Wednesday September 2, 2020 | by Andrew Page

Citing continuing uncertainty around the pandemic, the Glass Art Society postpones 2021 conference, will offer expanded virtual programming

The Glass Art Society has announced it will push its next in-person annual conference from 2021 to 2022, citing the ongoing uncertainty and health risks of Covid-19. After the planned 2020 conference in Småland, Sweden, was recast as a virtual event, attention shifted to the May 2021 conference, which was to mark the 50th anniversary of the artist organization, and had been planned to take place in Tacoma, Washington. Today it was announced that the celebration and the venue will remain the same, but take place on new dates -- May 18 through 21st, 2022 -- pushing the event a year ahead.

Tuesday September 1, 2020 | by Andrew Page

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: The Fall 2020 edition of Glass (#160)

The Fall 2020 edition of Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly (#160) is hitting newsstands and subscriber mailboxes. On the cover is a self-portrait of Corey Pemberton, the cofounder of Crafting the Future, a nonprofit with a mission to expand the pool of artists who work with art from craft media, including glass, so that the field might become more diverse. Since the summer’s protests of police killings sparked a national dialogue about race that has reverberated across society, the art world has been challenged to reflect on how inclusive it has been. In the glass art field, where representation of people of color remains limited at best, it has sparked a necessary and overdue conversation about why racial disparity has persisted in this medium for expression, and what actions can be taken to change that. One focus of this issue of Glass is to illustrate the extent of the problem and to highlight potential paths toward progress, including the notable efforts of Pemberton and Crafting the Future cofounder Annie Evelyn.

Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg courtesy: www.baldwinguggisberg.com

Wednesday August 26, 2020 | by Arina Novak

EXHIBITION: New collaborative work by Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg at Schantz Galleries

Schantz Galleries in Stockbridge, Massachusetts celebrates the work of the prolific glass artists Philip Baldwin (1947) and Monica Guggisberg (1955) in the by-appointment-only exhibition “Creative Journeys” which will remain on view through August 30th. The couple are a critically acclaimed duo who've been collaborating for over 40 years. A fateful encounter between two students at the Orrefors Glass School in Sweden in 1979 turned into a romantic and then a professional relationship bonded by a common passion for glass art. In 1981, Baldwin and Guggisberg became a team and established their first glass studio in Switzerland with a focus on producing functional design objects for everyday use. In 2001, they moved to Paris to further engage with the glass community by collaborating with Steuben in the U.S., Rosenthal in Germany, and Murano in Italy. In 2015, the couple left for rural Wales where they established a new workshop on a countryside farm where they continue to work on the new projects today.

Alison Kinnaird, Lockdown 2020, 2020, engraved, sandblasted, LED light

Wednesday August 19, 2020 | by Arina Novak

Alison Kinnaird's newest work channels the near-universal experience of social isolation in a time of pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic, and the shutdowns ordered around the world to control it, have forced all of us inward. With vastly more time spent sequestered in our homes, we've become intimately familiar with every inch of our living space as socialization has been severely curtailed. One artist who's spent the pandemic reflecting on how our lives have changed is exhibiting a new body of work that explores the dual themes of isolation and hope, two sides of what the Spring and Summer of 2020 has been like for many of us. Scottish glass artist and harpist Alison Kinnaird is holding an exhibition of her engraved glass tableaus at her home studio, a repurposed 19th-century church in the village of Temple, 12 miles south of Edinburgh. The exhibition was meant to be a part of the art expo known as The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, however, when the event was canceled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Kinnaird decided to host a solo show in her private studio space. Internationally known for her prolific oeuvre in glass and music, Kinnaird has spent nearly 50 years of her life creating art.

Photo Courtesy: Barry Art Museum

Friday August 14, 2020 | by Arina Novak

Jutta-Annette Page to retire from the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University in October

Jutta-Annette Page has announced her plan to retire from the executive director position at the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia, effective October 1, 2020. In the official announcement, museum patrons Richard and Carolyn Barry are quoted as saying, “We will sorely miss Jutta and wish her good luck and happiness in her well-deserved retirement.”

Raghvi Bata pictured working on Khatim (Flower). photo: amanda sterling. courtesy: corning museum of glass

Wednesday August 12, 2020 | by Arina Novak

Artist Raghvi Bhatia reflects on her isolated but productive Spring, when the Covid-19 pandemic stranded her at her Corning residency

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all of our lives and careers, but for one recent RISD glass graduate, who was awarded a prestigious residency at the Studio at The Corning Museum of Glass, the shutdown in mid-March 2020 resulted in a series of unexpected changes of plans that extended her time in Corning, New York, and ultimately saw her move back to her native India, where she is hoping to reset her career trajectory.

Junko Mori, a 2018 JamFactory artist in residence at work in the studio. courtesy: jamfactory

Tuesday August 11, 2020 | by Arina Novak

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Australian and New Zealand artists vie for the JamFactory's fourth biennial FUSE Glass artist residency

JamFactory has issued a call for applications for the fourth biennial FUSE Glass artist residencies, one of the most prestigious Australian glass art residences, which is awarded to Australian and New Zealand professional, mid-career artists working in glass. The residency will last up to four weeks at JamFactory in Adelaide between March and August 2021, and the deadline for applications is September 11. The successful recipient will be provided with accommodations and an allowance of $2,000 to assist with living expenses. In addition, the travel costs, such as return flights and transfers as well as car travel to and from Adelaide, will be covered by JamFactory, which will also contribute to the return freight for work produced up to a total cost of $1,000.

The studio of Sonoran Glass School.

Tuesday July 28, 2020 | by Arina Novak

How to Reopen Safely: Glass studios share best practices to keep staff and studio users healthy in a time of pandemic

As the Covid-19 pandemic first swept the United States and Canada in the Spring of 2020, glass studios were forced to shut their doors to the public. While studios turned to online classes and exhibitions, announced relief funds, and published extensive lists of resources for artists idled by the shut-down, glass-making professionals waited patiently to get back into the studio workspace equipped with actual furnaces, tools, and equipment to once again work with their chosen material. As state by state, the U.S. tentatively opens its doors, all eyes are on the best practices to follow to keep staff, renters, and students safe from the ongoing threat of contagion. In anticipation of tomorrow's Glass Art Society (GAS) community conversation (online on July 29, 2020 from 11 AM to 12 PM PDT), where panelists Anjali Srinvasan (Massachusetts College of Art and Design), Brian Kibler (UrbanGlass), Brynn Hurlson (Public Glass), Jiyong Lee (Southern Illinois University), and Jens Pfeifer (The Large Glass Department at Gerrit Rietveld Academie) will lead a public discussion, the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet reached out nine studio heads to talk about health and safety in the studio environment.

Anna Mlasowsky adding the Gallery name to her new exhibition space. courtesy: @das.schaufenster

Thursday July 23, 2020 | by Gabriella Sanderson

CONVERSATION: Glass-based performance artist and innovator Anna Mlasowsky on starting a new gallery for emerging artists

A native of Germany, Anna Mlasowsky is an artist, innovator, and newly-minted gallerist who currently resides in the Seattle area. Since the pandemic, she's been faced with new visa requirements and travel bans on the one hand, and the postponement of scheduled residencies and exhibitions on the other. In response to these setbacks, delays, and uncertainties, Mlasowsky has devoted herself to transforming her residence into a gallery space to support emerging artists who are gravely under-represented in the art world, and immigrant artists whose status is made precarious by the pandemic. Via telephone, the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet recently had the opportunity to interview Mlasowsky about her recent projects, her ongoing experiments in glass processes, and her new gallery space.

The exterior of the Museum of Glass with Martin Blank's "Fluent Steps" public artwork in foreground.

Tuesday July 21, 2020 | by Arina Novak

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: The Museum of Glass in Tacoma accepting applicants for its 2021 Visiting Artist Residency Program

The Museum of Glass in Tacoma announced an open call for artists from all mediums to participate in the Museum's2021 Visiting Artist Residency Program, with the caveat that the program will go forward if the pandemic allows institutions to reopen. Each year the Museum invites artists to apply for the Visiting Artist Residency to further their exploration of glass medium or continue working on a current series, and it remains one of the most sought-after opportunities to make work in the field. An example of the program’s notable residents are glass artists Dante Marioni and John Kiley who recently completed a collaborative project at the MOG’s Hot Shop in March of 2020.

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.