Alex Stisser has been working in glass since 1993.  A lead gaffer on the Museum of Glass Hot Shop Team since 2002, Stisser has collaborated with and assisted many artists.  His work showcases his refined mastery of traditional techniques infused with a unique contemporary voice, and this residency is dedicated to his personal design series.

                                For newly two decades, Preston Singletary has melded the patterns, symbols and legends of his Tlingit heritage with the dynamism of the Studio Glass movement, creating a distinctive and powerful body of work.  On Saturday and Sunday, Joe David, a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribe, will join Singletary in the Hot Shop.  This residency is presented in conjunction with Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire and Shadows, currently on display in the Museum's gallery.

                                Glass artist Nancy Callan combines traditional Venetian techniques with a whimsical contemporary aesthetic.  Painter Julia Ricketts regards her work as "a dialogue with color, surface and marks."  During this collaborative residency, these two Seattle artists will explore the common language of color.

                                Native New Yorker Sarah Gilbert is the lead technician on the MOG Hot Shop Team, responsible for ensuring all of the mechanical and technical elements in the shop run smoothly.  She also is an established glass and mixed media artist, working with the artists on the floor in a number of capacities.  During this residency, Gilbert will introduce her current design series. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 29, 2010 Media Contacts: Susan Newsom, Communications Manager, 253.284.4732, snewsom@museumofglass.org Julie Pisto, Director of Marketing & Communications, 253.284.2129, jpisto@museumofglass.org Museum of Glass Calendar Highlights for April, 2010 All events are included with admission to the Museum unless otherwise noted. Calendar listings are subject to change. For updated information, please visit our website at www.museumofglass.org or call the information line at 253.284.4750 or 1.866.4MUSEUM. FALL-WINTER-SPRING HOURS Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Third Thursdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day Museum Store also open Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Events Trimpin: The Sound of Invention Film Screening and Reception with the Artist Friday, April 9 6 - 9 p.m. View an exclusive screening of this documentary by Peter Esmonde about Trimpin, a renowned artist, inventor, composer, engineer and recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet Trimpin and purchase an autographed DVD at a reception following the film. Doors open at 6 p.m.; film begins at 6:30. Free for Museum of Glass members; $5 general admission. Public Programs Family Day: Spring Sparkler Saturday, April 10 1 - 4 p.m. Sponsored by City of Tacoma Arts Commission Create a floral wind chime to welcome spring with artist Jennifer Adams. The Comerford Irish Step Dancers from Olympia will perform at 1 and 3 p.m. Third Thursday ArtWalk Thursday, April 15 Free admission 5 - 8 p.m. sponsored by City of Tacoma Arts Commission and Columbia Bank Hot Shop Feel the heat as you watch art come alive! Every day, artists demonstrate the intriguing process of creating works of art from molten glass on the amphitheater stage, giving visitors a birds-eye view of their activities. Expert commentary and a state-of-the-art audiovisual system enhance the experience by providing insight into the glassblowing process as well as the science, culture and historical aspects of glass. Hot Shop Visiting Artist Program Sponsored by Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, City of Tacoma Arts Commission, Windgate Charitable Foundation, Courtyard by Marriott / Tacoma Downtown and City Arts Magazine The Museum's Visiting Artist Program hosts internationally known and emerging artists in our world-class Hot Shop to create new works in glass with our professional team of artists <http://www.museumofglass.org/live-glassmaking/about-the-team/> . We invite artists whose work is exhibited (or will be exhibited) in the Museum galleries or whose work is thematically or technically linked to the exhibition program. One piece created during the residency is selected by the artist and Museum staff to be added to the Museum's Permanent Collection. March 31 - April 4 Alex Stisser, Tacoma, WA Alex Stisser has been working in glass since 1993. A lead gaffer on the Museum of Glass Hot Shop Team since 2002, Stisser has collaborated with and assisted many artists. His work showcases his refined mastery of traditional techniques infused with a unique contemporary voice, and this residency is dedicated to his personal design series. April 7 - 11 Preston Singletary, Seattle, WA with Joe David, Seattle, WA For newly two decades, Preston Singletary has melded the patterns, symbols and legends of his Tlingit heritage with the dynamism of the Studio Glass movement, creating a distinctive and powerful body of work. On Saturday and Sunday, Joe David, a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribe, will join Singletary in the Hot Shop. This residency is presented in conjunction with Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire and Shadows, currently on display in the Museum's gallery. April 14 - 18 Nancy Callan, Seattle, WA and Julia Ricketts, Seattle, WA Glass artist Nancy Callan combines traditional Venetian techniques with a whimsical contemporary aesthetic. Painter Julia Ricketts regards her work as "a dialogue with color, surface and marks." During this collaborative residency, these two Seattle artists will explore the common language of color. April 28 - 30 Sarah Gilbert, Seattle, WA Native New Yorker Sarah Gilbert is the lead technician on the MOG Hot Shop Team, responsible for ensuring all of the mechanical and technical elements in the shop run smoothly. She also is an established glass and mixed media artist, working with the artists on the floor in a number of capacities. During this residency, Gilbert will introduce her current design series. Hot Lunch Fridays, 12 - 1 p.m. Celebrate Friday at the Museum of Glass! Enjoy a box lunch from Gallucci's Glass Café while watching a featured or visiting artist at work in the Hot Shop. Cost: $12 per person plus Museum admission. Please call 253.572.9593 or email shari@galluccis.com to order your lunch by 3 p.m. Thursday. For more information, visit www.museumofglass.org <http://www.museumofglass.org/> . Studio Weekdays 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.; Saturdays 12 - 4 p.m.; Sundays 1 - 4 p.m. The Studio is an interactive, experiential learning space that provides visitors with creative opportunities for hands-on engagement with the ideas behind the glass. Activities are designed to engage all visitors, from toddlers to senior citizens. Each month a new hands-on art activity is presented that relates to a particular exhibition or Hot Shop application. Kids Design Glass Sponsored by KeyBank /Key Foundation and the Muckleshoot Charity Fund Ongoing Our Kids Design Glass program invites children 12 and under who visit the Museum or are patients at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital to design a glass sculpture. Each month, one entry is selected by the MOG Hot Shop team. Two sculptures are created-one for the child designer and one for the Museum's Permanent Collection. The first 52 Kids Design Glass creatures are currently featured in an exhibition. The selected design for March will be created in the Hot Shop Sunday, April 25. Lectures Conversations with the Artists Sponsored by PONCHO Sundays at 2 p.m. in the Hot Shop April 4 Alex Stisser April 11 Preston Singletary and Joe David History of Glass Lecture Series Sundays at 1 p.m. in the Hot Shop Led by renowned, artist, teacher and historian Walter Lieberman, this informative and lively presentation series chronicles the history of glassmaking from Roman times to today's Studio Glass movement. April 17 Roman Glass April 24 Venetian Glass May 1 Stained Glass May 29 Art Nouveau June 5 Art Deco June 19 Studio Glass Theater Documentaries Every day, visitors can view original documentary films to expand their understanding of the artwork in the galleries, gain insight into the artistic process of a particular artist, or review the techniques and history of glassmaking. Films repeat throughout the day. Ongoing Exhibitions Kids Design Glass Organized by Museum of Glass Sponsored by Russell Investments, Key Bank/Key Foundation, Muckleshoot Charity Fund, Dale Chihuly and Leslie Jackson Chihuly, Carl and Jan Fisher, Janet and Mike Halvorson, Leonard and Norma Klorfine Foundation, Randall and Joyce Lert, Mr. and Mrs. George H. Weyerhaeuser, Sr., The News Tribune and Click! Cable TV Through October, 2011 Kids Design Glass is an exhibition that celebrates the imagination of children with 52 glass sculptures designed by kids and crafted by professional artists in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop. The Kids Design Glass education program, from which these creations originated, illustrates the symbiotic relationship between designer and glassblower. A child draws a design-generally a fantastical creature-names it, and writes a brief explanation or story. The Museum's Hot Shop Team selects one design each month and transforms the two-dimensional drawing into a three-dimensional sculpture. As the designer, the child directs the artists as they make two sculptures-one for the child to take home and one for the Museum's Permanent Collection. The children's drawings and artist statements are displayed alongside each piece. Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire, and Shadows Organized by Museum of Glass Presented by Alaska Airlines Sponsored by Leonard and Norma Klorfine Foundation, Windgate Charitable Foundation, JoAnn McGrath, Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, The Seattle Times, City Arts Magazine, KUOW Public Radio and Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund Through September 19, 2010 Echoes, Fire, and Shadows is a mid-career survey of Preston Singletary's work which combines two of the Northwest's most prominent artistic influences-traditional Native American designs and the medium of glass. For nearly two decades, Singletary has melded the symbols, patterns and legends of his Tlingit heritage with the dynamism of the Studio Glass movement, creating a distinctive and powerful body of work. The exhibition comprises 54 works including icons of Singletary's oeuvre and examples of his significant collaborative experiences. The signature piece of the exhibition is Clan House, a 16 x 10 foot cast-glass triptych commissioned for the Museum's Permanent Collection. Incoming! Selections from the Permanent Collection Organized by Museum of Glass Sponsored by Leonard and Norma Klorfine Foundation, the Guendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff Fund for Decorative and Design Arts, and ArtsFund Closes June 27, 2010 Incoming! is the first in a series of exhibitions devoted to documenting the continuing evolution of the Museum of Glass Permanent Collection. It showcases twelve signature works-superlative in form, execution and concept-by both emerging and established artists. The objects are organized into categories of landscape and portraiture and reference how humankind and nature endure as powerful, universal sources of inspiration. Made at the Museum: The Visiting Artist Collection Organized by Museum of Glass Ongoing The Visiting Artist Program brings artists from the region and around the world to the Museum of Glass to work with the Hot Shop team to explore, invent and create with glass. After each residency the Museum and the artist select one work of art to be included in the Permanent Collection. These objects are rotated on and off display throughout the year as new works are created. Joseph Gregory Rossano (American, born 1962) Mirrored Murrelets, 2008 Mirrored hot-sculpted glass, steel, mold-formed fiberglass Closes April 25, 2010 Mezzanine Plaza Reflecting Pool Joseph Rossano's Mirrored Murrelets highlights the impact of a changing environment on the Marbled Murrelet, a small sea bird that nests primarily in the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. The installation comprises 275 mirrored glass birds, created in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop in January, 2008, that "float" just above the surface of the Museum's mid-level reflecting pool. The mirrored surfaces of the birds reflect the viewer's image, symbolically suggesting the impact of humans on the natural world. As visitors experience the installation, Rossano hopes they will "reflect on the plight of the bird as well as the beauty of its existence." Martin Blank (American, born 1962) Fluent Steps, 2009 Hot-sculpted glass, steel Museum of Glass Permanent Collection Main Plaza Reflecting Pool Martin Blank's Fluent Steps captures the essence of water. Fluent Steps spans the entire length of the 210-foot-long Main Plaza reflecting pool and rises from water level to fifteen feet in height. It consists of 754 individually hand-sculpted pieces of glass, most created in the Museum's Hot Shop during Blank's 45-day Visiting Artist residency in 2008. These forms are arranged into several islands that capture the fluidity, light, motion and transparency of water in clear glass. "Water can be placid, sublime and in an instant a tremendous surge of raw power. This installation is a visual exploration capturing the chase between the macro and micro qualities of water using glass as a conduit to translate my thoughts." - Martin Blank The Museum of Glass provides a dynamic learning environment to appreciate the medium of glass through creative experiences, collections and exhibitions. In addition to the Hot Shop Amphitheater where visitors can watch artists work, the facilities include galleries, outdoor exhibition areas, a theater, hands-on art studio, grand hall, café and store. The Museum of Glass is sponsored in part by ArtsFund, the Boeing Company, the City of Tacoma Arts Commission, Dimmer Family Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Sequoia Foundation and the Forest Foundation. Hours and Admission Open Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Third Thursdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Store is also open Tuesdays 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Summer hours (Memorial Day through Labor Day): also open Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed September 11, 2010, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free for members, $12 general, $10 seniors, military and students (13+ with ID), $10 groups of 10 or more, $5 children (6-12) years old. Children under 6 are admitted free. Admission is free every third Thursday of the month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Info Line 253-284-4750/ 1-866-4MUSEUM Museum of Glass, 1801 Dock Street Tacoma, WA 98402 www.museumofglass.org <http://www.museumofglass.org/> For more information about the Museum of Glass: Susan Newsom, Communications Manager, 253.284.4732, snewsom@museumofglass.org <mailto:jpisto@museumofglass.org> Julie Pisto, Director of Marketing & Communications, 253.284.2129, jpisto@museumofglass.org ###