Wednesday August 2, 2017 | by Stella Porter

OPENING: Traver Gallery turns focus to boldly experimental work in two new exhibitions

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Exhibition, New Work, News, Opening

Traver Gallery in Seattle is honoring its historical lineage with its 40th anniversary group exhibition this month, but the focus of its two upcoming exhibits in August is decidedly forward-looking. Straying from its long history as a premier gallery for top-tier glass artists such as Lino Tagliapietra, Traver Gallery will open two exhibits by experimental artists this evening, timed to the opening of the Seattle Art Fair. John Kiley, known for his intense style of breaking glass, will open alongside artist couple Matthew Szosz and Anna Mlasowsky, who push the limitations of the material through the unconventionality of their work. This is the couple's first exhibit at Traver Gallery. 

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Wednesday July 26, 2017 | by Lindsay Hargrave

New gallery devoted to glass art opens in San Francisco’s upscale Union Square district

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Art Market, Exhibition, Opening

Dani Montague first thought of opening a gallery devoted to glass art two decades ago, but it wasn't until her retirement from a career with March of Dimes, where she served as vice president of philanthropy, that she was able to realize her dream. This past February, Montague proudly unlocked the doors of Montague Gallery in San Francisco's Union Square area, home to many established galleries, for an opening reception that also served as a benefit for the Pilchuck Glass School. “I came from the nonprofit world, so I thought it would be great to launch my new business, my new art gallery, with a benefit,” she said in a telephone interview with GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet.

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Tuesday July 25, 2017 | by Lindsay Hargrave

OPENING: Alex Bernstein unveils fresh approaches to coldworking in Santa Fe exhibition

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Artist Interviews, Opening

Alex Bernstein sees his work as an exploration — of himself, of nature, and of his own unique process of sculpting and carving his large-scale castings. In a solo exhibition at Winterowd Gallery in Santa Fe opening this Friday, July 28, the Asheville, North Carolina-based artist revisits  forms and techniques from his past seeking to reinvent them. “I’m always looking to pursue things and push things and find something new in the realm of my own work,” he said in a telephone interview with GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet. Though this show is made up of entirely new work, Bernstein is seeking to do what many of us probably wish we could: go back into his past and reinterpret old forms with the benefit of new experience. “It’s me looking back at some of my older series and then kind of reinventing them,” he said.

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Tuesday July 25, 2017 | by Stella Porter

Penland’s new director, artist and educator Mia Hall, sees craft as critical to contemporary culture

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Education, News

Artist and professor Maria “Mia” Hall will bring her respect for the importance of craftmaking in contemporary culture when she takes over for the retiring Jean McLaughlin as director of the Penland School of Crafts in January 2018. “This is a lifelong dream. I couldn’t ask for anything better,” she told the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet by telephone. “I’ve always been struck by everything there. It’s such a concentration of talent and innovation, and that has always been really fascinating for me,” she added. The craft school, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, has selected Hall to become the director at the start of 2018. She will succeed longtime director McLaughlin who made many important changes to the institution, including a large studio renovation project and an endowment increase from $2 million when she started in 1998 to $17 million today.

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Saturday July 22, 2017 | by Lindsay Hargrave

Bullseye Glass offers first-ever sheet-casting class, a chance to participate in the process

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Education, News

Bullseye Glass Company,the innovative company that developed a wide palette of sheet glass suitable for fusing in a kiln, is now giving the public a chance to participate (to an extent) in its creation. On Thursday, July 27 at noon, Bullseye’s Portland, Oregon location will be holding a class for 20 students to assist in the casting of two separate sheets of colored glass, some of which will be doled out to students. This is the first time that Bullseye had opened the floor for students to take a class in creating the product that Bullseye innovated almost 40 years ago in the form of a public class.

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Wednesday July 19, 2017 | by Sarah Thaw

Broken glass knits a community as artist Amanda Patenaude facilitates a public mosaic project

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Architecture, Artist Interviews, News, Opening, Public Art

Brooklyn-based artist Amanda Patenaude has proved that one person’s trash can literally become another person's treasure, as she facilitated a community project to recast dangerous shards of broken glass into works of art. It all began in 2014, when a public park association known as the Fort Greene Park Conservancy (FGPC) turned to nearby arts nonprofit UrbanGlass in search of an artist to make use out of all the broken glass swept up in their efforts to beautify this urban green space. Patenaude, who describes her practice as “a nice blend of working with garbage and the things we throw away, as they relate back to our habits and the environments we inhabit,” was a perfect fit.The Brooklyn-based artist presented the FGPC with a list of what could be accomplished with the waste glass and from there, the work began. After six months of clean-up, the discarded glass that was accumulated was re-melted and blown into an ornament that was presented at a 2015 tree-lighting ceremony organized by FGPC and the community organization known as the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project.

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Monday July 17, 2017 | by Lindsay Hargrave

A notable Corning lecture by the two Czech glass art stars named Martin: Janecky and Rosol

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Education, Events, Museums

The Corning Museum of Glass will be hosting a lecture from Martin Janecky and Martin Rosol on the evening of Tuesday, January 18th, as a part of an ongoing lecture series by Corning Studio faculty in an effort to bring some of the most well-known names in glass to the public, free of charge. While the talk is open to the public, the Studio aims these weekly lectures at the students taking their intensive classes during the summer.

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Sunday July 16, 2017 | by Stella Porter

Seattle glass community unites to fund alternative cancer treatments for Joe BenVenuto

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Auction, News

Friends and colleagues of Joe BenVenuto are uniting to help the glass artist as he explores alternative treatments for anaplastic astrocytoma, a brain cancer with which he was diagnosed last year. BenVenuto has undergone a round of radiation and chemotherapy treatment, but he must now seek non-traditional treatments to mitigate the growth of the tumor for as long as possible.BenVenuto is looking into alternative treatments such as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and other holistic treatments in the U.S. and abroad. But some of the costs of radiation and chemotherapy as well as alternative treatments are not covered by his insurance, leaving him to shoulder the cost on his own. Hoping to give Joe a chance to recover without being limited financially, his friends at Preston Singletary Studio decided to help. The studio will host a benefit open to the public with a silent auction at Traver Gallery in July. His friends are also raising money through an online donation page.

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Friday July 14, 2017 | by Lindsay Hargrave

HELP WANTED: Bergstrom-Mahler Museum seeks a full-time glass studio manager

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Help Wanted, Museums, News

The Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass is seeking a full-time glass studio manager to program, oversee and teach classes for all ages; oversee studio equipment use; and engage in community relations by organizing events and outreach. Additionally, candidates may have to fire and assemble glass work, purchase studio supplies, recruit volunteers and instructors to teach and assist programs, and assist in developing a budget. Though this is a full-time position, the hours will be heavily based on the hours of program offerings.

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Wednesday July 12, 2017 | by Sarah Thaw

Taking a page from Corning’s successful GlassFest, the Northwest glass museum launches public event

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Events, Museums

GlassFest is the massive four-day glass art celebration that has taken the Gaffer District in Corning, New York, by storm. Although the event is sponsored and supported by the world-renowned Corning Museum of Glass, it is the business association known as the Corning Gaffer District itself which throws the event — closing its Historic Market Street off to car traffic to instead fill the space with art, food and entertainment vendors. Having completed its 8th celebration in May 2017, GlassFest has become a cherished community event celebrating glass artistry in and around the town of Corning, proving that glass can thrive outside the walls of the famed museum and setting a precedent for other cities to follow. Taking a page (and the name) from the New York event, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma will be co-hosting its first ever glass festival, Glass Fest Northwest, a free event to showcase Pacific Northwest glasswork. Taking place on Sunday, July 23rd from 12 noon to 5 PM, the event will feature over two dozen local artists and artisans who will join together with area art institutions to celebrate, display and sell artwork made from glass. There will also be live glassmaking demonstrations, food, beer and wine, music and family-oriented activities for the community to partake in.

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