Glass Society to show ‘Colors of Hope’

By Teddy Rogge
Western Herald

On Dec. 5 the West Michigan Glass Society will open their “Colors of Hope for the Holidays” exhibit at Henderson Castle.  The exhibit will open in conjunction with the Art Hop on Dec. 5 and will run through Jan. 5.

All the art was created by members of the Glass Society that has around 175 members that are emerging and professional glass artists, students and friends of glass.  The exhibit will feature somewhere between 80 and 90 different pieces of glasswork created by 15 artists.

“There’s going to be glass-blown art, like vases, bowls and paperweights,” said Linda Kekic, executive director at the West Michigan Glass Society.  “There’s going to be stained-glass … a couple windows, a lot of fused-glass jewelry and bowls and plates and goblets.  There will be some sculptural pieces and definitely some beaded work, necklaces and earrings that … along with the glass have copper or sterling silver.”

The exhibit will not only showcase the talents of the local artists but show the community what kinds of glass works can be created through workshops at the Glass Society.  The West Michigan Glass Society offers classes in lampworking, fusing, glassblowing, bead making, stained glass, mosaics and casting.

“One of my favorite things is that we have these fourth grade boys that will come in here and they are able to work with glass and with fire,” Kekic said.  “Which are two things that they’ve been told they couldn’t touch and all the sudden they’re taking a glass rod or stringer and burning it over a candle flame to make it bend and move.  They’re just so excited to be able to do something they’ve just never done before and especially with two elements that they usually hear ‘don’t touch you’re going to cut yourself’ or ‘don’t touch you’re going to burn yourself,” ’instead we’re saying here are two media that you can work with and create something really amazing with.”

The exhibit will be open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Henderson Castle at 100 Monroe St.  Attendants are also encouraged to bring a new or gently used book that will be donated to a new school and library being built in Uganda.

“[Glass] is just such an interesting media to work with.  Glass is so reflective and it’s so bright and there is just so much about it that I really enjoy … You never know exactly what you’re going to come up with, with glass …  It’s just really exciting to see what you can make with glass.”

For more information visit www.wmglass.org.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Dec 1 2008. Filed under A & E. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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