Tacoma, Wash. (December 21, 2007)— The Museum of Glass will welcome artist Joseph Rossano to the Hot Shop for a five-day Visiting Artist residency, January 9 – 13, 2008. During his visit, Rossano will create a flock of glass birds that will dive into a proposed underwater installation. Mirrored Murrelets will be installed in the Museum’s mid-level plaza reflecting pool in the spring.

Rossano’s work focuses on the interdependence of the natural world and the animals who live in ecosystems threatened by human impact. Mirrored Murrelets highlights the impact on the Marbled Murrelet, a small sea bird that nests primarily in the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. The installation will comprise hundreds of mirrored glass murrelets that will be submerged in the Museum’s mid-level reflecting pool, creating an image of the birds swimming under water. The mirrored surfaces of the birds will reflect the viewer’s image, symbolically suggesting the impact of humans on the natural world. Charred stumps representing the once abundant old-growth forests will surround the pool. As visitors experience the installation, Rossano hopes they will “reflect on the plight of the bird as well as the beauty of its existence.”

“As an artist, I am interested in studying and abstracting form, texture, and materials, drawing inspiration from both historical and natural sources,” states Rossano. “Through the use of varied media, I seek to express the ephemeral and sometimes fragmented quality of our human experience and our relationship to the natural world.”

Included with the Hot Shop residency is a public Conversation with the Artist presentation and slide show on Sunday, January 13, beginning at 2 p.m. in the Museum Theater. Half Life, an installation of Rossano’s work, is currently on display in the Museum’s Grand Hall.

About the Artist
Joseph Rossano earned a BFA in studio arts at Louisiana State University in 1987. He has worked as both the artistic director for Waterford Crystal in Ireland and the studio manager and lead gaffer for Chihuly Studio in Seattle. Rossano has been an integral team member for a number of established artists including Lino Tagliapietra, Benjamin Moore, Richard Royal, Martin Blank and William Morris. He currently lives and works in Arlington, WA.

About the Visiting Artist Program
The Museum of Glass Hot Shop Visiting Artist Program hosts 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.