Has anyone in the D.C. area been lucky enough to go to the Smithsonain Show? How does the show seem to be going for our board members Cynthia, Ruth and Susan? Bet their work is stunning!!!!!!!
Would love to see the show, I'm sure it is a beauty.
Carole....
Smithsonian Show????????
Moderators: Brad Walker, Tony Smith
-
Carole Burton
- Posts: 38
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 12:57 pm
- Location: Charleston, S.C.
-
Eli Petrova
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 2:59 pm
- Location: Chantilly, Northern Virginia
- Contact:
Smithsonian Show
Hello,
I was lucky enough to go down to the Smithsonian Show yesterday. I have to say that photos don't do justice to the work of Ron Coleman, Cynthia Oliver - stunning colors, Ruth Gowell and Susan Glasgow - incredible sewn glass (how does she do it?)! I was also drooling over the beautiful vases of Robin Mix! It was great to meet everyone in person and I wish them best of luck.
They all said that the show was kind of slow but I was there yesterday morning and I am sure it will pick up. Cynthia asked that I say "hello" to everyone on the Board!
Regards,
Eli Petrova
I was lucky enough to go down to the Smithsonian Show yesterday. I have to say that photos don't do justice to the work of Ron Coleman, Cynthia Oliver - stunning colors, Ruth Gowell and Susan Glasgow - incredible sewn glass (how does she do it?)! I was also drooling over the beautiful vases of Robin Mix! It was great to meet everyone in person and I wish them best of luck.
They all said that the show was kind of slow but I was there yesterday morning and I am sure it will pick up. Cynthia asked that I say "hello" to everyone on the Board!
Regards,
Eli Petrova
-
Nikki ONeill
- Posts: 169
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 11:55 am
- Location: Silver Spring, MD
- Contact:
I went to the Smithsonian Craft Show for all-too-brief periods on Friday and Saturday. Cynthia, Ruth, and Susan Glassgow's work just has to be seen to appreciate the beauty and fine craftswomanship 
in their art. Photos just don't allow you to change the light angles and see the reflections that give sparkle and life to the pieces. It's been said before, but the people that make up this glass community are just so genuine, nice, caring, and sharing souls. I'm really looking forward to meeting more of you at the WGW.
Nikki
ps: I think it's a different Ron Coleman that exhibited blown glass work at the show.
in their art. Photos just don't allow you to change the light angles and see the reflections that give sparkle and life to the pieces. It's been said before, but the people that make up this glass community are just so genuine, nice, caring, and sharing souls. I'm really looking forward to meeting more of you at the WGW. Nikki
ps: I think it's a different Ron Coleman that exhibited blown glass work at the show.
Smithsonian Show
When is the conclusion of the show? Thanks Kay
-
Carole Burton
- Posts: 38
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 12:57 pm
- Location: Charleston, S.C.
Smithsonian Show ??????
Kay, according to the Smithsonian web the show ended Sunday April 27. 
Nikki, while looking up the shows dates for Kay I found that the Coleman that is is the show is listed on their web as Robert Don't know if Robert is on the Board, can't remember any of his post.
I'm fairly new to the Board and don't know everyone.
Carole.......S. C.
Nikki, while looking up the shows dates for Kay I found that the Coleman that is is the show is listed on their web as Robert Don't know if Robert is on the Board, can't remember any of his post.
I'm fairly new to the Board and don't know everyone.
Carole.......S. C.
-
Cynthia
The show is over. It ended Sunday, and I packed up, crawled to my hotel for a few hours of fitful sleep and flew home yesterday. I am now happily sitting here with a dog at my feet a cat in my lap and 127 emails to sort through before I start my day. I'm tired and although have a few orders to fill, and a few potentials to start to track down, I will start work tomorrow. Today is for cuddling with cats and catching up with friends.
It was an amazing show and I've never seen such a diverse variety of the finest work. Sculptural scarves that were amazingly engineered as well as stunningly beautiful; Resin encased botanicals (no, not the run of the mill stuff) that were lyrical in color and line, perfect scale; Extravagant hats that were whimsical, outrageous, divinely beautiful and downright ridiculous; wood carved and painted to look like quilts and a leather jacket that were photorealism in wood. I finally had to touch to believe they were not what they appeared, and of course more and more amazing work that I probably never saw. The exhibitors were wonderful as well. Everyone I met was interesting, kind, engaging, generous...what an experience...and one I hope to have the privelege to repeat.
The glass I saw ran the gambut from (what I determined to be) standard blown vessels with some nice design twists, to lovely organic blown forms with interesting finishes (Robert Coleman is the guy we are all mistaking for Ron. He is a blower, not a fuser...but I won't hold that against him
). One gal was blasting some very nice patterns into blown vessels down through layers of color (cameo), another was creating these oversized, very outrageous goblets with gaudy embellishment. I loved the goblets and some of the raku-like finishes and forms of the other blown work...but my bias is obviously kiln formed work, so...
Moving into the glass we all know and love...The nicest (only) marriage of blown with fused I saw was the work by Robin Mix. I've seen his work for a few years now. He is making murrini, fusing it up in a panel, then blowing out these forms as roll-ups. He is using spruce pine (I believe) and making his own colors (pinks, purples, rusts...) which I was curious about because his colors are divine and unusual. It is very interesting and the only marriage of fused with blown work I saw there ( I didn't see everything though...)
Susan Taylor Glasgow's work is to die for. She is light years ahead of me or anyone else I know working glass in a kiln. I fell in love with her work only after a few moments of exploring her images, style, composisition. She has a wonderful eye and a sense of humour. The work is the strongest I've seen in our medium. She won a merit award...and it was well earned and well deserved
. It was such a pleasure to meet her and to see her work.
Ruth Gowell was there as well with her beautiful trays with delightful inclusions of surprise. I'll let her share what she has been doing if she choses to...but needless to say...I was impressed and her work was stunning. It was a privelege to meet her as well.
It was terrific to have this opportunity to meet them both, and to get to know them and their work as well.
Several board participants stopped by my booth and I was so thrilled and honored that they would come and that I got to meet them and put faces to the names. Many are folks I have chatted with, and many who identified themselves as lurkers...One of you even sent your brother to say hello
. I'm not going to list, for fear I'll miss someone, but it was a great bonus to being able to do the show...I am so pleased that I got faces to put together with the names of you all that I chat with so frequently.
It's good to be home.
It was an amazing show and I've never seen such a diverse variety of the finest work. Sculptural scarves that were amazingly engineered as well as stunningly beautiful; Resin encased botanicals (no, not the run of the mill stuff) that were lyrical in color and line, perfect scale; Extravagant hats that were whimsical, outrageous, divinely beautiful and downright ridiculous; wood carved and painted to look like quilts and a leather jacket that were photorealism in wood. I finally had to touch to believe they were not what they appeared, and of course more and more amazing work that I probably never saw. The exhibitors were wonderful as well. Everyone I met was interesting, kind, engaging, generous...what an experience...and one I hope to have the privelege to repeat.
The glass I saw ran the gambut from (what I determined to be) standard blown vessels with some nice design twists, to lovely organic blown forms with interesting finishes (Robert Coleman is the guy we are all mistaking for Ron. He is a blower, not a fuser...but I won't hold that against him
). One gal was blasting some very nice patterns into blown vessels down through layers of color (cameo), another was creating these oversized, very outrageous goblets with gaudy embellishment. I loved the goblets and some of the raku-like finishes and forms of the other blown work...but my bias is obviously kiln formed work, so... Moving into the glass we all know and love...The nicest (only) marriage of blown with fused I saw was the work by Robin Mix. I've seen his work for a few years now. He is making murrini, fusing it up in a panel, then blowing out these forms as roll-ups. He is using spruce pine (I believe) and making his own colors (pinks, purples, rusts...) which I was curious about because his colors are divine and unusual. It is very interesting and the only marriage of fused with blown work I saw there ( I didn't see everything though...)
Susan Taylor Glasgow's work is to die for. She is light years ahead of me or anyone else I know working glass in a kiln. I fell in love with her work only after a few moments of exploring her images, style, composisition. She has a wonderful eye and a sense of humour. The work is the strongest I've seen in our medium. She won a merit award...and it was well earned and well deserved
. It was such a pleasure to meet her and to see her work.Ruth Gowell was there as well with her beautiful trays with delightful inclusions of surprise. I'll let her share what she has been doing if she choses to...but needless to say...I was impressed and her work was stunning. It was a privelege to meet her as well.
It was terrific to have this opportunity to meet them both, and to get to know them and their work as well.
Several board participants stopped by my booth and I was so thrilled and honored that they would come and that I got to meet them and put faces to the names. Many are folks I have chatted with, and many who identified themselves as lurkers...One of you even sent your brother to say hello
. I'm not going to list, for fear I'll miss someone, but it was a great bonus to being able to do the show...I am so pleased that I got faces to put together with the names of you all that I chat with so frequently.It's good to be home.
-
Ruth Gowell
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 3:10 pm
- Location: Falls Church, VA
- Contact:
I'm a little slower to recover - just today (wednesday) I feel like I'm beginning to get back to normal - and hopefully that means work. The Show was interesting - it always is - and I'm still enjoying hearing my family and friends reactions to the work at the show. Cynthia described the glass (and my most recent work to which she referred involves capturing air bubbles between layers of glass using stringer - a process that has so many variations to explore.) The show had a large number of basket makers, as well as "baskets" of wood and clay. I found more to see each time I walked the show. The Smithsonian women who run the show were great - nothing like have water delivered to your booth every morning. I don't know if they publish the results of the sales questionaire - I would be interested to see how it compared to other years. It was certainly slower than I had expected, and I talked to many artists who just covered costs. Although some did very well. And it was a pleasure to meet Cynthia and see her beautiful work. Ruth