July/August 2015 **Print**

Features

Letter from the Editor
Illuminating Glass Internationally
by Shawn Waggoner
Glass Art editor Shawn Waggoner introduces readers to the international artists who are featured in the summer issue. Amsterdam-based Durk Valkema, American Amy West at her studio in Murano, and Canadian twins, Melanie Rowe and Leslie Rowe-Israelson are just a few of the great artist profiles in this exciting issue.

International Glass
Amy West
Mastering the Language of Glass
by Shawn Waggoner
Photos by Norbert Heyl and Amy West
Amy West has studied, worked, and lived on four continents. After many years as an international communications professional, she left behind a successful corporate life to pursue her passion for the art and beauty of Venetian glass. With humor and patience, she meets the challenges of establishing her studio on Murano.

Working Greener
Durk Valkema
Increasing Artistic Freedom through Efficient Technology
by Shawn Waggoner
Photo by Wyke Valkema
Durk Valkema specializes in designing and building cost-effective, fuel-efficient furnaces, annealing kilns, and related equipment, drawing from his broad technical and practical knowledge plus a personal glassworking aesthetic. In addition to his own gallery artwork, he also designs and produces glasswork for a number of public clients.

Historical Perspectives
An International Collaborative Project
Digitizing the Sybren Valkema Archives
by The Staff of The Corning Museum of Glass
The RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Vrij Glas Foundation, and the Rakow Research Library at The Corning Museum of Glass are collaborating to digitize the archives of glass artist, designer, and teacher, Sybren Valkema. These archives of the founder of European studio glass provide an invaluable resource for artists worldwide.

Glass Talk
The Toledo Museum of Glass
by Colleen Bryan
The Toledo Museum of Glass has had a glass studio longer than any organization in the United States and provided the place, in 1962, for Harvey Littleton to build a small furnace at the museum. With that, he demonstrated how an independent artist could work directly with glass.

Educational Glass
North Lands Creative Glass
by Colleen Bryan
Photos by Angus Mackay and David Moss
North Lands Creative Center has incrementally developed its facility in recent years to better serve the needs of visiting artists and students. Located in the wild, dramatic Highlands region of extreme northeast Scotland, the center recently extended both studio and residential accommodations for visiting artists, makers, and community groups.

Hot Glass Studio Profile
Light and Rapture
Brice Turnbull and Carl Bork Combine Hot Glass with Abstract Painting
by Shawn Waggoner
Photos by Carl Bork and Brice Turnbull
A reciprocal artistic vision between hot glass artist Brice Turnbull and abstract painter Carl Bork inspired and informed the creation of Light and Rapture. The incorporation of Turnbull’s illuminated roundels in Bork’s acrylic paintings redefined the qualities of three-dimensionality, color, and light, providing viewers with artistic elements never seen before.

Skills and Techniques
Making Glass Molds Using the Sand Casting Method
Design, Demonstration, and Text by Ellen Rubin
Ellen Rubin demonstrates how glass molds can be made by creating shapes in wet sand. The sand shapes are then filled with a plaster/silica mixture and allowed to dry completely. The molds can be used to tack-fuse or slump glass into desired, original shapes for incorporation into various projects.

Etched Glass Studio Profile
Robair Bern Devine’s Carved Glass
A Vehicle for Artistic Expression
by Shawn Waggoner
A multifaceted, multimedia artist, Robair Bern Devine found his initial creative voice in metalworking and painting hot rods and motorcycles. He recently turned his focus to sandblasting and carving stunning art glass sculptures illuminated with a vibrant, color-changing light system and can produce any image he envisions in carved glass.

Marketing
Getting Your Foot in Boutique and Gallery Doors
by Mark Veit
Artists are interested in learning how to approach galleries and boutiques to carry their glass art. Making sure to visit during the least busy time of the day, being totally prepared for a first meeting with descriptions and photos, and developing lasting business relationships will all help in the process.

Warm Glass Studio Profile
Twin Vision Glass
Melanie Rowe and Leslie Rowe-Israelson
by Shawn Waggoner
Photos by Kimberly Rae Sanderson, Bill Pitcher, and Susan Ewart
The Canadian Rockies imbue the sculptural work of twin sisters Melanie Rowe and Leslie Rowe-Israelson with beauty and grandeur. They have unearthed limitless possibilities of technique and material and love the challenge of creating large fused panels that relate to one another, bringing the viewer’s eye to an intricate bead focal point.

SGAA News
The Purpose in the Meeting
by Bryant J. Stanton, SGAA Editorial Committee Member
Members of the Stained Glass Association of America value the organization’s annual Stained Glass Conference, which provides an opportunity to reconnect with old friends, make new ones, and learn from other stained glass artists. These meetings continue, because even with technological advancements, there is still value in meeting face to face.

Art Glass Studio Profile
Richard Prigg
Drawing Many Lines
by Colleen Bryan
About the time Richard Prigg left a career as an artisan and general manager for Willett Hauser to open his own glass studio, he bought an iPad and a simple iDraw program and became obsessed with lead lines. He still, however, considers color both an essential and a subtle element of composition.

AGG News
American Glass Now: 2015
by Patrice Schelkun
The American Glass Guild (AGG) has completed its fourth annual juried show, American Glass Now: 2015, which showcased the recent work of seventeen glass artist members. A large body of exceptional talent was well represented and included works by Kathy Barnard, Joseph Cavalieri, Mary Clerkin Higgins, J. Kenneth Leap, and many others.

Readers’ Forum
Readers share their thoughts on profiles and articles featured in recent issues of Glass Art.

What’s New
by Darlene Welch
What’s New offers information on the latest in books and patterns plus new glass and tools for hot, warm, and cold glass artists and hobbyists. This is the perfect place to keep up with the innovations that will make working in glass easier and more enjoyable.

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