Dan Fenton  1950-2012

Dan Fenton has been described as a “walking-talking encyclopedia” for art glass techniques. A pioneer in the field, he established his own stained glass studio in 1969 in the East Bay. Dan combined slumping, fusing, cutting and reassembling, and painting to come up with unique designs and color compositions in a non-traditional style.

Dan taught classes and workshops worldwide, and wrote many articles and books. He went through his many years worth of his notes, and combined the best into these collections. In Dan’s own words, “You will have at your fingertips the wealth of technical knowledge that can only come from years of experimentation and experience.”  Dan was a generous innovative spirit and will be greatly missed.

Here is a list of the books he authored or co-authored:

Pâte de Verre and Kiln Casting of Glass, 1997 Dan Fenton and Jim Kervin

Glass Under Heat  1982-2004
Over 20 years of Dan’s notes on kiln working, including slumping, fusing, firing and annealing, paints, lusters, Pate de Verre, casting, and sources.

Sandblasting on Glass,  Dan Fenton and Kathy Bradford. Over 8 years worth of Dan’s notes on sandblasting, including resists, shading, carving, and equipment.

Kiln Work Problem Solving 
Over 10 years of Dan’s notes on kiln work problem solving, including fusing, firing, annealing, and sources.

 Started working in glass in the 1960’s.
www.johnlewisglass.com

As a graduate student in architecture at the University of California at Berkeley, John Lewis was introduced to blown glass by professor Marvin Lipofsky.  Lewis founded the first private hot glass studio in California and later received his MA in design in 1970.  His early work in blown glass led to an interest in glass casting.  With the help of an NEA grant, he built an experimental facility to explore the possibilities of cast glass.  At his state-of-the-art casting studio in Oakland, CA,  Lewis designs and produces cast glass sculpture, tables, vessels and site specific architectural projects.  He has completed numerous commissions for private and corporate clients and is represented internationally by galleries.

“COPPER Y VESSEL”
John Lewis
2010
Cast Glass with Copper Patina
11″L X 7″W X 8″H

“RUST PATINA DINING TABLE”
John Lewis
2008
Cast Glass with Patinaed Steel
104″ X 44″ X 30″

Started working in glass in 1967 at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA.
www.luebtow.com

Birthed into a ghetto and a family environment of alcoholism…gifted with the ability to render…pencils and paper were my only available media for expression. I drew objects I saw and things I felt … always looking for avenues to portray life’s dichotomies, the internal and external obstacles before me. Athletic ability opened the doors of higher education with scholarship. There my interests were allowed to explore 3-D materials. I found home. After marrying, having a son, and completing a M.A. Degree in Art (clay and glass) from UCLA in 1969, I accepted a position in Delft, Netherlands being employed by “de Porcelyne Fles” to build architectural murals and sculpture in clay.  After 6 months I was made Director of the Architectural Ceramics Department. Some of my projects involved collaborating on commissions with Leerdam Glass in Amsterdam. Here my interest in glass was finalized. Marital incongruities arose and in 1971 I returned to Los Angeles, divorced, got custody of my son, a teaching position, a studio space, a MFA in glass from UCLA and began focusing my art using glass, visually expressing the bifurcations that confronted me. One venue of form is aesthetically pleasing, linear, surface embellished, technically perfect, work that denies my past and the overt realities of life’s struggles that surrounded me. The other re-addressed the always apparent questions …“Why are we here?…Where are we going?…What have we done to get where we are?”…  The resultant pieces were of glass, steel and braided cable, some of glass alone and some in the form of glass American flags. These were realized in 1500 Fahrenheit kiln formed with cable wrapped tormented  images, echoing the cry of Langston Hughes…”What becomes of a dream deferred”…

This duality continues in my work today and is now more politically relevant than ever.

“Ventus Vitae” (Winds of Life)
John Luebtow
2008
Glass, Water, Granite, Light, Sound
55’ x 15’ x 12’

“Ventus Vitae” (Winds of Life)
John Luebtow
2008
Glass, Water, Granite, Light, Sound
55’ x 15’ x 12’

Started working in glass in 1988 at San Jose State University, in San Jose, CA, and has worked in California for 16 years with 8 years spent between New Mexico, New York, and Australia, among others.
www.schmuckglass.com

Johnathon Schmuck was awarded the first Fulbright Scholarship to attend the Canberra School of Art, in Australia, where he completed his postgraduate studies with Stephen Procter and Jane Bruce,  and received a Master of Visual Arts (MVA) degree in 2000.  Johnathon was fortunate enough to work with Klaus Moje while the Roll Up technique for blowing kilnformed Bullseye glass was being perfected in the Glass Workshop at Canberra.  Johnathon was also blessed with the chance to learn coldworking with maestro Stephen Procter before his passing, and Johnathon has subsequently written The Joy of Coldworking, a book about grinding, smoothing, and polishing blown and fused glass.   Johnathon has a studio in Santa Cruz, California, and he runs the kilnforming program at the Bay Area Glass Institute in San Jose, California , and has taught at Corning, Espace Verre in Montreal, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Oatka Glass School, Escuela del Vidrio in la Granja, Spain, and throughout the United States in private studios.

“Unconformity 85” set
Johnathon Schmuck
2006
Enclamo blown fused-glass Roll Up, belt sanded and wheel cut
tallest 11”

“Onyx 2” set
Johnathon Schmuck
2007
Blown fused-glass Roll Up, belt sanded and wheel cut
tallest 13”

Started working in glass in 1968 at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now CCA) in Oakland, CA.
www.jaymusler.com

Born in 1949 in Sacramento, CA, Jay Musler has been recognized as an innovative force in the glass arts for over four decades, having been awarded fellowships by the National Endowment for the Arts and California Arts Council.  He studied in Oakland at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now CCA) in the late 1960s and worked as a glassblower for nearly a decade. He has developed his own distinctive approach through lampworking, cutting, assembling and painting his works. In 2012, Jay was invited to be the featured artist at the World Lampworking Conference in Salem, New Jersey. Jay will be demonstrating his lampworking techniques at the Crucible in this demonstration.

“Sad but Funny”
Jay Musler
2007
Glass, flameworked and painted
5” x 9”

“Cloud Nine”
Jay Musler
2009
Glass, flameworked, assembled, painted
24” x 15.5” x 9”

Started working in glass in 1978 at Studio One Art Center in Oakland, CA.
www.JanetHiebert.com

Janet Hiebert’s formative years were spent in the mid-western United States. Born in Illinois, living briefly in Iowa and spending fourteen years in Kansas shaped her artistic vision and spiritual values. She studied drawing, painting and ceramics in college at CCA (formerly CCAC) and received a BA in Studio Art from California State University East Bay (formerly Cal State Hayward).

Among her early artistic endeavors are: freelance greeting card writer, designer for the advertising industry, graphic artist, and book illustrator. The last thirty-four years have been devoted to exploring glass starting with stained glass and then evolving into kiln fired glass.

She has studied with noted glass artists, Dan Fenton, Albinas Elskus, Catharine Newell and Richard La Londe. These artists have helped to form and influence her glass art creations.

The past twenty-eight years have been devoted to teaching Stained Glass and Glass Fusing and Slumping in Bay Area art centers. These include: Piedmont Adult School, Walnut Creek Civic Arts, Richmond Art Center, and currently, Studio One Art Center and The Crucible.

Additionally, she has completed numerous stained glass commissions for private residences. She coordinated the Studio One Art Center Gallery for six years and was a partner in Hot Flash Glass Studio in Berkeley, California for seven years.

She is married to Billy Hiebert and they have two sons, Ian and Arlan, and one granddaughter, Meghan. She presently works in her studio to create her personal glass visions and exhibits and sells her work in local galleries.

“Magnolia Parasol”
Janet Hiebert
2010
Kiln Fused and slumped glass imagery with copper embellishments
11” x 11” x 12”

“A Rose Is…”
Janet Hiebert
2007
Fused imagery in multiple layers of kiln fired glass
5” x .5” x 14”

Started working in glass in 1972 at San Jose State University in San Jose, CA.
gjercichstudio.blogspot.com

George Jercich graduated from San Jose State University in 1984 with his MFA in Sculpture/Plastic Arts. He currently lives and works on a small farm in rural San Luis Obispo County. Before retiring in 2012, he instructed glassblowing/glassforming/3D design/sculpture courses at Cal Poly SLO for over 35 years. He has travelled the USA/Europe/and Asia seeking experiences in glass including; attended Pilchuck School in 1972, the Interglas Symposium in Novy Bor, Czhecoslovakia in 1988, participated in American/Thai Cultural Exchange Programs in 2002/’05/ and ’08, and has co-instructed glassblowing at Ox-Bow Summer School of the Arts (SAIC) since 1995. George is also the co-founder of the California Glass Exchange.

RECENT EXHIBITIONS/Activities

• April/May ’12 – lessons to 4 glassblowing enthusiasts at my studio in Los Osos, CA
• Live Oak Music Festival exhibiting artist ’12 – Santa Ynez, CA.
• Paso Robles Festival of the Arts = May 2012, Central Coast Sculptors Pavilion
• Arts Encore 2012 – fundraiser for San Marino Art Association, Huntington Library
• Art after Dark – The Aquarium – May 2012 – Alegria Wine and Ware  SLO, CA
• 1^st Phantom Gallery 2012 – Juried – Quaglino Bldg. Downtown SLO, CA.
• Gone Fishin’ One man Installation in the McMeen Gallery at the San Luis Art Museum of SLO – November 2011
• Sculpture SLAM 2011 (Juried) – August – San Luis Obispo Sculptors Group – Art Museum of SLO, CA
• Connections with Nature II – Botanical Gardens of SLO – April – May 2011
• Arts in the Gardens I & II Sage Nursery and Botanical Gardens Exhibit – March  2011 & ‘12 – Los Osos, CA
• Finding Balance 2011 – Bay Area Glass Artists – Village Theatre – Danville, CA.
• Animal Narratives Exhibition (juried) – October 2010 – Art Museum of SLO
• Sculpture IS – May ‘10/’11 – PVAC/Sierra Azul Nursery – Watsonville, CA
• Connections with Nature – March 2010/’11/’12, Botanical Gardens of SLO, CA.
• Facilitated lecture by Dale Chihuly Nov. 30, 2009  at the Spanos Theatre, Cal Poly, SLO
• Elemental/Thai American Exchange Project April 2009 – UAG, Cal Poly, SLO
• 1^st Place cash award (juried) – Central Coast Sculptor’s Group (June 2009) Morro Bay Art Association Gallery, Morro Bay, CA
• 3^rd Place cash award –  Made in California Exhibition (March) 2009 (juried) City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA

“Until”
George Jercich
1994
Glass and mixed media
L = 26’ x w = 8” x h = 8”

“Dear John”
George Jercich
1992
Glass and mixed media
20” x 10” x 11”