March/April 2021 **Print**

Warm Glass Studio Profile

Crista Matteson

Cast Glass and So Much More

by Vicki Schneider

Photography by Daniel Fox, Nancy Bocek, and Crista Matteson

When people view Crista Matteson’s evocative glass and mixed media pieces, they might never guess that it’s only been two years since she committed to making glass her primary medium. Crista has always been an explorer which, coupled with her artistic inclination, led her on an interesting path toward glass casting.

Skills and Techniques

Impression Wafers

A Mashup of Block Printing and Hand-Colored Monoprinting

by Bob Leatherbarrow

Impression wafers combine block printing techniques with monoprint coloration to create design components. The steps involve carving a design into a flexible linoleum mat and pressing it onto a thin layer of glass powder to create an impression. The mat is then fired to a light tack fuse, trimmed to shape, and colored if desired.

Architectural Art Glass

Remembering the Past, Exploring the Future

Building an Artistic Career on Family Values

by Wayne Cain

Photography by Will Cain and Wayne Cain

Wayne Cain recalls how his father’s direction and encouragement helped give him the courage to pursue a career in art glass. His fascination with how light filters through various aspects of nature led him to become a self-taught glass artist who uses flameworked florals and trees to add interest to his architectural glass designs.

AGG News

The AGG Goes Virtual

by Troy Moody

Photography by Washington Glass Studio and Ken Leap

The American Glass Guild (AGG) 15th Annual Congress of Glass Artists, Conservators, Historians, Entrepreneurs, Enthusiasts, and Students will be a virtual experience for AGG. The gathering will bring the key elements of a standard AGG conference directly into the homes and studios of the AGG community in an interactive, online experience that includes Michael Janis as keynote speaker. 

Independent Artist

The Innovative Glass Jewelry of Don Friedlich

by Andrew Lang

Photography by James Beards and Sanders Visual Images

Donald Friedlich has been a leading figure in contemporary jewelry for four decades. A former president of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, his work has been shown in museums worldwide. The artist describes himself as a “less is more” minimalist who is drawn to the geometric and abstract as he integrates glass and metal into cohesive and elegant designs.

Personal Development

Creativity—Production Work

by Milon Townsend

Doing artistic production work can seem to be the opposite of the creative act, since it is repetitious and implies that the purpose is to make work only for the purpose of selling it. There is no shortcut to technical excellence, however, and production work provides continuous practice of basic skills and leads to making consistent work.

International Glass

The Art of the Glass Bead in Italy and France

Gaining UNESCO World Heritage Status

by Sara Sally LaGrand

Photography by Patrice Niset, Anusch Bayens, and Marisa Convento

The art of the glass bead in Italy and France attained UNESCO World Heritage status on December 17, 2020, which lends a bright spot to the year that was many “volunteer years” in the making. One of the key criteria for obtaining this recognition lies in what the communities are putting in place to keep their know-how alive.

CGS News

Calum Dawes

Winner of the CGS 2021 Amanda Moriarty Prize

by Pam Reekie

Photography by Jo Howell and Moonju Suh

The Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) awarded Calum Dawes its 2021 Amanda Moriarty Prize, which enables one glass artist to fulfill a creative ambition or add to his or her technical skill set. Calum will be exploring the body of work that he has been developing with the support of CGS and assistance from Devereux & Huskie Glassworks.

Glass Talk

The Corning Museum of Glass

Exploring Glass in 18th Century Britain

by The Staff of The Corning Museum of Glass

Photos Courtesy of the Corning Museum of Glass

The Corning Museum of Glass will open its groundbreaking exhibition, In Sparkling Company: Glass and the Costs of Social Life in Britain During the 1700s, on May 12, 2021. Presenting the glass objects that delighted the British elite, the exhibition examines how those goods defined social rituals and cultural values of the period.

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