By Amy King

My name is Amy King and I am a student of the glass program at the Alberta College of Arts + Design (ACAD) in Calgary.  One assignment for a recent class was to interview a local artist that I am interested in.  The following is an interview I conducted in March 2011 with Calgary glass artist, Jamie Gray.

How did you get started working with glass? What is it about the material that conveys your ideas over other media?

I always knew I was an artist of some sort, so when I was about 20 I started looking for a medium to explore part-time.  Evenings and weekends I tried painting, silversmithing, and sculpture before I took a stained glass class.  I knew immediately I’d found the medium I wanted to work in.

Title: Salvator Mundi Photo Credit: Jamie Gray Details: leaded stained glass Year: 2008

I tend to use glass as a support for conceptual work rather than making pieces that celebrate the beauty of the glass itself.  Since it can be manipulated, twisted, poured, etc, it has potential to take on so many forms and become useful that way.  I do occasionally celebrate glass for glass’ sake because it’s so lovely both to look at and to work with; and, in that case, what I love most about it is how it plays with light, which is different every single time you look at/through it.

Why did you make the decision to attain a degree in fine arts? Since graduating, what kind of benefits do you think this education has had?

I wanted to attend ACAD when I was 18 and had a scholarship to do so but my mom convinced me go get some training that she felt would actually be able to support me (generally a well-founded concern).  Then life got in the way (marriage, mortgage, kids) and it was another 20 years before I could get back to ACAD, which I finally did in 2005.  Why I always wanted a degree was partly stubbornness (to demonstrated that I could do it and survive) and because I really did want to study art academically.  I’m a bit of an academic at heart anyway, so I really loved all the art history classes and theory classes.

Title: Fragile Chivalry Photo Credit: Jamie Gray Details: Blown cut glass, chain maille Year: 2008

There haven’t yet been any real-world benefits to having a BFA itself except as a possible bridge to an MFA or MA (which I’d like to pursue sometime because I’d love to teach more), but I think just having been in the academic setting and being pushed so hard for four years completely changed how I do things in my studio.  I’m much more focused.

You talk about the idea of cosmopolitanism as being one of the central themes in your work.  Can you elaborate on how growing up in the Prairies during a certain time frame has influenced your interest in these ideas?

There’s a certain area in Alberta that’s well known as the Bible Belt and I grew up smack in the middle of it.  A Bible school in every little town, many more churches than bars by far, a highly moralistic way of life generally.  In the `60s and `70s, when there were freedom movements and “hippy” activities in many parts of the world, that was well controlled and thwarted on the Prairies, especially by the church, which considered such actions as too anti-establishment.  The dichotomy is that where churches pay a lot of lip service to inclusiveness, they can be the most discriminatory (anti-cosmopolitan).  As a practicing Christian, I felt that it was time to explore that moralistic blindness and begin to make small corrections as I can.  It’s been very interesting, especially since artists are generally very hippy-like and while at ACAD I had fun using them as a test group for things such as the Radical Church Potluck Project in which I brought church-y potluck food to the school for the students to share and talk around.  In my church, though the official word was that all were welcome, hippies of any sort showing up at a church potluck would have been very frowned upon.  No hat, no suit, no gloves, no love.

Title: The Radical Church Potluck Project Photo Credit: Jamie Gray Details: Fused glass, fusible decal, metal leaf Year: 2008

How long have you been working with this particular theme?  Is it still a major part of your current work?

I worked with that theme for a couple of years and it will always be part of my work to do what I can to make the church, as a group, open up their eyes and see what we’ve done and how our history has affected how we’ve behaved and are behaving today.  It’s been easy for the church to gloss over things such as the Crusades, Inquisitions and Residential Schools.  I actually don’t think I can call myself a responsible Christian if I don’t continue to question that thoroughly and promote any change I can.  I’ve moved along a little bit from that theme, but can easily go back as concept for work strikes me because I’m not working far off of it at the moment.  Among other things, I’ve been making Snowglobes of Doom that work out some of my childhood-on-the-farm angst.

Title: Snowglobes of Doom: Farmyard Memories Photo Credit: Jamie Gray Details: Blown glass, multi-media Year: 2008

I know that you were experimenting with building community through food during your final year at ACAD.  What made you start this and what kind of results did you see?

I started that idea as I got thinking about my “axis mundi”, which turned out to be Absolute Truth.  If I were to explore Absolute Truth, what would that look like in my own life?  It quickly became apparent to me that, as a concerned Christian, there are a lot of untruths to be addressed right within my own church.  The first was (as I’ve outline above) the Radical Church Potluck Project, which worked to bring the church potluck right into the midst of the persons (“hippies” / artists) whom the church would have looked askance upon.  The results of the daily potlucks were amazing; much better than I could have hoped.  My main goal was to bring true Christian love (on the quiet, as it’s meant to be) to a fringe group and leave it at that, but the reality was that the more we ate together, the more we talked, and through that we grew in relationship with each other.  We had conversations around sandwiches and squares that we probably wouldn’t have otherwise had.  It was fun and we grew as a community.  It’s what I love about glassies anyway, that when we get together we tend to open up and be real; but this was a great instance of it and gave credence to the idea that social growth and community happens around food.  Food is a fantastic medium, by the way.  It’s not used enough.

Title: Cross Reference Photo Credit: Jamie Gray Details: Photograph Year: 2009

Do you think that community can be attainable at a large scale or is it limited to smaller groups of people?

Oh yes, I do think so.  But I think our current age of social networking in which we no longer have to look our friends and neighbours in the eyes while we’re talking to them or exercise our tone of voice is thwarting this.  If we ever have a disaster of some sort where our resources are reduced and we have to pull together to survive, we’ll rediscover it.  And in that painful thing (not the disaster but the rediscovery of interaction with people) we’ll see that it’s quite a beautiful and essential thing.  Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, etc, have been taking that from us.  And we’ve been more than willing to go along with that because, let’s face it, it’s very difficult growing in community.  The opportunity for gain is proportionate to the painfulness of it.  But having said that, I also think it’s essential to start small with our own little communities around us, whether that’s neighbours, fellow students, fellow workers, whomever, and then go bigger if that’s warranted.

What do you believe the ideal community is based upon?

I believe that the ideal community is based upon tolerance and inclusion.  That means that no matter how painful it is to know someone, you go ahead and know him or her anyway.  We don’t have to like each other, necessarily (how could we like everyone?), but we should nevertheless be pulling along together at whatever rates we can individually handle, with no one dropping out or being left behind.  That’s, I believe, the ideal community.

Title: Breadbasket Series: Lost Photo Credit: Jamie Gray Details: Fused glass, multi-media Year: 2010

You seem to be quite involved in the Canadian glass community.  Can you talk about the importance of building relationships with other glass artists?

Oh wow – super important.  Not only is the networking absolutely invaluable, but we’re also working together as a community to instruct ourselves, encourage each other, assist wherever we can.  Since many of us work away in our teeny home-based studios, without that connection and help we’d never otherwise see or talk to anyone who also works in glass.  Sometimes you just have to have folks to whom you can go on a regular basis in order to ask questions, talk shop, express concerns and fears, teach, encourage or be encouraged, mentor.  Actually, mentoring is very important to me too, and that’s a big focus for us in the Calgary Warm Glass Guild.  It’s all part of freely passing along what we know so that we continue to grow.

Another reason I’m keen on being involved in Canadian glass on an administrative level is that I feel very strongly the need to promote Canadian glass to the rest of the world, and I do so at every opportunity.  We’re a bit quiet about our work, so I always like to get the word out that we’re making glass art and it’s great stuff.  So one good way to know about Canadian glass in order to talk about it is to be involved in Canadian glass organizations.  Once you’re outside of school, it’s not so easy to stay connected with your glass community unless you’re linked to an organization with that focus.

Title: Prairie Puddle Photo Credit: Jamie Gray Details: Fused and slumped glass Year: 2010

Now having said that, I also feel it’s quite important to get involved OUTSIDE of the glass community so that you don’t become too insular.  For that reason I’m also involved in a knitting group.  It’s good to occasionally work in a medium that is not glass in order to appreciate glass as a medium again.  I’m currently knitting a car cozy.  I know, it’s crazy.

I know that you are involved with the Calgary Warm Glass Guild.  I would be interested in obtaining more information about the guild; what is its mandate?  How do you become a member?

The Guild’s mandate is one based strongly on community.  We exist to connect with each other, instruct each other and support each other.  We meet monthly to eat together and talk shop.  We put together a show once a year and are highly inclusive about who shows – if we ever feel the need to exclude someone’s work we’ll be more likely to help him or her improve the work than exclude the work outright.  We get together regularly to do demos for each other or teach.  Sometimes we bring in a paid instructor for a technique a bunch of us are interested in.  We’re completely non-profit, volunteer-run, and no-fees.  Membership is free and we have 200+ members not only in Calgary, but also all over the world.  We have a Facebook page, regularly updated.  We’re always encouraging glass artists and appreciators to join us and get connected with the rest of the glass community.  Our main way of communicating between meetings is that I send out e-mails (pretty much daily) regarding upcoming events, product and supply info, teaching opportunities, learning opportunities, calls-for-entry, etc.  Mentoring is big.  Membership is easy:  I take the e-mail address of anyone who is interested and from there that person decides what or how much of the information sent out is pertinent to him/her, reading what they want, discarding the rest.  I hope that you’ll join!  Let me know.

Do you work solely with glass or do you work in another field to support your practice?

I do consider myself to be a career artist and I work mostly in glass.  I’m very fortunate in that my husband supports me by handling household financial responsibilities, leaving me free to support my studio practice with what I make teaching or selling work.  Because that doesn’t end up being a lot in a year, I’m quite creative about how I spend those earnings.  I use free, found or thrift-shop materials where I can and I’ve made myself get good at writing grant applications.  The bottom line is that since I’m so fortunate as to not have to pay for mortgage or groceries, then I have a responsibility (which I happily accept) to give as much of myself as I can, as freely as I can, to my community.  I’m an artist and make art, and so for that am indeed ensconced in my teeny studio for periods of time; but I’m also part of something bigger and more important than myself as a single entity.  And there’s such a great feeling of satisfaction and joy in having and being a part of that larger community.

Title: Containment Photo Credit: Jamie Gray Details: Fused and slumped glass Year: 2008

Do you have any advice for an emerging glass artist?

Yes, I do.

• Don’t get discouraged at that hard stop that happens at the end of your schooling.
• Do give yourself a 1-2 month break if you can to decompress and get your head around the idea that you now work for you.  Be proud that you’ve worked so hard to be in this entrepreneurial position.
• Once you’ve had a break, then carry on as you were in school, drawing on your discipline to keep you going.
• Write articles.  Magazines are crying out for these and it’s a great way not only to get your name out there but also to make yourself think hard about stuff.
• Get good at grant writing because it’s pretty much a sure thing that you’ll have a project someday that will require some larger funds and grants are a great help with this.
• Do join GAAC and any and all other glass-based organizations so that you can be supported and feel you’re still connected to the community.
• Your provincial craft council (for us in Alberta, the Alberta Craft Council) is going to be a good support too, since they are huge supporters of craft locally and around the world.  They work very hard for us craftspeople.
• Do volunteer some time somewhere.  I recommend offering to teach glass processes on a community level or getting involved with an arts organization of some sort.
• Be a volunteer TA whenever you can to another glass artist whose work interests you.  Offer to do this for free and try to make your way to them on your own coin.  Who, even of the “greats”, could refuse that offer?  Then work really, really hard for them (first one in the studio in the morning, last one out at night).  And you’ll learn so much; you’ll be truly amazed.  It’s not only great for your resume, but you’ll also get a reputation for diligence and your face and name will start getting known.
• Make work that pleases you and is true to who you are.
• Be smart with the money that you make.  Pay off your student loans but also make sure you keep some of it to keep yourself in supplies.
• Read something every day that pushes you or teaches you something.
• Don’t be too humble and don’t be too proud – mostly don’t be too humble.
• Go to shows often – any shows – be seen and talk to people a lot.  Make sure you talk about what you’re up to as well as finding out what other people are up to.
• Go to a conference each year if you can – apply for grants for this if you can’t afford it.
• Try not to get discouraged or at least not for so long that it affects your work.  If you feel discouraged (which everyone does at one point or another), talk to someone in one of your networking groups.  Don’t bear this burden alone.  It’s one we’ve all carried and learned how to share or overcome.

Amy King is an emerging artist currently based in Calgary, Alberta.  She will be graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta College of Art + Design in 2012.  Ms. King works primarily with glass, specializing in kiln-forming techniques.

By Teresa Burrows

Behind our existence lies something else that becomes accessible to us only by shaking off the world.

(Arthur Schopenhauer)

Aborigines believe there has always been a labyrinth of invisible pathways, on the land and in the sky, that trace the footprints of the ancestors and initiate others to the ways of the world.  Where one learns to walk defines the journey. I was born in England but learned to walk in the Australian outback. The Aborigine believe every event, each person’s journey, leaves a record on the land and dreaming has been a way to creation. From the time I was young I was dreaming, and eventually the art in my head found a way to celebrate the paths of my life.

For the most part, art has been the adventure, but not always my path. I have graduated from a BFA program, trained as a printmaker and reclaimed myself as a painter. But after Jackson Beardy (celebrated aboriginal artist) encouraged me to go to his first nation home of Garden Hill to work (1981), the north embraced me and over the years my work – as the cultural programmer at the Friendship Centre, as a probation officer, addictions counsellor and as a mother – informed my dreams with new worlds and through the confidential confessions of others; worlds from the lives of others.

In many cultures, bones are the true storytellers, the original prophets. I have known stories of many reduced to bones, but two surgeries on my back in 1996 left me learning to walk yet again; this time in northern Manitoba.

Teresa Burrows collecting bones, 2009

For years I tried to define myself as an artist separate from my existence in the north. Maybe this northern identity is earned, but I have, in recent years, embraced the north and the media it affords my expression. As usual without a map, I have been wandering blind, as the landscape has taken my work from two dimensions into three, with mixed media and natural found elements.

As a visual artist I spent almost ten years on what I called drawings made up of dots. My paintings were large and complex like tapestries. My photo montages are equally labour-intensive with double exposed, accidently layered and digitally altered images choreographed together to make what I call photo quilts. And somewhere in between, while making elaborate “props” for what I wanted for the photographs and paintings, I realized that my mixed media works were already art. So over the last six years, I have been beading, almost daily, to realize a number of mixed media works. Beadwork has in a way become a new medium for my obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

Raven Ballet - The Unkindness of Nights Below Zero, Painting, 1999, 5 x 8 feet

Living 800 km from any recognized art centre, and in a mining community (Thompson) without a gallery or cohesive arts community, creates both obstacles and extends benefits. I am neither engaged nor entangled in any specific arts trend or tangent but can embrace the freedom to grow a little wild. My husband and I spend most weekends and holidays at a small log cabin without running water at Paint Lake. The foxes and ravens call by, and the beavers have set up homes on both of my neighbours’ lots. I am always amazed that Canada, as a country, and certainly most of this continent, was mapped and developed because of a beaver and the status of a beaver top hat. A country was born of fur and skin. That I live in the original trading area of the Hudson Bay Company, and have married a “Hudson” has only added the layers that define this artistic identity.

In 2004-07, I embarked upon a journey, like Alice in Wonderland, into my A(lass) in Rupertsland series that took the English-born Alice into the history and wilderness of the fur trade. The beaded top hats and The (Sul)fur Queen, an elaborately beaded and beaver skull adorned gown made of Hudson Bay blankets, complete with its own crown, started the story of those who had lived by the motto pro pelle cutem (we risk our lives for skins).Taking Alice in her flowers could only expand on my life as a child of the sixties, hippies and flower power married to the many beaded flowers of the north, patterns handed down in families for generations. A medieval phrase, “in her flowers”, was a metaphor for a young woman and her start of menses. But being part of the never lost, I am always invited somewhere that changes the art and the journey.

Caribou Women in her Flowers Ceremonial Robe, 2008-2010, lifesize (Approx 2x5 feet)

In 2007, I received a Manitoba Arts Council grant. After being gifted a set of many-tined caribou antlers, the reference to the caribou antlers as blooming, their mythos so closely tied to fertility and spring, added to the original concept of female rites. Reindeer are found on the walls of the Lascaux caves in France. The “sanctuary des trois frères”, images within the cave, had to have a feminine translation.  Ancient stories of shape shifting goddesses, caribou reindeer women, celebrated winter solstice sisters; protectresses of the earth who carried back the sun in their antlers, melted the ice and icicles and welcome the world to be reborn in their flowers.

Beadwork detail of Caribou Women in her Flowers from rear of Ceremonial Robe, 2007-2010, approx, 8 inches in dia.

I created a dress, a hat and sun staff adorned in antlers. I invited numerous friends during the winter solstice through to the spring, to be photographed adorned in golden antlers.  The purpose was to showcase strong personalities, these women’s sacred wisdom born out of personal migrations but with an entourage of sisters. Some of the faces, with antlers and beads, evolved into the madre primavera top hat, the sun staff and the ceremonial in her flowers robe (2007-2010).

Caribou Women Sun Staff, beadwork detail, 2009, approx. 9” dia.

Becoming part of the “never lost” requires a guide. Like a girl in a northern fairy tale, I married a bear. My husband has from childhood in the north, had permission to do as he pleases. On a trip south, he drove inland from the highway, stopped and stepped into the bushes, beckoning the rest of us to follow the trail. Little did we know that the trail exists in his mind and soon all that was recognizable was rustling in the bushes and the symphonies of mosquito orchestras. He would double back and trample forth as we hurdled boreal obstacles, trying to align our experiences with his overlaid colour commentary “Isn’t this beautiful?” ”Not far now,” and “I don’t know why more people don’t come here!”

Caribou Women Madre Primevera, 2009, beadwork detail approx. 12” x 17”

Art often takes us off the beaten track and journeys into the light, often starting in the dark. Homer’s sirens and harpies say, ”We know all that happens on this much suffering earth.” And I have known many dark places. After immigrating to Canada, we lived in downtown Vancouver, blocks away from Pickton’s infamous killing ground. My 1999 Raven Ballet: The Unkindness of Nights Below Zero and 2003 Lost Pearls:  Daughters of St. Anthony’s Abattoir were painted for the murdered and missing women.

During the A(lass) in Rupertland series, I dreamed of blue faces and beaver women, barely seen through sheer fabric hanging in the boreal forest. Veils separate us from the world of the dead and the voices from beyond. The shaking tent allowed for the invocation of animal guides to bring messages and guidance from the spirit world. However, northern humour also translates the “shaking tent” as places in the bush where couples might have sex. Researching certain myths, blue often was a colour for otherworldly creatures, those from the underworld, the dead. If my beaver women were dead spirits, it was possible they had risked their lives with their skins. And with the word beaver being slang for a woman’s vagina, the risk may have been sexual. My beaver women had shape shifted through history from the fur trade to the sex trade and were risking their lives with their skin, either willingly or simply by the nature of their gender. Could art be an investigation of the traps we lay out in our cultures that condemn feral women, and of the media portrayals that strip them of their muchness and stereotype them as the Madonna and Magdalene.

Mirrors of the Mystery Lake Dam'oiselles, Photomontage, 2005, 36” x 48”

With another grant from the Manitoba Arts Council, I am creating a series of dam’oiselles to honour the shaking tent women and those of us who have heeded calls to live wild lives, who may risk our lives with skin and tell our stories with bones. In their sanctuary, the shaking tent sisters, camouflaged ethereal beings, emancipated, engaged, embraced, entangled, exiled but never entrapped, can respectfully be laid bare, shedding their layers, continuously shaking off the world but offering tantalizing signals.  “I am here” for our curiouser and curiouser world.

In November 2010, jurors for the RBC Glass Artist Award recognized my work as a finalist and also supported The Blue Beaver’s Burden and The Disappearance of the Shaking Tent Sisters. It was a welcome affirmation that beadwork could have a place in the contemporary glass art scene and I hope the complexity, labour and artistic excellence of beadwork can expand the boundaries of art. I continue to dream, and follow my own invisible path, hoping my work can contribute to the cultural legacy being created by glass artists.

Blue Beaver's Burden, Work in Progress, 2010, 10” x 20”

Alejandra Basañes et Guillermo Raynié

Œuvre : Éclair d’identité mauricienne. Vitrail 96 x 119 cm. 2005 (Photo Guy Langevin)

Depuis notre arrivée au Canada, en Mauricie (Québec), nous avons cherché toujours des liens de communication avec notre société d’adoption. Arrivés en 2003 depuis l’Amérique du Sud, nous avions, tel un nouveau-né, tout à découvrir, soit sur les plans personnel, social ou professionnel. Avec une trajectoire déjà amorcée dans notre pays d’origine (Argentine), en vitrail, en arts visuels et avec notre famille, nous avons plongé alors dans une immersion canadienne totale, avec la seule complicité initiale de Gilles Désaulniers, verrier et créateur avec qui nous avions établis contact par courriel.

Éclair d’identité mauricienne. Détail, vitrail en construction.

C’est grâce aux à la bourse du Fonds de la Mauricie pour les arts et les lettres et aux différents partenaires, que nous avons développé des projets communautaires en vitrail en 2005, 2008 et 2010.

D’abord en 2005 nous avons cherché à découvrir l’identité mauricienne. En travaillant avec des enfants d’école primaire nous nous sommes introduits aux contes et légendes de notre région : la Mauricie. Avec ce bagage d’histoires et d’images nous avons créé le vitrail Éclair d’identité mauricienne qui nous a valu une nomination en métiers d’art pour le prix Arts Excellence 2006 de Culture Mauricie. Avec l’idée de faire nos propres verres, le projet s’est déroulé après un stage de travail en Allemagne dans le but d’apprivoiser les techniques de coloration du verre flotté par fusion. Verre à vitrail, verre flotté fusionné, grisaille par sérigraphie et baguette de plomb composent l’œuvre, acquise par la Commission scolaire du Chemin du Roy et installée à la bibliothèque de l’école Jacques-Buteux, partenaire de l’aventure.

Éclair d’identité mauricienne, détail. Verres fusionnés

Suite à ce projet, notre premier en terre canadienne, nous avons été invités par la Conférence régionale des élus de la Mauricie (CRÉ Mauricie) à produire une autre pièce abordant le même sujet, réalisé totalement en verre flotté fusionné. Elle se trouve à la réception de la CRÉ Mauricie.

En 2008 nous nous sommes intéressés à l’accueil que nous offrons aux visiteurs, soient-ils temporaires ou permanents. En partenariat avec le bureau de tourisme de Trois-Rivières et le Comité d’accueil aux Néo-Canadiens de Trois-Rivières, nous avons établi des ponts avec enfants, adolescents et adultes, immigrants, touristes et québécois pure laine, dans le but de mieux connaître les différentes expériences personnelles. Pour la création de l’œuvre Accueil, accueilli, accueillant, nous nous sommes inspirés des sources variées : soit, pour les enfants, par les contes et légendes de ces pays respectifs, soit, pour les adultes, par les faits vécus. Vitrail réalisé aussi avec du verre flotté coloré par fusion et thermoformage, vitrail qui nous a valu une autre nomination en métiers d’art pour le prix Arts Excellence 2008 de Culture Mauricie.

Œuvre : Accueil, accueilli, accueillant. Vitrail 98 x 112 cm. 2007

En 2010 avec Stratégie Carrières comme partenaire (entreprise qui œuvre dans la recherche d’emploi pour des gens en difficulté) nous nous sommes servis du métier du vitrailliste pour introduire les gens au travail en équipe, au défi des nouvelles expériences face à un travail manuel inconnu. Cette fois le travail de création en verre nous a servi pour faire comprendre aux gens qu’on est bien capable de faire des nouvelles expériences dans des champs qu’on ignore et que, même si on est d’origines très diverses, nous sommes toujours capables de travailler en équipe.

Exposition Parcours. Vitraux. Lors du colloque : Itinéraires en métiers d’art. Maison Hertel de la Fresnière, Trois-Rivières. Conseil des métiers d’art du Québec et Regroupement des métiers d’art de la Mauricie. 2009

La somme de ce parcours en vitrail a été reconnue avec le prix Arts Excellence 2010 en métiers d’art octroyé par Culture Mauricie.

Tout ce travail communautaire nous a servi pour apprivoiser notre société d’adoption, pour connaître notre milieu de travail et pour nous établir professionnellement. Il nous a aussi servi pour faire voir le vitrail en dehors de sa scène habituelle : le sacré. À notre surprise, dans la société québécoise, le vitrail est encore fortement associé avec l’église, dans nos projets nous avons mis l’effort pour montrer que ce métier millénaire peut très bien aller ailleurs que dans un bâtiment religieux et qu’il peut aussi bien véhiculer un autre message tout en conservant son coté artistique.

Éclair d’identité mauricienne II. Hall Conférence régional des Élus de la Mauricie. Vitrail 112 x 84 cm. 2008

Alejandra Basañes www.basanes.com

Guillermo Raynié  www.devidrio.ca

By Alejandra Basañes and Guillermo Raynié

Translation by Sam Kerson and Katah

Flash of Mauritian identity. Stained glass 96 x 119 cm. 2005 (Photo Guy Langevin)

Since our arrival in the Mauricie region of Québec, Canada, we have been looking for ways to interact with our new community.  We arrived from South America in 2003.  We felt like newborns because everything seemed different, both on a personal level and on the social and professional levels.  Back in Argentina, we had already started our journey as a family in the field of stained glass as well as in visual arts.  We now immersed ourselves in Canadian society.   Our only ally was Gilles Désaulniers, a glass worker and artist, with whom we had made contact by e-mail.

Mauritian identity. Detail, stained glass construction.

Thanks to grants supporting arts and literature from the Fonds de la Mauricie, along with other sponsors, we developed community projects using stained glass in 2005, 2008 and 2010.  For the first project in 2005, we wanted to explore the identity of the Mauricie.  We worked with children from primary schools and together we researched the local legends of the Mauricie.  With these stories and images, we created the original stained glass piece called Éclair d’Identité Mauricienne which was nominated, in the artisans’ category, for the Arts Excellence 2006 prize by Culture Mauricie.  We did this project after an internship in Germany where we learned the coloring techniques using fused float glass.  The piece is made of stained glass, fused float glass, silkscreen grisaille and came.  The artwork has been purchased by the Chemin du Roy school board and was installed at the library of the Jacques-Buteux school, which participated as a sponsor of this great adventure.

Mauritian identity, detail. Fused glass

As a result of this project, our first on Canadian soil, we were invited by the Conférence régionale des élus de la Mauricie (CRÉ Mauricie) to produce another piece on the same subject, made entirely of fused float glass.  The piece is exhibited at the entrance of the CRÉ Mauricie building.

In 2008, we became interested in the way we welcome visitors, be they temporary or permanent. We collaborated with the Tourism office in Trois-Rivières and the Trois-Rivières Neo-Canadians Welcome Committee.  We paired children, adolescents, and adults, immigrants and tourists with native Quebecois people; the objective being that everyone’s personal experience would be shared.  In order to create this piece, Accueil, accueilli, accueillant (Welcome, Welcomed, Welcoming), we were inspired by different sources.  For example, for the children we used stories and legends from their respective countries; and for adults, their own experience.  The stained glass was made with fused float glass and thermoforming.  For this artwork, we were nominated in the artisans’ category for the Arts Excellence 2008 Prize by Culture Mauricie.

Welcome, welcome, welcome. Stained glass 98 x 112 cm. 2007

In 2010, with Stratégie Carrières as our partner (this group helps people re-enter the job market), we used our craft as glass artists to introduce the participants to teamwork as well as the challenges we face in this field of hands-on creative production where risks are taken and the outcome is not always known.  This time, we used the work we do with glass to show the people that we are able to have new experiences and that even if we have different histories, we are always able to work together as a team.  The result of this stained glass project was recognized with the Arts Excellence 2010 Prize in the artisans’ category given by Culture Mauricie.

Installation shot, Stained glass. At the conference: Directions in crafts. House of Fresnière Hertel, Trois-Rivieres. Crafts Council of Quebec and Grouping crafts Mauricie. 2009

For us, all this community work has served to give us a chance to get more acquainted with our new community, to get to know our working environment and to become more established professionally.  This work has also given us the opportunity to show the beauty of stained glass outside its usual setting:  the sacred.  To our surprise, in the Quebecois society stained glass is still very much associated with the church, and in our projects we emphasized the fact that this age old craft can very well be placed elsewhere than in a religious building and that it can transmit another message while keeping its artistic integrity.

Mauritian identity. Hall Regional Conference of Elected Representatives in the Mauricie. Stained Glass 112 x 84 cm. 2008

Alejandra Basañes:  http://www.basanes.com/

Guillermo Raynié:  http://www.devidrio.ca/

February Member Interview – Sarah Hall

Originally published on the GAAC Facebook page on February 1, 2011

GAAC: What was it that drew you to glass as your artistic material of choice?

Sarah Hall:  I fell in love with stained glass when I was a kid.  I was enchanted by how the patterns of light and colour inside a building created an other-worldly, magical place, set apart from ordinary life. I decided at nine years of age to “make windows” when I grew up.

St.-Barnabas-On-The-Desert, Arizona – Glass Mosaic

GAAC: How much of a role has education played in your development with the material?

SH: I had a good education – studying at Swansea College of Art (Wales, UK) in the Architectural Glass Department, followed by an internship with Glass Master, Lawrence Lee, at the Royal College of Art in London. After this I lived for a year in Jerusalem studying middle-eastern techniques in glass. I have continued taking (and occasionally giving) workshops to explore new techniques.

St.-Barnabas-On-The-Desert, Arizona – Glass Mosaic Detail

GAAC: Who (or what) has played some of the largest influences on the development of your work – both thematically and technically?

SH: Although it may not be reflected visually in my work, the influence of Johannes Schreiter has been substantial; as well as that of my master Lawrence Lee. My extensive travels in Europe provide continual inspiration in viewing both historic and new work. My commissions have new parameters and demands each time, which keep the creativity level high.

Embassy of Kuwait

GAAC: What have you found to be the biggest ongoing challenge in your career as a glass artist, and how do you strive to overcome that?

SH: Architectural glass is mostly commissioned projects and the needs of clients - which have little to do with art – are exhausting. Taking a break and doing work for myself is essential but difficult- the ball keeps rolling. I have to say I have not found a perfect balance – maybe February in Bermuda every year is the answer.

Grass Valley Solar Window

GAAC: What is it that you find makes Canadian glass art (and artists) different?

SH: It is not easy to define, but I think Canadian artists have a unique sense of space and an ease with infinity which sets us apart. Our relationship to nature and “the other creatures” is often reflected in a distinctive, intriguing way. I love the work of so many of my fellow glass artists in Canada.

Grass Valley Solar Window Interior

GAAC: What are you working towards for the future of your career, and how do you see yourself getting there?

SH: There are several new directions for my architectural solar projects that I hope to accomplish in the next five years - sculptural / entry pieces. Also, glass mosaic – as seen in the recent glass mosaic project in Arizona – is a technique I want to explore more.

Solar Wind Tower - Vancouver

Bermuda for the month of February every year is sounding good as our Canadian winter approaches.

Thanks for your interest.  Please see these links for recent projects.

*Lux Gloria - Saskatoon receives more sunlight than any other city in Canada and is home to the first Cathedral in the world to incorporate solar energy collection into its stained glass windows. This monumental project with the largest ever solar art glass windows is a work in progress by Sarah Hall:  See it here: http://sarahhallstudio.com/soundslides/saskatoon_solar/index.html

*Wondrous Love – The title of the work “Wondrous Love” is inspired by a great American spiritual. Opus 3881, is a three manual organ with forty ranks and 2929 pipes – a project collaboratively designed by Casavant Frères and Sarah Hall.  Surrounding the organ pipes are 39 panels containing over 80,000 hand painted and cut glass mosaic tiles and coloured metal filigree. See: http://sarahhallstudio.com/documents/stbarnabas_web.pdf

*Magnificat – Sarah’s beautiful “Magnificat” window in Vancouver places Mary in Canada with a new title – Our Lady of the Northern Light. View the process of making the window: http://sarahhallstudio.com/soundslides/magnificat/index.html

*Mystical   - The austere chapel windows at Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Retreat Centre are inspired both by early Christian art and the paintings of Hildegard of Bingen. We extend an invitation to enter the mystical realm of Manresa: http://sarahhallstudio.com/soundslides/manresa/index.html

For more information on Sarah Hall and her work, please visit her GAAC Artist Profile at: http://www.glassartcanada.ca/artist.php?id=412#portfolio

L’entretien du mois de février avec Sarah Hall, membre du GAAC.

Déjà publié sur la page Facebook du GAAC, le 1 février 2011.

Traduit par Christian Poulin, Director, Espace Verre

GAAC : Pourquoi avez-vous choisi le verre comme matériau privilégié?

Sarah Hall : Enfant, j’ai eu un coup de foudre pour le vitrail. J’ai été éblouie par les effets que produisaient les divers motifs de lumière et de couleurs à l’intérieur des édifices. On avait l’impression d’être transporté dans un autre monde, magique, hors de la réalité ordinaire. J’ai donc décidé à l’âge de neuf ans que je créerais des fenêtres quand je serais grande.

St.-Barnabas-On-The-Desert, Arizona – Glass Mosaic

GAAC : Quel rôle a joué l’éducation dans votre développement avec le verre?

SH : J’ai reçu une excellente formation lors de mes études au Swansea College of Art (Pays de Galles, R.U.) au département de verre architectural, suivi par un stage avec le maître verrier Lawrence Lee, au Royal College of Art à Londres. Par la suite, j’ai vécu un an à Jérusalem, où j’ai étudié les techniques d’art verrier du Moyen-Orient. J’ai continué à suivre (et à donner) des ateliers de formation pour explorer de nouvelles techniques.

St.-Barnabas-On-The-Desert, Arizona – Glass Mosaic Detail

GAAC : Qui ou qu’est-ce qui a eu le plus d’influence sur le développement des thèmes et des techniques dans votre travail?

SH : Même si ce n’est pas perceptible dans mon travail, l’influence de Johannes Schreiter a été marquante, de même que celle de mon maître Lawrence Lee. Mes nombreux séjours en Europe ont été aussi une grande source d’inspiration puisqu’ils m’ont permis de voir plusieurs œuvres historiques et contemporaines. Également, les commandes d’œuvres exigent de nouveaux paramètres et de nouvelles recherches qui gardent active ma créativité.

Embassy of Kuwait

GAAC : Quel est le plus gros défi dans votre carrière d’artiste verrier actuellement et quelle est votre solution pour réussir?

SH : Mes projets sur commande sont les plus exigeants et sont surtout en verre architectural. Les demandes de ces clients ne sont pas toujours d’ordre artistique. C’est donc primordial de prendre du temps pour mon travail de création malgré les difficultés que cela peux engendrer, en s’assurant que tout le reste fonctionne bien. Je dois vous avouer que je n’ai pas encore trouvé l’équilibre parfait… peut-être que passer chaque mois de février aux Bermudes aiderait.

Grass Valley Solar Window

GAAC : Qu’est-ce qui distingue le verre d’art canadien (et ses artistes)?

SH : Ce n’est pas facile à définir mais je pense que les artistes canadiens se distinguent par leur approche spatiale, par leur facilité d’aborder les grands espaces, l’infini. Nous avons aussi une relation distincte et intrigante avec la nature et les autres créatures. J’admire beaucoup le travail de plusieurs de mes collègues artistes verriers canadiens.

Grass Valley Solar Window Interior

GAAC : Vers quel but prévoyez-vous diriger votre carrière et comment pensez-vous l’atteindre?

SH : J’ai plusieurs nouvelles orientations pour des projets architecturaux avec du verre solaire que j’espère réaliser au cours des cinq prochaines années, surtout des pièces sculpturales et pour des halls d’entrée. Aussi, j’aimerais explorer d’avantage la mosaïque de verre, suite à un projet récent que j’ai réalisé en Arizona avec cette technique.

Solar Wind Tower - Vancouver

Les Bermudes durant le mois de février, à chaque année – cela me semble une très bonne idée, surtout avec l’hiver canadien.

Merci pour votre intérêt. Veuillez suivre les liens pour avoir plus d’informations sur mes projets récents :

*Lux Gloria – Saskatoon est l’une des villes les plus ensoleillées au Canada et abrite la première cathédrale, au monde, à intégrer des capteurs d’énergie solaire dans ses vitraux. Il s’agit d’un projet monumental encore en cours de réalisation par Sarah Hall. Pour en savoir plus : http ://sarahhallstudio.com/soundslides/saskatoon_solar/index.html

*Wondrous Love – Le titre du projet Wondrous Love est inspiré d’un grand penseur spirituel américain. Opus 3881 est un orgue à trois claviers manuels avec 40 jeux de notes et 2929 tuyaux à vent conçu par les Frères Casavant et Sarah Hall. Les tuyaux à vent de l’orgue sont entourés de 39 panneaux intégrant plus de 80 000 tuiles de mosaïques de verre, peintes et coupées à la main, ainsi que des filigranes métalliques colorés. Pour en savoir plus : http ://sarahhallstudio.com/documents/stbarnabas_web.pdf

*Magnificat – La magnifique fenêtre Magnificat, conçue par Sarah Hall pour Vancouver, replace la Vierge Marie au Canada avec un nouveau titre : Notre-Dame de l’Aurore boréale. Pour suivre sa fabrication : http ://sarahhallstudio.com/soundslides/magnificat/index.html

*Mystical - Pour la conception des fenêtres austères de la chapelle de la maison de retraite jésuite Manresa, Sarah Hall s’est inspirée de l’art paléochrétien et des peintures de Hildegarde de Bingen. Visitez le domaine mystique de Manresa :

http ://sarahhallstudio.com/soundslides/manresa/index.html

Pour plus d’informations sur le travail de Sarah Hall, veuillez visiter son profil d’artiste sur le site Internet du GAAC : http ://www.glassartcanada.ca/artist.php?id=412#portfolio

By Steven Tippin

My name is Steven Tippin and I am a glass artist that has recently moved to a small community just west of Waterloo, Ontario. I have the great opportunity of setting up my own kiln-working studio exactly how I want. The only problem is I have no idea how I want it to be set up. I have a basic idea of what I want and need but I do not want to try to reinvent the wheel when we have the GAAC website as a resource for such a discussion. I also have a limited budget with which to make these changes so I would love to learn from the mistakes of others before I make the same ones myself. I have decided to enlist all members of G

AAC to help me through this process. I guess I should thank you all in advance…

The Studio as I first saw it.

Through the next few issues, I plan to inform you on the details of the space and ask, possibly beg, for your input and suggestions. My goal is to utilize the online format of the GAAC website to set up a cross-Canada dialogue between its members and create a possible resource for others considering setting up a studio. I hope to hear from artists that have set up their own studios, those working in studios that are not their own, glass studio technicians and possibly an expert or two from outside the glass community. Please do not think that I am limiting this discussion to only these people. I want to hear from anyone with an opinion, suggestion, comment or warning. I want to know what works well in glass studios and, more importantly, what does not.

I make kiln-fired work primarily (see my GAAC portfolio and bio here) so the space will primarily be used as a kiln studio with a small coldshop. I will use it occasionally for sandblasting, painting, welding and basic woodworking. I want to make sure that the studio has a few different zones to keep the spaces (and their mess) from running into each other. For example, I do not want my sandblaster located in the same area that I paint in.

In order to get this discussion started, I should tell you a little about the space. Here are the details of the studio:

Basics:

The studio is a detached workshop located on the property of my new house. The roof and the outer walls are covered with metal. The interior of the studio measures 21’ wide by 31’ long, with a door and a 10’ wide garage door at the narrow north end that leads to my driveway. The shop has five windows spaced throughout, a furnace suspended from the ceiling rafters and a floor made of poured cement. The walls and roof have been spray-foam insulated but the studs are still exposed for me to build on. The ceiling rafters are also exposed and measure 10’ above the concrete floor.

The studio as seen from the garage door (facing south).

In one corner there is a storage shelf (my English brother-in-law insists that it is called a mezzanine) that is 6’ off of the ground and measures 8’ wide by 19 ½’ alongside the long west wall. I have a love/hate relationship with this suspended storage area (mezzanine!). I am six foot tall and so is the bottom of the oversized shelf. This means that the space under the shelf is not usable for working more than a few minutes and the space above the shelf has about 3 ½’ between the shelf and the rafters which is not really useful for anything other than storing my dusty blow pipes. On the other hand, I think that I will find the storage really helpful but at the moment I am not willing to give up a third of the space to storage. I think that I may cut it back to 8’ x 8’ so that it ends just shy of the first window. Please see the diagram of the building. Feel free to print it and make suggestions based on it.

Utilities:

Water

The building has a buried cold-water-only line running from the house to inside the building. It is a semi-flexible plastic pipe so I will not be using it for drinking from. It will be for coldworking and cleaning only. I will be utilizing the French-style drain located in the centre of the space to drain the water after catching the sediment in an interceptor.

The current studio residents.

Gas

There is a gas line that runs underground to the building’s ceiling-mounted heating furnace. The furnace is about seventeen years old but hopefully will hold up for as long as I need it to. Why not be foolishly optimistic, right?

The studio (facing north).

Electricity

Currently it has a buried line running from the house to a 60-amp service panel with some empty spots as extendible potential for the panel.

I have a feeling that this will be a great place to make into a studio. The photos show a wet floor because the old owner dropped by to pressure wash the floor (that doesn’t happen in Toronto!!). Don’t worry, the shop does not leak. My concern is whether or not there will be enough power to run my kiln and a sandblaster.

Please feel free to comment below the article or email me directly with questions, comments and suggestions at steve.tippin@gmail.com.  I will mention a few suggestions in the next instalment when I discuss the electrical part of the studio but feel free to comment on layout, lighting, equipment, or whatever you want. In order to avoid the obvious comments on decoration, please note that I have already removed the racecar posters.

The Utilities enter in this corner. Gas, Water, Electricity.

Créer un atelier en contrée Mennonite

Par Steven Tippin

Mon nom est Steven Tippin, je suis artiste verrier et je viens juste d’emménager dans une petite communauté à l’est de Waterloo en Ontario. J’ai la chance de pouvoir installer mon propre atelier verrier exactement de la manière dont je le souhaite. Le seul problème est que je n’ai aucune idée de “comment” je souhaite vraiment le faire. J’ai bien une idée de départ sur ce que je veux et ce dont j’ai besoin, mais je me suis dit que le site Internet du GAAC serait l’endroit idéal pour tenir ce genre de discussion. J’ai aussi un budget limité avec lequel je souhaite effectuer ces changements donc j’aimerai beaucoup apprendre des erreurs des autres avant de les perpétrer moi-même. Je fais donc appelle à tous les membres du GAAC pour m’aider dans cette quête et je vous en remercie tous par avance…

Le Studio comme je l'ai vu la première fois.

Au travers des quelques prochains paragraphes, je vais tenter de vous fournir les détails concernant l’endroit et de vous solliciter, voire supplier de m’apporter vos suggestions et votre contribution. Le but étant de tirer parti de la version en ligne de la GAAC pour établir un débat inter canadien entre les membres et créer ainsi un outil potentiel pour ceux qui souhaitent ensuite créer un atelier. J’espère que les artistes qui ont déjà conçu leur propre atelier interviendront, ainsi que tous ceux qui oeuvrent dans d’autres ateliers que les leurs, les techniciens d’ateliers verriers et si possible un ou deux experts en dehors de la communauté du verre. Bien sûr, la recherche ne se limite pas aux personnes énoncées ci-dessus. Je suis ouvert aux opinions, suggestions, commentaires ou avertissements de tous.  Je voudrai connaître ce qui fonctionne bien dans un atelier verrier et surtout savoir ce qui ne marche pas.

Je travaille principalement avec une arche (cf. mon portfolio et ma biographie GAAC ici), l’espace sera donc essentiellement dédié au travail à chaud incluant un petit endroit pour les process à froid que j’utiliserai occasionnellement pour le sablage, la peinture, la soudure et le travail du bois. Je tiens à ce que l’atelier conserve différentes zones, afin de délimiter les espaces et éviter qu’ils se chevauchent (ainsi que leurs bazars). Par exemple, je ne souhaite pas que ma sableuse soit dans la même pièce où je peins.

Pour amorcer la discussion, je vais vous en dire plus concernant l’endroit. Voici les détails de l’atelier:

Données de bases:

L’atelier se situe à l’écart de ma maison sur ma nouvelle propriété. Le toit et les murs extérieurs sont recouverts de métal. L’intérieur du studio mesure 21 pieds de large par 31 pieds de long avec une porte et à l’extrémité nord une entrée de garage large de 10 pieds donnant sur mon allée. La pièce possède 5 fenêtres espacées, une chaudière suspendue aux poutres de la toiture et un sol en béton. Les murs et le toit sont isolés par une mousse mais les clous sont toujours visibles, permettant de construire par-dessus. Les poutres du plafond sont elles aussi apparentes et se situent à 10 pieds de haut.

Le studio vu de la porte de garage (côté sud).

Le long du mur ouest, il y au coin un espace de rangement (mon beau-frère anglais tiens à utiliser le terme de mezzanine) surélevé à 6 pieds du sol et mesurant 8 pieds de large sur 19,5 pieds de long. J’aime et je déteste à la fois cet espace de stockage suspendu (mezzanine!). Je mesure 6 pieds tout comme le dessous de cette étagère démesurée. Ce qui signifie que cette hauteur sous l’étagère ne me permet pas d’y travailler plus de quelques minutes. L’espace disponible au dessus de l’étagère est d’environ 3,5 pieds de haut, ce qui n’est pas vraiment suffisant non plus pour y ranger quoique ce soit à part quelques cannes à souffler poussiéreuses. Il est possible que cet espace me devienne très utile un jour, mais pour le moment je ne me sens pas prêt à accorder un tiers de l’espace juste au rangement. Je pense probablement le raccourcir à 8 x 8 pieds pour que le bout s’ajuste à la première fenêtre. Voici un schéma du bâtiment, n’hésitez pas à l’imprimer et à l’utiliser pour vos suggestions.

Commodités:

L’eau:

Le bâtiment possède une arrivée d’eau froide uniquement qui passe sous terre de la maison à l’intérieur du bâtiment. C’est un tuyau en plastique semi flexible et je ne compte donc pas l’utiliser comme eau potable. Elle ne me servira que pour le nettoyage et le travail à froid. J’utiliserai un écoulement à la française qui se situe au centre de l’espace pour évacuer l’eau après avoir au préalable récupéré le dépôt à l’aide d’un intercepteur.

Les habitants studio actuel.

Le gaz:

Une arrivée souterraine de gaz ravitaille la chaudière suspendue au plafond. La chaudière est vieille de 17 ans mais elle devrait pouvoir encore tenir tant que j’en aurai besoin. Soyons naïvement optimiste!

Le studio (côté nord).

L’électricité:

Pour l’instant, une ligne tendue sous terre de la maison rejoint un compteur de 60 ampères qui possède des parties encore vierges pour un agrandissement potentiel par la suite.

J’ai l’impression que cet endroit pourrait faire un atelier idéal. Sur les photos le sol est humide car le propriétaire est passé laver le sol au karcher (ce n’est pas à Toronto qu’on verrait ça!!) Pas d’inquiétude donc, l’atelier ne fuit pas. Ce qui me préoccupe plutôt est de savoir si j’aurai suffisamment de puissance électrique pour faire fonctionner à la fois arche et sableuse.

N’hésitez pas à commenter directement en dessous de cet article ou en m’envoyant un email à steve.tippin@gmail.com pour des questions, commentaires ou suggestions. Dans le prochain épisode, je vous ferai part de quelques idées concernant la question de l’électricité dans l’atelier, mais en attendant, n’hésitez pas à me parler de l’agencement, de l’éclairage, de l’équipement ou de ce qui vous passe par la tête. Dans le but d’éviter les commentaires évidents concernant la déco, je préfère vous informer d’avance que j’ai déjà enlevé les posters de voitures de course.

Les services publics entrent dans ce coin. Gaz, eau, électricité.

By K. Leah Duperreault

Ryan fishing

Ryan Bavin has been producing blown glass fish for more than ten years.  Growing up, he spent a lot of time fishing.  His grandfather taught him how to fly fish, including how to tie his own flies, when he was six or seven years old.  This is where his fascination with fish started.  Many weekends were spent on the local lakes and streams fishing for several varieties of trout.

Ryan and Pat working

Bavin Glassworks was founded in 1988 by Ryan’s father, Pat Bavin, in the small BC town of Windermere.  Ryan started working with his dad in 1989 at the age of 15, learning how to blow glass.  Several years later in the mid 1990′s, a couple of things happened.

Firstly, in the winter of 1996, Ryan spent a couple of months with his brother Marc road-tripping down into Mexico.  Every day was spent in the ocean, surfing and snorkeling on the tropical beaches.  Seeing all the brightly colored fish in the ocean made Ryan think that they would be fun to make in glass.  All the bright colors and interesting shapes would be an interesting challenge.

Secondly, shortly after returning home from Mexico, Ryan went on the first of what would become several trips to the Pilchuck Glass School.  Here he was exposed to some more advanced techniques in the blowing and sculpture of hot glass.  After returning from Pilchuck in the summer of 1996, Ryan began to experiment with the process of making fish in glass.

Bull Trout

The first fish were tropical in nature.  Tropical fish were relatively easy to make as you could make them almost any shape and color combination and they would look like a tropical fish.  Before long Ryan became more interested in making the fish that he had always known and grew up fishing for around his home.  Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout, as well as Bull Trout and Whitefish were what he was more familiar with.  So, when he could get the chance and be assisted by his father, he started to work on making more indigenous species of fish.  The early trout were usually clear, with spots and eyes sandblasted on once the piece had been annealed.  This was because it was difficult to get the color on the fish in the right location.  Over several more years, Ryan tried various techniques for applying color.  Gradually, he formed a color technique using mostly cane and powders.  And as the colors began to develop, he became more proficient with the other aspects of making the trout as well.  He then began working on creating the subtle differences of body shape and color between the different species.

Dolly Varden Detail

Ryan believes that glass is about as good a medium as you can possibly use to make a fish.  “The fluidity of the medium really lends itself to the natural movement of creatures that live in water,” he says.  “While I’m working in the hotshop, the piece is naturally moving all the time.”  He laughs, “It really comes alive on the end of the punty!”

The first major show of the Bavin glass fish was in November, 2008.  Rod Green of Masters Gallery in Calgary became interested in the fish and offered to have a show.  The Bavins were excited by the prospect of having a show in such a prestigious gallery.  Working hard throughout 2008, Ryan, assisted by his dad Pat, produced 25 fish for the November show at Masters.  The show was an overwhelming success, selling out in two days.

This show gave Ryan the confidence that he needed to continue to work on making fish out of glass.  He is still producing trout, and has started to produce a species of Pacific salmon as well.  “Eighty years ago, Pacific salmon used to make their way up to the Columbia River all the way past Invermere to the headwaters of the Columbia,” he says.  The salmon no longer make it this far upstream due to the damming of the river; however, a landlocked version, the Kokanee, still run up sections of the river every fall.

Sockeye

Ryan still enjoys getting out and going fishing for the local species of trout, and now has renewed interest in learning about the fish and studying their aquatic environment.  Introduced species, interbreeding, and changes to the very waters in which they live are changing the fish.  The fish that Ryan now finds in the Columbia River Basin are quite different from the ones his grandfather fished for a couple generations ago.  “By studying the fish, I have learned a lot about the area in which I live,” says Ryan.  “It makes me realize how interconnected everything is, especially with water.”

Ryan blowing

Ryan blows glass at his family’s studio, Bavin Glassworks, in Invermere, BC.  He still works occasionally with his father but is now assisted by other people as well in the growing glass community in the Columbia Valley.  Leah Duperreault has become a regular assistant with the fish for the last couple of years.

Check out bavinglass.com for more information about Bavin Glassworks!

By Lynne Bowland

I figured I might as well blow my own horn this issue!  Last summer was my 11^th summer running a gallery featuring work done by Canadian women.

My biggest issue since I moved the gallery to New Brunswick six years ago has always been getting people to stop their cars and come in!  The five previous years I inhabited a little shack on a beach in Saskatchewan.  There I got walk-in traffic who could stick their greasy little noses all over my windows prior to making the decision about whether to come in or not!  I owned the building but leased the land, so after four years the village, who owned the land, decided they wanted me to operate the business for six months instead of two and a half.  Well since I don’t see the point in sitting in an unheated building by myself for three and a half months of the year shivering, and after arguing with the council the entire fifth summer, I sold the building.  The new owner turned it into a coffee shop, which is now open four or five months.

For three of the five years I ran the gallery in Saskatchewan I was living in New Brunswick, so I commuted 4000 km twice a year.  Living at the beach was great.  The cabin was 1 km away from the gallery.  I locked the door at night and went home!

In New Brunswick we built a room onto the house to use as a gallery.  Big mistake; it doesn’t matter how many “Closed” signs you have out, if you’re home and they can find you, YOU’RE OPEN!  Never count on sitting and eating supper in peace.  I’ve been gotten out of bed at 7:15am because the prospective customer was sure I’d be there.  However, the nice part is that I can spend time between customers working in my garden or making glass beads.  So that I can keep track of visitors I have a baby monitor inside the door and receivers all over the place.

I also think there is a stigma attached to coming into a business inside someone’s house.  For myself, I’m more likely to stop at a gallery that appears to be a stand-alone building than a house.  We just had a wonderful summer.  I thought that that would generate more traffic; instead I think everyone was so thrilled to see the sun that they spent the summer beachcombing!

A Sample of the gallery's Jewellery

I think I survive and actually make a profit because I don’t hire anyone to work for me (yes, I am open 7 days a week in the summer; this year that was 98 days straight!).  I buy almost all my stock outright, I have a theme, and I don’t just sell local work, so my stock is different from all the other maritime galleries.

I also have a lifetime guarantee on all of my jewelry and beads.  If a glass bead chips or breaks I will replace the entire piece for free.  If the cable that a bracelet is strung on breaks I restring it and replace missing pieces for free.  I feel that though glass is fragile, if it’s being made into jewelry it should be durable enough to be worn (sales of my work in the gallery usually end up being close to 40% of total sales).  I also knit and felt.  It’s amazing how many felted hats you can sell on a hot summers day!

The only advertising I’ve found that actually draws in customers is road signage.  I do get return customers but most people in the summer just see the signs and stop.  I’d love some feedback on what other small-out-of-the-way galleries do to lure in the elusive customer!

Lynn Bowland lives and works in Deer Island, New Brunswick.  You can find her website here www.fireballbeeds.com and her blog here here http://islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.com/.  She welcomes your comments.

By Leslie Rowe-Israelson

The East Kootenays of British Columbia is home to a thriving glass community . You cannot travel to Invermere, B.C. without being influenced by the diverse art cultural scene, especially glass art. Glass blowing studios, flameworking studios, galleries and home-based kiln casting glass studios are an inspiration and a destination for many glass artists from across Canada.

One of these artists is Leslie Rowe-Israelson. Leslie and her twin sister, Melanie Rowe, have been creating in glass for the past 28 years. She moved to Invermere in 1998 from Jasper, Alberta, and has enjoyed the creative spirit carrying her to many parts of the world teaching and helping other artists to design and complete their kiln cast glass ideas. She feels very blessed to have been able to create one-of-a-kind sculptural pieces in glass, and wanted to share this experience. For years the twins traveled and taught at many world class schools such as Pilchuck Glass School, The Corning Museum of Glass Studio program, and Red Deer College in Alberta, just to name a few.

The last two years have presented a new challenge for the artist as she was diagnosed with cancer.  But instead of curling up and quietly going away, she embarked on a project to help others heal through art. Hence the “Drifting Leaves” world project was born. It got her out of bed everyday and became a healing tool for many artists around the world. She was the recipient of the GAAC Project Grant in 2009, which helped her to complete the project and hence get well in mind and spirit.

Leslie was also the recipient of a Major Projects Grant from the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance in 2009. The project was called “ROMANCING MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPES” and her goal was to create 10 large glass panels in a new and innovative abstract colour bar technique. Uroboros Glass Company in Portland, Oregon invited the twins down to their studio factory where they created 4 of the 10 large panels.  The rest were created in her home based studio. It was such a gift to be able to take some time off and do some research and development of a new technique in which she had been dabbling for years, and to have the financial assistance to actually achieve her goal.

Special thanks to K. Leah Duperreault, one of GAAC’s two regional representatives for the province of British Columbia. Currently living in the town of Invermere, BC she plans to regularly contribute articles about talented glass artists in the Columbia Valley.

Katherine Gray responds to the question ‘Where does your work come from?’

By Brad Copping

French translation by Google Translator

Benjamin Kikkert, Emerald Currents, 2009, glass, 27cm x 65cm x 18cm, photo: Tom Bilenkey

Benjamin Kikkert recently put together an exhibition he titled ‘Winter’s Edge’.   The work was on display in the Craft Corridor vitrines from November 13, 2009 to January 3, 2010.  In an interview he did with the video team from the centre he talks about this new work and where it comes from as he continues to push his own boundaries.

Bejamin Kikkert récemment mis sur pied une exposition qu’il intitula «Winter’s Edge. Les travaux ont été exposés dans les vitrines du corridor bateaux de Novembre 13, 2009 au 3 Janvier 2010. Dans une interview qu’il a fait avec l’équipe vidéo du centre, il parle de ce nouveau travail et d’où il vient, comme il continue de repousser ses propres limites.

In his artist statement for the exhibition he states that, “winter clutches our world like no other season.  It strips warmth and vegetation, leaving a starkly simplified landscape.  In its icy grasp a frigid beauty emerges with a medley of smooth and jagged textures.  Winter’s Edge is a series of sculptural and functional objects crafted with this diverse beauty in mind.”

Dans sa déclaration d’artiste pour l’exposition, il affirme que  “l’hiver embrayages notre monde pas comme les autres saisons. Il bandes de chaleur et de la végétation, laissant un paysage nettement simplifiée. Dans sa glace saisir une beauté glaciale émerge avec un mélange de textures lisses et dentelées. Winter’s Edge est une série d’objets sculpturaux et fonctionnel conçu avec cette beauté diverse à l’esprit”

Benjamin Kikkert, Water's Edge 23, 2009, photo: Tom Bilenkey

Benjamin Kikkert is a graduate of the Sheridan College Craft & Design Program. Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, he has worked extensively throughout the mountains, plains and coastlines of western Canada and his past work clearly reflects that environment.  This new work exhibits a wonderful broadening of those horizons.

Benjamin Kikkert est diplômé de l’artisanat Sheridan College et conception du programme. Née et élevée à Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique, il a beaucoup travaillé dans les montagnes, les plaines et les côtes de l’ouest du Canada et son travail passé reflète clairement que l’environnement. Ce nouvel ouvrage présente un élargissement de ces merveilleux horizons.

Benjamin Kikkert, Safe Passage, 15cm x 33cm x 14cm, Glass, 2009.

By Brad Copping

Tanya Lyons and Mathieu Grodet recently moved out of Montreal to a very sweet log home near the town of Lachute, Quebec.  They have a set up for flame working and for cold working in the garage and a separate fabrication space inside the house.  Recently Eugénie Emond from TVC d’Argenteuil paid them a visit and they have kindly given us permission to show the resulting video here.  A beautiful and intimate French and English answer to “Where does your work come from?”

Tanya and Mathieu are working towards a two person exhibition at Galerie Elena Lee in Montreal, which opens April 6, 2010, but click here to see more of Tanya’s work now.

By Brad Copping

In answer to the question “Where does your work come from?”, Melanie Egan,  the Head of Craft at Harbourfront Centre provides us with a behind the scenes look at the Artist-in-Residency program  of the Craft Department.

For more information about the Craft Department at Harbourfront Centre and how to apply for a full time or summer residency in the Glass Studio or any of the other studios check out the link to their web site.

By Brad Copping

French translation courtesy Roch Hupé

So winter has finally arrived, and as usual it’s already busting my ass.  We received the side and tail of a storm that swacked a region of central Ontario in the lea of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay and over a couple of days dumped knee-deep snow.  That was the same week my partner Sue Rankin went to visit her mother in Regina, yes that was the -40°C with wind chills to -50°C week in the western prairies.  Although I think I heard Edmonton actually had a temperature of minus 50something without the wind.  On the phone she said she had forgotten about the square tires, and the hesitation you need to take at the stoplight, even after the light turns green, while you wait for the cloud to clear, and the redundant use of the word minus.   Then I get an email from GAAC’s hard working treasurer, Marcia DeVicque, from her Galiano Island studio saying it’s 12 above and almost balmy.  Sometimes it seems we must all be living in different countries, but of course it is simply the vastness and variety of our geography that makes it seem that way.  These kinds of differences also reveal themselves in much closer proximity.  Christy Haldane, who many of you will now know as our go to person for all things connected with the website, has a studio where she has been fusing and carving plate glass just 20 kilometers south of me as the crow flies, and I’d swear it’s at least a climatic zone different.

L’hiver est enfin arrivé et comme d’habitude, j’en ai déjà plein le cul. Nous venons de recevoir une tempête qui a ravagé le centre de l’Ontario en bordure du lac Huron et de la Baie Georgienne pendant quelques jours et qui nous a laissé de la neige jusqu’au genou. En même temps, ma partenaire Sue Rankin visitait sa mêre à Régina, avec des températures de -40C    (-50C avec le facteur de refroidissement éolien). J’ai même entendu qu’à Edmonton il faisait moins 50 et quelques degrés, sans le vent! Sue m’a dit au téléphone qu’elle avait oublié la sensation d’une voiture avec des pneus carrés, l’hésitation qu’on ressent à s’arrêter à une lumière rouge, le ronronnement bizarre du moteur de la voiture, les nuages blancs de condensation et l’utilisation à outrance du mot « moins ». J’ai ensuite reçu un courriel de la trésorière du GAAC, Marcia DeVicque, de son studio de l’île Galiano, disant qu’il faisait chez elle un temps doux avec 12 degrées C. Parfois nous pouvons penser que nous demeurons dans de différents pays, mais bien sûr cela ne tient qu’à la vastitude et variété de notre géographie. Ces différences se retrouvent aussi près de nous. Christy Haldane, que plusieurs connaissent dû à son implication pour le site web, possède un studio de fusion et de sculpture de verre à 20 kilomètres au sud de chez moi et elle demeure pratiquement dans une zone climatique différente de la mienne.

I am curious about where people make their work.  I’m sure there is something about that place that influences what it is that is made there, or maybe what is made there, influences the physical structure of the space where you make your work.  In any case I’ve attached a short video of the studio I share with my partner Sue Rankin (I’ll have to do another one once the garden returns in the spring) in the hopes that you will do the same.  Please post a video of your own studio to youtube or facebook and send me the link (gaacpresident@gmail.com) so we can get it up on the site.  I look forward to seeing where your work comes from and sharing it with the rest of the world.

Je suis curieux de voir l’endroit où les personnes travaillent. Je crois que l’environnement influence le travail, influence même la structure physique de l’espace de travail. Pour ceux que cela intéresse, j’ai attaché une courte vidéo du studio que je partage avec ma partenaire Sue Rankin (j’en ferai un nouveau au printemps). Postez la vidéo de votre propre studio sur Youtube ou Facebook et envoyez-moi le lien (gaacpresident@gmail.com) pour le publier sur le site web.