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Friday January 4, 2013 | by Andrew Page

Bureaucracy, high costs, and poor communication cited in the uphill battle, and eventual cancellatio
FILED UNDER: Uncategorized
UPDATED 01/05/13 The cancellation late Thursday of the Glass Art Society conference planned to take place in Boston in June 2013 isn’t the first time the decision has been made to scrap years of planning. In 2010, the conference in Tucson, Arizona suffered a similar fate, ending in a mad dash to relocate the event to another venue. But the decision to cancel the Boston event was announced a scant six months before it was due to take place, making it impossible to move it elsewhere. This means that 2013 will be the first year since 1971 that glass practitioners will not gather to exchange technical information in demonstrations and lectures, honor their colleagues’ accomplishments with awards ceremonies, fund raise, and socialize. And so, the thousands of hours of work by the four conference co-chairs Beth Ann Gerstein (Society of Arts and Crafts), Peter Houk (MIT Glass Lab), James McLeod (Massachusetts College of Art and Design), and Wayne Strattman (Strattman Design); thirteen GAS board members; four full-time GAS staff members; and 80 local volunteers in Boston will not come to fruition. The official notice was delivered in a letter signed by GAS board president Jutta-Annette Page, who cited “unforseen problems” as well as the inability “to secure suitable venues and indispensable funding necessary for the conference’s success.” The limited fundraising, impenetrable Boston bureaucracy, and troubles communicating with the administration of Massachusetts College of Art and Design are emerging as key factors in the demise of a 2013 conference.

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Friday January 4, 2013 | by Andrew Page

UrbanGlass now accepting applications for the Spring 2013 session of its ongoing Bead Project
FILED UNDER: Call for Submissions, Special Offer
The Bead Project at UrbanGlass is a scholarship program aimed at creatively inclined, economically disadvantaged women. There are nine open positions for the 10-week session of hands-on classes, where students learn the art of glass beadmaking and simple jewelry fabrication techniques with an eye toward launching a career as a craftsperson. Upon completion of the course requirements, students receive a kit containing the tools and equipment to continue their beadmaking practice.

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Glass: The UrbanGlass Quarterly, a glossy art magazine published four times a year by UrbanGlass has provided a critical context to the most important artwork being done in the medium of glass for more than 40 years.