The Glass House Project

Eleven

2009-08-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

Thank you Everyone for your incredible participation. The last several sessions have been diligent and prolific work sessions. I have felt such a strong sense of community working towards a common goal. It's in the spirit of this gathering that the walls of the glass house make themselves a home. Congratulations to Cora, her piece was highlighted in the last issue of real change. To read the article and view the picture visit realchangenewspaper.org and see issue 31 in archives. Big kudos to Shelby, Roseanne, and Q, all of your hard work is being realized in beautiful forms. A big hearty thank you to Jamie Irene for providing great inspiration, positivity, much needed materials and her own beautiful panel piece.

Week 10

2009-06-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

Huge thank you to Joel Campese. This talented artist packs a hard hitting informational punch. Joel started by giving us a brief personal history and then some background information on venetian and Moreno glass blowing. A fascinating story of alchemical secrecy, familial monopolies, and royal supremacy. The story continues to this day, emerging from the refining fires of war, to current glass houses, manufacturing companies and contemporary artists like Joel Campese and the rest of our amazing presenters. Joel also lead us through some of the basic tools used in hot shop glass blowing and some of the terms involved in the making of glass vessels. What an incredible hands on demo. We are, of course, preparing for our studio visit to Viscosity Glass Studios in the next few weeks. I speak for all if us in saying... We are definitely fired up!!

Joel Campese

Week Nine

2009-06-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

We had a productive work day today. Nancy Currant and Ted Jonnson set up the sand blaster and it worked great! Kate joined us too, and provided her keen eye for design and amazing talent.

It was incredible seeing the focus by all the Members. Cora really amazed me, with her ability to create her design, make appropriate changes through the process, and stay committed to the end. Thank you to Joscelyn Tarbox for her contributions and joining our team of exceptional photographic collaborators. And a special thanks to Andrew and Gary for showing consistancy and positivity!

Additional Photos by Joscelyn Tarbox

Week 8

2009-05-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

We'd like to thank, Elisabeth Emmerson, the Hot Shop artists and the Museum of Glass in Tacoma for providing an insight into the glass making process through live demonstration and informative tour. Our day was highlighted by the works of many local and international artists.

Something Nancy Current had said about glass art really inspired me today. Something to the effect of "objects being beautiful, is simply not enough". The power of conceptual art, art brut, and outsider art to inspire are seemingly independent of stringent and traditional precepts of beauty, as well as effective reminders that communicating to ones intellect and, more humbly, ones spirit, is the ubiquitous
motivation of art.

I, personally, want to remind the members and myself, that this project has it's own intrinsic beauty, unfettered by expectations of skill. I am so proud of our progress, and so honored to be working in collaboration with all of you.

We will be postponing our class in honor of memorial day, next Monday the 25th and will reconvene Monday June 1st.

Drawing Process

2009-05-15T14:52:00.001-07:00

Glass House Project, Drawing from Kevin Kauer on Vimeo.

Week Seven

2009-05-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

Thank you Kate Jessup! Once again, the Recovery Cafe was transformed into a brilliant and reflective studio. We had an incredible array of materials, colors, and ideas. Thank you to Kate Jessup, Dick Weiss, Richard Messmer, Freemont Antique Glass, Cascade Glass, and others for providing, in part, the foundation from which to work from. We were so excited to learn about glass mosaic. We explored concepts of tessera, andamente, and opus. Kate demonstrated glass cutting, using the chipping tool, and how to use the edging machine. Everyone seemed comfortable and unusually proficient with these novel skills. We are beginning to see our plates take shape, in color and dimension. We welcomed new faces and were encouraged by a growing community of work.
Let's do it again next week!

Additional Photos by Mona Peck

Week Six

2009-05-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Great work everyone! Big thank you to Theo Jonsson, for showing us how to properly use a sandblaster to etch our glass plates. It was so exciting to see our images come alive through this process. Also, a special thanks to Q, Kavin, Connor, Jennifer and Shelby for working so hard on your panels, being consistent, attentive, and for sharing your enthusiasm as a team. We have already acquired some essential skills with good proficiency. We will begin to expand our working skills and technique more next week. We will be joined by Kate Jessup who will introduce us to her artwork and begin to explain the process of glass mosaic.

Artists will convene at 11:30 to go over materials, strategy, introduction, class demo, utilizing volunteers, and address any concerns.

Additional photos by Kevin Kauer

Week Five

2009-05-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

We had a super productive day with Nancy Current and Theo Jonsson. These two brilliant artists, reviewed last weeks demonstration on glass etching with dremel, cream acid etching, and printing from glass for some of our new participants. We also began prepping our plates with contact paper and tape for the sandblasting demonstration next week. We had a relaxed day of working and communication. Today reminded all of us that we bring a lot of experience and history to the community table, and regardless of our levels of being, we continue to learn from, grow with, and inspire each other.

Let's do it again next week, join Teo Jonsson, Nancy Currant, and Kate Jessop as they demonstrate sandblasting on glass and glass mosaic tooling and technique.

Artists will convene at 11:30 to go over materials, strategy, introduction, class demo, utilizing volunteers, and adress any concerns.

Additional Photos by Kevin Kauer

Week Four

2009-05-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

Just keeps getting better! We had a really engaging day with Theo Jonsson and Nancy Currant. We began the day by preparing a miniature cold working studio right inside the Recovery Cafe! Our visiting artists guided us carefully through demonstrations on plate etching with a dremmel kit, acid cream etching using a brush application, various resist methods, painting on glass, and finally, monotype printing from our plates. I think we were all overwhelmed with excitement! The hands on learning was both challenging and educational, but accessible for everyone. We look forward to practicing and honing our skills further in the coming weeks.

Additional Photos by Mona Peck

Week 3, Cappy's Studio

2009-05-02T20:52:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at Cappy Thompson Studio. Thank you so much Cappy for inviting us into your home and your incredible world of dreams, mythology, and symbolism. The tour was a beautiful display of imagination and transformation. We learned about grissaille painting through tracery, enamel painting, stippling, and epoxy adhesion methods. Our discussion ventured into how to find personal vision and create success in your art through consistent work and research. Thank you to everyone for bringing your talent, enthusiasm and inquisitive minds.

Let's do it again next Monday! Join us for an engaging demonstration of sandblasting and various etching techniques. Nancy Current and Theo Jonsson will leads us in a hands-on exercise to begin our collaborative panels. Volunteers are encouraged to bring extra goggles, gloves and snacks. Members don't forget your sketchbook! We will be providing glass panels for all the participants.

Plan on gathering at the Recovery Cafe between 12 and 1pm and plan on working for about 2.5 hours every Monday. I look forward to seeing everyone there.

Additional Photos;
Photos by Kevin Kauer
Photos by Mona Peck
Photos by Tiffany Tong

Week 2, at the SAM

2009-05-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

Our first outing to the Seattle Art Museum was amazing. Thanks so much to the wonderful staff and institution!

We walked to the museum in wonderful weather and were greeted by some pretty wonderful pieces of art once we arrived.

The museum was a great opportunity to expand our visual vocabulary. We learned a lot about the history of glassblowing throughout the world, taking particular note of the early Egyptian and Assyrian vessels. Also, we learned about the history of glass industry in the US including early examples from "glasshouses" at the beginning of the 19th century. We saw some great examples of contemporary art works in the museums permanent collection, too. We sketched in our books, talked about design and motif, and laughed all the way home!

Additional Photos by Kevin Kauer

Week 1

2009-05-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

We started off the glass house project with a basic drawing and collaboration exercise. This exercise encouraged everyone to begin seeing themselves as confident mark makers and competent artists. We began with the drawing of 8's. All of the members and participants were encouraged to replicate this symbol; already a part of their visual vocabulary. We sat around our table drawing for various intervals and playing musical chairs, rotating to different areas of our page. We used simple tools; colored paper, glue, and pencils. Our discussion was focused on team building, learning to incorporate various visions of a universal symbol into a common image. We'll look at these ideas again as we begin to build the glass house.

View image larger, Photo by Mona Peck

The Glass House Project

2009-04-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

The Glass House Project is grounded in the strength of the members of the cafe. It is their desire for continued growth and greater successes that ultimately determines a successful outcome. They have shown great courage in their rehabilitation process and participation at the Recovery Cafe. The Glass House Project continues to develop our vibrant spirits by providing cultural enrichment opportunities outside of the Recovery Cafe. These excursions teach participants about glass history and context. They provide direct visualization of the medium of glass, it's working techniques, and gives opportunities to explore the medium with a hands-on approach; assisting in the acquisition of new physical and conceptual skills.The Glass House Project opens the door to artistic collaborators within the community. Allowing cafe members to find inspiration and create a social and artistic network. Concurrently, visiting artists secure broader teaching and presentation skills by addressing the specific needs of the members; through acclimation and edification of an under-privileged audience. The Glass House Project provides flexibility in curriculum choice and dialogue that responds to the needs of its members but adheres to a curriculum of glass education. This mutuality assists in strengthening the artistic community through the development of the artists and the participants. The Glass House project will culminate in a public exhibition on July 17th and 18th at Noodleworks Studios in Seattle's International District.

Through showcasing work alongside established artists, the Glass House Project provides a forum that allows Members to participate equally within the greater context of their community. The culmination of these experiences will provide Members with new skills and new information and also provide an opportunity for the Members to see themselves as part of their own cultural enrichment.

Additional photos by Kevin Kauer