Tacoma, Wash. (February 2, 2007)— The Museum of Glass will welcome acclaimed artist and architect Maya Lin for a two-day Visiting Artist residency in the Hot Shop on March 16 and 17, 2007.  During her residency, Lin will direct with the Hot Shop Team as they experiment with creating hot-sculpted clear glass “water drop” forms.  These forms will be incorporated into an installation that will be included in the Museum’s Fifth Anniversary exhibition, Mining Glass, which opens on June 16, 2007.

In her career, Lin has created a remarkable body of work that includes large-scale, site-specific installations and intimate studio works.  She looks at the landscape through a 21st century lens, often using technology to re-imagine and rethink what the land is and our relationship to it.  A committed environmentalist, her work often asks the viewer to take a closer look at the natural world. “I create places in which to think, without trying to dictate what to think.  A strong respect and love for the land exists throughout my work.”

Lin first came to prominence 25 years ago when, as a 21-year-old Yale undergraduate, she designed the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial.  In 2000, Lin was asked to participate in the Confluence Project, a project commemorating the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition.  Lin is constructing works, including both building and landscape designs as well as integrated artwork, which will be located at key confluences of the Columbia River and its tributaries in Washington and Oregon.  Her artwork has been shown in solo museum exhibitions in the United States, Italy, Denmark, and Sweden.

As part of the residency, Lin will be the featured artist during the Museum’s weekly Hot Lunch program from 12 to 1 p.m. on Friday.  Visitors can purchase a box lunch from the Museum Café and take it into the Hot Shop to watch the artist work.  Lunches cost $9.  Reservations can be made through the Museum Café by calling 253.627.2555.

About Mining Glass:
June 16, 2007 – January 6, 2008
Organized by the Museum of Glass
Sponsored by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts

This significant exhibition has been organized to commemorate the Museum of Glass’ Fifth Anniversary celebration.  It is the first major exhibition to explore the use of glass as a sculptural medium in 21st century art outside the realm of the Studio Glass movement.  New and existing works of seven distinguished and influential contemporary artists from around the world will be included.

About the Visiting Artist Program:
The Museum of Glass Hot Shop Visiting Artist Program includes internationally known artists and emerging artists from the region and around the world—some who are masters of glass and some who are experimenting with the medium for the first time.  They work with the Museum’s resident Hot Shop team to explore, invent and create with glass.  With a diverse mixture of culture, style, focus and expertise, each artist offers Museum visitors the chance to experience a distinct creative style.