Thursday September 21, 2017 | by Angela Laurito

Chrysler curator Diane Wright to move to Toledo Museum of Art as new curator of glass in November

FILED UNDER: Announcements

The Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio, has announced that Diane Wright will be the 116-year-old institution's new curator of glass, and will take over the position in November. The museum features a 74,000-square-foot glass pavilion, which houses a working glass studio as well as galleries showcasing over 5,000 pieces. The previous curator of glass, Jutta Annette Page, held the position for 13 years before she departed recently to take the helm of the newly built Barry Art Museum in Virginia. which is not far from Norfolk, Virginia, where the Chrysler is located. …

Wednesday September 20, 2017 | by Angela Laurito

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Canadian art center offers awards for emerging ceramic and glass artists

FILED UNDER: Award

The Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery prides itself in the exclusivity of their gallery’s exhibits and the opportunities they provide for emerging artists. They seek to challenge the definitions of art while supporting not only Canadian but international artists as well, providing them with exposure, education, and experience. Perhaps the most notable opportunities offered on behalf of the gallery are two annual awards — the Award for Glass and the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics, each of which include a $10,000 prize.…

The hot shop in the Salisbury University art department.

Tuesday September 19, 2017 | by Joseph Modica

HELP WANTED: Maryland university hiring contract lecturer for full-time position in glass department

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Education, Help Wanted

The Art Department of the University of Salisbury is looking to add a lecturer to its glass program teaching staff. The university is seeking a 3D artist who specializes in glass and sculptures in Salisbury, Maryland. This individual will teach full time for a period of 10-months, three lectures per semester, in the area of Sculptures and Glass. He or she will be responsible in advising student-workers and technicians, supervising their work, while also ensuring a safe and professional working environment. The individual will also assist the 3D area heads in facility and equipment maintenance and management.

Joseph Cavalieri. “Return of Nossa Senhora” stained glass window. Measu digital design, 2017. D 6 ft.

Thursday September 14, 2017 | by Joseph Modica

FUNDRAISER: Artist Joseph Cavalieri seeking support to fulfill 93-year-old Brazilian church plan

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Design, New Work

New York-based artist Joseph Cavalieri, whose works in stained glass often feature unexpectedly bright imagery depicting cartoons and pop culture, may seem an unlikely candidate for a truly liturgical window, especially one to fill a never-completed building plan for the 93-year-old “Our Lady of Mercy” church in Itaparica, Brazil. When asked about this in an email interview, Cavalieri says his work is not disrespectful or making light of religion. “I take it you are referring to my “Il Momento della Morte” (The Moment of Death) featuring Bart and Lisa Simpson on the cross," he writes. "I don’t believe that work is satirical towards religion, mainly because it is NOT saying God doesn’t exist.“

Smaller Simone Crestani Ecamilla Brunelli Metamorphosis 2017Bottigliedet1

Simone Crestani & Camilla Brunelli in collaboration with EditaMateria, Metamorphosis, 2017 courtesy of Camilla Brunelli

Tuesday September 12, 2017 | by Joseph Modica

EXHIBITION: Notable design collaboration among the over-140 events at first-ever Venice Glass Week

FILED UNDER: Design, Exhibition, New Work, News

Lending their shape and form, insects are the basis of a new collection by two Italian designers who seek to capture the marriage between design and nature in glass objects. The “Metamorphosis“ collection is a result of the collaboration between two artists, Camilla Brunelli and Simone Crestani. Using delicately blown glass vessels, the artists sought to capture the rigidity and translucence of shed insect exoskeletons. Running through September 17, the exhibition is taking place as part of Venice Glass Week, where it is being shown at the T Fondaco dei Tedeschi on Venice's Grand Canal. The event is the first iteration of a brand-new international glass event with a focus on Murano glassmaking. Opening September 10, 2017, and running through the 17th, the week includes over 140 events paying tribute to Venice and Murano's rich history involving glass. including conferences, exhibits, and educational activities. The "Metamorphosis" exhibition is part of this much-larger festival of Italian glass art, design and history which celebrates one of Venice's most influential artistic exports.

Artist and professor Helen Lee at the 2015 Robert M. Minkoff Foundation Academic Symposium.

Thursday September 7, 2017 | by Andrew Page

A salary survey seeks insights into compensation levels in the field of glass art and design

FILED UNDER: Art Market, News

What's the average starting salary for a glass professor at a private art college? How about someone starting at a state school? How much debt is incurred on average to earn an MFA in glass? Until now, these questions, and more basic ones such as the going rate for a glassblowing assistant in the hot shop, have simply been unavailable. Now, artist and assistant professor Helen Lee, who heads the Glass Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is trying to crunch these numbers as part of an ambitious confidential research project she is undertaking to collect and analyze data on how much people are paid for their work in the glass art arena. Lee will share a summary and analysis of the results of her survey at the 2017 Robert M. Minkoff Foundation Academic Symposium at UrbanGlass. As an incentive to participate, those who take part and include an email address will receive a detailed report on the project's findings. Over 100 responses were received in the first two days, so this project promises to provide a significant sample size.

Julie Conway designed this pendant light, called "Tuffo" wth a clear crackle to cast a dramatic shadow pattern that has been incorporated into the Motif Seattle's logo for the 2017-18 artist residency period. courtesy: julie conway

Friday September 1, 2017 | by Andrew Page

DESIGN: Julie Conway wins visiting-artist competition at Seattle hotel

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Design, New Work, News

Seattle-based artist and designer Julie Conway has been named "visiting artist" for the Motif Seattle, a hotel that, true to its name, blends its identity to the vision of an area artist on a rotating basis. The recently redesigned hotel works with the artists to create a unique design "motif" that is incorporated into everything from the hotel's business cards to the room keys to elements of staff uniforms, and the collaboration is promoted on the hotel's social media presence. Conway was chosen from 20 applicants, and will receive a $2,000 honorarium. As part of her role as Motif Seattle's 2017-2018 visiting artist, Conway will be listed as the hotel's visiting artist throughout the hotel, and her work will be featured in the relaunched Website for the Motif Seattle later this month. She will also be running private glassblowing events for the hotel's clients throughout the term of the residency.

Albert Paley in collaboration with William Carlson, Arc, 2010. Formed and fabricated steel and stainless steel, cast glass. H 22 1/2, W 31, D 22 in. courtesy: the artist. photo: chuck lysen

Thursday August 31, 2017 | by Lindsay Hargrave

OPENING: Museum exhibit explores Albert Paley’s two-decade wrestling match between steel and glass

FILED UNDER: Artist Interviews, Exhibition, Museums, News, Opening

At the intersection of architecture, steel forging and glass casting lies the work of Albert Paley. This convergence is explored in an exhibition entitled "Complementary Contrasts: The Glass and Steel Sculptures of Albert Paley" opening at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, on September 9th, 2017. Running through September 2018, the year-long exhibit aims to view glass and its applications through the eyes of artists who may not work in the medium exclusively.

Friday August 25, 2017 | by Andrew Page

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: The Fall 2017 edition of GLASS (#148)

FILED UNDER: Announcements, News, Print Edition

The Fall 2017 edition of GLASS: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly (#148) will hit newsstands and subscriber mailboxes next week. The issue marks a major upgrade in paper quality to better showcase our recent total redesign. The result is superior photo reproduction with richer colors, deeper saturation, and sharper details, all of which make the cover image of a tautly furled thread vessel by Toots Zynsky even more striking. In the featured article, regular magazine contributor Alexander Castro spends time in Zynsky's Providence, Rhode Island, studio, where he learns of the creative ferment spurred by the artist's recent Specialty Glass Residency at The Corning Museum of Glass and Corning Incorporated. Access to new materials have rekindled Zynsky's passionate interest in experimentation, which Castro investigates as he also considers her established, and much-coveted, sculptural vessels made through a process of fusing thousands of delicate glass fibers that are hand-formed into complex objects that display "tidal movement," which Castro writes "isn't superfluous but integral to their being."

Landau (right) mingling with clientele during Glass Vessels and Tools of the Trade at Studio 211 at the Bemis Building during April 2017. courtesy: jessica landau photo: ian lewis

Tuesday August 22, 2017 | by Lindsay Hargrave

CONVERSATION: Jessica Landau, on team Chihuly, finds time for own work and promoting other artists

FILED UNDER: Artist Interviews, News

If Seattle’s Jessica Landau could be in two places at once, she would be. Her “alternative” gallery space in Seattle’ Bemis Building, Studio 211, just hosted an event displaying the works of Greg Owen, Amanda McDonald-Stern, Alix Cannon, Dan Friday, and Tony Sorgenfrei. She also teaches glassblowing two days a week at Wilson High School in Tacoma, and works as a glassblower for Chihuly Studio, full-time. Somehow, she still finds time to create whimsical flameworked artwork and jewelry, most notably her series of mustaches, and work toward a master’s degree in business administration.

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.