issue-2025-09

  • 2025: September Issue

    PNWGlassGuild.org

    Milo Snyder

    Upcoming events: pnwglassguild.org/events/
    (Bolded events are Guild sponsored)

    September
    5 ACE Glass Exhibit, LaGrande OR
    8 Guild Board meeting on Zoom
    13-14 Open Studios, 3-county Portland area
    21 Vendor Fair, Wilsonville OR (south of Portland)
    28 General Meeting: Sherlocking, via Zoom

    October
    3-5 LOCAL 14 Art Show, Portland OR
    5 Glass Artists’ Brunch, Seattle WA
    10-12 Hood River Harvest Festival, Hood River OR
    16-19 Refract, Everett-Seattle-Tacoma WA area
    16 Overview of Kiln-formed Glass, Seattle WA
    18-19 Glass And Decor Studio Tour, Seattle WA
    18-19 Washington County Open Studios Tour Portland/Vancouver area
    26 General Meeting: Election, Torchwork, via Zoom

    Members can log in and submit their events by clicking About>Contact Us, and filling out the Submit Calendar Event form

    Contents

    • Featured Artists: Mari Aoki Knight, Milo Snyder
    • President’s Message
    • Board of Directors
    • Welcome to our Newest Members
    • Take a Studio Tour
    • Come to The Vendor Fair
    • General Meetings
    • Guild News: Join the Board
    • Recent Event Photos
    • Coming Events
    • Featured Sponsor: Glass Bird Studio
    • Thanks to All Our Sponsors

    Read the whole issue on the website:
    https://www.pnwglassguild.org/article-cat/issue-2025-09/

    (If you’ve just clicked the link and are seeing this page again, scroll down)

  • Featured Artist: Mari Aoki Knight, Salem, OR

    I am a glass jewelry artist. I have lived in Salem, OR for the last 10 years. I first encountered glass art, specifically in jewelry form, over 20 years ago in Tallahassee, FL where I was living at the time.

    At that time, I was an aspiring jeweler using metalsmith techniques. But I was frustrated with it because I always wanted to play with colors. With metalsmithing, it was quite limited. Then, I encountered glass jewelry in fused glass form. I was mesmerized with the magical colors that glass creates with the light coming through. I fell in love with it! I took a class at an Art Center offered at Florida State University to learn a basic technique. The rest is history!

    Ever since I started working with glass, I have continued to create jewelry with it. I use fused glass technique incorporating metal, primarily silver. My signature work is 3D blossoms.

    I have always adored flowers ever since I was a little child and wanted to create my own flowers with the magical colors available in glass. The challenge was how to make it three dimensional. With fused glass techniques, glass pieces naturally fused together into 2D form. After trial and error(many!), I developed my own technique to make 3D blossoms.

    Glass is such a unique medium and I just love working with it. There is no other medium that is created with earth’s gift, minerals, which allows you to create your own art form. And then, when your creation dances with light, another gift from nature, what it offers is miraculous! Glass never ceases to amaze me. The more I work with glass, the more I am amazed at how many facets glass possesses.

    Lately I have started to incorporate the “reactive” characteristic of glass into my work. I am particularly interested in the reaction between silver foil and various colors of glass. I also started using glass which has unique colors that I create on my own by painting it.

    Currently, I am not teaching. But, I would like to share my knowledge if opportunity arises.

    More of Mari’s work can be seen at https://www.mari-wearableglassart.com/

  • Featured Artist: Milo Snyder, Seattle WA

    My admiration for light began deep within a dark canyon in Utah. There, a single beam of sunlight traversed to the bottom, where it reflected off a pool of water and danced on the carved walls. This profound moment revealed light’s power to bring the present moment into focus, a sensation my work seeks to recreate in contemporary spaces.

    I come from a family of glassmakers: my parents first met in a glass hot shop. Growing up immersed in this craft instilled in me a deep fascination with the material and the rich traditions of glassmaking. My path to glass artistry was not a straight one. With a degree in Chemical Engineering, I explored the beauty of the physical world through the lens of science, delving into the interplay of form and function. This foundation led to a professional career in data modeling and visualization, where I developed the ability to identify and communicate elegant solutions to complex problems. These experiences now inform my approach to sculpture, blending analytical precision with creative intuition.

    In my backyard studio in Seattle, WA, I combine time-honored glassmaking techniques with modern digital modeling and computational design. My work bridges tradition and innovation, transforming ancient Egyptian methods of glass casting to explore new geometric possibilities. Since dedicating myself fully to my glass sculpture practice in 2021, I have created hundreds of sculptures, transformed dozens of residential spaces, exhibited in several galleries, and welcomed art enthusiasts into my studio during tours. My online gallery is at MiloSnyder.com

    Design & Discovery

    I combine mathematical beauty with ancient craft to create lighting sculptures that elicit awe. Every project starts as meditations on natural phenomena and geometry. Through computer algorithms and simulations, designs are discovered that evoke and inspire.

    A shape is designed on computer and 3D printed

    Designs are materialized in a castable material using carefully tuned, customized 3D printers. Each model is then hand-finished with traditional techniques. Following centuries-old methods, forms are invested in plaster molds and filled with molten glass, capturing every intricate detail of the design. This critical stage merges digital precision with the organic nature of molten glass.

    After dipping the shape in wax it is detailed by hand

    The shape is invested in plaster, melted out, and then used to cast glass

    The finishing process requires meticulous patience and attention to detail. Through grinding, polishing, and sandblasting, each piece is further sculpted to enhance its interaction with light. Custom brass hardware completes each fixture.

    I believe glass sculptural lighting has an unparalleled ability to captivate, and I invite you to experience the world through this lens. Please stop by to see it in person during the Glass And Decor studio tour October 18-19 in north Seattle.

    (There’s great video of Milo’s process at https://www.milosnyder.com/about2, scroll down to Process Journey)

  • President’s Message

    September 2025

    Hi everyone,

    I hope you have had a wonderful summer wherever you are located. September heralds the beginning of fall and as the weather begins to change, we have lined up several things to stay busy learning about glass and doing projects in glass.

    Starting right away in September, we have the Portland/Vancouver area Open Studios event on the weekend of September 13th and 14th. There will be several guild artists around the area who will have their studios open to the public and will be putting on presentations and making projects in their studios to introduce glass to anyone interested. The studios will be open from 10am to 5 pm both Saturday and Sunday, so please see the flyer on the website as to who is participating and please join your fellow members at their studios. On September 21st, we will have a Portland/Vancouver area Vendor Fair event for all members with demonstrations and displays from vendors who support the guild in all our efforts – check out the information on the website and the newsletter.

    President Lesley Kelly

    There will be two major events in Seattle in early October with a glass artist brunch on October 5th at Karen Seymour’s house and Refract Seattle on October 16-19th. And with all this going on, please do not forget the General Meetings that will have presentations and learning opportunities on September 28th and October 26th

    The October 28th General Meeting is a very important meeting for all guild members in that it is our annual meeting of all our members and election of Guild Officers. We will be holding elections for several of our Board positions, so it is important for all members to attend if possible. It starts at 3:30 pm on the 28th and we try and have the elections right away so we can move on to hearing about the topic for the month, which is Torchwork: Not Just Beads. I hope to see you at the meeting

    Thanks,
    Lesley

  • 2025 Board of Directors

    We are looking for members to shadow board members and/or join the various teams in the upcoming year. This will aid in a smoother transition as new board members step up in the future. It also gives you a chance to see behind the scenes and what it takes to keep the Guild engaging and relevant in your glass journey. Reach out to president Lesley Kelly to volunteer or if you have any questions.

  • Welcome to our Newest Members

    Please take time to reach out and connect…even if you don’t live in the same area. The wonders of technology bring us all just a few clicks away. Members can find contact info for these folks and other members if you log in to pnwglassguild.org and go to “For Members” (which only appears when logged in) and choose Member Contacts List.

    Susan Banas, Depoe Bay OR
    Mark Brody, Portland OR
    Dee Bunge, Bellingham WA
    Leslie Crist, Gladstone OR

    Linda Ethier, Portland OR
    Rhonda Herbert, Everson WA
    Dorothy Wayne, University Place WA
    Diana Wendt, Kent WA

  • Take a Studio Tour

    It’s always fun and informative to talk with other glass artists in a studio setting. I value the many pieces of work I’ve purchased that illustrate techniques or kiln magic that I didn’t make myself.

    Portland on September 13-14: Open Studios Glass Art Studio Tour

    2024 Open Studios photos

    10 am to 5 pm September 13-14 in the Portland Area. The Guild’s long-running Open Studios Glass Art Tour is always popular. Talk glass with 11 experienced PNW Glass Guild artists in 5 studios.
    Download the PDF Poster

    Most sites will have drawings you can enter to win a piece of art.

    • A) Wilsonville: 6890 Molalla Bend Road
    (1) Carlyne Lynch’s studio with guests (2) Daryle Ryder and (3) Greta Schneider Carlyne Lynch will be giving away vitrigraph stringer to members. Bring a bag.

    • B) Beaverton: 8400 SW Maverick Terrace
    (4) Linda Gerrard’s studio with guest (5) Diane Muhly

    • C) Beaverton: 16541 N.W. Avondale Drive
    (6) Suzanne Tyler’s Studio

    • D) Portland: 821 NE 63rd Ave.
    (7) Richard Glenn’s studio

    • E) Portland: 6644 NE 22nd Ave.
    (8) Lyn Kennison’s studio with guests (9) Linda Roman, (10) Kate Nicklos, and (11) Lesley Kelly

    Seattle on October 18-19: Glass And Decor Studio Tour and Sale

    10 am to 5 pm Oct. 18-19 in north Seattle. The Guild is sponsoring the Glass And Decor studio tour. There are 6 studios hosting many Seattle members of the PNW Glass Guild as well as artists in other media, 20 artists in all. Most of the artists have demos of some sort. This event is part of Refract, the 4-day Everett-Seattle-Tacoma WA area glass celebration.

    PNW Glass Guild members participating:
    David Smith: blown glass (site #1)
    Janiene Fitzpatrick: fused glass (#3)
    Angie Heinrich: mosaics (#4)
    Karen Seymour: applique and fused glass (#5)
    Lael Bennett: fused glass (#5)
    Milo Snyder: cast glass (#6)
    Bridget Culligan: fused glass (#6)

    Find the printable map and other info at GlassAndDecor.com

    2024 Glass And Decor photos

  • Come to The Vendor Fair September 21st!

    Mark your calendars to come to Wilsonville, Oregon (20 miles south of Portland) for the PNW Glass Guild’s 2025 Vendor Fair on Sunday, September 21, from 2 pm to 6 pm! If you have not attended a Vendor Fair before, you are in for a treat. It is our Guild’s biggest fundraiser of the year and an opportunity for you to meet and talk with our supportive vendors as well as with fellow glass enthusiasts. Eight vendors are currently planning to attend, some coming from as far away as Seattle.

    Our sponsors and vendors have donated awesome prizes for the drawings. Anyone interested in glass is welcome to attend but only current Guild members can buy tickets to enter the drawings. Place your ticket(s) in the box for the prize you want and, if your ticket is drawn, you’re a Winner!

    Plus it’s a potluck: We will provide the main dish, and you will bring side dishes and desserts.

    It will be held at the Charbonneau Country Club
    3200 SW Charbonneau Drive, Wilsonville, OR 97070
    Parking is free but please park in the lower lot.

    For questions, contact Carlyne Lynch.

    Gerald McBride demonstrates his Diamonds Grind Glass water at the tip hand-held rotary grinder during the 2024 Vendor Fair in Seattle.

    Drawing and potluck feast at the 2023 Vendor Fair in Portland

  • General Meetings

    September 28, Sharing and Sherlocking: give or get solutions to mysteries discovered in making your glass art.

    October 26 Torchworking: Not Just Beads: a short election (i.e.”the Annual Meeting”) and then a couple of talented torch workers will lead a discussion

    November 16, Float Glass

    Videos of recent General meetings are on the website under Glass>education for any logged in member to see. They are arranged alphabetically and we try to start the title with the main topic.

    Please contact VP Barb Kienle if you have an idea for a future meeting.

  • Guild News:

    Board members will be elected at the October General Meeting. The meeting is held via Zoom so all can attend. Voting usually takes about 5 minutes and then there will be a discussion of the ins and outs of torchwork: see previous articles.

    Board positions open at this time are:

    • President: Sets the agenda and leads the board meetings (Barb Kienle is running)

    • Co-Vice President: each person would organize and run 4 of the 8 General Meetings:
    Log-in and go to Glass>Education to see the wide range of topics and view recordings of past General Meetings
    (Linda Schnell is running only if there is another volunteer who can do the other 4 meetings). Contact the current VP, Barb Kienle, to find out more.

    • Website Team Lead: keeps the website in order and makes sure that the automatic updates are running smoothly. Triages emails: Invokes the maintenance company to handle real problems and provides guidance to new website users. Must have and use a computer — the required level of WordPress is minimal and easy to learn from the rest of the team. The maintenance company does a great job with the technical stuff but you do have to be able to describe the problem you want them to solve. The Team Lead coordinates with the communications, event, membership, and newsletter volunteers on the team. Contact the web-help team to find out more.

    • Newsletter Team Lead: Helps set the editorial calendar of the newsletter to publicize guild events, promote guild membership and glass in general and then works with the newsletter team to assemble the newsletter every two months. (Karen Seymour is running)

    Please contact president Lesley Kelly to volunteer for one of these positions

  • Recent Event Photos

    Guild Sponsored Class:
    Mold Making with Hydroperm by Greta Schneider and Carlyne Lynch

    (Thank you Carlyne and Greta for the report and photos)

    We supplied two premade molds for the students to practice cleaning and carving. Greta gave a great demo on the process. The idea was to learn to clean the inside edges and remove potential undercuts and to carve more details. Tools were provided, and many students brought their own tools.

    The students cleaned, and the instructors reviewed and helped remove undercuts, and then it was on to make their own molds. Some brought items, and some used supplies provided and cut their own patterns with vinyl.

    Guild Picnic in Seattle WA

    We had 16 people in Karen Seymour’s backyard. Lots of great food and ideas were shared.

    Almost everyone brought things for show and tell. Here Debbie Marchione explains her piece.

    Guild Picnic in Independence OR (Mid-Willamette Valley, near Salem)

    About 20 people showed up for the picnic. Our hosts and new Sponsors were Heath and Twyla Lawson at their business Maganda Glassworks LLC. They have a great shop area in a large warehouse type building with lots of stations for working on stained glass, fused glass, lamp work and more. They also have a gallery as you come in the front door, a very nice display for both their own work and that of their students.

    Twyla said “We were so honored to be able to share our space with guild members and non-members. We thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and wealth of knowledge present today. We have always envisioned our shop as a place of community and today it certainly was.”

    We thank the Lawsons for their hospitality. It was a very fun afternoon visiting with new and old friends in such a welcoming place. (Thank you Daryle Ryder for the report and photos)

    Guild Picnic in Fairview OR (near Portland)

    Host Margie Reiff describes a piece to the group.

    (Thank you Barb Kienle for the photos)

    Please send us photos of your glass events:

    Having a photo makes it so much easier to invite people to participate in an event next year. If you are part of or go to a glass event and see one of our members, please take some photos and send the best 2 to the Newsletter team (600 px wide or “medium” resolution, about 500 KB, not more than 1MB if you can help it).

  • Coming Glass Events

    General meetings in 2025

    are via Zoom, usually on the 4th Sunday of most months, at 3:30 pm (no meetings in April, July, August, or December).
    Contact our VP if you have suggestions for future topics. You don’t need to be a member to attend our General Meetings but we would love to have you join. Videos of many meetings are available to logged in members by choosing Glass>Education from the menu.

    Logged in members can submit their events under About> Contact Us, Submit Calendar Event tab

    Fall 2025:

    (Guild sponsored events are in bold)

    September
    5-Oct 25 ACE Glass Exhibit, LaGrande OR
    8 Guild Board meeting on Zoom
    13-14 Open Studios, 3-county Portland area
    21 Vendor Fair, Wilsonville OR (south of Portland)
    28 General Meeting: Sherlocking, via Zoom

    October
    3-5 LOCAL 14 Art Show, Portland OR
    5 Glass Artists’ Brunch, Seattle WA
    10-12 Hood River Harvest Festival, Hood River WA
    16-19 Refract, Everett-Seattle-Tacoma WA area
    16 Overview of Kiln-formed Glass, Seattle WA
    18-19 Glass And Decor Studio Tour, Seattle WA
    18-19 Washington County Open Studios Tour Portland area
    26 General Meeting: Election, Torchwork, via Zoom

    November
    7-9 Best of the NW Art Show, Seattle WA
    16 General Meeting: Float Glass via Zoom

    Our glass events don’t happen spontaneously: it takes organizing and prep. Give a little time and energy, get a lot more fun, glass info and sense of community. Just a few hours a month helping one of the teams with the many ongoing, easily-learned tasks will be greatly appreciated.
    For more info contact: Newsletter/publicity team, Website team, Sponsorship team

    October 5th Karen Seymour will host a Glass Artists’ potluck brunch in Seattle

    Also on October 5th Greta Schneider and Mitzi Kugler will be finishing their 3 day show (Oct. 3-5) for LOCAL 14 in Portland.

  • Featured Sponsor: Glass Bird Studios

    Have you tried Modeling Glass by Glass Bird Studios?

    Ten years ago, artist Lois Manno took a workshop at Bullseye Glass to learn how to make images with powdered glass. She loved the method but didn’t like all that wasted powder, and decided to try and figure out how to turn the powder into something she could sculpt with more control and less waste: Modeling Glass is the result.

    Lois with a 36” long feather that was a commission. Before firing the feather was 42” long (to allow for 15% shrinkage).

    The Modeling Glass Starter Kit is a unique two-part kit consisting of a Powdered Binder and Liquid Medium that artists combine with water and their own powdered glass or fine frit. The resulting material has the consistency of clay and is smooth and easy to work with. It won’t stick to your hands or tools. The binder and liquid medium are nontoxic and burn off safely during firing. They do not affect the compatibility of the glass. The Starter Kit contains an instruction sheet plus 3.5 oz. of Powdered Binder and 2 oz. of Liquid Medium. Each kit makes over 3 pounds of Modeling Glass. Refill sizes are available, which are double the amount in a Starter Kit.

    “Some Small Residue of Beauty” sculpture made from Modeling Glass. All sticks, leaves, and stones are glass. The “snow” is fine frit.

    The mask above, “Garden Magic”, was made using the precut mask blank, various silicone molds, and the mask draping form all available in the online shop.

    You can work with Modeling Glass in many of the same ways you would work with clay: roll into coils, roll into a flat sheet and cut out shapes, or press into silicone molds. It holds its shape without freezing. When fired to tack fuse temperatures it will hold an amazing amount of textural detail. It can be thinned with water and used to create beautiful palette-knife textures. Combine colors to make your own blends. Before firing, dry Modeling Glass shapes can be sanded, carved, and otherwise modified, virtually eliminating extensive cold working after firing. You can paint on Modeling Glass with enamels for beautiful effects. It can be used with either COE 90 or 96 glass, and at full-fuse temperatures, colors remain true.

    Lois’ book Exploring Modeling Glass The Basics and More will help you get started. The book contains 81 pages of clear, step-by-step instructions and 160 photos. Featuring seven complete projects, you will learn the basic techniques for mixing, sculpting, and combining Modeling Glass with enamels. The book includes project templates and all firing schedules (designed to work with both Bullseye and non-Bullseye glass) in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. This eBook is suitable for all levels of experience

    Check out these and other products at https://www.modelingglass.com/

    CHIRPY (The Glass Bird): This 22-year-old cantankerous geriatric cockatiel has been with Lois’ family since he was about 3 months old. As the inspiration for Glass Bird Studios, Chirpy is in the middle of almost everything that goes on in the studio. He samples the flavor of packaging, inspects cardboard boxes, tries to walk across frit powders, gets underfoot, sings during video shoots, and generally insinuates himself wherever he is least wanted.

    Lois has generously donated several Modeling Glass starter kits to the Vendor Fair drawings. Be sure to attend the Vendor Fair September 21st, 2 pm to 6 pm in Wilsonville, Oregon (about 20 miles south of Portland). Maybe you’ll win some Modeling Glass!

    Only current PNW Glass Guild members can enter the drawings so log in and check your membership renewal date now.

  • Thanks to our Sponsors!

    These companies and organizations are an integral part of the glass art community. We thank our Sponsors for supporting our Guild through either generous donations or by offering discounts to our Members. Please take time to thank them for their generosity when you visit their businesses.

    Gold Level Sponsors




    Silver Level Sponsors

    Artifex Toolworks – Glass Alchemy – HIS Glass Works