This Friday I will visit the studio of Hans Godo Fräbel, an artist and one of the founding fathers of modern torch work in glass.  Mr. Fräbel’s art is in public and private collections in over 80 countries, including 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.  

My visit with Mr. Fräbel is part of my prize for winning the Hans Godo Fräbel Award for 2009.  The award competition, hosted by Mr. Fräbel and his foundation, was open to glass artists worldwide.  My piece “Sun Pods” was the winner, and Kimberly Fields won the Novice Award.

 Friday evening, Mr. Fräbel will host a reception for Kimberly and myself at his studio and gallery in Atlanta, Georga. 

 www.frabel.com

A new piece is in the works – “Botanical Specimen From An Angular World”. 

Imagine a plant with both curved and angular vines, square and triangle leaves, and angular fruits. 

I will enter this piece in the Tacoma Museum of Glass upcoming “Red Hot 2010″ event.  ”Red Hot 2010″ is Tacoma Museum’s fundraising auction, and this year they are hosting a new competition.  Artists will submit entries for consideration for the live auction and the competition.  Red Hot Artist Grand Prize is $10,000 and a week in the Museum of Glass hotshop.  New/Emerging Artist Award is $5,000 and a week in the hotshop.  And the People’s Choice Artist Award is $2,500.

Stay tuned for images of my piece.

My work will be featured during the upcoming San Mateo County Fair in the Fine Arts exhibition. 

The fair will run June 12 – 20 and I will post details as the date nears.

This weekend is the annual auction for the Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI, pronounced “baggy”).  The auction supports BAGI’s Visiting Artist program, in which world-class artists from other areas are brought to BAGI for classes, lectures and public demonstrations of their work. 

Donating artists are eligible for two award competitions.  The Saxe Fellowship Award, named after world-renowned collectors George and Dorothy Saxe, is chosen by a jury of Dorothy Saxe, Maurine Littleton, Director of the Littleton Gallery, and Micaela Von Zwoll, Director of the Micaela Gallery.  The winner of the Saxe Fellowship will receive a $2,000 cash prize and will be invited to participate in BAGI’s Visiting Artist series.  The BAGI People’s Choice Award winner will be decided the night of the auction, and presented to the Bay Area artist whose work is voted the favorite by the auction attendees. 

I donated my Cyclone Expecting  to the auction, and will have my fingers crossed with hopes of winning an award!

Local readers, please join me at the auction preview on Friday evening, February 5, 6 – 9pm.  All the donated works of art will be on display and many of the artists will be present and available to chat about our art.  The preview event is open to the public at no charge. 

The auction itself will be Saturday, February 6, and attendees must purchase advance tickets.

Both events will be at the Fourth Street Summit Ballroom, 88 South 4th Street, San Jose.  For more detailed information, visit www.bagi.org

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.