CREATIVE GLASS CENTER OF AMERICA FELLOWS ARRIVE FOR SPRING SESSION
MILLVILLE, NJ – Four artists who work in glass arrived at WheatonArts on April 16 to begin their Creative Glass Center of America (CGCA) fellowship session. They will spend this time developing and refining their techniques towards new or expanded work. They will have unrestricted access to the Glass Studio and materials until July 13 when their session ends.
Sarah Gilbert explains, “My work investigates the sensuous form of the object in its immediate capacity as materialized human history. Objects, thus conceived, cease to function as passive by-standards of the human experience, and instead take on the active role of simultaneously recording and creating our hopes and anxieties.” Drawing on the histories of craft and industry, Her work examines the ways in which objects structure our perceptions of the world and our place within it. Gilbert received a BFA in glass from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a BA in Art Semiotics from Brown University. She currently lives and works in Seattle, WA.
Jessica Julius received her MFA in glass from Rochester Institute of Technology and her BFA in glass from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. She taught at Penland School of Crafts, NC, The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass, NY, and the Rochester Institute of Technology, NY. Her work consists of installations dealing with issues questioning our theories of moral, sexual, physiological and morphological classification. Her work has been featured in the New Glass Review and has been seen in The Visual Studies Workshop in New York, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rutgers University, and Moore College of Art.
Erica Rosenfeld lives in Brooklyn, NY. She began beading when she was five and discovered glass in her early twenties. Her jewelry and sculpture come from the ritualistic nature of her childhood art. There are many technical, stylistic and thematic connections Rosenfeld finds between her functional and sculptural work. She uses multiple processes to make components which she then sews together with beads to make labor intensive kinetic jewelry and wall tapestries. She has been teaching glass fusing and glass roll-ups at Urban Glass in Brooklyn, NY, (where she also uses the studio) and other glass and craft institutions. She was a teaching assistant for Klaus Moje and Scott Chaseling. Rosenfeld’s work has been featured in various publications including New Glass Review, Glass Magazine, New York Magazine, In Style, and Glashaus. Selected galleries include: Heller Gallery, NY; Sienna Gallery, MA; Morgan Contemporary Glass, PA; and Snyderman-Works Gallery, PA.
Maret Sarapu began her studies of glass art in Estonian Academy of Arts (EAA) in 1997. As an exchange student in the University of Industrial Arts of Helsinki in Finland she earned a BA degree in 2002 and a MA degree (cum laude) in 2005. Her masters project, “To Dare Or Not To Dare,” was chosen for the Coburg Glass Prize 2006 exhibition. Sarapu’s inspiration comes from the elements of local Northern European nature, native ornaments and motifs and the options these provide for personal self-identification. Her favorite techniques are kiln techniques, especially thin-layered pâte de verre.
The Fellows will present a slide show of their work followed by a demonstration in the Glass Studio, May 11, at 7 p.m. Admission is free for the general public. Light refreshments will be available.
CGCA at WheatonArts has serviced glass artists and the arts community since 1983 and has awarded 287 fellowships to emerging and mid-career artists from the U.S. and 18 other countries. Twelve fellowships are awarded annually. Eight are awarded for a duration of three months, with four Fellowship artists working in the facility. The remaining four fellowships are awarded in two separate six-week sessions, with two Fellowship artists in each session. Regardless of duration, each Fellow is provided with rent-free housing, a monthly stipend and 24-hour access to the facilities. The 2008 Fellowship Application is available online at www.wheatonarts.org or by calling CGCA at 800-998-4552 or 856-825-6800, extension 106.
WheatonArts strives to ensure the accessibility of its exhibitions, events and programs to all persons with disabilities. Provide two weeks notice for special accommodations. Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. WheatonArts received a general operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of Cultural Affairs in the Department of State.
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