Upcoming Visiting Artist Lineup
September
Nate Watson
September 4–8
Nate Watson is a visual artist and cultural organizer currently working between San Francisco and Louisville. Before pursuing his graduate degree at the California College of Arts in 2004, Watson received a BA in history from Centre College and was awarded grants from the Rhode Island Foundation, and the Rhode Island Council for the Arts for his work investigating intersections between immigration, labor and craft traditions. In 2012, Watson co-founded Light A Spark, a collaborative glass focused arts program that provides rare opportunities and resources for youth in marginalized communities of San Francisco.
Watson has lectured nationally and held teaching positions at San Francisco State University, The California College of Arts and the University of Washington. His trans-disciplinary practice ranges from photographs, architectural interventions, and poetic imagery, to works with the collective, Related Tactics from 2015 to 2024, investigating and producing creative projects, opportunities and interventions at the intersection of race and culture. Projects have been exhibited and supported by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Wexner Center for the Arts, University of San Francisco Thacher Gallery, Berkeley Art Center, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery at Parsons School of Design (New York), Southern Exposure Gallery, Chinese Cultural Center (San Francisco), The Corning Museum of Glass, Museum of Glass (Tacoma), The San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art, and The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.
Photo courtesy of the artist.
Rogan Gregory
September 11–15
Rogan Gregory’s work reflects his lifelong interest in abstract forms, geology, ecological systems, evolutionary biology, and the impact of humans on the natural environment. Inspired by the ways in which elements and the continuum of time shape our world, Gregory works repetitively, emulating the recurring developmental processes of life.
He meditates on line and proportion to achieve incongruous balance and asymmetrical harmony, ultimate truths in nature. Gregory works in a wide range of time-honored materials such as stone, bronze and wood. He pairs these known materials with those less familiar to develop aggregated surfaces that elude simple classification. This experimentation allows the artist to develop a unique aesthetic, unlike that of any artist working today.
The artist’s exploratory methods are best realized in his Fertility Form and Sentient Space series. In the Fertility Form series, Gregory sculpturally interprets the cycle of life, referencing sexual intercourse and the fertilization of cells, as well as cell division and the subsequent processes in the evolving life cycle. In his Sentient Space series, he explores the interaction of life forms at the cellular level and their amorphic configurations. He envisions their existence on exoplanets not yet discovered and considers how they might relate to life in the uncharted depths of the Earth’s oceans. Altogether, Gregory’s practice reveals a unique mythos that is elegantly executed through minimal forms and distinct materials, seamlessly translated into sculptural and functional work.
Gregory began his career in New York City as a design consultant for luxury fashion brands. He designed his first eponymous clothing collection in 2001, and, in 2007, he received the Vogue/CFDA fashion fund award. Gregory had his first solo exhibition with R & Company in 2016 and developed a new, highly successful body of work for his second show with the gallery in the fall of 2018. He has been featured in multiple media outlets, including Architectural Digest, The Wall Street Journal Design, Elle Décor, Wallpaper, and Surface.
Photo by Joe Kramm.
Photo by Joe Kramm.
Trenton Quiocho
September 28-29
Trenton Quiocho is a Tacoma-based artist dedicated to the craft of glass and youth development through art. He began his explorations in glass as a student in the Hilltop Artists program.
He has worked as a glassblower and hot shop technician at Chihuly Studio, Glassybaby, Hilltop Artists, and Museum of Glass. Quiocho has also worked as an instructor for MOG’s Hot Shop Heroes™ program and a teaching assistant at Pilchuck Glass School.
October
Ryan Thompson
October 9–13
Ryan Thompson began studying glass at Bowling Green State University in 2011.
After graduation, Thompson accepted a position at the Toledo Museum of Art: Glass Pavilion as a workshop instructor and a studio maintenance technician. During his time in Toledo Ryan was fortunate to work with many established glass artists, both at the museum as well as many other local glass shops located in the heart of “The Glass City”.
In 2018, Thompson relocated to Detroit, MI to work as a production glassmaker at The Henry Ford Museum’s Greenfield Village. In 2021 Thompson was promoted to shop lead and began coordinating the teams’ efforts to create nearly 8,000 glass objects annually and maintain the furnaces and other equipment that make glass blowing possible.
In May of 2024,Thompson purchased his own glassblowing studio in downtown Toledo and has relocated back to the Glass City with his girlfriend Kayla to begin his own, fulltime artistic practice. “Huron St. Gallery and Studios” will house Thompson’s glass shop as well as Kayla’s Pottery Studio “Charmed Ceramics” on the second floor.
Thompson applies the technical precision of Venetian style glass blowing with a contemporary edge to his vessel making practice. From ornate goblets and elegant vessel compositions to contemplative kinetic sculptures. Thompson’s passions lay in the process over the product and are fueled by a constant pursuit for knowledge and expertise.
Thompson joins Museum of Glass through a special collaboration with Netflix’s reality glassblowing competition Blown Away. The Museum’s Kids Design Glass program was featured in Season 4, Episode 6 of the series and Thompson’s piece was selected by MOG Hot Shop Director and Blown Away guest judge Benjamin Cobb. As the winner of the episode, Thompson will join the Hot Shop Team for a week-long residency at Museum of Glass.
Photo courtesy of the artist.
Photo courtesy of the artist.
Beccy Feather
October 16–20
Beccy Feather is a British born glassmaker who lives and works in Bremerton, WA. Beccy has an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology and has consistently pushed to elevate her artwork and invest in the education of the community. She navigates daily between the roles of production flame worker, artist, educator, and tea-drinker. Her art work is a mixture of fine craft, humor, and home science.
Feather comes to the Hot Shop as the People’s Choice Coney Award winner at the 2023 Red Hot Auction and Gala.
beccyfeather.com
@beccyfeather
Zac Weinberg
October 30–November 3
Zac Weinberg’s projects address the systems by which we interpret and allocate status to objects. His glass and mixed media works have been exhibited at home and abroad in venues including The Sculpture Center, Cleveland, and Glasmuseet Ebeltoft. Weinberg, who received a BFA from Alfred University and an MFA from OSU, was the inaugural Kanik Chung Memorial Fellow at MassArt. He lives and works as an artist/educator/technician in Northwest Ohio.
Photo courtesy of the artist.
November
Crystal Worl
November 13–17
Crystal Kaakeeyáa Worl is Athabascan, Filipino, and Tlingit from Raven moiety, Sockeye Clan, from the Raven House. She is Deg Hit’an Athabascan from Fairbanks Alaska.
Worl is a talented multidisciplinary artist based in Juneau, Alaska. She draws inspiration from her cultural roots and the natural world around her. Worl's artwork is diverse, ranging from Tlingit Northwest Coast design to contemporary multimedia pieces. Her work often explores themes of identity, connection to land, and the interplay between traditional and modern ways of life. In addition to creating art, Worl is also an advocate for Indigenous rights and works to promote cultural awareness and understanding through her art. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world and she continues to be a prominent voice in the Indigenous art community.
Today Worl lives in Juneau, Alaska, working as a co-owner and co-designer of Trickster Company with her brother Rico Worl.
Crystal Worl joins Museum of Glass in a first-ever collaboration with Port of Seattle. Worl was one of two artists selected by Port of Seattle to create large-scale public art installations for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s C Concourse Expansion project. The project, a collaboration between the Port and two iconic Pacific Northwest cultural institutions, Museum of Glass, and Pilchuck Glass School, will allow Worl time and resources to undertake this project of massive scale.
Photo by Ingrid Barrentine.
Xáat Kwáani (Salmon People), Alaska Airlines 737-800. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Todd Jannausch
November 20–22
Originally from Michigan, Todd Jannausch spent his early career as a ship fitter in the Navy and as a professional shipwright before transitioning to a career focused on art. Since that time, he has taught and worked at Pratt Fine Arts Center, The University of Puget Sound, Two Ravens Studio and Foundry, and Grand Image. In addition to teaching and fabrication, Jannausch co-founded Feast Arts Center in Tacoma, where he curated exhibitions and created community-driven arts events. He has received numerous awards and grants, including a 2015 Artist Trust Fellowship award. His work has been exhibited regionally at the Frye Art Museum and Bellevue Art Museum.
In 2022, Jannausch began working on a new body of work utilizing glass and concrete. Manipulating these materials into abstracted forms, he explores the intricate interplay of strength and fragility.
Photo courtesy of the artist.
Jason Christian
November 27, 29, & 30
Jason Christian is a glass artist living in the Seattle area. He was born in 1976 to a metal fabricator and a cardiac nurse. He became involved in glass art at the age of 21- starting as a factory charger, slowly developing his glass knowledge through experience. He has worked with a variety of well-known artists in the Seattle community, including Martin Blank, Preston Singletary, James Mongraine, and Nancy Callan. For almost a decade he has been an integral member of Dale Chihuly’s boathouse team, collaborating and working with international artists, including Pino Singnoretti. His individual work explores the art of reticello, classical Venetian techniques, and modern simplicity. As of recent, he has been developing art inspired by the works of Faberge, combining the delicate complexity of reticello with the intricate detailing Faberge’s eggs are known for.
December
Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz
December 11–15
Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz began blowing glass together at Rhode Island School of Design, where Sugiki earned his MFA in Glass and Zerkowitz her MA in Art Education. Their studio is based in Seattle; however, they temporarily live in Japan while Sugiki teaches at Toyama Institute of Glass Art. They make exhibition work independently, as well as design and produce a line of studio glass collaboratively under the name Two Tone Studios. In the US they often teach intensive workshops at The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, Penland School of Craft, and Pittsburgh Glass Center. They have lectured and demonstrated throughout the US and Japan, as well as in Australia, Ireland, Finland, Korea, and Turkey.
Their hand-blown glass decorative objects and tableware are designed and individually made without the use of molds. A respect for clean lines and palatable colors lay the foundation, in search of and reaching for unique design and skillful craftsmanship. Inspired by mid-century design and the colorful palette of Fiesta ware, the work is deceptively simple in form and process – providing elegant statement pieces as well as whimsical objects. Two Tone Studios refers to two voices behind the work.
Photo courtesy of the artist.