I’m happy to announce that I have won the 2009 Hans Godo Fräbel Award! 

Hans Godo Fräbel is an artist of international acclaim, and is recognized as a founding father of modern torch work.  His art pieces can be found in public and private collections in over 80 countries worldwide. Some of the more illustrious collectors of Fräbel glass art are Queen Elizabeth II, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan, current and former heads of governments such as Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Anwar Sadat as well as museums in London, Paris, Tokyo, Dresden, Valencia, Corning, San Francisco, New York and Washington D. C.

Two of the most famous “trademarks” of the Fräbel name are the “Hammer and Nails” sculpture which is currently housed in Washington D. C.’s National Building Museum; and the playful, cavorting clowns which received worldwide recognition with the Absolut Vodka advertising campaign in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Hans Godo Fräbel was the first glass artist honored with the title of Absolut Artist. Other famous artists that were chosen as Absolut Artist are Andy Warhol and Keith Haring.

Fräbel established the Fräbel Art Foundation, Inc., with the mission to educate the world on glass art by cooperating with museums around the world to organize exhibitions and showcasing glass art.  He also launched the internet site MyGlassArt.org, through which he offers the Hans Godo Fräbel Award competitions, the first independent awards for glass artists, where fellow glass artists vote who is the winner of this competition.

My piece Sun Pods is the 2009 winner.  In June I will travel to Atlanta for the award ceremony.  Graciously, as part of the award, Mr. Fräbel will welcome me into his studio to spend some time with him and his team of artists, talking about his art and techniques.  I greatly look forward to that!!

This morning I have started work on the first of a trio of pieces for the upcoming show at Hodgell Gallery in Florida.  The theme of the show is COLOR.  My trio of pieces will be The Birth of Color:  Red, Yellow and Blue. 

My objective is to create three similar pieces, one for each color, and to make each piece evoke the mood and feelings that its color evokes for me.

I started with yellow, my favorite color.  I want The Birth of Yellow to be an explosion of unself-conscious, happy color! 

The three pieces will take six to eight weeks to complete, and I will post photos when they’re done, with perhaps a few sneak previews along the way.

Happy New year to you All!

I’ve been working on my plans for 2010.  Through April, I plan to participate in the following exhibitions:

1.  A show at Hodgell Gallery in Sarasota, Florida, with the theme “Color” curated by Laura Donefer; scheduled to open March 11. My plan is to make 3 large pieces, The Birth of Color: Red, Yellow, Blue. Each piece will be a… cyclone with its respective color emerging as a brilliant botanical. Can’t wait to see those complete!

2.  I will enter pieces for the Arts on Fire XIV exhibition at Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, CA, and hopefully will be accepted. Exhibition dates: April 9–May 9, 2010. This exhibition is open to all California artists working in any medium. Distinguished Juror: Philip E. Linhares, Chief Curator of Art, Oakland Museum of California.

3.  Glass Jewelry Exhibition at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. April 24th – July 17th, 2010.

4.  Glass Quake Again, an exhibition at Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge, MA. March and April.

5.  California Glass Symposium at Public Glass in San Francisco, CA, March 26 – 28.

6.  A visit to the Scottsdale, Arizona, chapter of the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass. I will do a demo and presentation for the group on April 12.

7.  Fete de Verre, a glass exhibition and auction to support Urban Glass in New York. The event will be April 16, 6:30-10:30 PM, Capitale, New York City. I have donated a piece for the auction.

8.  Great Glass Auction 2010 to support Bay Area Glass Institute. The auction preview is open to the public at no charge and will be held February 5, 6-9pm at the 4th Street Summit Ballroom. I have donated Cyclone Expecting to the auction.

9.  Finally, I will have work in all my current galleries, which can be found on my website www.kathleenelliot.com in the Contact section.

Now I need to get to work in the studio!
Cheers.