldworking Demo Soul Engraving Pavlína Čambalová will engrave portraits on colorful overlaid glass sheets by using the traditional copper wheel engraving technique in a contemporary context.

Niels Cosman

Coldworking Demo The Fine Line Coldworking is all about working to the line. This line may appear as a centerline of an engraving wheel, the margins of a saw cut, or the curve of a vessel’s lip. During this demonstration Cosman will discuss the methods and strategies for creating your own lines and successfully working up to them.

Lisa Demagall

Flameworking Demo Delighting in the Details Utilizing borosilicate glass, Demagall will create glass miniatures at the torch. She has a penchant for dreaming large and working small, as she “delights in the details” with small-scale domestic objects.

Laura Donefer and Jeff Mack

Hot Glass Demo “Classico Moderno,” A Jeff Mack and Laura Donefer Collaboration This dynamic duo will be creating a Classico Moderno Amphora, with Jeff Mack overseeing the classical vessel and Laura Donefer texturing the entire surface with her collection of tools.

Tim Drier

Hot Glass Demo Working with Rollers Working with rollers and a hip slide is nothing new. It was developed in the chemical industry in the 1930s, back when there was a lot of glass process pipe being used. Drier has incorporated this technique to produce larger blown work by moving the fire around (hip slide) while keeping the weight or the glass rotating on the rollers. Like a lathe, only different.

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

Max Erlacher

Coldworking Demo Glass Engraving Overview A demonstration and introduction of copper wheel, diamond wheel, stone wheel, polishing, stippling, rotating point, and other various glass engraving techniques.

Josie Gluck and Michael Schunke Hot Glass Demo Organized Chaos Josie Gluck and Michael Schunke will meticulously craft a beautiful mess.

Michael Gnann

Flameworking Demo Quadruple Klein Mike Gnann will demonstrate his take on a classic Klein design, fabricated from borosilicate glass.

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Eric Goldschmidt

Flameworking Demo Holy Sheet – Sculpting Sheet Glass on the Torch Eric Goldschmidt will be sculpting borosilicate sheet glass into a figurative form. The form will then be applied to one of his signature, lidded cage cups.

Eric Hilton and George Kennard

Hot Glass Demo Metamorphosis: Cold to Hot and Back Again Two blown forms will be made prior to the demonstration. They will be worked on in the studio using the graal technique. The forms will then be combined at CMoG using the incalmo process, at which point a transformation will take place.

Adam Holtzinger

Hot Demo Pattern Play Holtzinger will explore the creative potential of precise yet playful patterns using canes in blown forms.

Cailtin Hyde

Flameworking Demo The Mighty (tiny) Tardigrade Cirque de Science See the mighty Tardigrade with eight legs, monstrous sharp claws, no bones at all, who withstands the most extreme conditions of cold, heat, and radiation! Don’t miss your one and only chance to see this mighty, tiny beast recreated in flameworked glass!

Akihisa Izumi Amicello The “Amicello” pattern, which uses thin white cane, was created by Akihisa Izumi in 2014 and is based on the Italian Reticello technique.

Junichi Kojima DOT! Junichi Kojima will create a glass tube with dots, and then melt it into a disk.

Beth Lipman

Hot Glass Demo Burdensome Objects This demonstration will include multiple participants creating objects that will be created and abandoned over the duration of the time slot.

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Michael Meilahn

Salt

John Moran

Raven Skyriver

Hot Glass Demo This Ain’t Popcorn Watch Meilahn blow glass into a large six-piece hinged bronze mold “on wheels” and see what pops out! Hot Glass Demo Life-Like: Sculpting a Realistic Hand This demo will focus on solid sculpting a realistic hand. Through use of color application, cane drawing, and torch working, the hand will come to life.

Nick Mount

Hot Glass Demo Soft Geometry Nick Mount will use traditional and nontraditional hotshop techniques to produce a form that will reflect the soft and natural geometry he uses in his recent cross-media compositions.

Pavel Novak and Martin Rosol

Coldworking Demo A Look into Coldworking This demo will showcase the techniques used to turn a rough chunk of glass into a beautiful piece of art using a lathe, diamond wheels, and various compounds to shape, polish, and laminate the glass without using any hot glass techniques.

Roger Parramore

Flameworking Demo Eschewing the Variables and the Highest Possibility for Success Tradition has its charms, but for contemporary lampworkers a strict adherence to outmoded information and techniques is often the decisive element of success or failure. However, subtle changes in perspective, skill, and technique can often propel us forward in unexpected ways.

Flameworking Demo The Sculptural Approach (problem solving from a sculptural perspective) Salt will demonstrate unique ways of problem solving sculpture with a focus on plumbing. Hot Glass Demo New Normal Raven Skyriver will attempt to maximize the new Amphitheater space by constructing a Green Sea Turtle from several premade components.

Michael Souza

Flameworking Demo Tricks of the Trade Mike Souza will share some of the ingenuity used in making scientific glass instruments when it comes to flameworking on the lathe and the bench.

Lino Tagliapietra

Hot Glass Demo Ostuni Lino Tagliapietra and his team will be taking traditional Venetian caning techniques (vetro a fili) to new levels of complexity and expression. While Tagliapietra is consistently making innovations in his work, this latest series, Ostuni, represents a remarkable new departure, blending nature and historical influences with Lino’s creativity. Ostuni (derived from Greek astu neon meaning “new town”) is a small city in southern Italy that was destroyed by Hannibal and rebuilt by the Greeks.

Jocelyne Prince

Hot Glass Demo Luminous Flux, Live Event Luminous Flux, Live Event is a performative work exploring the energy and quality of light exhibited by hot glass. The piece is inspired by the work of Alexander Scriabin and Thomas Wilfred and their work with sound and light.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Tours, Events, Classes & Workshops TOURS & EVENTS 3500 Years of Glass Science and Technology
 The Corning Museum of Glass Wednesday, June 8 Ask an Archivist Rakow Research Library
 Wednesday, June 8 and Friday, June 10 Behind-the-Scenes at the Rakow Research Library Rakow Research Library Wednesday, June 8 Conservation and the
Care of Glass Objects
 The Corning Museum of Glass Wednesday, June 8 Fragile Legacy: The Marine Invertebrate Models of Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka
 The Corning Museum of Glass Wednesday, June 8 Gallery Talk: Aerial Perspectives of the American Landscape featuring Kiln-Glass Artist, Richard Parrish The Rockwell Museum Wednesday, June 8 Glass from Antiquity to the Cold War: Response, Reception, and Reinvention
 The Corning Museum of Glass Wednesday, June 8 Lino in the Amphitheater Hot Shop CMoG Amphitheater Hot Shop Sunday, June 5 - Wednesday, June 8 New Installations at The Rockwell Museum The Rockwell Museum Wednesday, June 8 New Space, New Light, New Curator The Corning Museum of Glass Wednesday, June 8 Revealing the Invisible: The History of Glass and the Microscope Rakow Research Library Wednesday, June 8 Round Table for Glass Educators Rakow Research Library Wednesday, June 8 The Romans Invented Everything The Corning Museum of Glass Wednesday, June 8

GAS attendees watching fireworks after the Crystal City Stroll on Friday night.

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass

Brooklyn Glass

May 30 - June 8: Martin Janecky, Blowing and Sculpting Inside the Bubble Lucio Bubacco and Omur and Fatih Duruerk, Low Relief Of Glass Workshop with Lucio Bubacco and Karma Design Studio Collaboration William Gudenrath, An In-Depth Introduction to Venetian Techniques Martin Rosol and Pavel Novak, Cold Construction

June 3- 6: A Stained Glass Intensive with a Kinky Twist: Joseph Cavalieri June 4- 8: Hot Sculpting Natural Forms: Grant Garmezy June 14-16: Illuminated Plasma Magic: Ed Kirshner June 17-19: Express Your Thirst: Ed Schmid June 18-19: Introduction to Mouth Blown Beads: Annukka Ritalahti

June 13 - 18: Nick Mount, Taking The Next Step Loren Stump, Flameworking Using Ultimate Details
 Jessica Loughlin, light 3
 Katharine Coleman, Glass Engraving Karen Willenbrink Johnsen & Jasen Johnsen, Glass Sculpting

June 4-7: Exploring Kinetic Glass with Bandhu Dunham The Freedom of Formula:
From Conception to Realization with Kirstie Rea

June 19 - 25: Carol Milne, Secrets of Knitted Glass

Hands-on Glass Studio June 12 - 14: Special Glassblowing Workshop with Fritz Dreisbach and Edward T. Schmid

World Kitchen Factory Tour World Kitchen Factory Wednesday, June 8 CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

UrbanGlass

June 5-26: Glass and Fiber: The Perfect Match with Iviva Olenick June 13-17: Problem Solving at 2000 Degrees with Ché Rhodes Neon Robots 2.0 (NYC Resistor Collaboration) with Joe Upham & Ranjit Bhatnagar

June 18-19: Glass Lamination with Sasha Zhitneva

June 19: Fathers Day Glassblowing and Flameworking 127


Gallery Hop & Special Exhibitions The Crystal City Stroll took place Friday, June 10, 5 pm - 11 pm throughout Corning and the Gaffer District.

LUXUS: An exhibition focusing on light as a material

LUXUS is an exhibition that took place at over twenty venues throughout the Gaffer District in Corning, New York for the duration of the Glass Art Society Conference, June 9 -11, 2016. It was open for the duration of the conference and was the pinnacle of the Crystal City Stroll. Illuminated art works were featured in interior spaces such as empty stores and shop fronts as well as external spaces suitable for pop-up installations, performances, and projections.

The Corning Museum of Glass

One Museum Way, Corning, NY 14830 www.cmog.org Fragile Legacy: The Marine Invertebrate Models of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka May 13, 2016 - January 8, 2017 Revealing the Invisible: The History of Glass and the Microscope April 23, 2016 - March 19, 2017

The Houghton Gallery at 171 Cedar Arts Center

171 Cedar St, Corning, NY 14830 www.171cedararts.org/houghtongallery Lifeforms 2016 An exhibition of the best contemporary biological glass models made in the spirit of the famous 19th and 20th century models of invertebrates and plants made by Rudolf and Leopold Blaschka for the Harvard University’s Botanical Museum. May 20 - June 22, 2016

Exhibit A

22 East Market St., Corning, NY 14830 www.exh-a.com Spillforth A solo exhibition of recent works by Michael Rogers in the main gallery at Exhibit A. May 21 - July 9, 2016 Figs and Urns A new ‘rose window’ installation by Joanna Manousis comprised of polished lead crystal forms and reminiscent of the round church windows of 17th century France. May 27 - July 9, 2016 Reception: Friday, June 10, 5 - 8 pm

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Hands-on Glass Studio

124 Crystal Lane, Corning, NY 14830 www.handsonglass.com 25th Anniversary Open House Celebration Hands-on Glass celebrates their 25th anniversary during the GAS conference with demos by international artists Fritz Dreisbach, Ed Schmid and more! Reception: June 10, 6 - 9 pm

The Rockwell Museum

111 Cedar St, Corning, NY 14830 rockwellmuseum.org Richard Parrish: Aerial Perspectives of the American Landscape Continuing Parrish’s series of “mapping” American glass landscapes, this exhibition comprises newly kiln-formed glass panels created for public debut at The Rockwell Museum in Corning. February 12 - June 19, 2016 Lecture: Aerial Perspectives of the American Landscape featuring Kiln-Glass Artist, Richard Parrish June 8, 6 - 7 pm

Vitrix Hot Glass Studio

77 West Market St, Corning, NY 14830 www.vitrixhotglass.com Fabienne Picaud will be in town from Paris, and will be at the gallery. She has taught classes and exhibited work across the U.S. and Europe. Vitrix will also be holding glassmaking demonstrations during this time. June 10, 5 - 8 pm

West End Gallery

12 W Market St, Corning, NY 14830 www.westendgallery.net A Touch of Glass A special exhibition featuring local and regional glass artists. Music performed by classical guitarist, William Groome. Paintings by the late Thomas S. Buechner and Martin A. Poole Thomas Buechner and Martin Poole painted together for many years. Buechner was the first Director of the Corning Museum of Glass and a past President of CMoG and past president of Steuben Glass. June 10 - July 15, 2016 Opening Reception: June 10, 5 - 11 pm

Soul Full Cup Coffeehouse

81 W Market St, Corning, NY 14830 www.soulfullcup.com www.glass-emancipation.com Emancipation: how to make a work of glass that isn’t glass June 9 - 11, 2016 Opening reception: June 10, 5 - 10 pm Artists: Anne Peters, W. Benjamin Bray, David King, Helen Lee, Justin Ginsberg, Shari Mendelson, J. Susie Hwang, and Yuka Otani. Supported by The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, Corning’s Gaffer District.

Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art

310 Genesee St, Utica, NY 13502 315.797.0000 • www.mwpai.org Terry Slade: Dreams and Apparitions “Manta for the Survival of the Earth” 365 fused glass discs form a sphere 14’ in diameter. The random movement of each circle creates a meditative atmosphere through the use of color, light, and movement intended to induce contemplation and transformation of the senses. This work is intended to evoke consideration of our place in the universe and just how fragile that place is. April 16 - October 16, 2016

The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes

79 W Market St, Corning, NY 14830 www.earts.org Seeing Light Inspired by the theme of the 2016 GAS conference, Seeing Light is an regional juried glass art exhibition featuring the work of 23 local and regional glass artists. A variety of floor installations, pedestal work, and wall hanging pieces will be on display in the exhibition housed in the historic Hawkes Glass Building. May 16 - June 17, 2016 Reception: June 10, 5 - 8 pm

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Technical Display Vendors Exhibitors listed alphabetically Abell Combustion Inc. #10 Stephen Abell PO Box 198 Kimberton, PA 19425 T 610-827-9137 abell@fast.net abellcombustion.com

Jeff Lindsay of Red Hot Metal talking to a customer at the Technical Display.

ABR Imagery #37 David Martin 3808 West Vernal Pike Bloomington, IN 47404 T 812-339-0147 dave@abrimagery.com abrimagery.com Advanced Glass Industries #16 Anthony Marino 1335 Emerson Street Rochester, NY 14606 T 585-458-8040 F 585-458-8087 agi@advancedglass.net www.advancedglass.net ARTCO #30 & 31 Malcolm Spann 348 N 15th Street San Jose, CA 95112 T 408-288-7978 sales@artcoinc.com artcoinc.com

Charley’s Deadman Switch #19 Charles Friedman 2841 NW 70th Street Seattle WA 98117 T 206-781-0608 charlesf@charleysdeadmanswitch.com charleysdeadmanswitch.com

East Bay Batch & Color #32 James Meyer 169 S First Street Richmond, CA 94804 T 800-322-6567 customerservice@ebbatchcolor.com eastbaycolor.com

Brooklyn Glass, LLC #8 David Ablon 142 13th Street Brooklyn, NY 11215 T 718-569-2110 info@brooklynglass.com brooklynglass.com

Chrysler Museum Glass Studio #26 Charlotte Potter 745 Duke Street Norfolk, VA 23510 T 757-333-6299 info@chrysler.org chrysler.org

Euclid Kilns #47 Geoff Farrow 1120 Speers Road Oakville, ON CANADA L6L 2X4 T 800-296-5456 gfarrow@euclids.com euclidkilns.com

Bullseye Glass Co. #27 & 28 Amy Ferber 3722 SE 21st Avenue Portland, OR 97202 T 503-232-8887 sales@bullseyeglass.com bullseyeglass.com

Covington Engineering #41 Dan Drouault 715 West Colton Avenue Redlands, CA 92374 T 877-793-6636 sales@covington-engineering.com covington-engineering.com

Gaffer Glass USA LTD #12 & 13 John Leggott & John Croucher 19622 70th Avenue S Bay #4 Kent, WA 98032 T 253-395-3361 info@gafferglass.org gafferglassusa.com

Canned Heat Glass, LLC #16 Cheyenne Malcolm 1127 SE 10th Avenue Portland, OR 97214 T 208-867-9517 vetrovita@gmail.com cannedheatglass.com

Cutting Edge Products / Red Hot Metal #15 Jeff Lindsay 24 Bellarmine Court #1 Chico, CA 95928 T 530-342-1970 info@redhotmetal.net redhotmetal.net

Glass Art Society #14 Pam Koss, Executive Director 6512 23rd Avenue NW Ste 329 Seattle, WA 98117 T 206-382-1305 info@glassart.org glassart.org

Carlisle Machine Works, Inc. #5 Mary Dougherty PO Box 746 Millville, NJ 08332 T 856-825-0627 carlisle@carlislemachine.com carlislemachine.com

Digitry Company, Inc. #21 Ron Shapiro 449 Forest Avenue, #9 Portland, ME 04101 T 207-774-0300 ras@digitry.com digitry.com

glassybaby #46 3406 E Union Street Seattle, WA 98122 T 206-673-2955 jkube@glassybaby.com glassybaby.com

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Hang Your Glass #48 Poppy Mussallem PO Box 4534 Carmel, CA 93921 T 650-353-4642 info@hangyourglass.com HangYourGlass.com

Paragon Industries, L.P. #7 Arnold Howard 2011 S Town East Blvd Mesquite, TX 75149 T 972-288-7557 info@paragonweb.com paragonweb.com

Studio Glass Batch LLC #35 Bill Glasner 7491 Modock Road Victor, NY 14564 T 585-924-9579 billglasner@yahoo.com studioglassbatch.com

His Glassworks, Inc. #38, 39 & 40 Mark Bolick 2000 Riverside Drive, Ste 19 Asheville, NC 28804 T 828-254-2559 info@hisglassworks.com hisglassworks.com

Penland School of Crafts #20 Nickolaus Fruin PO Box 37 Penland, NC 28765 T 828-765-5507 glass@penland.org penland.org

Hot Glass Color and Supply #49 & 50 Cyrena Stefano 2227 5th Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 T 206-448-1199 cyrena@hotglasscolor.com hotglasscolor.com

Pilchuck Glass School #44 1201 316th Street NW Stanwood, WA 98292 T 360-445-3111 info@pilchuck.com pilchuck.com

Sweetwater Glass, Cherrywood Blocks and Molds #9 Art Reed 6411 Fall Clove Road DeLancey, NY 13752 T 845-676-4622 artlindareed@catskill.net sweetwaterglass.com

Jasen Johnsen Glass Tools #45 Jasen Johnsen 6371 Ershig Road Bow, CA 98232 T 360-766-4198 jasen@willenbrinkjohnsen.com willenbrinkjohnsen.com Jim Moore Tools for Glass #11 Jim Moore PO Box 1151 Port Townsend, WA 98368 T 360-379-2936 glasstools@olympus.net toolsforglass.com Mobile Glassblowing Studios, LLC #33 Philip Vinson & Chuck Wells 505 W Lamar Americus, GA 31709 T 229-352-9988 mobileglassblowingstudios@gmail.com mobileglassblowingstudios.com National Torch #42 by Premier Industries Craig Hamernik 1590 99th Lane NE Blaine, MN 55449 T 763-786-4020 sales@nationaltorch.com nationaltorch.com Olympic Color Rods #3 & 4 Mark Hood 818 John Street Seattle, WA 98109 T 206-343-7336 mark@glasscolor.com glasscolor.com 130

Pittsburgh Glass Center #34 Heather McElwee, Executive Director 5472 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206 T 412-365-2145 glassinfo@pittsburghglasscenter.org pittsburghglasscenter.org Skutt Kilns #22 Mike Sievers 6441 SE Johnson Creek Blvd Portland, OR 97206 T 503-774-6000 skutt@skutt.com skutt.com Spiral Arts, Inc. / Carlo Donà #17 & 29 Fred Metz / Joe Miller 901 NW 49th Street Seattle, WA 98107 T 206-768-9765 orders@spiralarts.com spiralarts.com Spruce Pine Batch, Inc. #23 Tom Littleton & Brenda Wilson PO Box 159 Spruce Pine, NC 28777 T 828-765-9876 spbatch@yahoo.com sprucepinebatch.com Steinert Industries, Inc. #1 & 2 John Steinert 1507 Franklin Avenue Kent, OH 44240 T 330-678-0028 glasstools@steinertindustries.com steinertindustries.com

UrbanGlass #24 647 Fulton Street Brooklyn, NY 11217 T 718-625-3685 info@urbanglass.org urbanglass.org Uroboros Glass #6 Eric Lovell 2139 N Kerby Avenue Portland, OR 97227 T 503-284-4900 sales@uroboros.com uroboros.com Wale Apparatus Co. #25 Dennis Wargo 400 Front Street Hellertown, PA 18055 T 610-838-7047 dbrucker@waleapparatus.com waleapparatus.com Wet Dog Glass, LLC #43 Eddie Bernard 100C Russell Dr Star, NC 27356 T 910-428-4111 eddie@wetdogglass.com wetdogglass.com Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center #18 Pamela Weichmann 1501 Glasstown Road Millville, NJ 08332 T 856-825-6800 pweichmann@wheatonarts.org wheatonarts.org

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


ACK NOWLEDGEMEN TS

GAS attendees at the annual Goblet Grab.

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The Glass Art Society Thanks and Acknowledges Our 2016 Conference Committee, Donors, and Volunteers Thanks to our sponsors, without whose help the conference would not be possible.

2015 MAJOR SPONSORS

The Corning Museum of Glass Corning Incorporated Corning Incorporated Foundation CRYSTAL CITY STROLL TRANSPORTATION SPONSOR

Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXHIBITION SPONSOR

The Glass Furnace Foundation PRESENTATION SPONSOR

His Glassworks, Inc – Pavel Novak and Martin Rosol Demo VENUE PARTNERS 171 Cedar Arts Center Corning’s Gaffer District Corning Incorporated Headquarters The Corning Museum of Glass Corning-Painted Post High School Auditorium Palace Theater Radisson Hotel Corning The Rockwell Museum The Glass Art Society Journal is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corning Incorporated Foundation.

The GAS Board of Directors, Pamela Koss, and GAS staff would like to thank the conference co-chairs, Ellen Corradini, Steve Gibbs, Angus Powers, Michael Rogers, Chris Sharkey, and our venue partners: 171 Cedar Arts Center, Corning’s Gaffer District, Corning Incorporated Headquarters, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning-Painted Post High School Auditorium, Palace Theater, Radisson Hotel Corning, and The Rockwell Museum.

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Portfolio Reviewers: Stine Bidstrup, Nadege Desgenetez, Karina Guevin, Jiyong Lee, Kirstie Rea, Michael Rogers, Salt, Judith Schaechter, Norwood Viviano, Cheryl White Emerging Artist Jurors: Osamu Noda and Jeff Zimmer Student Scholarship Jurors: Boyd Sugiki, Shelley Muzylowski Allen, Mireille Perron International Student Exhibition Jurors: Jutta-Annette Page, Susie Silbert, Raven Skyriver Auction Donors: The auction is an important source of support for the annual conference: Julie Alland • Rhonda Baker • Dana Baldwin • Emily Bartelt • Monte Becker • Fondazione Berengo • Alex Bernstein • Sabina Boehm • Lothar Böttcher • Ed Branson • Bryn Athyn College • Forrest Buford • Ramiro Camarillo • Pavlina Cambalova • Deborah Carlson • Teresa Childers • Alison Chism • Steve Ciezki • Katharine Coleman • Julie Conway • Kelly Conway • Jennifer Crescuillo • Martha Custer • Lisa Demagall • Christopher DeMott • Cecile Derel • Tyler Diesenberg • Laura Donefer and Jeff Mack • Courtney Downman • Fritz Dreisbach • Evelyn Dunstan • Montserrat Duran Muntadas • Mark Eliott • Kathleen Elliot • Rachel Elliott • Paul Engle • Matthew Eskuche • Juliann Ewing • Shane Fero • Nicole Fierce • Wesley Fleming • Charles Friedman • Michael Gnann • Eric Goldschmidt • Michael Grecheck • William Gudenrath • Karina Guévin • Matthew Harvey • David Helm • Josh Hershman • Yoko Hirosawa • Chad Holliday • Elodie Holmes • Bruce Howard • R. Jason Howard • Bradley Howes • Caitlin Hyde • Akihisa Izumi • Naoko Kato • BJ Katz • Claire Kelly • Janet Kelman • Namdoo Kim • Tracy Kirchmann • Hannah Kirkpatrick • Junichi Kojima • Heather Kremen • James Labold • Hethre Larivee • Peter Layton • Michael Mangiafico • Clay McGlamory • Lani McGregor • Trevor McKee • Kimberly McKinnis • Eric Meek • Paul Messink • David J. Mireault • Jessi Moore • Etsuko Nishi • Kanami Ogata • Kyle Orce • Alyssa Oxley • Jutta-Annette Page • Roger Parramore • Kit Paulson • Ian Pearson • Marc Petrovic • Joseph Pfeifer • Charlotte Potter • Stephen Rolfe Powell • Kirstie Rea • Kait Rhoads • Natali Rodrigues • Robin and Julia Rogers • Susan Roston • Debra Ruzinsky • Salt • Nathan Sandberg • Masahiro Nick Sasaki • Debbi Savage • Lori Schinelli • Edward T. Schmid • Karin Schwarzer • Karole Sharpe •

Carmen Simmonds • Raven Skyriver • Jan Smith • Pablo Soto • Tim Southward • Cassandra Straubing • Boyd Sugiki • Yusuke Takemura • Susan Taylor Glasgow • Jean-Simon Trottier • Miles Van Rensselaer • Sarah Vaughn • Bernd Weinmayer • Noelle Wiegand • Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen • Yoko Yagi Goblet Grab Donors: Hank Adams • Jack Alden • Paul Bendzunas • James Burts • Devan Cole • Glen Cook • Michele D’Amico • Frederic Demoisson • Vincent Desparrois • Joshua DeWall • Ben Dombey • Davin Ebanks • Colin Eckhart • Rachel Elliott • Grant Ellis • Paul Elyseev • Shane Fero • Nickolaus Fruin • Eric Goldschmidt • Tyler Gordon • Christopher Gray • George-Ann Greth • William Gudenrath • Jeff Heath • Bronwen Heilman • David Helm • Michael Hermann • Caitlin Hyde • Su-yeon Kim • Jen Kuhne • Cheyenne Malcolm • Trevor McKee • Brendan Miller • Jacob Moody • Jay Musler • Roger Parramore • Kit Paulson • Ben Sharp • Mike Shelbo • John Shoemaker • Jeremy Sinkus • Maddie Stewart • Wayne Strattman • Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass • Adam Thomas • Marc VandenBerg • Paul Vernon • Joseph Webster Presenters Who Donated All or Part of Their Honorariums to GAS: Tina Aufiero, Adriano Berengo, Peter Bocko, James Carpenter, Andrew Page and Robert Minkoff, Toots Zynsky, Wendell Weeks Work Exchange Participants and Volunteers: Dara Alper • Signe Ballew • Christine Barney • Briana Bennett • Rochelle Bower • Alison Chism • Stacy Chomicz • Zachary Cincotta • Beth Cox • Paola Crossley • Morgan Crumlich • Martha Custer • Ross Delano • L.D. Dinning • Thomas Dischinger • Karola Dischinger • Rachel Elliott • Brian Engel • Juliann Ewing • Chelsea Ford • Laure Fradin • Sarah Freiseis • Ashley Goodwyn • Hannah Greenbaum • Davis Hartman • Theresa Healy • Niki Hildebrand • Minna Koistinen • Joan Kruckewitt • Hannah Leizear • Adam Lewton • Gin Lin • Alli Luhmann • Ellen Mahnken • ElizaBeth Matthews • Matthew McInnis • Laura Murdoch • Nadira Narine • Kelly Nezworski • Darleen Nixon • Kara O’Dea • Jacqueline Polofka • Dina Priess dos Santos • Jamie Ragan • Patty Reese • Shelly Rick • Lauren Rusch • Hannah Simmonds • Christopher Skibbe • Kayla Smith • Becky Smith • Paula Smith • Margaret Spacapan • Jamie Stevens • Rachael Strittmatter • Michael Villani • Ristiina Wigg • Jingru Zhang

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


GLASS ART SOCIETY FUND DONORS Contributions cover the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016 The GAS Journal is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corning Incorporated Foundation. Becky Winship Flameworking Scholarship Fund Established in 2002 by David Winship and Lisa Bieber of Winship Designs, with funding currently continued by Glasscraft, Inc. to support conference attendance for students whose work includes flameworking. David Winship and Lisa Bieber, Glasscraft, Inc. Frank Becker Nancy DuBois, DuBois Studios Akakpo Ediths and Michel Marc, Ojadec-Afrique Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Jupiter Nielsen Natali Rodrigues, Alberta College of Art and Design Slayden Watson, West Texas A&M Dick Weiss Emily Williams, Emily Williams Sculpture David Willis and Erika Christian, David Willis Glass Community Partnership Fund Funds special arts-related project or program for under-served populations (i.e. at-risk youth, developmentally disabled, minorities, veterans, etc.) in the conference host city. Frank Becker Akakpo Ediths and Michel Marc, Ojadec-Afrique Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project James Manshardt John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Dick Weiss 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. Herb Babcock, Babcock Design Studio Frank Becker Mark Bolick and Robert Stephan, His Glassworks, Inc. Harry Boyer, Boyer Glassworks Sandra Christine and Dale Meyer, Quintal Studio Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project Claudia Lipschultz James Manshardt John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Natali Rodrigues, Alberta College of Art and Design Carrie Strope, Calyx Glass Dick Weiss GAS in CERF (Craft Emergency Relief Fund) Aids artist-members of GAS faced with career threatening catastrophe. Frank Becker William and Katherine Bernstein, Bernstein Glass Dave Braun JJ Brown and Simona Rosasco, Fyreglas Studio Gregory Cap

Deborah Carlson, Shooting Star Glass Studio Alison Chism, ChismGlass Lorne Covington Miriam Di Fiore Christopher Dobs, Square One Art Glass Nancy DuBois, DuBois Studios Paulo Dufour, Incredible Glass Works Inc. Donna Figone Jane Francescon Barbara Grauke, Cuesta Glass Charlie Holden, Charlie Holden Hugh Jenkins and Stephanie Ross, Hugh Jenkins Glass Studio Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project Heather Kremen, Green Infiniti Robin Levin Anne Lindenfeld, Reef Bay Glass Claudia Lipschultz John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Joseph Mercurio Jacob Pfeifer, Hot Glass Alley Mary and Liz Reidmeyer, Missouri S&T Elliott Rosenstein Leslie Rowe-Israelson, Twin Vision Studio Glass Sherry Selevan Virginia Spalter, Glass by Virginia Danny Sullivan, Nevada Glassworks Ltd. Dan and Rebecca Terrible John Webster, Padilla Bay Art Dick Weiss Carlos Zervigon 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. Frank Becker Lorne Covington Habibou Diallo Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Dick Weiss GAS Student Rep Travel Fund Established in 2006 by Eddie and Angela Bernard of Wet Dog Glass, who have continued funding it. Eddie Bernard and Angela Bart Bernard, Wet Dog Glass, LLC General Student Scholarship Fund Provides support for student members who could not otherwise afford to attend the annual conference. Herb Babcock, Babcock Design Studio Frank Becker Eddie Bernard and Angela Bart Bernard, Wet Dog Glass, LLC

CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

Mark Bolick and Robert Stephan, His Glassworks, Inc. Heather Hartle, Engraved Inspiration Ann Hartmann and Frank Snug Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project Chien Kuang Liu, Kuang Alessandro Mandruzzato, Alessandro Mandruzzato TM James Manshardt John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Jutta-Annette Page, The Toledo Museum of Art Dana Smith, Four Winds Studios Dick Weiss Ristiina Wigg Emily Williams, Emily Williams Sculpture Michael Wilson Mary Zwirn, Panda Life Studios Hilbert Sosin Fund for Professionalism in the Glass Arts Established in 1995 by GAS to support educational endeavors within the GAS membership that benefit the organization as a whole. Herb Babcock, Babcock Design Studio Leslie Baker Frank Becker Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Terri Sigler, Chaotic Joy Glassworks Dick Weiss Littleton Lecture Fund Established in 2015 by John Littleton and Kate Vogel, the Littleton Lecture Fund supports lectures by innovative artists who push the envelope and use their creativity, knowledge, and influence to educate others within the field of glass. John Littleton and Kate Vogel, Littleton-Vogel, Inc. Frank Becker Frederick and Jean Birkhill, Frederick Birkhill Studios LLC Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project James Manshardt John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Carrie Strope, Calyx Glass Dick Weiss Robert Willson Fund Established in 2001 with the initial contribution by Mrs. Margaret Pace Willson for an annual GAS conference lecture addressing sculpture and glass. Frank Becker Alison Chism, ChismGlass Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project James Manshardt John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Brady Steward, Ice Moon Studios, Inc. Dick Weiss 133


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 David and Leisa Austin, Austin Art Projects James Baker, Pilchuck Glass School Frank Becker Timothy Belliveau, Bee Kingdom Eddie Bernard and Angela Bart Bernard, Wet Dog Glass, LLC Rob Cassetti, The Corning Museum of Glass Kelly Conway, The Corning Museum of Glass Geoff Isles Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project Morgan Madison, Morgan Madison Studio John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Jenny Pohlman and Sabrina Knowles, Pohlman Knowles Ethan Stern and Amanda McDonald, Diamond Life Studio Davira and Dr. Marvin A. Taragin Dick Weiss Sy Kamens Educational Fund This fund helps to keep student memberships and conference registration fees low. Frank Becker Rene and Russ Culler, University of South Alabama Akakpo Ediths and Michel Marc, Ojadec-Afrique Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project Claudia Lipschultz Gayle Matthias Annie Morhauser, Annieglass Inc. John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Jenny Pohlman and Sabrina Knowles, Pohlman Knowles Dick Weiss Takako Sano International Student Scholarship Fund Established in 1999 by GAS to support the attendance of one non-USA student at each annual conference. Frank Becker Bruce Howard, Beaver Creek Graphics Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project Chien Kuang Liu, Kuang James Manshardt John and Lyn, Musgrove Musgrove Glass Art Natali Rodrigues, Alberta College of Art and Design Dick Weiss 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. Ted and Melissa Lagreid Leslie Baker Frank Becker 134

Morgan Chivers Sandra Christine and Dale Meyer, Quintal Studio Lorne Covington Bruce Howard, Beaver Creek Graphics Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project Joseph Mercurio John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Jenny Pohlman and Sabrina Knowles, Pohlman Knowles Michael Saroka, Goldray Industries Ltd. Sherry Selevan Wayne Strattman, Strattman Design Dick Weiss Unrestricted Funds General donations help support the organization wherever it is needed most. Leslie Baker Carolyn and Dick Barry Frank Becker Kaitlyn Becker William and Katherine Bernstein, Bernstein Glass Molly Cadranell, Glass Roots Nelly Bly Cogan Judith Cushman, Judith Cushman & Associates Jennifer Detlefsen Miriam Di Fiore Scott Dyer Anna Eide, World Kitchen Esico-Triton International Alan Eusden, The Corning Museum of Glass Lynn Eusden James Flaws Steve and Marsha Funk Jesse Gardner, West End Gallery Fine Art Jacob Garretson Audrey Handler, Handler Glass J.G. Harrington and Jere Gibber Frederick Heath and Merrily Orsini Heather Horton Geoff Isles Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project Erina Kashihara Ralph Kindelberger Semrin Korkmaz Barbara Leasure Leonard and Adele Leight Susan Longini and Muni Barash Roger MacPherson, MacPherson Construction & Design, LLC Daniel Maher, Daniel Maher Stained Glass Kelly Makuch, Kelly Makuch Studio Kathryn Markel, GlassRoots Heather McElwee and Chris Clarke Marie McKee Michael and Jane Meilahn, Meilahn Glassworks James Mensching Paul Messink, Paul Messink Glass Art Stephen Mineck, Mineckglass Jenny Miner, Water Street Glassworks Charlie Miner, Tesuque Glassworks, Inc. John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Elizabeth Netts and Charlotte Mitchell, M & M Glass Works, Inc.

Tom Oreck Stephan Peirce, Spg Chris Rifkin, CLR Design Fred Sanders Mike Shelbo, Shelbo Glass Art Babette and Steven Pinsky Lee Proctor Andreas Renner Roche Diagnostics Helene Safire, Helene Safire Ltd. Karin Schwarzer, Karin Schwarzer Studio LLC Elaine Sokoloff and Margarete Wells Ingrid Stuiver, Blown Away by Ing Ursula Ullmann, OPTUL Spezialglas GmbH Scott Valitchka, Kimberly-Clark Foundation Robert and Margaret Van Andel Slayden Watson, West Texas A&M William and Dina Weisberger Dick Weiss Karol Wight, The Corning Museum of Glass Stefani Woodams, Greystone Art Glass Carol Yorke and Gerard Conn 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. Wayne Strattman, Strattman Design Frank Becker Mark Ditzler, Mark Ditzler Glass Studio, LLC Akakpo Ediths and Michel Marc, Ojadec-Afrique Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project Claudia Lipschultz James Manshardt Joseph Mercurio John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Natali Rodrigues, Alberta College of Art and Design Terri Sigler, Chaotic Joy Glassworks Dick Weiss Hayden Wilson Carol Yorke and Gerard Conn 2017 Video Fund Pat Arnold, Dancing Light Glass Eddie Bernard and Angela Bart Bernard, Wet Dog Glass, LLC Paul Elyseev and Bonnie Kooklin, Hot Sand Heather Hartle, Engraved Inspiration Niki Hildebrand, IslandArtsGallery.com Claire Kelly and Anthony Schafermeyer, Claire Kelly Glass Amy Morgan, Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery Charlotte Potter John and Linda Riepma Arden Roders Natali Rodrigues, Alberta College of Art and Design Alli Rogan, Cristallo Art Center Salt, SALT Glass Art Rick Schneide, Anoka Ramsey Community College Elaine Sokoloff and Magarete Wells GAS apologizes to anyone who was incorrectly listed or inadvertently omitted.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Glass Art Society Upper-Level Members As of July 2016, the Glass Art Society has 2099 members. The following GAS members contributed upper-level memberships from July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016. Benefactors ($1000) Chris Rifkin, CLR Design Erick Schmidt, Vandalia Glassworks Patrons ($500) Dudley and Lisa Anderson Barbara Caraway Sara Jane and William DeHoff Mary G. Hagood, Nursery Quilts Maud Hallin Heather Horton Richard Jolley and Tommie Rush, Jolley Inc. Tom Littleton and Brenda Wilson, Spruce Pine Batch, Inc. Jim Schantz and Kim Saul, Schantz Galleries Laurence and Rita Sibrack Gregory Thompson and Kerry Causey, GRT Glass Design Brett Williams, Bear Paw Studios Janne Wissel Toots Zynsky, Toots Zynsky, Inc. Corporate Members ($275) Douglas Auer, Third Degree Glass Factory Wendy Avery, Dockyard Glassworks Vivian Bansal, Vivian’s Vision Eddie Bernard and Angela Bart Bernard, Wet Dog Glass, LLC David Bernstein, Glass Arts Collaborative Inc. Michael Bokrosh, Bokrosh Studio Mark Bolick and Robert Stephan, His Glassworks, Inc. Brooklyn Glass Dan Brucker and Sue Albright, Wale Apparatus Co., Inc. Matthew Buechner, Thames Glass, Inc. Anna Carlgren, GLASAKADEMIN Karen Carpenter Martin, Corning Incorporated Foundation Becky and Craig Chadwell Julia Corrice, CMoG Rakow Research Library Dylan Cotton and Christopher DeMott, The Hot Spot Laura Cotton, UM-Dearborn Alfred Berkowitz Gallery Lorna MacMillan, North Lands Creative Glass Clifton Crofford and Kevin McGehee, SiNaCa Studios John Croucher, Gaffer Glass USA Ltd. Scott Darlington and Karen Rudd, Pratt Fine Arts Center Mary Dougherty, Carlisle Machine Works, Inc. Dan Drouault, Covington Engineering Davin Ebanks, Kent State University School of Art Edinburgh College of Art Library Meredith Edmondosn, Touchstone Center for Crafts Paul Elyseev and Bonnie Kooklin, Hot Sand Nicole Fierce, Fierce Designs Sarah Flemming and Kim Gruenloh, Emhart Glass Manufacturing, Inc. Helga Friedrich and Peter Lerch, Kugler Colors GmbH Keith Fuselier, Studio LVX Jesse Gardner, West End Gallery Fine Art Meredith Gill, D&L Art Glass Supply Glass Art Centre - Glassworks Frantisek, Cesty Skla/Ways of Glass CREATING CONTEXT: GLASS IN A NEW LIGHT

Lino Tagliapietra’s piece about to go into the annealer after his demo.

Joe Grant and Thoryn Ziemba, Starworks Glass Lab Candice-Elena Greer, Nulife Glass Beverly Growden, Canberra Glassworks Damon Gustafson, Bay Area Glass Institute - BAGI Marti Hunyor and Scott Todd, Ransom & Randolph Paige Ilkhanipour and Susan Callahan, Pittsburgh Glass Center Bergljot Jonsdottir, S12 Gallery and Open Access Studio Julie Kabelac, CMoG Rakow Research Library Peter Kolliner, Kirra Galleries John Lewis, John Lewis Glass Studio Jeff Lindsay, Red Hot Metal Inc. Todd Lokash, Paragon Industries, L.P. Eric and Lorna Lovell, Uroboros Glass Studios, Inc. Kier Lugo, The Crucible Anthony Marino and Alicia Gionta, Advanced Glass Industries Pro Materia, Glass is Tomorrow Heather Mathieson, Redmond School of Glass Duncan McClellan, Duncan McClellan Glass Erin McMillen and Jordan Addison Ford, The Melting Point, LLC Michael and Jane Meilahn, Meilahn Glassworks Magneco Metrel and Kristie Antosz, Magneco/Metrel Fred Metz and Joe Miller, Spiral Arts, Inc. James Meyer, East Bay Batch & Color Robert Minkoff and Diane Charnov, The Robert M. Minkoff Foundation, Ltd. FOCI Minnesota Center for Glass Arts Niche Modern, Niche Modern Jim and Liz Moore, Jim Moore Tools for Glass Holly Morrison, Denver Glass Machinery, Inc. William Murphy, Oregon Coast Glassworks Museum of Glass Phil O’Reilly and Mitchell Burdett, Olympic Color Rods 135


Sharon Owens, Inspired Fire Glass Studio & Gallery Kathleen and Peter Palmer, Studio 7 Fine Art Gallery David Porter, Fireworks Glass Studios Meryl and Bruce Raiffe, The Glass Underground Glenna Rand, Grand Designs Scott Shannon, SDS Industries Ronald Shapiro and Richard Tenney, Digitry Company, Inc. Jessica Shaykett, American Craft Council Library Mike Sievers and Jim Skutt, Skutt Kilns Jamie Smith and Scott Krenitsky, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts Cyrena Stefano and Cliff Goodman, Hot Glass Color & Supply Ethan Stern and Amanda McDonald, Diamond Life Studio Ralf and Jens Teuchert, Farbglashütte Reichenbach GmbH Ross Thackery, ABR Imagery Lawrence Tuber, The Works Glass Studio Nicole Vavrecka, Financial Advisors to Startups William Warmus Ann Welles, Exhibit A Charles Wells and Philip Vinson, Mobile Glassblowing Studios, LLC Cheryl White, Glass Wheel Studio Karol Wight, The Corning Museum of Glass John Williams, Pacific Art Glass Corp. Michael Wolf, Wolfs Gallery Brian Wong Shui, Atlanta Hot Glass Scandia Wood and Bill Aebischer, Spectrum Glass Company Jim and Louise Wunch, Larkin Refractory Solutions YAYA Sponsors ($120) Susan Abanor and Harold Woolley Simon Abrahms, Chesterfield Gallery Joaquin Abramowitz Steve Adams Amanda Aguilar and Byran Johnson Jerilyn Alderman, FireChilde Glass Studio Diane Alfillé, Eve J. Alfille Gallery & Studio François Arnaud, Atelier PiVerre - Souffleur de Verre Aaron and Heather Baigelman, Baigelman Glass Philip Bailey and Susan Roston Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg Carolyn and Dick Barry Susan Bartlett de Limburg and Edward de Limburg Rachel Battista Carolyn Baum, Cbeads and Buttons Nicholas Beaman, NBGLASS Gail Bellohusen Ronald Bellohusen, Bellohusen Orthodontics Joyce Below Dean Bensen and Demetra Theofanous William and Katherine Bernstein, Bernstein Glass Frederick and Jean Birkhill, Frederick Birkhill Studios LLC Francine Blote’-Lofrano Cortney Boyd and Nate Steinbrink, Flux Studio LLC Harry Boyer, Boyer Glassworks 136

Debbie and Jody Bradley, Neusole Glassworks Bradley Braun, Chicago Hot Glass, Inc. Dave Braun JJ Brown and Simona Rosasco, Fyreglas Studio Rex Brown, Glass Axis Janice and Doug Brunmeier Marian Burke William E. Burke and Susan Sherman James Burts Ramiro Camarillo Carol Camiener and Jim Herrington Morgan Campbell and Nicolina Hull-Campbell, Morgan and Nicolina’s Flame worked Glass Steve Campbell and Noreen Mitchell Charles Cannon Laura and Walter Cheges, Steinert Industries, Inc. Sandra Christine and Dale Meyer, Quintal Studio Marna Clark, Marna Clark Glass Daniel Clayman, Montague Studios Dave Clayton Cynthia Corio-Poli and Frank Poli, Cynthia Corio-Poli Design Vittorio Costantini and Graziella Giolo Costantini, Costantini Vittorio Lavorazione Del Vetro A Lume Brian Cuzzocreo and Catherine Colomonico Frank and Jean Daharsh, Daharsh Design Jamex de la Torre and Einar de la Torre, La Curva Estudios Cara DiMassimo, The Glass Palette Kevin Boylan, Dimond Art Glass Tom and Barbara Dimond, Dimond Art Glass Johanna Dozer and Cheryl Lane, Dozer Lane Studios Ginni Dreier Montserrat Duran Muntadas and Jean-Simon Trottier Lori and Paul Engle, Heiden & Engle Valerie Eybsen Lisa Renée Falk and Trace Galbraith, Infuse Glass Studio Flo Feinberg and Ben Geizhals, Refined Finds George Fenton, John Barton Company Debra and Joseph Fenzl, MSR Studio Jan Figa and Migla Bronskiene Melanie Finlayson, Penland School of Crafts Carl and Jan Fisher James Flaws Shari Flynn and Jim Karan Corinne and Frieda Franco Sharon Freas Raya Friday, glassybaby Gini and Dora Elia Garcia, Garcia Art Glass, Inc. Dennis Gardner and Christina Cimino Erin and Grant Garmezy Jere Gibber and J.G. Harrington Cedric Ginart and Karina Guévin Michael and Janet Glaser Bill Glasner, Studio Glass Batch LLC Susan Glass and Arni Thorsteinson

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Andrew and Michelle Goerdel Barbara Grauke, Cuesta Glass Colleen and Gary Grebus Carol Green John and Deb Gross, Newcastle Properties Alex Hamerman Bill and Ellen Hamilton Corey Hampson and Aaron Schey, Habatat Galleries Ferdinand Hampson, Habatat Galleries Florence Hardymon, g glass Richard Harned and Julienne Hillyer, The Ohio State University Sandra Harris and Monte Beckerm, Harris Glass Studio Ann Hartmann and Frank Snug Matthew Harvey and Carrie Lewis, Harvey Glass Studios Ralph and Nancy Harvey Frederick Heath and Merrily Orsini Katya and Douglas Heller, Heller Gallery Virginia Hitch Burton and Libby Hoffman Jacqueline Hoffman-Botquelen Barry Homrighaus David and Heather Hopman, Chaos Glassworks Shari and David Hopper, Paradise & Co. Trevor Huber and Phyllis McKenzie, Trev’s Glass Supply David Huchthausen, Huchthausen Studios Laure and Emma Huckestein Lori and Jeff Hultman, Hultman Glass Studio John Hutton, Brazee Street School of Glass Hugh Jenkins and Stephanie Ross, Hugh Jenkins Glass Studio Karen and Daniel Johnese John and Jill Jordan, Jordan Music Services Robert and Sunny Kahl, Robert Kahl Glass Eric and Sherry Kalt Michael Kaplan, Glass Bubble Project

Brennan Kasperzak Tom and Kendra Kasten Shawn Kearney Susie and Scot Kelly Sarah King, AngelGilding.com Tracy and Adam Kirchmann, Ignite Glass Studio Alex Klumac and Lisa Willis Semrin Korkmaz Amy Lautin Sophie and Guillaume Le Penher, Sophie & Guillaume Le Penher Jiyong Lee, Southern Illinois University Carbondale Robin Levin Jon and Judith Liebman John Littleton and Kate Vogel, Littleton-Vogel, Inc. Yingwu Liu and Li Hua, School of Fine Arts, Guangdong Polytechnic Susan Longini and Muni Barash Anthony Longo, Rainbow Art Glass Inc. Jane Lucien-Scholle, Lasata Studio Greg and Andrew Lueck, Firehouse Glass Daniel Maher, Daniel Maher Stained Glass James Manshardt Nives Marcassoli and Tiziana Colantuoni, I Vetri di Nives Patrick Martin and Roberta Eichenberg, Emporia State University Art Dept. Jeff and Timbre Mays, Forward Melting Glass David and Gabriela McCubbrey Heather McElwee and Chris Clarke, Pittsburgh Glass Center Libby and Jack McKee, Prudential Manor Homes Realtor Colin and Pat McKinnon Marilyn and Charles Meier JA and David Meltzer, JA Glass Art Jeffrey Mentuck and John Volpacchio, Salem State University Glassworks Isabell and Gernot Merker, Kurt Merker GmbH Ron Meshberg Michele and Michael Miller Pablo Soto and Devin Burgess demonstrating to a full house.

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Rick and Hanae Mills, University of Hawaii Dept. of Art and Art History Jenny Miner, Water Street Glassworks Mark Mitsuda and Erin Yuasa, Punahou School Richard Moiel and Kathy Poeppel, Houston Studio Glass Inc. Sally Moore and Michael Brown, Three Dimensional Visions, LLC Debbie Morel Doug and Paula Moreland Amy Morgan, Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery Annie Morhauser, Annieglass Inc. Nick and Pauline Mount, Nick Mount Glass John and Lyn Musgrove, Musgrove Glass Art Jay Musler and Joan Kruckewitt, Jay Musler Studios Roger Myers Elizabeth Netts and Charlotte Mitchell, M & M Glass Works, Inc. Steven Newpol and Amy Gilbert Brenda Nishimoto, VenetianBeadShop Thom Norris and Eric Markow, Markow & Norris, Inc. Ed and Marjorie O’Keefe Kyle Orce, The Glass Enthusiast Tom Oreck Paul and Elmerina Parkman Tom Patti, Tom Patti Design Barbara and Mark Paull Hillary Pearlman Linda Perrin, Atlantic Art Glass Doug and Pat Perry Mark Perry, Perry Glass Art Marc Petrovic Peter Philipps Antoine Pierini and Jérôme Chion Benson and Francine Pilloff Babette and Steven Pinsky Spencer Pittenger and Gina Zetts, Oculus Glassworks Jerred Poff and Jim Weaver, Weaver Industries Jenny Pohlman and Sabrina Knowles, Pohlman Knowles John and Joyce Price Pilisa Rainbow Lady, AMusinGlass Art Reed, Sweetwater Glass Walt and Pat Riehl John and Linda Riepma Lee and Val Riley, Nature & Glass Dana and Karen Robbins, Robbins Ranch Art Glass Phillip Rogerson, Fyreworks Studios Karen and Michael Rotenberg Nancy Ruskin, Explorare James A. Russell and Judith L. Raphael Joel and Logan Ryser, Hot Glass Inc. Fred Sanders Michael Sarok, Goldray Industries Ltd. Nadine Saylor, Southern Illinois University Steven Schoenberger Amy Schwartz and William Gudenrath, The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass Ken Seguine 138

Susan Shapiro Magdanz, almost perfect glass Mike Shelbo, Shelbo Glass Art Doug Sheridan, Sun Spots Studios Morton Silverman and Kineret Jaffe David and Julie Sittler Christopher Skibbe and Sarah Freiseis, The Glass Spot Gaye and Marty Smith Wendy Smith, Glass Artisans Studio & Gallery Ltd. Paul Smits and Dr. Mel Ball, Smits Art Glass Michael Stevens and Rowena Berroya Gary and Susan Stewart James and Sharon Stewart James Stone and Carol Rogers, Stone and Glass Cassandra Straubing and Tim Straubing, San Jose State University Ingrid Stuiver, Blown Away by Ing Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz Ruth Summers and Bruce Bowen Jan Sutton Reuben Swartz, Swartz Furnace Glass Jo Ann and Glenn Syron, Jo Ann Syron Designs Cha-Rie Tang and Bruce Hubbard, Direct Imagination Philip and Hazel Teefy, Rainbow Glass Inc. Pringle Teetor and Jessica See, FlambeauxArt Designs Jeffrey Todd, Yaffa and Jeff Todd Glass Jeff Toohig Sarah Traver, Traver Gallery Margy and R. Scott Trumbull Durk Valkema and Anna Carlgren, VrijGlas Foundation / Integrated Glass Systems Tim Valko and James Moore, Valko and Associates Micaela van Zwoll and John Green, Micaela Contemporary Projects Peter VanderLaan, Guadalupe Glass Lee Venolia Brett Vinsant, Live Laugh Love Art David Vogt, Desert Fire Art Glass Pamela Weichmann, Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center Jason Wein Steven Weinberg, Weinberg Glass LTD Edris Weis William and Dina Weisberger George Weiss Jr. and Mary Wilcox, SCS Renee Whitfield John-Peter Wilhite and Nick Letson, Sonoran Glass School Jane and Robert Willis, Jane Willis A.A.A. Anders and Ansa Wingard, Glashyttan Patrik Winkler and Gerhard Hochmuth, Glasblaserei Winkler Linnea Wong and Patrick Mullen, Design and Design with Fire William and Sally Worcester, Worcester Glassworks Merrill and Sheila Wynne Jennifer Yates, Glass Impulse Carol Yorke and Gerard Conn Laurie Young and Christian Arnold, Australian Art Glass Vaz and Karen Zastera, Zartwerks Studio

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GAS International Student Exhibition Award Donors The Glass Art Society offers sincere appreciation to the following companies who generously provided gifts of $500 or more for the 2016 GAS International Student Exhibition awards.

Gifts of $1,000 or More CORNING MUSEUM OF GLASS Corning, New York, USA www.cmog.org The Corning Museum of Glass houses a collection of nearly 50,000 glass objects spanning 3,500 years of glassmaking history. In 2015, the museum added the 100,000square-foot Contemporary Art + Design Wing. The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass offers a variety of courses for the general public, as well as educational, residency, and scholarship programs designed for emerging and established artists and advanced glass students. The Rakow Research Library, located on the museum campus, welcomes both museum guests and glass researchers to utilize its collections. Its mission is to acquire and preserve all informational resources on the art, history, and early science and technology of glass, in all language formats. Wendell Weeks, showing off a flexible glass interface during his keynote address.

Gifts of $500-$999 GLASS AXIS Columbus, Ohio, USA www.glassaxis.org Glass Axis is a non-profit, public access glass art facility and gallery. The organization has studios for all forms of glass art including stained, mosaic, fused, torchworked, hot glassblowing and sculpting, and neon art. Glass Axis holds hundreds of hands-on classes, demonstrations, summer intensives, and public programs each year benefiting both the glass artists and local community in Ohio. HIS GLASSWORKS, INC. Asheville, North Carolina, USA www.hisglassworks.com His Glassworks began as a hot glass shop by artist Robert Stephan. After moving to more sculptural work that required precise grinding, Stephan realized that there were not enough coldworking tools available to the glass art community and began to make his own diamond grinding tools to create his work. In the mid1990’s, the diamond tool division of His Glassworks was born, and it has been servicing the glass art industry for over 20 years with coldworking tools, equipment, and expertise.

JIM MOORE TOOLS Port Townsend, WA www.toolsforglass.com PITTSBURGH GLASS CENTER Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA www.pittsburghglasscenter.org Celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2016, Pittsburgh Glass Center is a non-profit, public access glass school, gallery, and studio dedicated to teaching, creating and promoting glass art. World-renowned artists visit the Pittsburgh Glass Center to make studio glass art. People interested in learning more about glass have the opportunity to attend classes, explore the contemporary gallery, and watch live hot glass demonstrations.

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STEINERT INDUSTRIES, INC. Kent, Ohio, USA www.steinertindustries.com Steinert Industries, founded in 1979, is an international supplier of glassblowing equipment. Steinert Industries specializes in blowpipes, punty rods, gathering rods, optic molds, and hand tools. Also available are diamond grinders, lap wheel grinders, and polishing machines for finish work. For the flameworker, Steinert Industries offers a line of Bead optic molds, mini blowpipes, mini punty rods, and mini puffers. Along with manufacturing the line of tools for the glass industry, Steinert Industries is also a machine shop for job shop items and the manufacturer for convention and display booths under the name of Flush Nut Truss. More information on these and other products is available at www.steinertindustries.com.

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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. 1996 Jaroslava Brychtová 2001 Thomas Buecher (1926-2010) 2016 James Carpenter 2003 Dale Chihuly 2014 Dan Dailey 2002 Fritz Dreisbach 1995 Erwin Eisch 1998 Kyohei Fujita (1921-2004) 2008 Henry Halem 2007 Jirí Harcuba (1928-2013) 1994 Itoko Iwata (1922-2008) 2010 Dan Klein (1938-2009) 1993 Dominick Labino (1910-1987) 1996 Stanislav Libenský (1921-2002) 2009 Marvin Lipofsky (1938-2016) 1993 Harvey Littleton (1922-2013) 2002 Finn Lynggaard (1930-2011) 2004 Paul Marioni 2005 Richard Marquis 2000 Klaus Moje 2012 Joel Philip Myeers 2010 Mark Peiser 2006 Ann Robinson 1998 Alice Rooney 1999 Ludwig Schaffrath (1924- 2011) 2015 Paul Stankard 1997 Lino Tagliapietra 1994 Sybren Valkema (1916-1996) 2012 Bertil Vallien 2011 Ann Wolff HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP IN GAS This award was established in 1977 to recognize outstanding service to GAS. 2011 Scott Benefield 2006 Penny Berk 1980 William H. Blenko, Jr. 1977 William Brown (1923-1992) 1979 Thomas S. Buechner (1926-2010) 2004 Robert Carlson 1984 Andries Copier (1901-1991) 2003 Daniel Crichton (1946-2002) 1998 Dan Dailey 2008 Laura Donefer 1988 Fritz Dreisbach 1982 Erwin Eisch 1977 Frank M. Fenton (1915-2005) 2014 Shane Fero 1997 Susanne Frantz 1988 O.J. Gabbert (1918-1992) 140

GAS President Cassandra Straubing with Henry Halem, recipient of the 1993 Lifetime Membership Award and the 2000 Lifetime Achievement Award.

1980 1993 1994 1982 1982 1996 1992 1977 1988 2009 1986 1977 2005 1993 2016 2001 2010 2007 2000 2002 1995 2005 1999 2012 1992 1993 2015

Paul V. Gardner (1908 -1994) Henry Halem Audrey Handler Frances Higgins (1912-2004) Michael Higgins (1908-1999) David Jacobs (1939-2007) Robert Kehlmann Dominick Labino (1910-1987) Elizabeth “Libby” Labino ( -2008) John Leighton Marvin Lipofsky (1938-2016) Harvey Littleton (1922-2013) Lani McGregor Joel Philip Myers Jutta-Annette Page Mark Peiser Tom Philabaum Michael Rogers Ginny Ruffner Takako Sano (1939 - 2006) Jack Schmidt Dan Schwoerer Josh Simpson John Steinert Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend Sylvia Vigiletti Mary B. White

ANNUAL CONFERENCE (YEAR, SITE, CHAIRS, and SITE COORDINATORS): 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, Dorothy Saxe, honorary co-chair 2014 Chicago, Illinois: Trish & Glen Tullman, Deb and 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

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


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 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 1972 Penland, North Carolina: Fritz Dreisbach, William Brown, William Bernstein, Mark Peiser PAST PRESIDENTS: (Cassandra Straubing, 2015-present) 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 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, 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, Ki-Ra Kim, Ruth King, 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, Tom Philabaum, 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

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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: Emily Kuchenbecker, 2015-2016; Amanda Wilcox, 2014-2015; John 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-present) Penny Berk, 1996-2004 Alice Rooney, 1990-1996 Bonnie Startek, 1988-1990 PAST GAS JOURNAL EDITORS: (Kim Harty, 2014-present) 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, 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

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GAS Membership Information Purpose: The Glass Art Society (GAS) is a 501c3, nonprofit, international, organization founded in 1971 whose mission is to encourage excellence, to advance education, to promote the appreciation and development of the glass arts, and to support the worldwide community of artists who work with glass. GAS holds an annual conference, publishes the Glass Art Society Journal, and GASnews, a quarterly online newsletter. Membership: Application for membership is open to anyone interested in glass. Members are entitled to vote, hold office, and enjoy all other rights and privileges as determined by the GAS bylaws. Membership is for one year and includes all GAS publications plus access to members-only pages on the GAS website.

BASIC MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS PACKAGE • Membership for one person with one set of mailed materials • One profile on website (login, bio, contact info, website link and image gallery) • Four issues of the online newsletter, GASnews • Access to all Members’ Only information on the GAS website with personal login • Access to GAS Classifieds & submit your own listings for free • Weekly Digest email

• Access to the searchable GAS Online Member Directory showcasing member profiles • Access to database information and mailing lists • One member eligible to attend annual conference • Eligibility for GAS in CERF Fund or GAS International Emergency Relief Fund • Eligibilty to apply for Technology Advancing Glass grant • Annual Journal • Voting rights

DISCOUNTS • Discount on GLASS Quarterly Magazine,* Glass Art Magazine, and The Flow Magazine subscriptions • Domestic Shipping and Printing discounts with FedEx Office* • LTL Freight Discounts through PartnerShip • Hertz and Alamo Rental Car discounts • Domestic & Travel Insurance benefits* *For US-based members only

The information above reflects 2016 membership benefits. GAS reserves the right to change membership fees or update benefits at any time. The Glass Art Society reserves the right to deny applications for GAS membership, advertising participation, Technical Display, or the conference from anyone for any reason.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS $40 USD – Student: Basic membership benefits (proof of student status required) $70 USD – Individual: Basic membership benefits Below levels provide benefits for two people at the same address/business with one set of mailed materials and two separate member online profiles. $120 USD – Sponsor: Basic Benefits for two people plus: Donation acknowledgement in Journal $275 USD – Corporate: Basic and Sponsor Benefits plus: One free custom mailing list of up to 500 names; 10% off members’ price for one 1/2 column GASnews ad per year; 25% off one annual full-conference pass $500 USD – Patron: Basic, Sponsor, and Corporate Benefits plus: Total 50% off one annual full-conference pass $1,000 USD – Benefactor: All benefits stated at the Patron Level plus: Total of one free annual full-conference pass OFFICE HOURS: Monday - Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Pacific Standard Time.

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 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016) 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: $25 USD Canada, USA, and Mexico $30 USD All other countries 142

Non-Members: $30 USD Canada, USA, and Mexico $35 USD All other countries GAS Journals available for purchase: 2016 Corning, NY 2015 San Jose, CA 2014 Chicago, IL 2012 Toledo, OH 2011 Seattle, WA 2010 Louisville, KY 2009 Corning, NY 2008 Portland, OR 2007 Pittsburgh, PA 2006 St. Louis, MO 2005 Adelaide, SA, Australia 2004 New Orleans, LA 2003 Seattle, WA 2002 Amsterdam, The Netherlands 1999 Tampa, FL 1996 Boston, MA 1995 Asheville, NC

1994 Oakland, CA 1993 Toledo, OH 1992 Mexico City, Mexico 1991 Corning, NY 1990 Seattle, WA 1989 Toronto, ON, Canada 1988 Kent State, OH 1987 Philadelphia, PA 1986 Los Angeles, CA 1985 New Orleans, LA 1983 Tucson, AZ The following GAS Journals are no longer in stock: 1984 Corning; 1997 Tucson; 1998 Seto, Japan; 2000 Brooklyn; and 2001 Corning. For additional information contact: Glass Art Society 6512 23rd Avenue NW, Suite 329 Seattle, Washington, USA 98117 Tel: 206.382.1305 Fax: 206.382.2630 Email: info@glassart.org Web: www.glassart.org

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


Dave Walters and Jen Elek applaud as Lino Tagliapietra smiles for the audience.

GAS attendees enjoying the food trucks at the Taste of Tech.

GAS attendees at the Rockwell Museum for the Opening Reception.

Dominique Caissie, Ann Conlin, and Jen Violette.

Kirstie Rea, Pamela Koss, and Audrey Handler.

Goblet Grab admirers checking out the details.

Dr. Peter L. Bocko presenting the 2016 Labino Lecture.

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Lisa Zerkowitz and Boyd Sugiki.

GAS Boardmember Jan Smith showing off an auction piece by Kait Rhoads.

The Corning Museum of Glass.

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Elmerina and Paul Parkman bidding on the GAS Quilt made by Laura Cheges.

Salt demonstrating how to make a flameworked pipe, a first for the GAS Conference.

Conference attendees dancing the night away at the Closing Night Party.

GAS President Cassandra Straubing and Lifetime Achievement Awardee James Carpenter.

THE GLASS ART SOCIETY • 2016 JOURNAL • CORNING, NY


San Jose State University students and faculty at the Crystal City Stroll.

Pavlína Čambalová’ demonstrating copper wheel engraving at her demo, Soul Engraving.

Laura Donefer, Jeff Mack, and their team smile for the camera after a successful demonstration.

Silent Auction crowd in the Radisson Hotel Lobby.

Attendees enjoy the summer night in the Corning Museum of Glass’ Courtyard Lobby.

Cleveland Institute of Art alumni, current students, past and current faculty, and current Technical Specialist.

Mike Souza demonstrating scientific glass techniques.

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GAS members at the Opening Reception.

Jocelyne Prince’s demo with glass and ice in the Amphitheater Hot Shop.

The Corning Museum of Glass Team.

Bill and Ellen Hamilton.

Nicola Dona, Lucio Bubacco, Sebastiano Bubacco, Sharon Owens, and Alessandro Bubacco

Pamela Koss, Tommie Rush, Karyn Cepek, Kim Saul, and Lina Tagliapietra

John Sharvin with a friend, Danielle Brensinger, and Dana Laskowski at the Closing Night Party.

Steve Gibbs, Ellen Corradini, Chris Sharkey, Angus Powers, and Michael Rogers honored for their hard work as the co-chairs of the 2016 GAS Conference.

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Paragon introduces a new touch screen controller After subjecting the new Sentinel Smart Touch controller to ruthless testing, we are proud to add this to our family of kilns. Easy to install The Sentinel is optional on most digital Paragon kilns. The Sentinel can replace the Sentry 12-key controller in minutes on existing Paragon kilns. Continuous voltage & amperage readouts New Paragon kilns equipped with the Sentinel give a continuous amperage and circuit voltage readout during firings. Easy-to-use touch screen Easy-to-follow screen descriptions simplify programming. Give a title to

each custom program. Use up to 32 segments per program. The novice mode is ingeniously simple, with questions that help you program each step. WiFi updates As long as you have WiFi access, you can update the controller when new features are available even from distant lands like Australia. Easy on your budget For more details on the exciting Sentinel Smart Touch, please visit our website or call 800-876-4328. The controller you’ve dreamed of costs a lot less than you dreamed.

Paragon tested the Sentinel Smart Touch controller under grueling conditions for months before releasing it.

2011 South Town East Blvd. Mesquite, Texas 75149-1122 800-876-4328 / 972-288-7557 www.paragonweb.com info@paragonweb.com

T HANK YOU The GAS Journal is sponsored, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corning Incorporated Foundation. Without their support, this publication would not have been possible.

Thank you for continuing to support the Glass Art Society. We look forward to seeing you in Norfolk.

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The Chrysler Museum of Art

Glass Art Society’s 46th Annual Conference Norfolk, Virginia USA, June 1-3, 2017 Reflections from the Edge: Glass, Art, and Performance The Glass Art Society’s 2017 conference will push glass to the edge in Norfolk, Virginia. From June 1-3, 2017, Reflections from the Edge: Glass, Art, and Performance attendees will explore a fresh program showcasing one of the leading trends of our practice–glass performance–in addition to partaking in all the aspects of GAS conferences they have come to know and love. Within a one-mile distance is the Chrysler Museum of Art, Perry Glass Studio, and the downtown Norfolk Waterside Marriott. These three venues will set the stage for Reflections from the Edge: Glass, Art, and Performance. Daytime demos and evening performances will also take place on The Corning Museum of Glass Hot Glass Roadshow and at a separate off-site location known as the Three-Ring Circus, made up of three mobile glass furnaces. Attendees will be dazzled by flame demonstrations in the artist space Work | Release, where they will witness evening enactments ranging from a hot glass magic show to optic flocking. The intimate scale provides attendees with time to experience staple GAS conference events, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Saxe Emerging Artists Lecture, Tech Display, demonstrations, auctions, and more. Visits to the Chrysler Museum of Art’s encyclopedic glass collection will give attendees the opportunity to experience glass from its ancient beginnings to today’s most cutting-edge glass performances. Located between the anchor venues is the city’s NEON (New Energy of Norfolk) district, home to artist studios, exhibition spaces, restaurants, and bars. While exploring the NEON district, attendees are encouraged to visit the Glass Wheel Studio, which will host the new GAS Member Juried Exhibition. This highly anticipated exhibition will showcase works from our diverse and talented membership. Thank you for your continued support of the Glass Art Society. We hope to see you in Norfolk as we celebrate Reflections from the Edge: Glass, Art, and Performance! 156

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