Help Wanted: Schack Art Center, funding in place for April opening, seeks staff for its open-access

A view from the hot shop into the exhibit gallery, where construction is expected to finish in mid-March.

Come April, the efforts of the Arts Council of Snohomish County, which has served the same county in which Pilchuck is located with various arts programs for almost 40 years, will culminate in the opening of the Schack Art Center, a new visual arts education center in downtown Everett, Washington. Located halfway between Seattle and Pilchuck, the Art Center will provide a permanent home for the Arts Council and include an open access hot shop run by artist and glass director John Kiley, who is currently hiring for four part-time positions in the glass studios.

On the heels of a highly successful capital campaign for the Art Center that began in 1990, the organization hopes to raise $200,000 for its various programs, including free exhibitions and K-12 arts education, through its 29th annual Helping the Arts Benefit Auction (H’Arts 2011) on February 26th. More than 400 works of art donated by artists will be auctioned off during the benefit, including glass, paintings, prints, pottery, and jewelry. Bruce Greek, John Kiley, Dan & Joi LaChausseé, Dante Marioni, Jim Mongrain, Merrilee Moore, and Janusz Pozniak have all donated work for the event. Last year’s event surpassed all previous benefits by raising more $250,000, including over $70,000 for a 1,000-pound tank furnace.

A view of the exhibition gallery that will host "The Nature of Glass."

Kiley has continued to oversee the build-out and design of the glass facilities, which will include a hot shop, warm shop, cold shop, demonstration area, and an exhibition space for which Traver Gallery will guest curate the first show, entitled “The Nature of Glass.” Dale Chihuly, Steffen Dam, Masami Koda, Debora Moore, William Morris, Shelley Muzylowski-Allen, Sibylle Peretti, Jane Rosen, and Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen number among the artists tentatively included in the exhibition. Schedule permitting, Kiley will also continue to work with Lino Tagliapietra, who has made several visits to the Art Center and offered input on the layout and design of the glass facilities. The hot shop will be equipped with a 1000-pound tank furnace with a recuperation system that will capture wasted heat in the hot shop to heat the rest of the Art Center, as well as three glory holes, three annealers, a garage oven, and a pipe warmer. Wet Dog Glass is manufacturing most of the large equipment; they plan on beginning to install it on March 1.

Kiley views the Art Center as a crucial resource for area artists in need of more rental space in the Seattle area. “There’s a gap in public-access glassblowing studios in Snohomish County. We’re going to provide a much-needed facility in that neck of the woods. There’s quite a good-sized population here that doesn’t have an art center,” he said.

Along with the new facilities come four part-time job opportunities: Flameworking Studio Coordinator, Fusing Studio Coordinator, Hot Shop and Coldworking Studio Coordinator, and a Charger/Closer. Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter to Kiley via e-mail at jkiley@schack.org. The deadline is February 4, 2011.