Tacoma readies itself to host the first in-person GAS conference since 2019

In just about one-month's time, the Glass Art Society is celebrating its 50th anniversary at its first in-person international conference in two years. For the first time since 2019, the international glass tribe will be convening in Tacoma, Washington, for an event themed “Between Here and There”. The concept is to honor the past half-century since the organization was founded (technically it kicked off 51-years ago with a 19-person gathering at Penland in 1971 [see the feature article "Power in Numbers" in the Spring 2022 edition of Glass #166]), but the pandemic has been pushing big anniversaries a year ahead (see Pilchuck's 50th anniversary, for example). The conference will not only be looking backwards, but in presentations and spirit, it also seeks to peer ahead into what the next 50 years might bring. Running from May 18 through the 22nd, the event packs lectures, demos, and various panel discussions in to three days of events divided between the main venues of the Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum, Area 253 Glassblowing, and the Greater Tacoma Convention Center.

The Ceramics + Metal Arts Building which houses the 3D4M program at the University of Washington.

Tuesday March 29, 2022 | by Sadia Tasnim

HELP WANTED: Unique 3D4M program at U Washington is hiring a glass lecturer

The University of Washington is looking to fill a full-time glass teaching position at the School of Art + Art History + Design, at the 3D4M glass studio in the Division of Art. A one-year commitment, the position begins September 15, 2022, and runs through June 15, 2023. The deadline for applications is April 25, 2022.

RBC Award-winner Jared Last is known for his intricate patterning and highly graphic glassworks such as this work entitled "Sphere"

Monday March 28, 2022 | by Sadia Tasnim

Jared Last wins 2022 RBC Award for Glass, will receive $10k grant

Jared Last has been awarded the 2022 RBC Award for Glass by the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery in Waterloo, Ontario. Alongside this prestigious title, Last will receive a $10,000 grant in support of his residency and continued explorations into glass art. A 2016 graduate of the Alberta College of Art and Design, Last has studied widely, attending classes at the Corning Museum of Glass and the Pilchuck Glass School as well as Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre. Last combines his experiences and interest in architecture, pattern, and color into functional and sculptural pieces. His work will be featured in an awards exhibition with works by his fellow awards finalists, Charlie Lauche-Potvin, Jeanne Létourneau, and Jérémie St-Onge.

Schema. Installation of seven glass wall panels. H 64 1/2, W 93 in. courtesy: montague gallery

Thursday March 24, 2022 | by Sadia Tasnim

CONVERSATION: Nancy Callan on capturing fleeting moments in new work now on view at San Francisco's Montague Gallery

Nancy Callan, one of the most accomplished American glassblowers taking the Venetian tradition in bold new expressive directions, is amused by the urban legend that's sprung up about how she got started in glass. It goes something like this: Lino Tagliapietra walked into a pizza shop and, so amazed by Callan's expert handling of the long-handled pizza paddle as she whisked pizzas in and out of the oven, immediately offered her a job working the pastorelli in his own studio. Nancy’s actual road to her decades as a core member of Team Lino, and her burgeoning solo artistic career, is just as fascinating (read about it in the "Lessons from Lino" feature in our Winter 2021 print magazine, Glass #165). The true story of how she got the coveted position on the maestro's team involves a degree from MassArt and proving herself in a class with Lino at Corning. But she really did work for a time at a pizza restaurant, which she says helped her master timing and high-temperature working conditions, both of which jump started her glass education.

Installation view of Raven and the Box of Daylight at the Wichita Art Museum in 2021.

Tuesday March 22, 2022 | by Sadia Tasnim

Preston Singletary's installation at the Smithsonian marks a milestone for his career

Now on view at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., Preston Singletary's exhibition "Raven and the Box of Daylight" features almost 70 individual glass pieces all crafted by Singletary and his studio team. The exhibition is not brand new, as it debuted at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington in 2018, and moved to the Wichita Art Museum in Kansas in 2020, but its current venue in the nation's capitol gives it special prominence and marks an important moment for Singetary's career. Remaining on view through January 29, 2023, "Raven and the Box of Daylight" will then travel once again on its way to the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, where it will be opening mid-2023.

Tuesday February 1, 2022 | by Sadia Tasnim

The PMA Craft Show, in-person for the first time since the pandemic, is now accepting artist applicants for November event

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is now taking applicants for its 46th Annual Craft Show, to go back to in-person for the first time since pandemic procedures were put in place in 2020. In accordance with CDC guidelines, the show will mandate state and local health and safety guidelines. The show organizers are anticipating a three-day in-person exhibition at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in November (from the 11th to the 13th), with a Preview Party the day before the show begins. The application is available online with applicants applying before April 1, 2022 paying non-refundable fee of $50.00. which increases after April 2, 2022 to $75.00. (Disclosure: Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet editor Andrew Page will be among the jurors for this year's show.)

Thursday January 27, 2022 | by Sadia Tasnim

Alexander Rosenberg is named as the new director of the WheatonArts Glass Studio

The WheatonArts and Cultural Center has appointed Alexander Rosenberg the new director of the Wheaton Glass Studio. Rosenberg steps into his role as director after having completed a Creative Glass Fellowship at the Millville, New Jersey, nonprofit in 2018, serving on the fellowship’s selection committee, and also working as a guest lecturer for virtual programs under Covid-19 restrictions. With planned pandemic closures keeping its doors shut for the winter season, WheatonArtsis intent on kicking off its 2022 program season off with a fresh start under Rosenberg’s leadership. The organization is planning to reopen on April 1st, 2022.

Thursday January 6, 2022 | by Sadia Tasnim

The whimsical and highly personal snowmen sculptures Richard Marquis crafted for his wife get high-profile critical reception in New York exhibition

Richard "Dick" Marquis is centrally located in survey exhibitions on the influence of Venice on Studio Glass, and in the permanent collections of any glass museum, but most often, you’ll find him on Whidbey Island off the coast of Washington, where he lives with a host of animals and his beloved wife, Johanna Nitzke Marquis. His eclectic home serves as the repository for his many colorful explorations and passion projects. And until recently, it housed his series of hand-blown snowmen, some of which now grace the windows of R & Company’s 64 White Street Gallery in downtown Manhattan.

Friday December 24, 2021 | by Sadia Tasnim

Tulane's unique funded MFA Glass program accepting applications until February 1st

Tulane University is now taking applications for its Masters in Fine Arts Program in Glass. Home to the largest collegiate glass blowing studio in the Southern U.S., Tulane is one of the few glass MFA programs that is fully funded, meaning that successful applicants have their full tuition covered and are offered a stipend for their work teaching undergraduate student courses.

Barry Museum Theatre De La Mode Le Theatre 04

Thursday November 18, 2021 | by Sadia Tasnim

Karen LaMonte taps into couture history and Post-War Paris for her newest series Théâtre de la Mode, now on view at the Barry Art Museum

Updated 11/24/2021