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2024: March Issue

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PNWglassguild.org

Kate Nicklos


Upcoming events: pnwglassguild.org/events/

(Bolded events are Guild sponsored)

March
11 Board meeting via Zoom
20 Sherlocking, Fairview OR (E Portland) & Zoom
24 Vitrigraph Demo, Portland OR
24 General meeting Postponed till May
30 Flameworking demo Portland OR

April
8 Board Meeting via Zoom
13-14 Best of the Northwest art show, Seattle WA
15 Cityfair registration deadline, Portland OR
19-21 Gathering of the Guilds Portland OR
24 Sherlocking, Fairview OR (E Portland) & Zoom
27-28 Art In Bloom garden art studio tour, Seattle

May
5 General Meeting via Zoom
13 Board Meeting via Zoom
11 PNWGG Vendor Fair, Redmond WA (near Seattle)
15 Sherlocking, Fairview OR (E Portland) & Zoom
24-27 PNWGG Booth at Portland Rose Festival Cityfair (and the following 2 weekends)

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


Contents

  • Featured Artists: Kate Nicklos, Linda Roman
  • President’s Message
  • Board of Directors
  • Welcome to our Newest Member
  • Gathering Of The Guilds
  • What Is a Vendor Fair?
  • Portland Rose Festival CityFair booth
  • Hilltop Artists program
  • Kiln Carving
  • General Meetings
  • PNW Glass Events, past & future
  • Featured Sponsor: Joanie Schwartz Glass
  • Thanks to All Our Sponsors

Read the whole issue on the website:
https://www.pnwglassguild.org/article-cat/issue-2024-03/

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

Featured Artist: Kate Nicklos, Washougal WA

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I have been attending  one or two glass fusing classes per year for 20 years!  This does not make for an experienced craftsman!  I have to relearn everything each year.  But my passion for anything glass began immediately, when I toured the art glass manufacturers here in the PNW 20 years ago.  What a privilege to be exposed to so much diversity and talent in the art glass field.

I joined the PNW Glass Guild a few years ago at the behest of Sheri Spurlock, the owner of  Melt Glass.  She informed me of the discounts available to Guild members.  Soon after, I attended Guild meetings and special events and found this open, glass-enthusiastic community.  It has been a wonderful experience from the get-go; from becoming aware of all the fusing techniques to the camaraderie of other enthusiasts.  This past year I attended classes offered by Ann Cavanaugh and Kory Dollar – learning two completely different glass techniques.

Now I am in a position to focus, which I’ve yet to do!  My goal is to solidly understand the techniques of glass fusing and glass-on-glass mosaic work. In appreciation to the Guild for what it has offered me, I’m serving this year as Membership Chair.  As with any organization, there are too few people and too little time to cover all the duties to make it run smoothly.  It’s my privilege to be here!  Hope to meet you all along the way! 

Featured Artist: Linda Roman, Washougal WA

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I grew up in a flourishing craft city in upstate NY. Taking advantage of the rich culture, I took many classes from Genesee Arts Co-Op and RIT to become a potter. I enjoyed this craft for more than 15 years.  When I moved to the West Coast, I became interested in glass, and I took a Mosaic class with a friend at Marvelous Mosaics Fine Arts.  After that I was hooked! I love glass with all the different colors and textures.  The class was great, and our teacher Kory Dollar was so knowledgeable and patient. Since then, I have gone on to take several other classes from Kory to extend my knowledge in color, composition and glass cutting. To broaden my glass experience I have taken classes at Bullseye and Melt. Both are excellent resources to learn different techniques. 

Through friends I joined the PNW Glass Guild and was cajoled into becoming the Guild’s treasurer. I’m now in my second two-year term. And despite the hard work, it’s been a great way to meet other artists in the Guild. 

I have shown my work at the 2023 PNWGG Gathering of the Guilds (GOTG), Shirley Bishop’s Open Studio tour last September, and the Portland Artisan Holiday Market. I will be at this year’s 2024 PNWGG GOTG at a group booth and also as a cashier on April 19-21st in Portland. I hope to see you there! 

President’s Message

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March 2024

I realize that with the current weather we are experiencing here in the Northwest, it may not seem like Spring is just around the corner, but it is definitely on the way and we have a lot of great events lined up.
Starting in April, we have the Gathering of the Guilds on April 19-21, 2024 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, the Vendor Fair in Redmond WA (near Seattle) on May 11th, 2024, and in the Makers Mart during the Portland Rose Festival 5/24-27, 5/31-6/2, and 6/7-9th. In addition, there are the Monthly General Meetings on the 4th Sunday at 3:30 to discuss various topics and the “Sherlocking” (troubleshooting) meeting at Margie Rieff’s house the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm. These are Zoomed so you can share your pieces and experience if you can’t physically attend. There will be also be picnics in several areas this summer (see article below for picnic dates and places)

Please also consider volunteering in the planning and production of any of the events as well. Volunteering can be as easy as coming to Gathering of the Guilds and booth sitting for an hour and meeting up with old friends and making new ones during the show, or helping with one of the committees who work to make the guild successful, or taking a position on the board, or anything else you can think of. Any assistance you can provide to the guild would be greatly appreciated. Please see the website for a link to volunteer for helping with the Gathering of the Guilds and share the excitement as we show off much of the amazing glass art created by your fellow members

Thanks, Lesley


2024 Board of Directors

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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 Member

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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.

Melissa Zielinski, Mill Creek, WA


Gathering Of The Guilds April 19-21 in Portland OR

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Mark your calendar to attend the Gathering of the Guilds April 19-21 in Portland’s Oregon Convention Center, Hall D: You can buy unique glass art from Guild members and talk with them about their process of creating it. You can also learn new techniques in one of the many demonstrations. We’re looking for a few more demo presenters: If you would like to present a demonstration of how you make a particular piece of glass art, please contact Carlyne Lynch.

Other volunteers are essential to helping put on the show. Come and rub elbows with Guild members doing things like gallery setup, breakdown, door counts, and many more, and sharing glass talk in the downtime. Please fill out the volunteer form. We’re counting on those who volunteered last year to do so again and talk their glass friends into volunteering too. It’s a great way to talk with glass artists and other art appreciators in person and be inspired by lots of great art.

Volunteers in 2023

What is a Vendor Fair?

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There will be a Vendor Fair in Redmond WA (near Seattle) May 11th and one in the Portland area October 12th. The purpose is to raise money for the Guild, give sponsors a way to interact with our members, give members a good deal on the donated items and have a fun time.

The May 11th Vendor Fair will be held at sponsor NW Art Glass in their newly remodeled ground floor classroom. Donated items from sponsors and anyone else will be part of a silent auction. Anyone interested in glass is welcome to attend.

Sponsor donations 2023

You are encouraged to bring finger food to share (Portland 2023)

Sponsors will be able to set up small displays on a space available basis. We will also have space for members who teach to put out class information. We already have a specialist grinder demo and a maker of wooden stands planning to be there. Contact Sponsorship to reserve a space or make a donation for the auction.


Return of the PNWGG Booth @ Portland Rose Festival CityFair

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May 24-27, May 31-June 2 & June 7-9

Registration deadline April 15th

PNWGG has been invited back to participate in the 2024 Portland Rose Festival CityFair Makers Market. This annual event is a part of the Portland Rose Festival’s CityFair in downtown Portland. As described on their website, the Portland Rose Festival’s history is, “With dozens of events spotlighting the diverse interests and culture of the community, the Rose Festival makes a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of lives annually, bringing smiles to the faces of both locals and guests. Peruse [their] website to learn more about the festival’s three popular parades, its three-weekend urban fair [CityFair] packed with great entertainment, good food and fantastic features, and the iconic Court made up of local high school women making goodwill visits all around the state. The Rose Festival will continue to evolve, making Portland a better place to live and visit.

Barbara Kienle, our co-VP, at 2023 CityFair

Sponsor Members Gerald and Rose McBride’s booth in 2023

This event is a great opportunity to sell your art and interact with people interested in learning more about the Guild. Portland Rose Festival organizers will provide a 10′ x 20′ booth, one table, two chairs, and one electrical outlet. Here’s the Registration info to get your chance to reserve your time in the PNWGG booth and show/sell your work to thousands of people. Contact Terry Thomas, the booth coordinator, if you have questions.

Newsletter Team Lead Greta Schneider and Co-VP Carlyne Lynch

Member Dijenaire Frazer

Past President Terry Thomas

Thank you to those who participated in the inaugural year of the Makers Market portion of the CityFair in 2023.

Hilltop Artists – Nurturing the next generation of glass artists

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How did you learn to be a glass artist? Perhaps you took an initial class, and then began experimenting and learning on your own. Or were you fortunate to have a mentor or teacher take you under their wing and teach you the craft? While some glass artists have training through art schools, it is rare to encounter someone who was introduced to glass art or learned the skills in a formal way when they were young.

That is what is so remarkable about the Hilltop Artists program, one of the few programs of its kind in the country to introduce students as young as age 12 to glass art, including blown glass. Founded in 1994 by Dale Chihuly and Kathy Kaperick, the mission of Hilltop Artists is “Using glass art to connect young people from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds to better futures.”

Hilltop Artists in the hotshop – Summer Program 2023

Celebrating its 30th year in 2024, the Hilltop Artists program, located in the Hilltop neighborhood of Tacoma, Washington introduces young people ages 12-26 to the various forms of glass art through its partnership with Tacoma Public Schools and the glass art community. Middle school and high school students have the unique opportunity to learn glassblowing (the program operates two hot shops), fusing, torchwork, beadwork, and even neon through free school day, after-school, and summer school programs.

Hilltop Artists Students working at Museum of Glass

More advanced students go on to participate on the Production team, getting paid to work with professional artists to design and create commissions and public art installations. Students also have the chance to work with internationally renowned glass artists through residencies and partnerships with organizations such as the Museum of Glass, Pilchuck Glass School, the Appalachian Center for Crafts, Better Together (a BIPOC artists organization) and Corning Museum of Glass


Hilltop Artists serves more than 650 students every year. The majority of the teaching staff are alumni. Some alums have gone on to professional glass careers, including teaching, glass production, or working in glass studios. Student and alumni work has been exhibited at Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum, Bainbridge Art Museum, and other prestigious institutions. Several Hilltop Artists alumni, including Jason McDonald, Edgar Valentine, and Trenton Quiocho have competed on Netflix’s glass competition show, Blown Away. The intergenerational rapport students form with alumni creates a powerful connection and motivation for students, and the alumni bring new ideas, creative energy, and artistic perspectives back to the program. Students also benefit from meeting and working with professional glass artists such as Dan Friday, Sayuri Fukuda, Cedric Mitchell, and Jen Elek. The value of such mentorship and support for young people, whether or not they go on to be glass artists, cannot be overstated.

Learning glass art skills and expressing their creativity through art is just a part of what Hilltop Artists offers youth. Hilltop Artists offers a safe, healing space for kids where they can receive care from supportive adults, connect with other students in healthy ways, and learn to express themselves through glass art. Students often come from challenging circumstances, and the program staff approaches each one holistically, meeting them where they are, building on their inherent strengths, and providing resources and support to help them overcome barriers to success. Working with Tacoma Public Schools and other community partners, Hilltop Artists offers assistance with basic needs such as food or housing for students’ families, as well as mentorship and guidance to complete their academic path and pursue an artistic career, if they so choose.

Hilltop Artist students learning flameworking technique

As stated by Executive Director Dr. Kimberly Keith, Hilltop Artists is committed to making a “…conscientious and sustained effort to remove barriers and hold space in the glass field/community for Black and Brown students and artists. Glass has been overwhelmingly white and male since the 12th century and continues to be one of the most expensive and exclusive art mediums.” The work that Hilltop Artists is doing benefits everyone in the glass art community, by teaching a diverse group of young people the art and science of glass, helping to ensure that glass art continues to thrive long into the future in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.


If you are interested in learning more, volunteering, or seeing the program in action, check out their website: Hilltop Artists. If you live near Tacoma, you might want to attend one of their upcoming March events, including their March Gallery, the Third Thursday at the Museum of Glass (take advantage of the free admission!) or Hot Shop Hot Nights, featuring New York glass artist Adeye Jean Baptiste.

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles profiling programs, projects, or people in the greater glass art world. If you know of a program in the Pacific Northwest that might be of interest to glass artists, please let the newsletter team know.


Have You Tried “Kiln Carving”?

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“Kiln carving” is a technique that creates the appearance of carving but there is no actual carving done on the glass. The process involves cutting a pattern or design in ceramic fiber paper, then stacking glass on top of the pattern and firing the piece in a kiln. As the glass is fired, it settles into the spaces between the fiber pieces creating the carved look. The recesses and shaping are created using your knowledge of how kiln temperatures, gravity and time work to move and shape glass

Greta Schneider experiments with fiber impressions

The pieces can be both relatively simple or complicated and both can be quite striking. It is a great way to do colorful garden art. Hold time is important and depends on the type and number of layers of glass used. Irids can have a really beautiful effect when used with this process. Kiln carving is really a lot of fun to experiment with. These are also a great way to use up small scrap bits of color or dichro or dots.

Greta Schneider kiln carving

Kiln Carving will be covered in our March general meeting in May at 3:30pm on Zoom!

Come and explore the possibilities for both simple and more complex art pieces. Just in time for Gathering of the Guilds too!

General Meetings: Usually 4th Sunday 3:30 pm via Zoom

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• The March 24th meeting has been postponed until May and will discuss kiln carving. Come and learn more, or bring samples of your own kiln-carved works and techniques to share! Contact our VPs Barbara Kienle and Carlyne Lynch to get on the speakers list or if you have an idea for a future meeting topic.

• Did you miss a recent meeting but wish you hadn’t?General meetings are open to everyone but you have to join the Guild and log in to view the videos:

Unedited videos of the January meeting on Enamels and the February meeting on how to use your Scrap are now posted. There are also many other meeting videos under Glass>Education.

Some of the recent videos are unedited in order to make them available sooner. If someone wants to help their fellow members by editing them we’d really appreciate it, please contact our VPs to volunteer.

Kiln carved example from Rae Williamson


Looking Ahead to Summer Picnics:

In July and August our General Meetings on Zoom are replaced by in-person potluck picnics. Members, spouses, friends and anyone else interested in discussing glass is welcome. Some picnics will also have a mold exchange. Mark your calendar now to attend at least one (and send us photos!):

Last summer at Gail Haskett’s

July 14, Keyport WA (Kitsap Peninsula, west of Seattle) hosted by Fred Buxton
July 28, Seattle, WA hosted by Karen Seymour –2fer: the Bellevue Art Museum Fair is all weekend
August 4, Turner OR (S of Salem) hosted by Rose and Gerald McBride
August 10, Battle Ground WA (N of Vancouver WA) hosted by Gail Haskett
August 24, Fairview OR (E Portland) hosted by Margie Reiff


Pacific NW Glass Events, Past & Future

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Past events:

The first two General Meetings of 2024 were great and unedited recordings have been uploaded to the Glass>Education section of the website (“Enamel On Glass” & “Scrap Glass Tips“) for logged in members to see as mentioned in the “General Meetings” article above.

The February Sherlocking meeting in Portland had 10 people attending and the Glass Brunch in Seattle had 9 people attending but we have no photos of either.

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 please take some photos and send the best 2 to the publicity team (400 to 600 px or “medium” resolution, about 500 KB, not more than 1MB if you can help it).

Future events

The Gathering of the Guilds show (GOTG) in Portland April 19-21 will take much of the Guild’s energy from now til then as previously mentioned. Be sure to attend if you can. You will be rewarded with lots of glass inspiration.
• See last year’s event writeup for photos of 2023.
• Please fill out the volunteer form and join a lot of other glass aficionados in helping put on the show. There are lots of jobs still needing to be filled: Photographer, Booth Sitter, Gallery set up or take down, Counter at the door and many more.

Rae Williamson came all the way from Canada to volunteer last year. Here she booth sits for Mitzi Kugler.

Vendor Fair May 11 in Redmond WA, near Seattle (there will also be one in Portland October 12th) see article above.

PNWGG booth at the Portland Rose Festival’s CityFair (see article above) will be May 24-27, May 31-June 2 & June 7-9. Nearly half the slots are gone already so fill out the Registration form soon.

• “Sherlocking” The monthly troubleshooting and discussion group is for members wanting to troubleshoot their glass pieces and techniques has decided to meet most 3rd Wednesdays of the month at 6:30 pm April will be the 24th because of GOTG. In person near Portland and via Zoom. Check the Calendar for upcoming meeting dates.


General meetings in 2024 are via Zoom, usually on the 4th Sunday of most months, at 3:30 pm (not April, July, August, or December).

Contact our VPs 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 members by choosing Glass>Education from the menu.

Spring Events:

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

(Guild sponsored events are in bold)

March
11 Board meeting via Zoom
20 Sherlocking, Fairview OR & Zoom
24 Vitrigraph Demo, by member Carlyne Lynch, Portland OR
24 General meeting via Zoom postponed until May
30 Flameworking demo by member Carlyne Lynch, Portland OR

April
8 Board Meeting via Zoom
13-14 Best of the Northwest art show, Seattle WA
15 PNWGG Rose Festival Cityfair Booth registration deadline, Portland OR
19-21 Gathering of the Guilds Portland OR
24 Sherlocking, Fairview OR & Zoom
27-28 Art In Bloom garden art studio tour with lots of PNWGG members, Seattle

May
5 General Meeting via Zoom
11 PNWGG Vendor Fair, Redmond WA (near Seattle)
13 Board meeting via Zoom
15 Sherlocking, Fairview OR (E Portland) & Zoom
24-27 PNWGG Booth at Portland Rose Festival Cityfair (and the following 2 weekends)

(see the General Meetings article just above for the July and August picnic dates. Mark your calendar now!)



Featured Sponsor: Joanie Schwartz Glass

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Our newest sponsor, Joanie Schwartz Glass, is located inside Joanie’s gallery, Moonwater Arts, which just reopened in a larger space at 702 Commercial Avenue in the heart of ‘Old Town’ Anacortes. The gallery includes Joanie’s fused glass art, along with a variety of artwork from seventy local and national artists, mainly women. Joanie has filled the gallery with “intention, passion, and love” and selected artists who she believes help advance her vision of infusing the world with light, beauty, hope and joy.

Joanie in her classroom

A creator since childhood, Joanie has always loved art. Encouraged by their mother, she and her five siblings all grew up to become artists. Self-trained, Joanie began working with glass to create mosaics about 10 years ago, then learned how to fuse glass to further enhance her pieces. Now, she works almost exclusively with fused glass, although many of her pieces reflect a mosaic aesthetic.

Joanie’s true passion is teaching and helping people create their own vision. She says, “I love to see people’s faces when their work comes out of the kiln. It’s magical!” Her classes are small and personalized, with usually about 6 people each, although the new gallery space provides room for private groups of 8-10 people. Look at the class schedule at JoanieSchwartzGlass.com and secure a spot in one of her numerous workshops. You’ll get a chance to work with Joanie one-on-one to create your very own masterpiece, even if you’ve never worked with glass before. In Joanie’s eyes, everyone is a creator!

Joanie and friends getting ready to re-open in their new space

Members should login to PNWGlassGuild.org and go to About> Our Sponsors to see how to claim their discount.

Thanks to our Sponsors!

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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