A scene from this year's festival.
The annual Niijima Glass Festival is winding down this weekend, set on an island a two-hour high-speed ferry away from the Japanese mainland. but there are still a couple days of classes with a star-studded crew of visiting artists that includes Pike Powers as artist in residence, and Mark Petrovic and David Willis as guest instructors. Canadian conceptual glass artist Brad Copping is also on hand, working as teaching assistant for Petrovic.
The festival has been held for more than 20 years on the site of the Niijima Glass Art Center a public studio where visitors are able to create their own glass work to take home. It sits next to the Niijima Glass Art Museum which houses works from guest artists over the festival event’s 22-year history.
A rare type of stone called “Koga,” a silica-based volcanic rock that is called rhyolite in English, is used to make transparent green glass art. It can also be used to make moyai art. The stone is indigenous only to Niijima and Lipari Island, Italy.
“There are two classes running as part of the festival,” writes Copping in a letter to the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet. “ The whole experience is pretty amazing, the culture, the stunning environment, the beautiful green Niijima glass.”
The organization has a new website up and running and it includes a daily diary of photos from the event as well as live streaming broadcasts (although these are in the middle of the night back in North America).
A running photo diary of what is being made at the festival can be viewed here.