The Museum of Glass is pleased to welcome a series of talented female artists to the Hot Shop Amphitheater during April and May 2009. These artists include Chin-Yu Fu (Chicago, IL), Laura Diaz de Santillana (Venice, Italy), Flo Perkins (Sante Fe, NM), Clare Belfrage (Adelaide, Australia) and Nancy Blair (Melbourne Beach, FL).

“The glass world has traditionally been dominated by men,” comments Museum of Glass director Timothy Close, “but the number of women artists creating with glass is growing. We are looking forward to hosting these artists in back-to-back residencies to illustrate this trend.”

The Museum’s Visiting Artist Program offers visitors a unique opportunity to view the diverse creative processes of glass artists from around the world who come to the Museum of Glass to experiment and explore new directions in their art that may not be possible in their own studios. “Our Visiting Artist program provides artists with a platform for experimentation and development as well as expanding our visitors’ understanding of the creative process,” states Close. “We provide the artists with a state-of-the-art facility and the assistance of one of the finest glassmaking teams around, and they bring with them ideas and techniques that help make each day unique in the Hot Shop.”

Museum visitors and glass enthusiasts can also track all the action of the Hot Shop from their computers. The Museum of Glass website features streaming video footage live from the Hot Shop Amphitheater, allowing visitors to extend their Hot Shop experience—by either taking a sneak peek at what they might see before they arrive, or seeing what happens after their visit. Viewing is available during regular Museum hours:

http://www.museumofglass.org/live-glassmaking/watch-the-hot-shop-live/.

SPRING VISITING ARTIST SCHEDULE:

Chin-Yu Fu, Designworks Competition Winner
Residency: April 1 – 5, 2009
Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, April 5, 2 p.m.
The Museum of Glass partnered with Art Institute of Chicago’s Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture + Designed Objects (AIADO) to present the Designworks competition. Students were invited to design a functional object to be produced as a limited edition piece and sold in the Museum Store. Chin-Yu Fu, the competition winner, will use this residency to work with the Hot Shop Team to produce her design, The Moment – Milk Can Lantern.

Laura Diaz de Santillana, Venice, Italy
Residency: April 8 – 12, 2009
Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, April 12, 2 p.m.

Venice native Laura Diaz de Santillana has a rich history in traditional art and design. She is the granddaughter of Paolo Venini, founder of the Venini glasswork company in Murano, Italy, and has been a revered figure in the international studio glass movement since the 1970s. She is known for her sophisticated use of color and texture to create minimalist sculptural forms that belie the complexity of her process.

Flo Perkins, Santa Fe, NM
Residency: April 22 – 26, 2009
Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, April 26, 2 p.m.

Flo Perkins has been working with glass for thirty years. Her work reflects in-depth investigations of the relationship between blown glass and botanical forms. Through the study of cacti, Flo began to recognize a correlation between the budding, blooming and collapsing of flowers and the process of blowing glass—the bubble, the opening and the folding. During her MOG residency, Perkins plans to work on a new design series of large glass snakes.

Clare Belfrage, Adelaide, Australia
Residency: May 13 – 17, 2009
Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, May 17, 2 p.m.

Belfrage has been an active visiting artist and lecturer in Australia and the United States. She currently is employed as the creative director of Canberra Glassworks. Her work is inspired by nature, specifically small details, growth and movement. She works by arranging long, thin threads of glass in a repetitive order across a hand blown glass form until it is completely covered. Only a few of these threads can be melted onto the form at one time; an exacting process that results in visually breathtaking work.

Nancy Blair, Melbourne Beach, FL
Residency: May 20 – 24, 2009
Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, May 24, 2 p.m.

Nancy Blair is both an artist and a published author. Her mostly narrative sculptures and mixed media works include glass, ceramics and found objects that stem from her lifelong interest in the shamanic and transformative healing arts. At the Museum, Blair plans to create shaman figures inspired by ancient ritual vessels to be used as part of a future installation.

Image credits:
Chin-Yu Fu, The Moment – Milk Can Lantern prototype sketch. Photo courtesy of School of the Art institute of Chicago.
Laura Diaz de Santillana, Glass, Wax Bronze.
Flo Perkins, Snake Prototype 3. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Claire Belfrage in her studio. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Nancy Blair in her studio. Photo courtesy of the artist.