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Amy Lemaire

Tuesday May 31, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Navigating flameworking’s rich trade routes: A conversation with artist and educator Amy Lemaire

FILED UNDER: Artist Interviews, New Work

With a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and an MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn — both in painting — Amy Lemaire would seem an unlikely expert to offer insights into the flameworking world. And yet she has immersed herself in the field, where she occupies key roles as an educator, instructor, researcher, and communicator, in addition to being a practicing designer and artist. An adjunct professor at the leading flameworking program at Salem County Community College, she also leads the Bead Project at UrbanGlass, (which publishes the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet), where she also teaches flameworking to university students. Noting major shifts in the flameworking landscape driven by the liberalization of marijuana laws as well as technical advances in the field, the Hot Sheet recently spoke with Lemaire about her own practice, and how the scene is changing.

Tuesday May 31, 2016 | by Andrew Page

VIDEO: Uncanny strength of Prince Rupert’s drop proven in hydraulic press experiment on YouTube

FILED UNDER: Video

PressTube, an only-on-the-Internet project in which different objects are crushed under a hydraulic press in videos posted to a YouTube channel, recently took on the Prince Rupert's drop, the super-hard crystal that gets its strength from the compressive stress generated by dipping hot glass in cold water. In a video entitled "Hydraulic Press: Prince Rupert Drop: Remake: Safe Tails," the legendary glass drops are set between blocks of wood, lead, and steel, and then subject to intense hydraulic pressure. The Results? Two out of three ain't bad.

Lino Tagliapietra, Osaka, 2011. Blown glass. H 20 1/4 in. courtesy: heller gallery

Tuesday May 31, 2016 | by Andrew Page

OPENING: Lino Tagliapietra at Heller Gallery on Thursday

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Exhibition, News, Opening

On Thursday evening, Heller Gallery will welcome maestro Lino Tagliapietra, who plans to attend the evening reception to kick off a month-long New York City exhibition of his work entitled "Celebrazione!" From June 2 through July 15, this gallery in the heart of the art scene in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood will feature a range of richly patterned sculptural vessels that showcase Tagliapietra's complex use of cane and murini to create bold abstract compositions on glass surfaces.

Anna Mlasowksky

Tuesday May 31, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Anna Mlasowsky awarded the second Corning Museum specialty-glass artist residency for 2016

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Award, Museums, News

A unique artist residency that offers access to industrial glasses and processes not usually available to artists, the Corning Museum of Glass Specialty Glass Artists-in-Residence for 2016 has expanded since Albert Paley's inaugural residency in 2014, and Tom Patti's in 2015. Earlier this year, Toots Zynsky was awarded this sought-after opportunity for 2016. Today, Corning announced the recipient of the second residency offered in 2016, this one going to German native Anna Mlasowsky who has already developed a reputation as an artist pushing the material in new technical and conceptual directions. Her residency is set to begin in late June and continue through the end of 2016.

A spread from the cover article on Martin Janecky in the Summer 2016 edition of GLASS (#143).

Sunday May 22, 2016 | by Andrew Page

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: GLASS #143, Summer 2016

FILED UNDER: Announcements, News, Print Edition

The Summer 2016 edition of GLASS: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly (#143) is hitting newsstands and subscriber mailboxes next week. It comes bundled with the just-published 2016 edition of New Glass Review (#37), a special subscriber bonus at no additonal charge (the special GLASS plus New Glass Review bundle is also available at select newsstands, but at a higher cover price). Gracing the cover of the new edition of GLASS is a striking work by hot sculptor Martin Janecky, who has built on the advances of William Morris and his collaborative team, and added his own techniques to take three-dimensional glass into portraiture, with new levels of detail and precision. Students flock to Janecky’s classes, awed by his ability to sculpt full-scale human busts in real time, statues emerging magically while the glass is still hot on the pipe. Contributing editor John Drury experiences the magic by sitting for a portrait by the rising Czech star as part of his research for this article, which examines how Janecky is moving into more complex rendering of human form while developing a rationale for his highly realistic approach.

A flame shop demo during a recent Open House at UrbanGlass.

Thursday May 19, 2016 | by Andrew Page

HELP WANTED: UrbanGlass seeks full-time educational coordinator

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Help Wanted

UrbanGlass, the Brooklyn, New York, non-profit art center that publishes the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet, is seeking a full-time education coordinator, who will be responsible for the day-to-day logistics of workshop, youth, and university programs. The new position has been created in response to the growth of education programs since the 2013 renovation of the facilities at UrbanGlass, and more than 1,200 students took some type of class in 2015. The successful applicant will work in close coordination with the director of education and educational assistant on the organization, procurement, and inventory of materials, tools, studios, and equipment for classes. Other duties include a role in the planning for upkeep and improvement of the facilities and equipment. In addition, the new hire will be responsible for staffing events and programs as well as managing the payroll of teachers, assistants, and techs.

William Gudenrath, Amy Schwartz, and David Whitehouse at the opening of the Studio at The Corning Museum of Glass in 1996.

Wednesday May 18, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Looking Back: Amy Schwartz on the Corning Studio as the program she helped build turns 20

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Events, Exhibition, Museums, News

In 1995, a pregnant Amy Schwartz and her husband, William Gudenrath, relocated to Corning, New York, at the invitation of museum director David Whitehouse (1941-2013) to begin the planning for The Studio at The Corning Museum of Glass, a new initiative that would redefine and expand the museum's role as a place where glass was not only studied and exhibited but also made and taught. To take their new positions as studio director and resident advisor, respectively, Schwartz and Gudenrath were both leaving jobs in New York City — she managed the computer system of a law firm on Wall Street and he was a longtime instructor at UrbanGlass (and one of the first to join its precursor, The New York Experimental Glass Workshop). The Studio at Corning opened its doors in 1996 with a block party that included an ice cream truck and guests such as gallerist Doug Heller and artist Paul Stankard. The couple's newborn daughter, Sophia, also attended the Studio's opening on May 26, 1996, taking it all in from a stroller. Twenty years later, as the studio has hosted hundreds of instructors and artists in residence, as well hundreds of thousands of museum visitors making their own glass, the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet spoke with the Studio's director about the highlights of the past two decades.

Monday May 16, 2016 | by Andrew Page

OPENING: Group exhibition by Vermont Glass Guild members opens Saturday

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Exhibition, Opening

From May 21st, Vermont Glass Guild members will display their work at an exhibitiion entitled "Modern Alchemy: The Art of Glass," on view at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, Vermont, though July 12, 2016. Though the association of Vermont and glass might bring to mind Simon Pearce's successful artisinal glass- and ceramic-design business operating out of a historic mill in Queechee, Vermont, the fact is that independent studios can be found throughout the "Green Mountain State." Established in 2010, the Vermont Glass Guild seeks to bring together these often far-flung members working in all forms of glass for "mutual support and enrichment."

Friday May 13, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Citing overcapacity and new regulations, Spectrum Glass to close; future of product lines unclear

FILED UNDER: Announcements, News

Spectrum Glass, a leading supplier of art glass materials including its System 96 family of products that includes compatible sheet glass and cullet for furnaces, shocked the glass world on Wednesday, May 11th, with its announcement it has begun an appoximately two-month process of closing its operations. For four decades, the Woodinville, Washington, company has been a major supplier of materials for stained glass and fusing projects, and also offered a popular line of premelted cullet used by many studios to speed the time for charging furnaces while also offering compatibility with the company's extensive line of sheet glass. In its communication to customers, Spectrum cited the twin factors of overcapacity and a more complex regulatory climate for glass producers as the reasons for this decision. The announcement cited the dramatic sales decline that followed the economic recession in the late 2000s, and now estimates that the company is operating at only 40 percent of capacity. "Our consistently reduced levels of sales simply cannot cover the fixed costs required to operate a facility of our size," reads the official announcement posted on the company hompage.

Thursday May 12, 2016 | by Andrew Page

OPENING: On Saturday, Lino Tagliapietra to attend Boston exhibition of new aventurine work

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Exhibition, New Work, Opening

On May 14th, Lino Tagliapietra will make a personal appearance at a pop-up exhibition in Boston for an afternoon reception hosted by Schantz Galleries. Titled "A Golden Age of Glass," the Schantz exhibit will feature a new series of work by the maestro in "avventurine" glass. Also known as "Goldstone glass," this is a unique type of glittering glass studded with bits of copper or gold mineral that shares its name with a variety of quartz with mineral inclusions. Aventurine glass dates back to at least 17th-century (Corning says 15th-century) Venice, and requires low-oxygen conditions during melting, as well as a strategic lowering of temperature at a key phase of the process for the metal inclusions to properly form. It is one of the hardest types of glass to work with from the furnace, with failure a constant risk given the complexity of the precise temperature changes required. Annealing is another hazardous aspect of this unforgiving material.

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.