Laura Schlessinger

The biggest deterrent to people donating funds to charitableorganizations is the fear that their money will not reach those inneed but be squandered on overhead and administrative costs. Thismotivated Dr. Laura Schlessinger, America's number one relationshiptalk show host, to seek out Operation Family Fund (OFF), a private,non-profit, volunteer, charitable organization benefitting militaryveterans. An avid glass enthusiast, Dr. Laura devised a plan to useher glass art to raise money for OFF.  Her online Mother's Day Boutique sale of fused glass and jewelrytakes place April 27 - May 2, 2016.

The biggest deterrent to people donating funds to charitable organizations is the fear that their money will not reach those in need but be squandered on overhead and administrative costs. This motivated Dr. Laura Schlessinger, America's number one relationship talk show host, to seek out Operation Family Fund (OFF), a private, non-profit, volunteer, charitable organization benefitting military veterans. An avid glass enthusiast, Dr. Laura devised a plan to use her glass art to raise money for OFF.  Her online Mother's Day Boutique sale of fused glass and jewelry takes place April 27 - May 2, 2016.

 Dr. Laura Schlessinger's Philanthropic Glass

The American Flag, Acid Capsules and the F Word Freely sharing his knowledge of the techniques he learned in Venice -  murrine, millefiori and glassblowing - Richard Marquis demonstrated and taught throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The effect of Venetian glassblowing techniques on American studio glass enabled artists to expand their technical vocabularies and, combined with new and experimental approaches, led to the redefinition of glass as an artistic medium. Part one in a two-part series.

The American Flag, Acid Capsules and the F Word Freely sharing his knowledge of the techniques he learned in Venice -  murrine, millefiori and glassblowing - Richard Marquis demonstrated and taught throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The effect of Venetian glassblowing techniques on American studio glass enabled artists to expand their technical vocabularies and, combined with new and experimental approaches, led to the redefinition of glass as an artistic medium. Part one in a two-part series.

Part 1: Richard Marquis

Marquiscarpas, Potato Boxes and Slab Construction Freely sharing his knowledge of the techniques he learned in Venice - murrine, millefiori and glassblowing - Richard Marquis demonstrated and taught throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The effect of Venetian glassblowing techniques on American studio glass enabled artists to expand their technical vocabularies and, combined with new and experimental approaches, led to the redefinition of glass as an artistic medium. Part two in a two-part series.

Marquiscarpas, Potato Boxes and Slab Construction Freely sharing his knowledge of the techniques he learned in Venice - murrine, millefiori and glassblowing - Richard Marquis demonstrated and taught throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The effect of Venetian glassblowing techniques on American studio glass enabled artists to expand their technical vocabularies and, combined with new and experimental approaches, led to the redefinition of glass as an artistic medium. Part two in a two-part series.

Part 2: Richard Marquis

Ben Belgrad

The Big D.R.M.S. Project, Ben Belgrad's philanthropic glass enterprise, combines stems designed by collaborating artists with Belgrad’s borosilicate cups and glasses. Each color used is associated with a unique charity, and for every purchase, a minimum $100 donation is made. Belgrad attempts to partner with charities that have little to no overhead in terms of operational costs and staffing. Belgrad discusses the origins of The Big D.R.M.S. project and how collectors and artists can get involved.

The Big D.R.M.S. Project, Ben Belgrad's philanthropic glass enterprise, combines stems designed by collaborating artists with Belgrad’s borosilicate cups and glasses. Each color used is associated with a unique charity, and for every purchase, a minimum $100 donation is made. Belgrad attempts to partner with charities that have little to no overhead in terms of operational costs and staffing. Belgrad discusses the origins of The Big D.R.M.S. project and how collectors and artists can get involved.

Ben Belgrad's Glass Gives Back

Have you ever wondered how artists are selected for The Corning Museum of Glass' survey of cutting edge glass - New Glass Review? Well this is the podcast for you! To celebrate the Glass Art Society's conference being held in Corning, New York, this weekend, Talking Out Your Glass podcast presents a two-part interview from its archives. This conversation with Tina Oldknow, former curator of modern and contemporary glass at The Corning Museum of Glass, begins with the evolution of Oldknow's career in glass. She also discusses her favorite special exhibitions and how her view of contemporary glass and glass artists has evolved over time.

Have you ever wondered how artists are selected for The Corning Museum of Glass' survey of cutting edge glass - New Glass Review? Well this is the podcast for you! To celebrate the Glass Art Society's conference being held in Corning, New York, this weekend, Talking Out Your Glass podcast presents a two-part interview from its archives. This conversation with Tina Oldknow, former curator of modern and contemporary glass at The Corning Museum of Glass, begins with the evolution of Oldknow's career in glass. She also discusses her favorite special exhibitions and how her view of contemporary glass and glass artists has evolved over time.

Part 1: Tina Oldknow 

In this interview from Glass Art magazine's archives, Tina Oldknow, former Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass at The Corning Museum of Glass, discusses the museum's new Art + Design Wing. She also reveals her criteria for Rakow Commission award recipients and how museum donations were secured and incorporated into CMOG's collection. Part 2 of 2.

In this interview from Glass Art magazine's archives, Tina Oldknow, former Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass at The Corning Museum of Glass, discusses the museum's new Art + Design Wing. She also reveals her criteria for Rakow Commission award recipients and how museum donations were secured and incorporated into CMOG's collection. Part 2 of 2.

Part 2: Tina Oldknow 

Nicholas Parrendo’s Labor of Love “Stained glass is put together with lead, and lead is flexible to allow the glass to contract and expand. If you want to live a long life, you’ve got to be flexible.”  Artist and owner of Hunt Stained Glass Studios in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Nicholas Parrendo spent his career in service to the studio and the multitudes of churches and synagogues for which he designed and fabricated or restored stained glass windows. His absolute reverence for the craft he undertook as young man is evident in his artwork as well as the many related endeavors he participated in throughout his career that spanned more than six decades. Parrendo exhibited work for and is a member of both the American Glass Guild (AGG) and the Stained Glass Association of America (SGAA). He was presented with both organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award – SGAA’s in 1999 and AGG’s in 2009. As a senior advisor for the AGG, Parrendo participated in the organization’s conferences and exhibitions. In 2012, when AGG’s conference was held in Pittsburgh, Parrendo hosted an intensive painting workshop at his studio. He delighted in presenting slide shows and lectures for various organizations and schools, taking the opportunity to encourage others to share in his passion for stained glass. He was a guest lecturer at several SGAA summer conferences as well as a master instructor of stained glass for the Life Long Learning Program of Carnegie Mellon University. He taught at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Pioneer Crafts Council, Farmington, Pennsylvania; and at St. Michael’s Institute on Enders Island, Mystic, Connecticut. Parrendo passed away February 11, 2016. He worked six days a week into his 80s, starting every morning at his church, St. Cyril of Alexandria on Brighton Road, attending  morning Mass, doing readings, and leading hymns. "I think my father possesses more than talent when it comes to stained glass. It’s more like a special gift," says daughter, Celeste Parrendo. “He has such a passionate love for what he does.”

Nicholas Parrendo’s Labor of Love “Stained glass is put together with lead, and lead is flexible to allow the glass to contract and expand. If you want to live a long life, you’ve got to be flexible.” <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20080704060604/http://www.post-gazette.com/magazine/20000730nick1.asp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Artist and owner of Hunt Stained Glass Studios in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Nicholas Parrendo</a> spent his career in service to the studio and the multitudes of churches and synagogues for which he designed and fabricated or restored stained glass windows. His absolute reverence for the craft he undertook as young man is evident in his artwork as well as the many related endeavors he participated in throughout his career that spanned more than six decades. Parrendo exhibited work for and is a member of both the American Glass Guild (AGG) and the Stained Glass Association of America (SGAA). He was presented with both organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award – SGAA’s in 1999 and AGG’s in 2009. As a senior advisor for the AGG, Parrendo participated in the organization’s conferences and exhibitions. In 2012, when AGG’s conference was held in Pittsburgh, Parrendo hosted an intensive painting workshop at his studio. He delighted in presenting slide shows and lectures for various organizations and schools, taking the opportunity to encourage others to share in his passion for stained glass. He was a guest lecturer at several SGAA summer conferences as well as a master instructor of stained glass for the Life Long Learning Program of Carnegie Mellon University. He taught at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Pioneer Crafts Council, Farmington, Pennsylvania; and at St. Michael’s Institute on Enders Island, Mystic, Connecticut. Parrendo passed away February 11, 2016. He worked six days a week into his 80s, starting every morning at his church, St. Cyril of Alexandria on Brighton Road, attending  morning Mass, doing readings, and leading hymns. "I think my father possesses more than talent when it comes to stained glass. It’s more like a special gift," says daughter, Celeste Parrendo. “He has such a passionate love for what he does.”

Nicholas Parrendo

Ben Sharp’s artistic focus developed out of his longtime fascination with early aeronautics and the history of navigation. In developing his sculptural style, Sharp drew from engineering, geometry and mapping, and studies of proportion, balance, and light. His visually captivating and seemingly weightless sculptures incite a nostalgic sense of adventure. Avoiding trite whimsy, Sharp juxtaposes industrial metal with centuries-old cane techniques to subtly reference the stitched netting and structures of hydrogen air balloons, zeppelins, and dirigibles. His work refers not only to flight, but alludes to the mysteries of science and the journeys of the human imagination. Originally from Gainesville, Florida, Ben Sharp lives in Stanwood, Washington. He is currently Head Studio Technician at Pilchuck Glass School. Prior to joining Pilchuck’s team six years ago, he gained diverse experience working in fabrication at the National Casting Center Foundry, on scientific glassblowing projects for NASA, and in color production at Bullseye Glass Co. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2006 from Alfred University, and he has taught at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, and The Studio at Corning Museum of Glass. In 2012, he completed a Visiting Artist Residency at Museum of Glass-Tacoma, and this year (2015) received a Juror’s Choice Award by Spokane Arts.

Ben Sharp’s artistic focus developed out of his longtime fascination with early aeronautics and the history of navigation. In developing his sculptural style, Sharp drew from engineering, geometry and mapping, and studies of proportion, balance, and light. His visually captivating and seemingly weightless sculptures incite a nostalgic sense of adventure. Avoiding trite whimsy, Sharp juxtaposes industrial metal with centuries-old cane techniques to subtly reference the stitched netting and structures of hydrogen air balloons, zeppelins, and dirigibles. His work refers not only to flight, but alludes to the mysteries of science and the journeys of the human imagination. Originally from Gainesville, Florida, Ben Sharp lives in Stanwood, Washington. He is currently Head Studio Technician at Pilchuck Glass School. Prior to joining Pilchuck’s team six years ago, he gained diverse experience working in fabrication at the National Casting Center Foundry, on scientific glassblowing projects for NASA, and in color production at Bullseye Glass Co. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2006 from Alfred University, and he has taught at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, and The Studio at Corning Museum of Glass. In 2012, he completed a Visiting Artist Residency at Museum of Glass-Tacoma, and this year (2015) received a Juror’s Choice Award by Spokane Arts.

Ben Sharp's Finding Flight

Tom Holdman currently faces the biggest challenge of his career – how to depict thousands of years of world history in the 200-foot stained glass wall his studio is creating for Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah. Holdman, artist and CEO of Holdman Studios, is a man on a mission, determined to complete all 80 panels for his masterwork, Roots of Knowledge (RoK), by the end of October 2016. His monumental masterpiece depicts the most important advances in human knowledge and civilization, inspiring individuals to reach their full potential while illuminating stained glass as one of the highest art forms on earth.   In this conversation with both Holdman and lead artist Cameron Oscarson, we learn how the creative team functions, how the windows were designed, painted, and fabricated, and how the team will meet the great race to the finish line of completion.   On the cover of Glass Art magazine's July August 2016 issue. For back issues go to www.glassartmagazine.com Visit www.rootsofknowledge.org for more information and to donate to the project.

Tom Holdman currently faces the biggest challenge of his career – how to depict thousands of years of world history in the 200-foot stained glass wall his studio is creating for Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah. Holdman, artist and CEO of Holdman Studios, is a man on a mission, determined to complete all 80 panels for his masterwork, Roots of Knowledge (RoK), by the end of October 2016. His monumental masterpiece depicts the most important advances in human knowledge and civilization, inspiring individuals to reach their full potential while illuminating stained glass as one of the highest art forms on earth. In this conversation with both Holdman and lead artist Cameron Oscarson, we learn how the creative team functions, how the windows were designed, painted, and fabricated, and how the team will meet the great race to the finish line of completion. On the cover of Glass Art magazine's July August 2016 issue. For back issues go to <a href="http://www.glassartmagazine.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.glassartmagazine.com</a> Visit <a href="http://www.rootsofknowledge.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.rootsofknowledge.org</a> for more information and to donate to the project.

Tom Holdman's Roots of Knowledge

Michael Janis

Washington DC artist Michael Janis has developed and refined an intuitive technique over many years, creating detailed imagery by manipulating glass powder. His illustrative works in glass are dreamy and beautifully stylized. His moody glass panels feature partially obscured people submersed in nature or seemingly dissolving beneath colors and patterns. Maurine Littleton Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Echoes of Leaves and Shadows, a solo exhibition of new glass works and sculptures by Janis on view from September 16 – October 14, 2016. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with Maurine Littleton Gallery. Janis' work explores the unseen sides of life, longing and loneliness, juxtaposed with fragile beauty. The atmosphere in his subject matter is often presented as if in a dream or limbo-like state, with elements of surrealism. The artist discusses his new series of work as well as his role as co director of the Washington Glass School.

Washington DC artist Michael Janis has developed and refined an intuitive technique over many years, creating detailed imagery by manipulating glass powder. His illustrative works in glass are dreamy and beautifully stylized. His moody glass panels feature partially obscured people submersed in nature or seemingly dissolving beneath colors and patterns. Maurine Littleton Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Echoes of Leaves and Shadows, a solo exhibition of new glass works and sculptures by Janis on view from September 16 – October 14, 2016. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with Maurine Littleton Gallery. Janis' work explores the unseen sides of life, longing and loneliness, juxtaposed with fragile beauty. The atmosphere in his subject matter is often presented as if in a dream or limbo-like state, with elements of surrealism. The artist discusses his new series of work as well as his role as co director of the Washington Glass School.

Michael Janis 

Former editor of Glass Art magazine Shawn Waggoner interviews internationally respected artists and experts in hot, warm and cold glass.  For questions or commentsshawntelroyale@yahoo.com

Informative, interesting podcast!

In a world of quick fix media, it is great to see a program delve into content.

Need More Programs Like This!

Former editor of Glass Art magazine Shawn Waggoner interviews internationally respected artists and experts in hot, warm and cold glass. For questions or comments shawntelroyale@yahoo.com

Talking Out Your Glass podcast

Davide Fuin

On November 12, 2019, Venice and Murano, Italy, were devastated by “acqua alta,” record high water from tidal floods, which caused severe damage throughout the laguna and islands. Master glassblower Davide Fuin has established a GoFundMe campaign to help glass artists who need outside funding to make repairs and get shops, furnaces and studios back in working order.    Born in 1962 on Murano, Fuin still lives and works on the island. Considered one of the most skilled glassblowers of the last 30 years, he has collaborated with Italy’s famous glass houses including Venini, Toso, Pauly, Salviati, Elite, and De Majo, as well as with many international artists and designers. His work can be found in major galleries as well as private and museum collections in Europe, the United States, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, EAU, and Australia.   On September 15, 2015, at Palazzo Franchetti on Venice’s Grand Canal, the Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti honored glass master Fuin for excelling in his ability to make blown work according to Murano tradition, highlighting especially the techniques of reticello and retortoli filigree, incalmo, and avventurina. Gherardo Ortalli, president of the Istituto; Gabriella Belli, director of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia; Georg J. Riedel, president of Riedel Crystal; and Rosa Barovier, glass historian, selected the award recipients and were in attendance. William Gudenrath, resident advisor for The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG), Corning, New York, was also present at the ceremony.   “Fuin’s work was selected because he is the most visible, arguably the best, and some would say the last practitioner of the tradition of goblet makers on Murano, said to date from the Renaissance. The goblet tradition in both Murano and Venice is in considerable peril,” says Gudenrath, who himself teaches advanced courses in Venetian techniques and ensures excellence in the CMOG studio facility and its programs.   Every year Fuin spends several weeks teaching at art schools and studios around the world, including The Studio at CMOG. On January 3, 2020, the artist presented a workshop at The Glass Spot, in Richmond, Virginia, and in August will teach at his Murano hot shop.       Known widely as the crème de la crème, Fuin’s work defines classic Venetian glass. In 2000, he began producing a collection of goblets, vessels, and traditional Venetian baskets in Avventurina glass. His goal was to open new markets and appeal to a more exclusive clientele. The number of pieces and the preciousness of the sparkling, seemingly copper infused glass elevates this body of work beyond the functional. Fuin’s Avventurina collection makes an artistic statement about traditional technique and the unimaginable beauty possible only at the hand of a true maestro.

On November 12, 2019, Venice and Murano, Italy, were devastated by “acqua alta,” record high water from tidal floods, which caused severe damage throughout the laguna and islands. Master glassblower Davide Fuin has established a GoFundMe campaign to help glass artists who need outside funding to make repairs and get shops, furnaces and studios back in working order.  Born in 1962 on Murano, Fuin still lives and works on the island. Considered one of the most skilled glassblowers of the last 30 years, he has collaborated with Italy’s famous glass houses including Venini, Toso, Pauly, Salviati, Elite, and De Majo, as well as with many international artists and designers. His work can be found in major galleries as well as private and museum collections in Europe, the United States, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, EAU, and Australia. On September 15, 2015, at Palazzo Franchetti on Venice’s Grand Canal, the Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti honored glass master Fuin for excelling in his ability to make blown work according to Murano tradition, highlighting especially the techniques of reticello and retortoli filigree, incalmo, and avventurina. Gherardo Ortalli, president of the Istituto; Gabriella Belli, director of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia; Georg J. Riedel, president of Riedel Crystal; and Rosa Barovier, glass historian, selected the award recipients and were in attendance. William Gudenrath, resident advisor for The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG), Corning, New York, was also present at the ceremony. “Fuin’s work was selected because he is the most visible, arguably the best, and some would say the last practitioner of the tradition of goblet makers on Murano, said to date from the Renaissance. The goblet tradition in both Murano and Venice is in considerable peril,” says Gudenrath, who himself teaches advanced courses in Venetian techniques and ensures excellence in the CMOG studio facility and its programs. Every year Fuin spends several weeks teaching at art schools and studios around the world, including The Studio at CMOG. On January 3, 2020, the artist presented a workshop at The Glass Spot, in Richmond, Virginia, and in August will teach at his Murano hot shop. Known widely as the crème de la crème, Fuin’s work defines classic Venetian glass. In 2000, he began producing a collection of goblets, vessels, and traditional Venetian baskets in Avventurina glass. His goal was to open new markets and appeal to a more exclusive clientele. The number of pieces and the preciousness of the sparkling, seemingly copper infused glass elevates this body of work beyond the functional. Fuin’s Avventurina collection makes an artistic statement about traditional technique and the unimaginable beauty possible only at the hand of a true maestro.

Eusheen Goines: The Fillacello King   Born in a small village known as Takima, Oregon, Eusheen Goines comes from a family of artists and musicians. At a young age, he learned to live off of creating art and travelling like a nomad. By the age of 18, this lifestyle took the artist on solo journey working for Renaissance Fairs throughout the country.   In 2000 Goines discovered flameworking glass while working at a smoke shop and began spending the majority of his free time behind the torch. For years, he worked with the some of the best artists in functional glass including Mike Luna and Darby Holm. Now residing in Evergreen, Colorado, Goines is a part of the Everdream Studio.   With a free-flowing style Goines creates functional art pieces that can be instantly recognized as his by their intricate, controlled detail and color. His aesthetic signature, the fillacello, is created much the same as reticello but is painstakingly laid out on tubing then filled with color before it is condensed. One would be hard pressed to find better examples of line work manipulation than that of Goines.   In addition to flameworking glass, Goines spends his time “skateboarding, snowboarding, traveling, rocking shows, and relaxing with friends and family. Everything you see in my portfolio,” he says,  “is a direct influence from my Mom (Libby Goines) and Dad (Patrick Farley), my brother (Shen Goines),Warren and Wanda Goines (my grandparents), Gilbert Velasco, Darby Holm, Banjo Matt, Natey Biskind, Mike Luna, Chaz Pyle, Micah Blatt, Clinton Roman, Cowboy, Jarred Betty, The Dome School, and many many others.”   In 2006, Goines discovered the joy of teaching and began sharing his techniques in Japan and the U.S., including the Corning Museum of Glass, where he will teach a workshop in January 2020. The artist has now demonstrated worldwide in Australia, Japan, Germany, Costa Rica, and the U.S.   This Saturday, September 14, 2019, Goines and his fellow Everdream artists will be exhibiting work at HEATERZ 90210, a private high-class soiree in the heart of Beverly Hillz, featuring all new artwork and experiences curated by the collective.   For more information, stay tuned to the Everdream Instagram accounts:   Everdream Studio  AdamG @sweaterkingpin  N8 Miers @nathan_miers WJC @wjcglass Eusheen @eusheen Elbo @elboglass JoeP @joepglass &amp; #Lazercat ⛰www.heaterz90210.com

Eusheen Goines: The Fillacello King Born in a small village known as Takima, Oregon, Eusheen Goines comes from a family of artists and musicians. At a young age, he learned to live off of creating art and travelling like a nomad. By the age of 18, this lifestyle took the artist on solo journey working for Renaissance Fairs throughout the country. In 2000 Goines discovered flameworking glass while working at a smoke shop and began spending the majority of his free time behind the torch. For years, he worked with the some of the best artists in functional glass including Mike Luna and Darby Holm. Now residing in Evergreen, Colorado, Goines is a part of the Everdream Studio. With a free-flowing style Goines creates functional art pieces that can be instantly recognized as his by their intricate, controlled detail and color. His aesthetic signature, the fillacello, is created much the same as reticello but is painstakingly laid out on tubing then filled with color before it is condensed. One would be hard pressed to find better examples of line work manipulation than that of Goines. In addition to flameworking glass, Goines spends his time “skateboarding, snowboarding, traveling, rocking shows, and relaxing with friends and family. Everything you see in my portfolio,” he says,  “is a direct influence from my Mom (Libby Goines) and Dad (Patrick Farley), my brother (Shen Goines),Warren and Wanda Goines (my grandparents), Gilbert Velasco, Darby Holm, Banjo Matt, Natey Biskind, Mike Luna, Chaz Pyle, Micah Blatt, Clinton Roman, Cowboy, Jarred Betty, The Dome School, and many many others.” In 2006, Goines discovered the joy of teaching and began sharing his techniques in Japan and the U.S., including the Corning Museum of Glass, where he will teach a workshop in January 2020. The artist has now demonstrated worldwide in Australia, Japan, Germany, Costa Rica, and the U.S. This Saturday, September 14, 2019, Goines and his fellow Everdream artists will be exhibiting work at HEATERZ 90210, a private high-class soiree in the heart of Beverly Hillz, featuring all new artwork and experiences curated by the collective. For more information, stay tuned to the Everdream Instagram accounts:   Everdream Studio AdamG <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sweaterkingpin/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@sweaterkingpin</a> N8 Miers <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nathan_miers/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@nathan_miers</a> WJC <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wjcglass/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@wjcglass</a> Eusheen <a href="https://www.instagram.com/eusheen/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@eusheen</a> Elbo <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elboglass/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@elboglass</a> JoeP <a href="https://www.instagram.com/joepglass/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@joepglass</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/lazercat/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">#Lazercat</a> ⛰<a href="https://l.instagram.com/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heaterz90210.com%2F&amp;e=ATMfCs4tuOhChmVBWm0dn9jGjjiYaCMQ2POjUbY9sCNDOflob9RgWqZ-SRej8VHhJFHUBY-QuXwcbGGM" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">www.heaterz90210.com</a>

Eusheen Goines

Paul Stankard

Receive This Glass                                                                                    "Receive this glass                                                                                    it holds my memories                                                                                    crafted blossoms                                                                                    suspended                                                                                    in stillness                                                                                    to be pollinated                                                                                    by your sight                                                                                    anticipating                                                                                    your touch through time."                                                                                                                                                                                                              - Paul J. Stankard     There are few works of art in any medium that are so beautiful, so transcendent that the viewer is transported inside the piece and into the soul of its creator. Such is the case with the paperweights and botanicals created by internationally acclaimed artist and pioneer in the studio glass movement, Paul Stankard. By blending mysticism with magical realism, his work references the continuum of nature and allows us to celebrate on an intimate level her primal beauty.    Considered a living master in the art of the paperweight, Stankard’s work is represented in more than 75 museums around the world. Over his 40-year artistic journey, he has received two honorary doctorate degrees, an honorary associate's degree, and many awards within the glass community, most recently the Masters of the Medium Award from Smithsonian's The James Renwick Alliance and the Glass Art Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a Fellow of the American Craft Council and a recipient of the UrbanGlass Award—Innovation in a Glassworking Technique.   In 1961, Stankard enrolled in Salem County Vocational Technical Institute’s Scientific Glassblowing program (now Salem Community College). During his subsequent 10-year scientific glassblowing career, fabricating complex instruments was his focus. As head of the glass department at Rohn &amp; Haas in Philadelphia, the artist began experimenting with floral paperweights as a hobby. The work was eventually noticed by art dealer Reese Palley at a craft expo in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in 1972, Stankard abandoned industry for art.   Stankard says: “Every artist’s transition from detail to delicacy will follow a different path. In my case, my techniques evolved from working as a scientific glassblowing technologist producing custom precision instruments used for medical and organic chemistry research. This gave me a platform from which to interpret nature in a personal way. From the get-go, I was able to employ a detail-oriented precision that was borrowed from my work in industry.”    He continues: “Art-making is as varied as there are artists working. You take advantage of the skill-set you know, and you make it personal. You go beyond the practical, and you go beyond making product. You learn from your process and build on your personal vocabulary, fusing your detail into the realm of delicacy.”   Stankard’s role as educator includes establishing the flameworking studio at Penland School of Craft, Spruce Pine, North Carolina, and serving as a founding board member and President of The Creative Glass Center of America, Millville, New Jersey. The artist taught students in the US at Penland; the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington; and abroad at Kanaz Forest of Creation Japan with Hiroshi Yamano as well as at North Lands Creative, in the Scottish Highlands. He remains an Artist-in-Residence and Honorary Professor at Salem Community College, where he founded the International Flameworking Conference.   Now dividing his time between flameworking and writing, Stankard is the author of three books; an autobiography No Green Berries or Leaves: The Creative Journey of an Artist in Glass, an educational resource Spark the Creative Flame: Making the Journey from Craft to Art; and most recently Studio Craft as Career: A Guide to Achieving Excellence in Art-making. His love of Walt Whitman poetry continues.   Stankard’s work will be exhibited at Habatat Prime Chicago, a pop-up gallery located three miles from Navy Pier, as part of Sofa Chicago, October 31 through November 3. The 7,500-square-foot space offers an incredible collection of the finest in contemporary glass, including Stankard’s newest work. For more information, visit www.habatat.com. Also, the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts in Dania Beach, South Florida, will exhibit the Wiener collection of Stankard’s work in its The Art of the Flame exhibition. The exhibition preview weekend will be held November 9 and 10, and the show will run through April 30, 2020. Learn more at wmoda.com. 

Receive This Glass                                                                                   "Receive this glass                                                                                    it holds my memories                                                                                    crafted blossoms                                                                                    suspended                                                                                    in stillness                                                                                    to be pollinated                                                                                    by your sight                                                                                    anticipating                                                                                    your touch through time."                                                                                                                                                                                                              - Paul J. Stankard There are few works of art in any medium that are so beautiful, so transcendent that the viewer is transported inside the piece and into the soul of its creator. Such is the case with the paperweights and botanicals created by internationally acclaimed artist and pioneer in the studio glass movement, Paul Stankard. By blending mysticism with magical realism, his work references the continuum of nature and allows us to celebrate on an intimate level her primal beauty.  Considered a living master in the art of the paperweight, Stankard’s work is represented in more than 75 museums around the world. Over his 40-year artistic journey, he has received two honorary doctorate degrees, an honorary associate's degree, and many awards within the glass community, most recently the Masters of the Medium Award from Smithsonian's The James Renwick Alliance and the Glass Art Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a Fellow of the American Craft Council and a recipient of the UrbanGlass Award—Innovation in a Glassworking Technique. In 1961, Stankard enrolled in Salem County Vocational Technical Institute’s Scientific Glassblowing program (now Salem Community College). During his subsequent 10-year scientific glassblowing career, fabricating complex instruments was his focus. As head of the glass department at Rohn &amp; Haas in Philadelphia, the artist began experimenting with floral paperweights as a hobby. The work was eventually noticed by art dealer Reese Palley at a craft expo in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in 1972, Stankard abandoned industry for art. Stankard says: “Every artist’s transition from detail to delicacy will follow a different path. In my case, my techniques evolved from working as a scientific glassblowing technologist producing custom precision instruments used for medical and organic chemistry research. This gave me a platform from which to interpret nature in a personal way. From the get-go, I was able to employ a detail-oriented precision that was borrowed from my work in industry.”  He continues: “Art-making is as varied as there are artists working. You take advantage of the skill-set you know, and you make it personal. You go beyond the practical, and you go beyond making product. You learn from your process and build on your personal vocabulary, fusing your detail into the realm of delicacy.” Stankard’s role as educator includes establishing the flameworking studio at Penland School of Craft, Spruce Pine, North Carolina, and serving as a founding board member and President of The Creative Glass Center of America, Millville, New Jersey. The artist taught students in the US at Penland; the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington; and abroad at Kanaz Forest of Creation Japan with Hiroshi Yamano as well as at North Lands Creative, in the Scottish Highlands. He remains an Artist-in-Residence and Honorary Professor at Salem Community College, where he founded the International Flameworking Conference. Now dividing his time between flameworking and writing, Stankard is the author of three books; an autobiography No Green Berries or Leaves: The Creative Journey of an Artist in Glass, an educational resource Spark the Creative Flame: Making the Journey from Craft to Art; and most recently Studio Craft as Career: A Guide to Achieving Excellence in Art-making. His love of Walt Whitman poetry continues. Stankard’s work will be exhibited at Habatat Prime Chicago, a pop-up gallery located three miles from Navy Pier, as part of Sofa Chicago, October 31 through November 3. The 7,500-square-foot space offers an incredible collection of the finest in contemporary glass, including Stankard’s newest work. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.habatat.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.habatat.com</a>. Also, the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts in Dania Beach, South Florida, will exhibit the Wiener collection of Stankard’s work in its The Art of the Flame exhibition. The exhibition preview weekend will be held November 9 and 10, and the show will run through April 30, 2020. Learn more at <a href="http://wmoda.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">wmoda.com</a>.

Joe Peters

Whether coral reef teeming with vividly colored sea life or honeycomb dripping with golden ambrosia, Joe Peters’ flameworked glass is highly recognizable. Yet the artist has somehow avoided predictability by pushing boundaries and welcoming subjects as diverse as dragons, robots, and honeybees. Collectors delight at the release of new work, never knowing what subjects will be brought to life in Peters’ torch.   In 2012, encouraged by growing international demand from private collectors and galleries, Peters began transitioning from purely sculptural art to functional glass. To be closer to his pipe making community and to produce more collaborative projects, the artist relocated to Evergreen, Colorado, where he joined N8, Adam G, WJC, Elbo, and Eusheen at the Everdream Studio. This stable of world premier pipe makers share this state-of-the-art studio.   Influenced by glass artists Robert Mickelsen and Vittorio Costantini, Peters also found inspiration in the work of his functional glass heroes Banjo and Buck. He has studied with many flameworking masters including Lucio Bubacco, Loren Stump, Robert Burch, Sally Prasch, Milon Townsend, Mickelsen, and Emilio Santini.   On his own and through collaborations, Peters creates pieces for glass enthusiasts worldwide. In 2013, his functional glass works were featured in a well-attended and successful solo exhibition titled Side Show at GooseFire Gallery in Los Angeles, California. Public commissions include his 2012 aquarium on display at Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and public art for Chicago Children’s Hospital, Chicago, Illinois.   As cannabis continues to permeate American culture, Peters engages the functional glass community, in part, by getting his work into the hands of influential musicians. In 2015, the artist created and hand delivered a pipe to country music and cannabis legend Willie Nelson. In early 2016, rapper Action Bronson purchased a Peters’ collaboration, solidifying the value of high-end functional glass artwork within the music world. 

Whether coral reef teeming with vividly colored sea life or honeycomb dripping with golden ambrosia, Joe Peters’ flameworked glass is highly recognizable. Yet the artist has somehow avoided predictability by pushing boundaries and welcoming subjects as diverse as dragons, robots, and honeybees. Collectors delight at the release of new work, never knowing what subjects will be brought to life in Peters’ torch. In 2012, encouraged by growing international demand from private collectors and galleries, Peters began transitioning from purely sculptural art to functional glass. To be closer to his pipe making community and to produce more collaborative projects, the artist relocated to Evergreen, Colorado, where he joined N8, Adam G, WJC, Elbo, and Eusheen at the Everdream Studio. This stable of world premier pipe makers share this state-of-the-art studio. Influenced by glass artists Robert Mickelsen and Vittorio Costantini, Peters also found inspiration in the work of his functional glass heroes Banjo and Buck. He has studied with many flameworking masters including Lucio Bubacco, Loren Stump, Robert Burch, Sally Prasch, Milon Townsend, Mickelsen, and Emilio Santini. On his own and through collaborations, Peters creates pieces for glass enthusiasts worldwide. In 2013, his functional glass works were featured in a well-attended and successful solo exhibition titled Side Show at GooseFire Gallery in Los Angeles, California. Public commissions include his 2012 aquarium on display at Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and public art for Chicago Children’s Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. As cannabis continues to permeate American culture, Peters engages the functional glass community, in part, by getting his work into the hands of influential musicians. In 2015, the artist created and hand delivered a pipe to country music and cannabis legend Willie Nelson. In early 2016, rapper Action Bronson purchased a Peters’ collaboration, solidifying the value of high-end functional glass artwork within the music world.

Shayna Leib

Like quilts fashioned from various colors and textures of coral reef, Shayna Leib’s Wind and Watersculptures reflect the two major passions in her life - music and the ocean. Trained as a classical pianist, the artist relies upon the same part-to-whole nature of music that brings together individual notes and melodic lines in the creation of a greater composition. Growing up on the Central Coast of California, Leib became a diver and underwater photographer, further informing the direction of her art. In a recent American Craftarticle, Fear &amp; Fascination, Judy Arginteanu wrote:“A large wall sculpture (about 4.5 by 2 feet) might contain some 40,000 individual pieces of hand-pulled, custom-colored cane, which she then slumps, cuts, and meticulously arranges in intricate patterns, like those nature seems to create so effortlessly. It takes many weeks to produce one sculpture…With the help of one assistant, Leib does all the work in her 640-square-foot studio, a converted warehouse in the charmingly boho East Side of Madison, Wisconsin…She can spend hours on the coloring process alone, and each piece of cane has at least two colors to add shimmering depth. She can use up to six different versions of a color in a monotone landscape; for a multicolored piece, the number may be 25 or 30.” Leib studied Russian literature, glassblowing, and classical piano while completing her Bachelors of Art degree in Philosophy at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. Accepted into a PhD Philosophy program in New York, she chose instead to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts in glass and metal at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated with her MFA in 2003. Working as a metal fabricator and forger at Pearson Design Studios in Maine, Leib reproduced the famous designs by the late Ronald Hayes Pearson for his wife, Carolyn Pearson. Upon her return to California in 2004, she taught sculpture and drawing at Cal Poly State University until her move in 2005 to teach glass at the University of Madison-Wisconsin. Currently Leib works in a variety of mediums including ceramic, stone, metal, photography and fabric, though glass remains her focus. She prefers to use glass not for its mimetic qualities to capture the look of other materials, but for its ability to express flow, freeze a moment in time, and manipulate optics. She states: “The things I find beautiful have always been fractal in nature. I am intrigued by multitudes of tiny little parts - blades of grass all bending in the wind to the same rhythm. As you pan out you have waves of form.  Zoom in and you see each individual blade of grass moving to the flow of the wind.” Leib’s work, found in numerous private and public collections nationally, has been exhibited at SOFA Chicago and New York for the last decade. She is represented by Habatat Galleries Florida in West Palm Beach, showcased in museums, worldwide blogs, and magazines, and featured on the pages of Contemporary Lampworking, The Best of American Glass Artists Volume L-Z, and A História Do Vidro(A History of Glass).Leibwas recognized as a 2010 Wisconsin Arts Board Grant Recipient, nominated in 2011 for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, and in2015 listed as one of the 30 Most Amazing Glass Artists Alive. For the last year Leib has been creating work for her new series, Pâtisserie, atherapeutic exercise in re-training her mind to look at dessert as form rather than food. To glass, the artist combined porcelain and nearly every possible technique in both mediums to include glassblowing, hot-sculpting, lampwork, fusing, casting, and grinding in glass and well as the ceramic techniques of hand-building, throwing, and using a good old fashioned pastry tube.

Like quilts fashioned from various colors and textures of coral reef, Shayna Leib’s Wind and Watersculptures reflect the two major passions in her life - music and the ocean. Trained as a classical pianist, the artist relies upon the same part-to-whole nature of music that brings together individual notes and melodic lines in the creation of a greater composition. Growing up on the Central Coast of California, Leib became a diver and underwater photographer, further informing the direction of her art. In a recent American Craftarticle, Fear &amp; Fascination, Judy Arginteanu wrote:“A large wall sculpture (about 4.5 by 2 feet) might contain some 40,000 individual pieces of hand-pulled, custom-colored cane, which she then slumps, cuts, and meticulously arranges in intricate patterns, like those nature seems to create so effortlessly. It takes many weeks to produce one sculpture…With the help of one assistant, Leib does all the work in her 640-square-foot studio, a converted warehouse in the charmingly boho East Side of Madison, Wisconsin…She can spend hours on the coloring process alone, and each piece of cane has at least two colors to add shimmering depth. She can use up to six different versions of a color in a monotone landscape; for a multicolored piece, the number may be 25 or 30.” Leib studied Russian literature, glassblowing, and classical piano while completing her Bachelors of Art degree in Philosophy at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. Accepted into a PhD Philosophy program in New York, she chose instead to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts in glass and metal at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated with her MFA in 2003. Working as a metal fabricator and forger at Pearson Design Studios in Maine, Leib reproduced the famous designs by the late Ronald Hayes Pearson for his wife, Carolyn Pearson. Upon her return to California in 2004, she taught sculpture and drawing at Cal Poly State University until her move in 2005 to teach glass at the University of Madison-Wisconsin. Currently Leib works in a variety of mediums including ceramic, stone, metal, photography and fabric, though glass remains her focus. She prefers to use glass not for its mimetic qualities to capture the look of other materials, but for its ability to express flow, freeze a moment in time, and manipulate optics. She states: “The things I find beautiful have always been fractal in nature. I am intrigued by multitudes of tiny little parts - blades of grass all bending in the wind to the same rhythm. As you pan out you have waves of form.  Zoom in and you see each individual blade of grass moving to the flow of the wind.” Leib’s work, found in numerous private and public collections nationally, has been exhibited at SOFA Chicago and New York for the last decade. She is represented by Habatat Galleries Florida in West Palm Beach, showcased in museums, worldwide blogs, and magazines, and featured on the pages of Contemporary Lampworking, The Best of American Glass Artists Volume L-Z, and A História Do Vidro(A History of Glass).Leibwas recognized as a 2010 Wisconsin Arts Board Grant Recipient, nominated in 2011 for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, and in2015 listed as one of the 30 Most Amazing Glass Artists Alive. For the last year Leib has been creating work for her new series, Pâtisserie, atherapeutic exercise in re-training her mind to look at dessert as form rather than food. To glass, the artist combined porcelain and nearly every possible technique in both mediums to include glassblowing, hot-sculpting, lampwork, fusing, casting, and grinding in glass and well as the ceramic techniques of hand-building, throwing, and using a good old fashioned pastry tube.

Known for his one-of-a-kind creature pipes, Salt began flameworking in 2001 in his hometown of Austin, Texas, where he still resides today. From spots and stripes, teeth and claws, to his trademark eyes, Salt’s detailed borosilicate sculpture has an undeniable hold on the functional glass community. His loyal 159K Instagram followers wait for new work to be released and search select shops and galleries for exotic creatures to add to their collections.  Salt Glass is inspired and informed by influences as vastly different as Surrealists such as Salvador Dalí and Maurits Cornelis Escher to elements from hip-hop culture such as graffiti and music, specifically the free-style movement. As he works, Salt let’s his imagination run wild. He endows his creatures with names and personalities, imagines how they might move, how and what they might eat. Environments they will thrive or die in are pondered.     On another level, the artist uses the creative process to examine thoughts, concerns, and dreams. As Salt works glass in the torch, he focuses on the feeling of having negative energy consumed and changed by this creature, allowing it to not only consume negativity, but transform the energy to positivity in a magical glass alchemy.     Sponsored by the company of the same name, Salt serves on Glass Alchemy’s artist board, contributing invaluable feedback to the development of new products for pipemakers and flameworkers. Independently, the artist has pioneered a variety of revolutionary technical advances including the Gill and the Salt Perc.     Says Salt: “In the end, my style is the fruit of my continually striving to put a message in my work and to amplify my voice as an artist and as a human. I want to do my best to represent the pipe making community that raised me and raise the voice of my generation.”

Known for his one-of-a-kind creature pipes, Salt began flameworking in 2001 in his hometown of Austin, Texas, where he still resides today. From spots and stripes, teeth and claws, to his trademark eyes, Salt’s detailed borosilicate sculpture has an undeniable hold on the functional glass community. His loyal 159K Instagram followers wait for new work to be released and search select shops and galleries for exotic creatures to add to their collections. Salt Glass is inspired and informed by influences as vastly different as Surrealists such as Salvador Dalí and Maurits Cornelis Escher to elements from hip-hop culture such as graffiti and music, specifically the free-style movement. As he works, Salt let’s his imagination run wild. He endows his creatures with names and personalities, imagines how they might move, how and what they might eat. Environments they will thrive or die in are pondered.   On another level, the artist uses the creative process to examine thoughts, concerns, and dreams. As Salt works glass in the torch, he focuses on the feeling of having negative energy consumed and changed by this creature, allowing it to not only consume negativity, but transform the energy to positivity in a magical glass alchemy.   Sponsored by the company of the same name, Salt serves on Glass Alchemy’s artist board, contributing invaluable feedback to the development of new products for pipemakers and flameworkers. Independently, the artist has pioneered a variety of revolutionary technical advances including the Gill and the Salt Perc.   Says Salt: “In the end, my style is the fruit of my continually striving to put a message in my work and to amplify my voice as an artist and as a human. I want to do my best to represent the pipe making community that raised me and raise the voice of my generation.”

Salt Glass

Chris Ahalt

Chris Ahalt sculpts in meticulous detail and bright colors his animal balloon series, depicting visually strong animals made fragile by delicately balancing them above on a wire.  Hours of intensive work result in deceptively simple animal balloons featuring hollow glass sculptures of African and Asian elephants, black and white rhinos, giraffes, hippos, sharks, and whales, to name a few.  Ahalt’s sandblasted glass is strung up on copper wire embellished with hand-forged ridges that emulate real ribbon and tethered to small weights.  The flexibility of the wire enhances the illusion as the glass balloon sways back and forth. Says Ahalt: “Balloons suggest celebration, children, and wonder. The iconic animals that I pick appeal to those child-like sensibilities. Most of us grow up with a favorite animal, and the idea of turning one’s favorite animal into a balloon seems a fitting marriage that is hard to dislike. These animal balloons also metaphorically speak to their fragile lives, many of them endangered. Some of the balloons, such as the rhino, have their legs bound alluding to the precarious environments created for them by humans. I think of these animal balloons as a mixture of playfulness and harsh reality – homage to not only the iconic beauty of these majestic animals, but also as tribute to the many endangered species that may not survive.” Ahalt graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a BFA in Sculpture/ Furniture Design,and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he specializes in custom glassware, vases, sculpture, lighting, prototyping, and commissioned work.  He has taught numerous glassblowing workshops nationally and has two coming up this summer- Taming the Beastat The Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio, Norfolk, Virginia, July 6 – 11, and Pushing the Bubbleat the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, August 12 - 16.  The artist’s work was featured in the 2011 March/April issue of American Craft Magazine. Initially introduced to the world of flameworking by his good friend Repo in 1998, Ahalt’s career in flameworking was cemented by a 2005 trip to Venice, Italy, where he apprenticed under renowned master flameworker, Cesare Toffolo. The young artist learned to use jacks and diamond shears in the flame, a unique flameworking approach pioneered by Toffolo. Working in Italy had a huge impact on Ahalt, who has dedicated his career to matching the perfection of form and thinness of Venetian glass.

Chris Ahalt sculpts in meticulous detail and bright colors his animal balloon series, depicting visually strong animals made fragile by delicately balancing them above on a wire.  Hours of intensive work result in deceptively simple animal balloons featuring hollow glass sculptures of African and Asian elephants, black and white rhinos, giraffes, hippos, sharks, and whales, to name a few.  Ahalt’s sandblasted glass is strung up on copper wire embellished with hand-forged ridges that emulate real ribbon and tethered to small weights.  The flexibility of the wire enhances the illusion as the glass balloon sways back and forth. Says Ahalt: “Balloons suggest celebration, children, and wonder. The iconic animals that I pick appeal to those child-like sensibilities. Most of us grow up with a favorite animal, and the idea of turning one’s favorite animal into a balloon seems a fitting marriage that is hard to dislike. These animal balloons also metaphorically speak to their fragile lives, many of them endangered. Some of the balloons, such as the rhino, have their legs bound alluding to the precarious environments created for them by humans. I think of these animal balloons as a mixture of playfulness and harsh reality – homage to not only the iconic beauty of these majestic animals, but also as tribute to the many endangered species that may not survive.” Ahalt graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a BFA in Sculpture/ Furniture Design,and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he specializes in custom glassware, vases, sculpture, lighting, prototyping, and commissioned work.  He has taught numerous glassblowing workshops nationally and has two coming up this summer- Taming the Beastat The Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio, Norfolk, Virginia, July 6 – 11, and Pushing the Bubbleat the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, August 12 - 16.  The artist’s work was featured in the 2011 March/April issue of American Craft Magazine. Initially introduced to the world of flameworking by his good friend Repo in 1998, Ahalt’s career in flameworking was cemented by a 2005 trip to Venice, Italy, where he apprenticed under renowned master flameworker, Cesare Toffolo. The young artist learned to use jacks and diamond shears in the flame, a unique flameworking approach pioneered by Toffolo. Working in Italy had a huge impact on Ahalt, who has dedicated his career to matching the perfection of form and thinness of Venetian glass.

Chris Ahalt 

Bertil Vallien

Dark and beautiful, Bertil Vallien’s sculpture takes the viewer on a mystical journey through the subconscious. Part oracle, part art object - his boats, maps and heads reveal existential secrets through a series of symbols and codes embedded in a glass matrix that appears to contain light. Sweden’s most innovative and well-known contemporary glass artist, Vallien pioneered sand casting in the 1980s and began creating sculptures in glass that inspired his now famous quote: “Glass eats light.”   Born in 1938 in Sollentuna, a suburb north of Stockholm, Vallien studied ceramics at the Konstfack School of Arts, Crafts, and Design in Stockholm, then spent two years at the School for Advanced Industrial Design. At Konstfack, he graduated at the top of his class and was awarded a Royal Foundation grant. His love of ceramics took him to Los Angeles for a position with HAL Fromholt Ceramics, and soon he was meeting artists, critics, and gallery owners, attending events at California universities, and exhibiting his ceramics. In 1963, he was invited back to Sweden by the C.H. Åfors glass-factory, where he contributed to a successful reorganization of the company and designed many of their most well-known lines.   Vallien’s introduction to glass offered artistic opportunities that were lacking in ceramics, and blowing glass became central to his work. He describes it as, “ladling matter out of a volcano and watching the glowing lava turn into ice.” His work has a symbolic and mystical narrative, in which the human head, boats, maps, stars, crosses, bridges, pyramids, and rings play recurring roles. Sometimes the light-absorbing glass is transparent like a membrane that allows vision into the spaces within. At other times it is translucent to represent how our understanding can at times be clouded.   From California to Israel, Vallien has exhibited around the world including The State Heritage Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia); the National Museum (Stockholm, Sweden); the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, England); the Art Institute of Chicago (IL); the National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto, Japan); the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY); the Powerhouse Museum (Sydney, Australia); and the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA). He has received numerous awards, such as: Prince Eugen’s medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts (1995); an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Vaxjö (2002); the Gold Medal from the Royal Academy of Science, Stockholm (2005); and the Libenski Award, Seattle (2008).   At 82, Vallien is still active as a creating artist. In 2018, he exhibited new work at Spritmuseum, Stockholm, in an exhibition titled, Under ytan (Under the Surface). The art objects were made in a coarse-cut black glass that suggested an archaeological excavation of a desolate civilization. Wrecked ships and desolate landscapes stood on pedestals in a dark room with a light source above it.   On February 8, 2020, during Imagine Museum’s Fire and Light Gala, Trish Duggan, Founder and President of Imagine Museum, presented Vallien with the “Artist of the Future” award, based upon his undaunted journey as an artist looking toward the future while continuing to aspire other artists in new ways of expression and communication. “Bertil’s vision about the future and his unbound curiosity about what lies ahead puts him far ahead many of the younger artists working in the field today,” said Duggan about the award recipient.   Continuing down his prolific path, on May 14, 2020, Vallien’s exhibition Surface Tension opens at Gallery Glas in Stockhom. His show Anhalt will be on view at VIDA Museum and Art Gallery, Borgholm, Sweden, beginning May 23. The artist is also preparing for his demo at the Glass Art Society (GAS) conference in Smaland, Sweden, May 20-23, where he will be presented with GAS’ Visionary Award.

Dark and beautiful, Bertil Vallien’s sculpture takes the viewer on a mystical journey through the subconscious. Part oracle, part art object - his boats, maps and heads reveal existential secrets through a series of symbols and codes embedded in a glass matrix that appears to contain light. Sweden’s most innovative and well-known contemporary glass artist, Vallien pioneered sand casting in the 1980s and began creating sculptures in glass that inspired his now famous quote: “Glass eats light.” Born in 1938 in Sollentuna, a suburb north of Stockholm, Vallien studied ceramics at the Konstfack School of Arts, Crafts, and Design in Stockholm, then spent two years at the School for Advanced Industrial Design. At Konstfack, he graduated at the top of his class and was awarded a Royal Foundation grant. His love of ceramics took him to Los Angeles for a position with HAL Fromholt Ceramics, and soon he was meeting artists, critics, and gallery owners, attending events at California universities, and exhibiting his ceramics. In 1963, he was invited back to Sweden by the C.H. Åfors glass-factory, where he contributed to a successful reorganization of the company and designed many of their most well-known lines. Vallien’s introduction to glass offered artistic opportunities that were lacking in ceramics, and blowing glass became central to his work. He describes it as, “ladling matter out of a volcano and watching the glowing lava turn into ice.” His work has a symbolic and mystical narrative, in which the human head, boats, maps, stars, crosses, bridges, pyramids, and rings play recurring roles. Sometimes the light-absorbing glass is transparent like a membrane that allows vision into the spaces within. At other times it is translucent to represent how our understanding can at times be clouded. From California to Israel, Vallien has exhibited around the world including <a href="http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The State Heritage Museum </a>(St. Petersburg, Russia); <a href="http://www.nationalmuseum.se/sv/english-startpage/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">the National Museum</a> (Stockholm, Sweden); the <a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Victoria and Albert Museum</a> (London, England); the <a href="http://www.artic.edu/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Art Institute of Chicago</a> (IL); the <a href="http://www.momat.go.jp/english/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">National Museum of Modern Art</a> (Kyoto, Japan); the <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Metropolitan Museum of Art</a> (New York, NY); the <a href="http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Powerhouse Museum </a>(Sydney, Australia); and the <a href="http://www.mfa.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Museum of Fine Arts</a> (Boston, MA). He has received numerous awards, such as: Prince Eugen’s medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts (1995); an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Vaxjö (2002); the Gold Medal from the Royal Academy of Science, Stockholm (2005); and the Libenski Award, Seattle (2008). At 82, Vallien is still active as a creating artist. In 2018, he exhibited new work at Spritmuseum, Stockholm, in an exhibition titled, Under ytan (Under the Surface). The art objects were made in a coarse-cut black glass that suggested an archaeological excavation of a desolate civilization. Wrecked ships and desolate landscapes stood on pedestals in a dark room with a light source above it. On February 8, 2020, during Imagine Museum’s Fire and Light Gala, Trish Duggan, Founder and President of Imagine Museum, presented Vallien with the “Artist of the Future” award, based upon his undaunted journey as an artist looking toward the future while continuing to aspire other artists in new ways of expression and communication. “Bertil’s vision about the future and his unbound curiosity about what lies ahead puts him far ahead many of the younger artists working in the field today,” said Duggan about the award recipient. Continuing down his prolific path, on May 14, 2020, Vallien’s exhibition Surface Tension opens at Gallery Glas in Stockhom. His show Anhalt will be on view at VIDA Museum and Art Gallery, Borgholm, Sweden, beginning May 23. The artist is also preparing for his demo at the Glass Art Society (GAS) conference in Smaland, Sweden, May 20-23, where he will be presented with GAS’ Visionary Award.

Degenerate Art, the 2012 documentarydirected by pipemaker Aaron Golbert a.k.a. Marble Slinger, chronicled and in some ways changed the history of functional glass through its popularity and widespread distribution. The film, whose title references a German expression used by the Nazi regime to criticize non-conformist art, inspired multitudes of artists to take up pipemaking as their passion and profession. Living and working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home to one of the nation’s most vibrant glass pipemaking scenes, Slinger developed a body of work that communicatescomplex themes through the utilization of graal techniques.He’s known for his visages of pop culture icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Sherlock Holmes, sandblasted onto matte-finish, color-blended pipes and tubes. On the Board of Glass Alchemy’s Makers Alliance, Slinger works with the company to determine the future direction of its color palette. Independently, his aesthetic signature includes myriad patterning techniques such as honeycombs, inside out, fuming, disc flips, reticellos, bowties, spirals, stuff and puffs, and traditional shaping styles. Bronze casting, painting, and mixed media are also employed to convey concepts influenced by pop and graffiti art.

Degenerate Art, the 2012 documentarydirected by pipemaker Aaron Golbert a.k.a. Marble Slinger, chronicled and in some ways changed the history of functional glass through its popularity and widespread distribution. The film, whose title references a German expression used by the Nazi regime to criticize non-conformist art, inspired multitudes of artists to take up pipemaking as their passion and profession. Living and working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home to one of the nation’s most vibrant glass pipemaking scenes, Slinger developed a body of work that communicatescomplex themes through the utilization of graal techniques.He’s known for his visages of pop culture icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Sherlock Holmes, sandblasted onto matte-finish, color-blended pipes and tubes. On the Board of Glass Alchemy’s Makers Alliance, Slinger works with the company to determine the future direction of its color palette. Independently, his aesthetic signature includes myriad patterning techniques such as honeycombs, inside out, fuming, disc flips, reticellos, bowties, spirals, stuff and puffs, and traditional shaping styles. Bronze casting, painting, and mixed media are also employed to convey concepts influenced by pop and graffiti art.

Marble Slinger 

David Colton

The Corning Museum of Glass Acquires its First Glass Cannabis Pipe, Created by David Colton   The Corning Museum of Glass named David Colton as the recipient of its prestigious 2019 Rakow Commission, awarded annually to emerging and established artists whose work is not yet represented in the Museum’s collection. Colton’s sculpture represents the first-ever glass cannabis pipe to be added to the permanent collection of any major art museum. With its bright pink, red, and purple calligraphic forms, this expressive, graffiti-inspired sculptural object demonstrates the contribution of pipemakers to colored borosilicate glass, the palette of which has expanded greatly since the beginning of the glass pipe movement in the late 20th century. Heavily influenced by the rise of graffiti in America in the 1980s and ’90s, Colton creates his own take on the graphic art form in sculpture, using glass as his chosen medium. Recognized by his peers for the distinct organic style he has developed, Colton’s practice encompasses abstract borosilicate sculptures and functional glass pipes. Born in Westfield, Massachusetts, Colton began glassblowing in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1995 and currently resides in Westhampton, Massachusetts. The artist’s work is also included in The Dr. Seuss Museum’s permanent collection in Springfield, Massachusetts. Enjoy this fascinating conversation about how and where glass pipes fit in to the world of fine art and museum collections.

The Corning Museum of Glass Acquires its First Glass Cannabis Pipe, Created by David Colton The Corning Museum of Glass named David Colton as the recipient of its prestigious 2019 Rakow Commission, awarded annually to emerging and established artists whose work is not yet represented in the Museum’s collection. Colton’s sculpture represents the first-ever glass cannabis pipe to be added to the permanent collection of any major art museum. With its bright pink, red, and purple calligraphic forms, this expressive, graffiti-inspired sculptural object demonstrates the contribution of pipemakers to colored borosilicate glass, the palette of which has expanded greatly since the beginning of the glass pipe movement in the late 20th century. Heavily influenced by the rise of graffiti in America in the 1980s and ’90s, Colton creates his own take on the graphic art form in sculpture, using glass as his chosen medium. Recognized by his peers for the distinct organic style he has developed, Colton’s practice encompasses abstract borosilicate sculptures and functional glass pipes. Born in Westfield, Massachusetts, Colton began glassblowing in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1995 and currently resides in Westhampton, Massachusetts. The artist’s work is also included in The Dr. Seuss Museum’s permanent collection in Springfield, Massachusetts. Enjoy this fascinating conversation about how and where glass pipes fit in to the world of fine art and museum collections.

Martin Janecky

Viewing the hot sculpted work of Prague’s Martin Janecký inspires a sensation akin to gazing upon precious and antique art treasures from around the globe. His glass busts in white or black glass remind us that the human form speaks volumes about beauty, history, hope and art in a way that no other object could. Born in the Czech Republic in 1980, Janecký began working with glass at the age of 13 at his father’s factory. His secondary school training at Novy Bor concentrated on the creation of glass art and introduced him to artists and designers from around the world that hired him to execute their ideas. In 2003, the young artist made his first trip to the United States where he studied at the Pilchuck Glass School under Richard Royal and William Morris. Among Janecký’s most recognized strengths was his mastering of blowing and sculpting “inside the bubble,” the technique used in the creation of his startling original works. Before long, Janecký became a highly sought teacher in his field. He has taught, demonstrated and exhibited in Europe, America, Australia, Africa and Asia, to include the Corning Museum of Glass, Pilchuck Glass School, Chrysler Museum of Art, UrbanGlass, the Rietveld Academy in Holland, Bornholm Design School in Denmark, the Australian National University in Canberra, and the Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Japan, among many. Following a 2013 visit to Mexico, Janecký embarked on an exploration of the human skull in a tribute to Dia de Muertos, an outgrowth of his passion for the culture and people of Mexico. He says: “The willingness of the Mexican people to share this occasion with an outsider like me, someone from a totally different environment, was a humbling experience that inspired me to want to create a body of work that honors and celebrates this amazing event. My plan was to recreate iconic examples of this culture in glass, which had never been done on this scale. I did so with humility and a huge respect for Mexico’s history and culture.”   Janecký’s homeland,The Czech Republic, is rightfully proud of its own globally recognized tradition of glassmaking. Writes Dr. Petr Nový, Head Curator, Museum of Glass Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic: “Martin Janecký’s expressive realism is somewhat alien to the Czech art scene, meaning it isn’t always met with a clear sense of comprehension. It is as if non-abstract works should primarily be viewed as handicraft instead of art. But in Janecký’s case, superb handicraft serves as a springboard for this unique artist to be able to capture emotions in his glass works. And such power is something we find only very rarely in the contemporary world of studio glass art. … “Janecký has earned a rightful place among the greatest not just Czech, but also global, stars of the glass art scene. His original works are generating great enthusiasm among galleries and collectors, including from global celebrities. His successes are not just the result of talent, creativity, and artistic boldness, but chiefly a considerable amount of hard work. Expertise in the field of glass art requires constant application and searching out new limits – and that is only possible with an all-encompassing day-to-day dedication. Although Janecký’s confidence as an artist has undoubtedly grown, he nonetheless remains humble with regards to his chosen material, knowing there is still so much to discover. And this approach is evidently one of the key reasons why Martin Janecký’s glass works are so remarkably distinct.”

Viewing the hot sculpted work of Prague’s Martin Janecký inspires a sensation akin to gazing upon precious and antique art treasures from around the globe. His glass busts in white or black glass remind us that the human form speaks volumes about beauty, history, hope and art in a way that no other object could. Born in the Czech Republic in 1980, Janecký began working with glass at the age of 13 at his father’s factory. His secondary school training at Novy Bor concentrated on the creation of glass art and introduced him to artists and designers from around the world that hired him to execute their ideas. In 2003, the young artist made his first trip to the United States where he studied at the Pilchuck Glass School under Richard Royal and William Morris. Among Janecký’s most recognized strengths was his mastering of blowing and sculpting “inside the bubble,” the technique used in the creation of his startling original works. Before long, Janecký became a highly sought teacher in his field. He has taught, demonstrated and exhibited in Europe, America, Australia, Africa and Asia, to include the Corning Museum of Glass, Pilchuck Glass School, Chrysler Museum of Art, UrbanGlass, the Rietveld Academy in Holland, Bornholm Design School in Denmark, the Australian National University in Canberra, and the Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Japan, among many. Following a 2013 visit to Mexico, Janecký embarked on an exploration of the human skull in a tribute to Dia de Muertos, an outgrowth of his passion for the culture and people of Mexico. He says: “The willingness of the Mexican people to share this occasion with an outsider like me, someone from a totally different environment, was a humbling experience that inspired me to want to create a body of work that honors and celebrates this amazing event. My plan was to recreate iconic examples of this culture in glass, which had never been done on this scale. I did so with humility and a huge respect for Mexico’s history and culture.” Janecký’s homeland,The Czech Republic, is rightfully proud of its own globally recognized tradition of glassmaking. Writes Dr. Petr Nový, Head Curator, Museum of Glass Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic: “Martin Janecký’s expressive realism is somewhat alien to the Czech art scene, meaning it isn’t always met with a clear sense of comprehension. It is as if non-abstract works should primarily be viewed as handicraft instead of art. But in Janecký’s case, superb handicraft serves as a springboard for this unique artist to be able to capture emotions in his glass works. And such power is something we find only very rarely in the contemporary world of studio glass art. … “Janecký has earned a rightful place among the greatest not just Czech, but also global, stars of the glass art scene. His original works are generating great enthusiasm among galleries and collectors, including from global celebrities. His successes are not just the result of talent, creativity, and artistic boldness, but chiefly a considerable amount of hard work. Expertise in the field of glass art requires constant application and searching out new limits – and that is only possible with an all-encompassing day-to-day dedication. Although Janecký’s confidence as an artist has undoubtedly grown, he nonetheless remains humble with regards to his chosen material, knowing there is still so much to discover. And this approach is evidently one of the key reasons why Martin Janecký’s glass works are so remarkably distinct.”

Martin Janecky': 

Alex Bernstein

Alex Bernstein: Time, Creation and Transformation   If we were to examine a cross-section of an ancient iceberg, no doubt the layers and various densities and opacities of color would be beautiful, but they would also signify something greater than ourselves. Such is the case with Alex Gabriel Bernstein’s sculpture. The forms and the techniques he uses to create them, mirror processes in nature such as oxidation, erosion, growth and decay, inspiring in the viewer a profound contemplation of time, creation and transformation.   In his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, Bernstein purchased what was a dark and dingy pool hall called Sharkey’s and worked with a local architect to design a bright and open space for creativity. As the French Broad River flows by, the artist casts glass in layers of transparent color which intermingle with ambient light to evoke images of flowing water, ice crystals, mountain peaks and jagged canyons – all structures that seem solid and unyielding, but are actually in constant flux.   Unwittingly, fortuitously, Bernstein discovered a method of applying metal to glass, and began using it as a jagged, impenetrable crust for his glass castings. Though others have openly copied these techniques - resulting in a new verb, “bernstein-ing” - none will achieve the depth or emotions unique to Bernstein’s sculpture.   As the child of two established glass artists, William and Katherine Bernstein, Alex grew up in a creative environment with access to many of the artists of the American Studio Glass movement. The beautiful surroundings of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina where they lived, played almost as much a part in his inspired upbringing as did the breadth of teachers around him.   After studying psychology at the University of North Carolina in Asheville and working at a children’s psychiatric hospital, Bernstein made the decision to pursue his artistic endeavors full time. He received an MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School for American Crafts and went on to teach at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Penland School of Crafts, and The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass. Twelve years ago, Bernstein was the Department Head of Glass at the Worcester Center for Crafts in Massachusetts, but made the decision to return to his hometown in 2007 to set up a studio and focus on creating his own work full-time. He is currently on the board of the Asheville Art Museum as well as the North Carolina Glass Center.    Bernstein has recently mounted solo shows at George Billis Gallery, New York City; Hooks Epstein Gallery in Houston; Habatat Gallery in Royal Oak, MI; and the William Traver Gallery, Seattle. His work is included in numerous collections, including those of the Corning Museum of Glass, the Glasmuseum Frauenau in Germany, the Mellon Financial Corporation, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Palm Springs Art Museum.   Upcoming Bernstein exhibitions and events include Habatat Prime Chicago, a pop-up gallery located three miles from Navy Pier and open during Sofa Chicago. The 7500-square-foot space offers an incredible collection of the finest in contemporary glass, including Bernstein’s newest work. Winterowd Fine Art, a contemporary art gallery located on historic Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is gearing up for Bernstein’s solo exhibition in 2020. In January 2020, Bernstein’s work will be exhibited at a collectors weekend held at Lahaina Gallery in Maui, Hawaii.

Alex Bernstein: Time, Creation and Transformation If we were to examine a cross-section of an ancient iceberg, no doubt the layers and various densities and opacities of color would be beautiful, but they would also signify something greater than ourselves. Such is the case with Alex Gabriel Bernstein’s sculpture. The forms and the techniques he uses to create them, mirror processes in nature such as oxidation, erosion, growth and decay, inspiring in the viewer a profound contemplation of time, creation and transformation.   In his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, Bernstein purchased what was a dark and dingy pool hall called Sharkey’s and worked with a local architect to design a bright and open space for creativity. As the French Broad River flows by, the artist casts glass in layers of transparent color which intermingle with ambient light to evoke images of flowing water, ice crystals, mountain peaks and jagged canyons – all structures that seem solid and unyielding, but are actually in constant flux. Unwittingly, fortuitously, Bernstein discovered a method of applying metal to glass, and began using it as a jagged, impenetrable crust for his glass castings. Though others have openly copied these techniques - resulting in a new verb, “bernstein-ing” - none will achieve the depth or emotions unique to Bernstein’s sculpture. As the child of two established glass artists, William and Katherine Bernstein, Alex grew up in a creative environment with access to many of the artists of the American Studio Glass movement. The beautiful surroundings of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina where they lived, played almost as much a part in his inspired upbringing as did the breadth of teachers around him. After studying psychology at the University of North Carolina in Asheville and working at a children’s psychiatric hospital, Bernstein made the decision to pursue his artistic endeavors full time. He received an MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School for American Crafts and went on to teach at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Penland School of Crafts, and The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass. Twelve years ago, Bernstein was the Department Head of Glass at the Worcester Center for Crafts in Massachusetts, but made the decision to return to his hometown in 2007 to set up a studio and focus on creating his own work full-time. He is currently on the board of the Asheville Art Museum as well as the North Carolina Glass Center.  Bernstein has recently mounted solo shows at George Billis Gallery, New York City; Hooks Epstein Gallery in Houston; Habatat Gallery in Royal Oak, MI; and the William Traver Gallery, Seattle. His work is included in numerous collections, including those of the Corning Museum of Glass, the Glasmuseum Frauenau in Germany, the Mellon Financial Corporation, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Palm Springs Art Museum. Upcoming Bernstein exhibitions and events include Habatat Prime Chicago, a pop-up gallery located three miles from Navy Pier and open during Sofa Chicago. The 7500-square-foot space offers an incredible collection of the finest in contemporary glass, including Bernstein’s newest work. Winterowd Fine Art, a contemporary art gallery located on historic Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is gearing up for Bernstein’s solo exhibition in 2020. In January 2020, Bernstein’s work will be exhibited at a collectors weekend held at Lahaina Gallery in Maui, Hawaii.

Paul Marioni

It’s not uncommon to read comparisons between Albert Einstein and Paul Marioni, artist and one of the founders of the Studio Glass movement, many based on their shared lifelong fascination with light. Known as an innovator in the glass world, Marioni has been pushing the limits of his medium for five decades, redefining what is possible not only in process but content. He says: “I work with glass for its distinct ability to capture and manipulate light. While my techniques are often inventive, they are only in service of the image.”    A surrealist whose work addresses issues of nature, identity, and emotion, Marioni relies upon dreams as well as political and social convictions to make statements, causing us to forget the unfair advantage that working with glass affords. Using material that is inherently beautiful, the artist inspires people to think rather than telling them what to think. Marioni’s work can be found in collections including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York; and the Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York.   Marioni, who graduated in 1967 from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a Fellow of the American Crafts Council and Glass Art Society Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. He has received three fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts and has taught at schools worldwide including the Penland School of Crafts, Bakersville, North Carolina; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington; the Glass Furnace, Istanbul, Turkey; and more recently at Soneva Art and Glass in the Maldives.   At 77, Marioni remains passionate about the “road show,” a grassroots effort started by artists like himself, Fritz Dreisbach, Dale Chihuly, and Richard Marquis, to spread knowledge and enthusiasm about glass to anyone who showed interest. “I’ve worked in glass all but three years of my life. What was I thinking to get into a field with no history, no books, no teaching? Obviously I wasn’t thinking. But we built the Studio Glass movement on cooperation, not competition, because there was no past. There was nothing for us to get. And we’ve barely scratched the surface of what can be done.”   In addition to gallery work, Marioni has produced over 100 public and private commissions in both cast glass and terrazzo. From his studio in Mexico, the artist currently works on the biggest commission of his career for the $52 million Bellevue, Washington, light rail station. Its train serves business powerhouses of the Pacific Northwest including Microsoft and Boeing. Selected as lead artist for the project through a national competition, Marioni is designing 3000+ square feet of art glass for the platforms as well as the terrazzo floors. 

It’s not uncommon to read comparisons between Albert Einstein and Paul Marioni, artist and one of the founders of the Studio Glass movement, many based on their shared lifelong fascination with light. Known as an innovator in the glass world, Marioni has been pushing the limits of his medium for five decades, redefining what is possible not only in process but content. He says: “I work with glass for its distinct ability to capture and manipulate light. While my techniques are often inventive, they are only in service of the image.”  A surrealist whose work addresses issues of nature, identity, and emotion, Marioni relies upon dreams as well as political and social convictions to make statements, causing us to forget the unfair advantage that working with glass affords. Using material that is inherently beautiful, the artist inspires people to think rather than telling them what to think. Marioni’s work can be found in collections including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York; and the Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York. Marioni, who graduated in 1967 from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a Fellow of the American Crafts Council and Glass Art Society Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. He has received three fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts and has taught at schools worldwide including the Penland School of Crafts, Bakersville, North Carolina; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington; the Glass Furnace, Istanbul, Turkey; and more recently at Soneva Art and Glass in the Maldives. At 77, Marioni remains passionate about the “road show,” a grassroots effort started by artists like himself, Fritz Dreisbach, Dale Chihuly, and Richard Marquis, to spread knowledge and enthusiasm about glass to anyone who showed interest. “I’ve worked in glass all but three years of my life. What was I thinking to get into a field with no history, no books, no teaching? Obviously I wasn’t thinking. But we built the Studio Glass movement on cooperation, not competition, because there was no past. There was nothing for us to get. And we’ve barely scratched the surface of what can be done.” In addition to gallery work, Marioni has produced over 100 public and private commissions in both cast glass and terrazzo. From his studio in Mexico, the artist currently works on the biggest commission of his career for the $52 million Bellevue, Washington, light rail station. Its train serves business powerhouses of the Pacific Northwest including Microsoft and Boeing. Selected as lead artist for the project through a national competition, Marioni is designing 3000+ square feet of art glass for the platforms as well as the terrazzo floors.

Defying familiar branding practices, Snic Barnes prefers exploring uncharted aesthetic and technical territory, creating works that range from electroplated pipes reminiscent of Steampunk machines to his current complex functional sculpture incorporating varied motifs. The combination of his unique style and groundbreaking processes put this pioneer of mixed media pipes on the map beginning in the late 1990s. A Philadelphia-based artist, Snic discovered glassblowing in 1997 at The Crefeld School. Subsequently the 17-year-old spent a year traveling the East Coast, supporting himself by selling glass pipes at concerts and festivals. These experiences cemented a lifelong involvement in psychedelic counterculture. To advance his glass working skills, in 1999 Snic enrolled at The Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tennessee, and later studied at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York.  Snic’s work has been exhibited at the National Liberty Museum, SCOPE Miami, Joseph Gross Gallery, SOFA Art Fair, Habatat Galleries, and Gregorio Escalante Gallery. Media featuring his artwork includes Vice, Juxtapoz, High Times, LA Weekly, Philadelphia Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and the documentary film, Degenerate Art: The Art and Culture of Glass Pipes. The artist was named Central Territory Glass Artist of the year at the 2016 American Glass Expo, won second place in group competition at the 2011 Champs Trade Show, and first place at the 2009 Pipe Classic. He has instructed at Pilchuck Glass School, Philadelphia Glassworks, Ontario’s Edy Roy Gallery, and Lunar Cycle in Tokyo.  This Saturday, February 15, 2020, Piece of Mind in Orange County presents Organized Confusion, an exhibition featuring new solo work by Snic as well as collaborative pieces by artists from California and across the country. The artist will present a live glassblowing demo in the gallery during the opening reception, held February 15, 2020. VIP 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. (ticket purchase required), public from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Defying familiar branding practices, Snic Barnes prefers exploring uncharted aesthetic and technical territory, creating works that range from electroplated pipes reminiscent of Steampunk machines to his current complex functional sculpture incorporating varied motifs. The combination of his unique style and groundbreaking processes put this pioneer of mixed media pipes on the map beginning in the late 1990s. A Philadelphia-based artist, Snic discovered glassblowing in 1997 at The Crefeld School. Subsequently the 17-year-old spent a year traveling the East Coast, supporting himself by selling glass pipes at concerts and festivals. These experiences cemented a lifelong involvement in psychedelic counterculture. To advance his glass working skills, in 1999 Snic enrolled at The Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tennessee, and later studied at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York.  Snic’s work has been exhibited at the National Liberty Museum, SCOPE Miami, Joseph Gross Gallery, SOFA Art Fair, Habatat Galleries, and Gregorio Escalante Gallery. Media featuring his artwork includes Vice, Juxtapoz, High Times, LA Weekly, Philadelphia Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and the documentary film, Degenerate Art: The Art and Culture of Glass Pipes. The artist was named Central Territory Glass Artist of the year at the 2016 American Glass Expo, won second place in group competition at the 2011 Champs Trade Show, and first place at the 2009 Pipe Classic. He has instructed at Pilchuck Glass School, Philadelphia Glassworks, Ontario’s Edy Roy Gallery, and Lunar Cycle in Tokyo.  This Saturday, February 15, 2020, Piece of Mind in Orange County presents Organized Confusion, an exhibition featuring new solo work by Snic as well as collaborative pieces by artists from California and across the country. The artist will present a live glassblowing demo in the gallery during the opening reception, held February 15, 2020. VIP 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. (ticket purchase required), public from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Snic Barnes

Peter Muller

Sally, a humanoid ragdoll created by Dr. Finkelstein in Tim Burton's 1993 stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas, provided the primary inspiration for Peter Muller’s groundbreaking functional glass. The furnace worker turned flameworker modeled his trademark glass “quilting” technique after the patchwork and stitching of Sally’s dress. Instantly embraced by the pipe community, this aesthetic along with the artist’s development and mastery of related techniques, led to the most successful work of his multifarious career.   Muller’s voodoo doll bubblers and button-eyed patchwork puppet pipes push the boundaries of functional glass and are easily recognizable in top-notch glass collections. “Pipes travel all around and get shared with different users. From a collector’s perspective, I can imagine it’s wonderful to have anyone using or viewing a piece know who made it based entirely on the strength of its aesthetic.”   In the hills of beautiful Southern Vermont where he resides with his wife and daughter, Muller takes pipe making to new heights. In 1999, he began exploring glass as an apprentice at a small glass facility based at Lunt Silversmith’s in Western Massachusetts. Working in this high volume production setting for more than a year provided the skills to gain further employment with various studio glass artists in Western Mass and Southern Vermont. The work he created ranged from Italian goblets to large scale blown sculpture. Over a decade at the furnace he learned how molten glass moves and used his technical prowess to design and execute his own unique body of work.    In 2001, Muller established Afternoon Glass Designs with a vision to create glass that captures the whimsical and fanciful essence of the animations, illustrations, and books that inspired his passion for the arts as a child. The artist hoped that through his designs, adults and children alike could effortlessly engage with the arts and be inspired by the limitless possibilities of the imagination.   This vision and aesthetic, while established for his soft glass, continues to serve as Muller’s north star for functional work. In recent years he has participated in various solo and group exhibitions, live demos, and regular drops of work all over the US and Canada. In June 2017, Ruckus Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, presented Seamless, the most comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s full body of work including functionals, collabs, early soft glass vessels, and wall mount displays. There, Muller debuted his newest “Portraits and Dwellings” series. A few of those pieces are now on view at Habatat Gallery in West Palm Beach, Florida, and may tour other areas in the future.   No stranger to awards, Muller received the 2011 and 2012 Niche Award for Furnace and Flame collaborative works with Joe Peters. The American Glass Expo presented Muller with the Atlantic Region Glass Artist of the Year, People’s Choice Award in 2016 and 2017. From June 26 – 28, the artist will teach a class with Zii (Kim Thomas) at Glass Alchemy, Portland, Oregon. Muller's live demos include August 11 at Piece of Mind Smoke Shop in Newport Beach, California, and September with Ryno at Witch Dr., Salem, Massachusetts. In October he will teach at Legacy Glass, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Sally, a humanoid ragdoll created by Dr. Finkelstein in Tim Burton's 1993 stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas, provided the primary inspiration for Peter Muller’s groundbreaking functional glass. The furnace worker turned flameworker modeled his trademark glass “quilting” technique after the patchwork and stitching of Sally’s dress. Instantly embraced by the pipe community, this aesthetic along with the artist’s development and mastery of related techniques, led to the most successful work of his multifarious career. Muller’s voodoo doll bubblers and button-eyed patchwork puppet pipes push the boundaries of functional glass and are easily recognizable in top-notch glass collections. “Pipes travel all around and get shared with different users. From a collector’s perspective, I can imagine it’s wonderful to have anyone using or viewing a piece know who made it based entirely on the strength of its aesthetic.” In the hills of beautiful Southern Vermont where he resides with his wife and daughter, Muller takes pipe making to new heights. In 1999, he began exploring glass as an apprentice at a small glass facility based at Lunt Silversmith’s in Western Massachusetts. Working in this high volume production setting for more than a year provided the skills to gain further employment with various studio glass artists in Western Mass and Southern Vermont. The work he created ranged from Italian goblets to large scale blown sculpture. Over a decade at the furnace he learned how molten glass moves and used his technical prowess to design and execute his own unique body of work.  In 2001, Muller established Afternoon Glass Designs with a vision to create glass that captures the whimsical and fanciful essence of the animations, illustrations, and books that inspired his passion for the arts as a child. The artist hoped that through his designs, adults and children alike could effortlessly engage with the arts and be inspired by the limitless possibilities of the imagination. This vision and aesthetic, while established for his soft glass, continues to serve as Muller’s north star for functional work. In recent years he has participated in various solo and group exhibitions, live demos, and regular drops of work all over the US and Canada. In June 2017, Ruckus Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, presented Seamless, the most comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s full body of work including functionals, collabs, early soft glass vessels, and wall mount displays. There, Muller debuted his newest “Portraits and Dwellings” series. A few of those pieces are now on view at Habatat Gallery in West Palm Beach, Florida, and may tour other areas in the future. No stranger to awards, Muller received the 2011 and 2012 Niche Award for Furnace and Flame collaborative works with Joe Peters. The American Glass Expo presented Muller with the Atlantic Region Glass Artist of the Year, People’s Choice Award in 2016 and 2017. From June 26 – 28, the artist will teach a class with Zii (Kim Thomas) at Glass Alchemy, Portland, Oregon. Muller's live demos include August 11 at Piece of Mind Smoke Shop in Newport Beach, California, and September with Ryno at Witch Dr., Salem, Massachusetts. In October he will teach at Legacy Glass, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

10 Moments … And Other Sculptural Works by Andrew Certo   On September 23, 2019, Andrew Certo won the Bern Gallery’s prestigious Pipe Classic. Twelve artists worked for 12 hours, and Certo emerged victorious with his representation of a marble falling into water represented 10 times chronologically. Visually striking, his piece titled 10 Moments includes a sherlock, rig, spoon, and chillum on a sheet glass base.   Certo says: “For me this piece is about a small event creating something big and how quickly things escalate. Thanks to Pipe Classic for putting together a killer event, to GTT for their generosity, and to all of the other competitors for pushing me to work my ass off to try to bring this idea to life. I’m excited to share this sculpture-rich work and the next ideas.”   A thriving pipe maker based out of Denver, Colorado, Certo’s interest in using glass as a medium began in 2007 at the Pittsburgh Glass Center and continued at Tyler School of Art, where he earned his BFA. The artist credits art school education with his more open and experimental approach.   The result of doing what he loves and trusting the process, Certo’s designs are inspired by motion, beginning in 2014 with his signature Spray Bottle rigs and evolving into his Butane Torch pipes. It took four years for the artist to develop and hone his unique patterning technique used in the creation of seamless bands of hexagonal or rectangular color.   Though pipes are Certo’s mainstay, in 2017 he created a groundbreaking sculpture, a wall piece featuring a bubble of water being shot by a bullet. Working with The Junkyard Co. in California to produce wooden components, the artist endeavors to further explore sculptural work.   Currently in an incubation period of developing new ideas and forms, Certo will exhibit his work and collaborate with Chris Ahalt at Piece of Mind, in Newport Beach, California, on December 14, 2019. The show includes all new work, collabs, and a live demo. VIP 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., public 7 p.m. to midnight. VIP on sale now. Anticipation builds to see what these two prolific artists create in concert as well as their solo work.   In March 2020, Certo Glass exhibits in a group show focused on pattern with 2stroke, Disk and Takao at Stoked Connecticut, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

10 Moments … And Other Sculptural Works by Andrew Certo On September 23, 2019, Andrew Certo won the Bern Gallery’s prestigious Pipe Classic. Twelve artists worked for 12 hours, and Certo emerged victorious with his representation of a marble falling into water represented 10 times chronologically. Visually striking, his piece titled 10 Moments includes a sherlock, rig, spoon, and chillum on a sheet glass base. Certo says: “For me this piece is about a small event creating something big and how quickly things escalate. Thanks to Pipe Classic for putting together a killer event, to GTT for their generosity, and to all of the other competitors for pushing me to work my ass off to try to bring this idea to life. I’m excited to share this sculpture-rich work and the next ideas.” A thriving pipe maker based out of Denver, Colorado, Certo’s interest in using glass as a medium began in 2007 at the Pittsburgh Glass Center and continued at Tyler School of Art, where he earned his BFA. The artist credits art school education with his more open and experimental approach. The result of doing what he loves and trusting the process, Certo’s designs are inspired by motion, beginning in 2014 with his signature Spray Bottle rigs and evolving into his Butane Torch pipes. It took four years for the artist to develop and hone his unique patterning technique used in the creation of seamless bands of hexagonal or rectangular color. Though pipes are Certo’s mainstay, in 2017 he created a groundbreaking sculpture, a wall piece featuring a bubble of water being shot by a bullet. Working with The Junkyard Co. in California to produce wooden components, the artist endeavors to further explore sculptural work. Currently in an incubation period of developing new ideas and forms, Certo will exhibit his work and collaborate with Chris Ahalt at Piece of Mind, in Newport Beach, California, on December 14, 2019. The show includes all new work, collabs, and a live demo. VIP 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., public 7 p.m. to midnight. VIP on sale now. Anticipation builds to see what these two prolific artists create in concert as well as their solo work. In March 2020, Certo Glass exhibits in a group show focused on pattern with 2stroke, Disk and Takao at Stoked Connecticut, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Certo Glass 

Marcel Braun

Marcel Braun and Project 33 West Coast glassblowing legend Marcel Braun and his team, "The Starship," have been working hard to blur the line between furnace worked and flame worked borosilicate glass. Currently, Braun specializes in producing glass coins also referred to as "Art Units," which are used as a trading currency in the functional glass world in an artistic and social experiment he calls Project 33. The artist’s goal is to return the benefits of his work to the pipe community.  Braun states: “There needs to be a catalyst for change in order to move forward, and we must wholeheartedly accept this as our mission and duty. The world has become a place of corporate greed and fabrication. Quality of craftsmanship has diminished steadily over the last 40 years as planned obsolescence has become a main factor in product design. People are accepting the accumulation of money alone as a good enough reason to expend community resources.” To properly broadcast Project 33’s message, Braun and his crew designed a mobile glassblowing unit referred to as  “S.E.C.X.C.” (Sacred Economic Currency X-Change). Once the old International Metro Mite van was transformed into a moving artistic experience, glass gallery, and currency exchange kiosk, the Starship was ready to travel to events around the world. On August 3, a showcase of the live hot glass coin pull was held in Philadelphia to highlight Braun’s millefiori pulls using the SECXC. The newly released documentary, "Project 33 - An Alternative Is Possible," directed by Dan Collins (Editor of Degenerate Art), was also screened.  On August 8, Ruckus Gallery will hold a second event in the art gallery district of Old City, Philadelphia, to release the glass coins to VIP collectors. An educational exhibit that will focus on the processes of The Starship team and the Philadelphia project will be on display at Ruckus from August 8 through September 5.  Approximately 500 people are expected to attend both separate events. There will be a personal Ruckus Gallery episode of this live hot glass demo filmed by Collins, a feature in the Philadelphia Inquirer, as well as tons of hot glass photography and video on Ruckus gallery’s website and social media.  Talking Out Your Glass was able to catch up with Braun during his busy Philadelphia schedule to talk about Project 33 in the context of his successful career in functional glass.

Marcel Braun and Project 33 West Coast glassblowing legend Marcel Braun and his team, "The Starship," have been working hard to blur the line between furnace worked and flame worked borosilicate glass. Currently, Braun specializes in producing glass coins also referred to as "Art Units," which are used as a trading currency in the functional glass world in an artistic and social experiment he calls Project 33. The artist’s goal is to return the benefits of his work to the pipe community.  Braun states: “There needs to be a catalyst for change in order to move forward, and we must wholeheartedly accept this as our mission and duty. The world has become a place of corporate greed and fabrication. Quality of craftsmanship has diminished steadily over the last 40 years as planned obsolescence has become a main factor in product design. People are accepting the accumulation of money alone as a good enough reason to expend community resources.” To properly broadcast Project 33’s message, Braun and his crew designed a mobile glassblowing unit referred to as  “S.E.C.X.C.” (Sacred Economic Currency X-Change). Once the old International Metro Mite van was transformed into a moving artistic experience, glass gallery, and currency exchange kiosk, the Starship was ready to travel to events around the world. On August 3, a showcase of the live hot glass coin pull was held in Philadelphia to highlight Braun’s millefiori pulls using the SECXC. The newly released documentary, "Project 33 - An Alternative Is Possible," directed by Dan Collins (Editor of Degenerate Art), was also screened.  On August 8, Ruckus Gallery will hold a second event in the art gallery district of Old City, Philadelphia, to release the glass coins to VIP collectors. An educational exhibit that will focus on the processes of The Starship team and the Philadelphia project will be on display at Ruckus from August 8 through September 5.  Approximately 500 people are expected to attend both separate events. There will be a personal Ruckus Gallery episode of this live hot glass demo filmed by Collins, a feature in the Philadelphia Inquirer, as well as tons of hot glass photography and video on Ruckus gallery’s website and social media.  Talking Out Your Glass was able to catch up with Braun during his busy Philadelphia schedule to talk about Project 33 in the context of his successful career in functional glass.

Marcel Braun 

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