Tacoma, Wash. — The Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art is pleased to announce the schedule for the 2006 Visiting Artist Summer Series beginning June 16, 2006. This Series marks the third year of collaboration with the acclaimed Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, WA. The Summer Series will continue through Labor Day weekend and will present a different artist each week.

Each summer, local and international artists come together in the Northwest to serve as instructors and mentors at Pilchuck Glass School. With the Summer Series, the Museum and Pilchuck have partnered to offer a unique and exciting opportunity for museum visitors to view the creative process of these glass masters who do not regularly work in venues open for public observation. Of the twelve artists featured in this year’s Series, eight will have taught or worked as artists-in-residence in the 2005 or 2006 Pilchuck session.

Artist Dale Chihuly returns to his hometown of Tacoma, WA to headline the 2006 Museum of Glass summer series program from August 8-13. Chihuly and his team will be working in the Hot Shop with an impressive rotation of talented and highly accomplished artists creating several of Chihuly’s signature glass series works including Baskets, Seaforms, Cylinders, Macchia, Persians and Fiori. Additional special activities will be scheduled throughout the week in the Tacoma Museum District.

The 2006 Summer Series also features three artists whose work will be displayed concurrently in the Museum’s galleries. Joyce Scott begins the Series on June 16, the same weekend her exhibition Kickin’ It with Joyce J. Scott opens. Angelo Filomeno, whose work is featured in Fresh! Contemporary Takes on Nature & Allegory, will appear in the Hot Shop July 12 – 16, and Karen LaMonte will close the Series over Labor Day weekend. LaMonte’s magnificent glass dresses showcased in Karen LaMonte: Absence Adorned remain on display through September 4.

All of the Summer Series artists will work with the Museum’s resident hot shop team, exploring various techniques and demonstrating the process of glassmaking. The program is designed to provide artists with a platform for experimentation and development and to extend Museum visitors’ understanding of the artists’ creative process.

Each residency will conclude with a Conversation with the Artist, a public lecture and slide presentation on Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m.

About the Artists:

Joyce J. Scott / Baltimore, MD
June 16 – 18, 2006
Conversation with the Artist: June 18, 2 p.m.
Joyce J. Scott is a sculptor, jeweler, printmaker, performance artist, writer and educator. Using vivid color and engaging humor, her artwork addresses social and political concerns which invoke thoughts of stereotypes, racism, violence and injustice.

Scott’s Hot Shop visit coincides with the opening of her exhibition, Kickin’ It with Joyce J. Scott, which is on display June 17 through October 22, 2006. For her residency, Scott says simply, “As always, I’m insinuating beadwork into everything. Glass beads kissing a gather of glass or copulating with a pour on the marver. What could be better?”

Hiroshi Yamano / Kanazu, Japan
June 21-25, 2006
Conversation with the Artist: June 25, 2 p.m.
Hiroshi Yamano lives and works in Japan, yet it was in the United States while studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that he developed the technique for which he is best known: incorporating thickly blown hot glass with silver leaf and copper plating.

Yamano’s residency is concurrent with an exhibition of his work at William Traver Gallery, Tacoma. During his residency at the Museum of Glass, he will make components for an installation that will be added to the Traver exhibition as the week progresses.

Jen Elek / Seattle, WA
June 28 – July 2, 2006
Conversation with the Artist: July 2, 2 p.m.
Jen Elek studied glass at New York’s Alfred University where she received a BFA in 1994. In 1995, Elek moved to Seattle. She has been a member of the Museum’s resident glassblowing team and regularly works for Lino Tagliapietra, Dale Chihuly and Ginny Ruffner. She is also a member of the Butter Eaters, a cutting edge hot glass performance group.

For her residency, Jen will experiment with techniques to create glass sculptures that provide commentary on consumption and ecological stewardship.

Amy Rueffert / San Francisco, CA
July 5 – 9, 2006
Conversation with the Artist: July 9, 2 p.m.
Currently an MFA candidate in Studio Art at Mills College in Oakland, CA, Amy Rueffert works at the Glass Studio in Berkeley, CA. She also assists artist Richard Marquis on Whidbey Island and is a collaborative designer for Simple Syrup, a contemporary glass studio in Brocton, MA.

“I have been researching ways for other mediums to work in conjunction with glass. I plan to use commercially produced ceramic decals to make paperweight style glass objects and to push this experimentation forward in scale and decorative potential for larger scale objects and wall pieces.”

Angelo Filomeno / New York, NY
July 12 – 16, 2006
Conversation with the Artist: July 16, 2 p.m.
Angelo Filomeno was born in Ostuni, Italy and began sewing at the age of seven as an apprentice to a local tailor. Until 3 yeas ago, he worked for Carelli Costumes in New York City. Today Filomeno is best known for his “paintings” that are actually detailed depictions of insects, birds and skeletons embroidered on brightly colored silk panels.

Filomeno’s residency is concurrent with the exhibition Fresh! Contemporary Takes on Nature & Allegory which includes his work. During his residency, Angelo will direct the Hot Shop team to create a full-scale, sculpted human skeleton in black glass.

Nadege Desgenetez / Canberra, Australia
July 19 – 23, 2006
Conversation with the Artist, July 23, 2 p.m.
Born in Normandy, France, Nadege Desgenetez has worked with blown glass for more than a decade and is currently on the faculty at the Australian National University of Canberra. She studied at the European Glass School in France and then came to the U.S. to assist Lino Tagliapietra. She also has worked with artists Dale Chihuly, Dante Marioni, Benjamin Moore and Dan Dailey.

Desgenetez’s work is colorful and lighthearted, inspired largely by her childhood memories. “I have been inspired by the notion that we often relate to memories from our youth in glamorized or distorted ways.” She will continue to explore ideas of introspection and memory during her residency.

Mike Kelley / Los Angeles, CA
July 26 – 30, 2006
Conversation with the Artist, July 30, 2 p.m.
Mike Kelley is a sculptor, installation and performance artist and has been described as one of the most provocative and influential figures in contemporary art. He also works as a professor of fine art for the Art Center College in Pasadena’s graduate program.

During his visit, Kelley will develop drawings of loose forms to be blown or cast that relate to the skyline of Kandor, a fictional city from Superman’s destroyed home planet of Krypton. For Superman, Kandor is a constant reminder of his past and a metaphor for his alienated relationship on earth.

Anne Wilson / Evanston, IL
August 2 – 6, 2006
Conversation with the Artist, August 6, 2 p.m.
Anne Wilson lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. She is a professor of art at The Art Institute of Chicago. Wilson’s first use of glass as a material was at Pilchuck Glass School in 2005.

For her residency, Wilson will address the subject of labor by translating textile tools and processes into glass. “For the past 12 years I have created physical drawings and objects that explore sexuality, death, rituals and decorum. I use familiar methods (stitch, crochet) and found objects (table linens, bed sheets, human hair, thread and lace) that are resonant with cultural meaning.”

Dale Chihuly / Seattle, WA
August 8 – 13, 2006
Studio Glass Lectures, August 11 & 12, 2 p.m.
Panel Discussion: What is the Future of the Studio Glass Movement?, August 13, 2 p.m.
Dale Chihuly will be a visiting artist August 8 – 13, 2006. He will work with a selection of gaffers who have played major roles in the history of the Studio Glass movement in the Northwest, the development of Pilchuck Glass School, and the creation of the different types of work that have been produced by Chihuly Studio. The gaffers will be assisted by Team Chihuly and the Museum’s resident Hot Shop team.

The schedule of gaffers includes*:
Date Time Gaffer Design
Tues, August 8 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Joey DeCamp Fiori
Weds, August 9 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Benjamin Moore and Martin Blank Seaforms, Persians
Thurs, August 10 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora C. Mace
with Richard Royal Black Cylinders
1 – 5 p.m. Richard Royal Niijima Floats
Fri, August 11 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Dante Marioni with Paul Cunningham Piccolo Venetians
1 – 5 p.m. Martin Blank with Robbie Miller Pilchuck Stumps
Sat, August 12 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Pino Signoretto and Amber Hauch
with Paul DeSomma Sealife
Sun, August 13 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. William Morris with James Mongrain Macchia, Baskets
1 – 5 p.m. William Morris, Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora C. Mace Soft Cylinders
* subject to change

Note: In anticipation of large crowds, the Museum will issue timed tickets for Hot Shop demonstrations during Dale Chihuly’s residency. Museum members will be given first priority, and general visitors will be issued tickets on a first come, first served basis.

Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend / Ojai, CA
August 16 – 20, 2006
Conversation with the Artist: August 20, 2 p.m.
Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend taught at Pilchuck Glass School for 16 years, is a past board member and past president of the Glass Art Society. She is the recipient of two NEA Fellowships and the Pilchuck Glass School Hauberg Fellowship.

Stinsmuehlen-Amend’s work is characterized as intuitive combinations of ideas, imagery and spur-of-the-moment notations that reveal glimpses into everyday life. “How often do we reach for vessels that are used unconsciously on a day-to-day basis? What is it about the shapes of those objects that accommodate the activities of cooking, cleaning, bathing, making art, etc. Working with the Museum team, I hope to ‘breathe new life’ into these ordinary shapes.”

Mitchell Gaudet / New Orleans, LA
August 23 – 27, 2006
Conversation with the Artist: August 27, 2 p.m.
Mitchell Gaudet received his MFA from Tulane University in 1990 and has taught at Seattle’s Pratt Fine Arts Center, the Urban School of Glass in Brooklyn, NY, and, for the past decade, at Pilchuck Glass School. He owns and operates Studio Inferno, a studio space for glass artists, in New Orleans.

“I need this more now than ever due to the impact Hurricane Katrina has had on my studio and my life—overwhelming and exciting. I see this residency as a chance to get out of New Orleans and distill all that I have seen and make some work about it.”

Gaudet plans to create a series of bowls and house forms that take their shape, color and texture from ruined areas in and around New Orleans. While he is working, he plans to show photographs he has taken of the devastation—as well as the recovery—from Katrina on the Hot Shop big screen.

Karen LaMonte / Prague, CZ
August 30 – September 3, 2006
Conversation with the Artist: September 3, 2 p.m.
Karen LaMonte is a leading figure among a new generation of artists using glass in large-scale sculptural work. Her sculptures demonstrate the force of an artistic vision perfectly matched with technical achievement. LaMonte’s earlier interest in marionettes and the theater led to her focused examination of the dress as an art historical subject, but it was in 1991, shortly after her move to the Czech Republic, that she cast her first dress in glass.

LaMonte will experiment with the ability of glass to distort images and create an otherworldly atmosphere by creating mirrors and goblets that will then be engraved and cold worked in the Czech Republic. Her residency is concurrent with her Museum of Glass exhibition, Karen LaMonte: Absence Adorned.

The Visiting Artist Program is generously sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and Courtyard by Marriott / Tacoma.