Wheaton Conversations

A General Banner for Wheaton Conversations. Two images, Detail of Aquamotion by Dan Dailey, a vessel with a green to orange gradient enveloped by two anthropomorphic fish, linking hands above the vessel. The second image shows a detail of a gathering of colorful glass orbs, by Jen Elek.

Wheaton Conversations is a free virtual series highlighting a diverse community of Artists at 6 p.m. EDT on select Thursday nights

Join us as we converse with inspirational artists discussing their art and creative process while providing an engaging platform for audience interaction. This series takes place on select Thursday nights at 6 p.m. EDT. See the upcoming schedule (right) and click on the artist names to learn more and register for each program.

Video recordings are posted later for each session on our YouTube channel and within the pages below. Special thank you to PNC Arts Alive and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass for sponsoring this virtual programming! 

Colored glass circles with white portrait etchings of various peoples.
Capturing Light (detail), 2017, hand engraved glass cameos by Charlotte Potter.

Watch recordings of past Wheaton Conversations: 

Amber Cowan
Follow Amber Cowan as she integrates her own blown and flameworked elements with pressed factory glass to create lush wall installations and free-standing sculptures.

Ancestral Sounds: Garifuna Music & Dance with Eleanor Castillo Bullock & Alex Kwabena Colon
Enjoy introductions to traditional Garifuna drum rhythms and songs. Eleanor & Alex discuss the meanings and stories from the perspective of the Garifuna people and their sense of cultural heritage.

Argentinian Tango with Gerardo Razumney & Edilia González
Discover the deeper emotional aspects of Tango, from its lyrical themes to the social and show styles of dancing and the intimacy it involves. Join Gerardo & Edilia as they establish links between tango styles and dispel some myths surrounding its culture.​​

Alison Ruzsa with Jere Gibber & J.G. Harrington
Explore the vital & inspiring relationships that develop between collectors, artists, and museums. Ruzsa also discusses her work & shares video demonstrations of the painting & layering techniques used to create the intricate scenes in her glass paperweights & sculptures.

Allan Wexler & Virgil Marti
Listen as these installation artists discuss their experiences exploring the use of glass to express their ideas, how their creative approaches sit at the perceived boundaries of multiple disciplines, and more. 

Amy Lemaire & Gordon Smith
With a focus on paperweights & scientific glass technology, join glass artists Gordon & Amy to explore their careers, works, and artistic processes.

Anjali Srinivasan & Alexander Rosenberg
A lively conversation over recent projects shaped by environmental concerns, the scarcity of materials & sustainability, their share innovations around teaching glass during a global pandemic, and interests in glass-like materials and processes.

Anna Mlasowsky & Jessica Julius
Join these two glass & interdisciplinary artists for a conversation exploring their careers, works, & artistic processes. 

Beth Lipman & Erica Rosenfeld
Relive this candid discussion as these artists pose questions to each other about their respective creative practices and how they’ve been impacted by the pandemic, social justice, & other current events.

Bolivian Ritual & Dance
Uncover the unique stories behind Bolivian rituals & dances in the context of Bolivian & Andean traditional cultures with artists Julia Garcia & Maria Mayda.

Brett Swenson
Meet artist Brett Swenson, who makes videos & objects that explore the felt mechanics of seeing & perceiving.

By the Fruit of Your Hands with Suni Paz & Lisa Stewart Garrison
Drawing from the roots & flowering of cultures of the Americas, original & traditional songs & rhythms are presented by Latin American singer/songwriter Suni Paz & cultural activist Lisa Stewart Garrison.

Colorful Sawdust Carpets – A Guatemalan Tradition
Discover the creative process & history behind traditional sawdust art with Maya artist Ubaldo Sanchez & researcher Yolanda Alcorta.

Charlotte Potter & Kim Harty
A discussion on how as creative minds, we are responsible for pivoting to best support the glass community and its next generation of makers who are learning through virtual interfaces for tacit knowledge. 

Dan Dailey & Richard Royal
Join Dailey & Royal as they reflect and converse about their art-making processes, collaborative experiences, and current projects.

David King & David Schnuckel
David & David both make artworks that extend from a rigorous approach to object making; the results are often impractical and unexpected. During their conversation, they make an effort to uncover why.

De La Torre Brothers
Living & working on both sides of the US/Mexico border, these inspirational brothers, Einar & Jamex, discuss their complex & humorous creations.

Esteban Salazar & Matt Jacob
Follow along as Esteban & Matt share their experiences working in a glass community, branching out to speak more broadly about their experiences (jobs, commissions, teaching, leading, making their own artwork, etc.) as glass professionals.

Jackie Sandro Greenwell & Jim Greenwell
Sandro is the Director of the Fine Arts Department at Clay College of Rowan College South Jersey, and Greenwell is the Art Department Studio Technician at Rowan University. Discover their artwork, career paths, and fascination with their respective mediums.

James Akers & Jacob Willcox
Join James & Jacob’s discussion as they explain their flashy neon process, glass education, inspiration, and lighting a bright future!

Judith Schaechter & Jeff Zimmer
Friends for almost 20 years, Judith & Jeff discuss common themes in their work, their process, and how they see themselves as artists through social issues, identity, inspiration, & darkness.

Kait Rhoads & Jen Elek
Join these two Pacific Northwest artists as they converse about their passion for the natural world, art-making processes, and community-driven artwork.

Kayla Cantu
Questioning perceptions of “unruly bodies,” Kayla explores parallels of glass, human identity, & capability. She reconsiders notions of failure & traditional uses of glass as an artistic medium.

Losang Samten
A unique presentation & discussion focusing on the “Wheel of Life” sand mandala with our favorite Tibetan master artist!

Music of Argentina ~ Traditional & Contemporary Perspectives
Highlighting international musician & composer Carlos Pavan, explore a new approach to classical guitar during this narrated performance & talk.

Music & Rhythms of Venezuela
Witness the extraordinary beauty & diversity of traditional Venezuelan music – as highlighted by researcher Michael Esposito and accomplished musician Eduardo Betancourt.

Norwood Viviano & Dr. Jennifer Kitson
Generating new understandings of place through research & creative response, they discuss their experience working with Rowan University students and WheatonArts to explore the South Jersey glass arts & heritage landscape from a cross-disciplinary lens.

Paige Morris & Josefina Munoz Torres
Reflecting on how social systems inform their personal narratives, Morris & Muñoz Torres discuss the mechanisms & strategies they have developed to reference the varying effects of public vs. private structures on their creative practice.

Paul Stankard & Shane Fero
A lively journey through the European origins of the art of flameworking and contemporary flamework, the innovation of technologies & techniques, their use of narrative, & the art form’s future. 

Sadhbh Mowlds, Eriko Kobayashi, & Ndivhuho Rasengani
This dynamic international group of artists hail from Japan, Ireland, and South Africa. Join us as they discuss their unique, individual experiences and creative processes with approach to techniques and problem-solving as they share what they explored during their Fellowship at WheatonArts.

Social Change & Artistic Process
Discover how artist Paula Meninato depicts the human toll behind the criminalization of Latin Americans through the optical qualities of paint on glass.

Stephen Paul Day & Sibylle Peretti
Unpacking a 30-year journey, Stephen & Sibylle discuss how their Residencies at WheatonArts impacted their work & careers. They reflect on their collaborations as an artist couple through an intimate conversation and discuss their recent works as solo artists.

Suyeon Kim
A glass artist based in South Korea, Kim shares her creative process in glass and her experience surviving as an artist during the pandemic. Kim uses glass as a drawing medium, and she talks about how drawing generally impacted her art practice.

Therman Statom
Meet this incredible sculptor, glass artist, & painter – a pioneer of the contemporary glass movement for his life-size glass ladders, chairs, tables, constructed box-like paintings, & small-scale houses.

Tyrese “Bright Flower” Gould Jacinto
A member of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indian Tribe, Tyrese is a talented artist engaged in a variety of traditional Lenape arts – beadwork, basket weaving, wampum belts, shell work, leatherwork, pine needle, & gourd arts.

vanessa german & Rose B. Simpson
Watch & listen as these transformative artists share what is important to them through the imagery of spaces & objects, discuss chosen images, & engage with audience responses.

Visualizing Stories ~ Peruvian Masks with Gustavo Boada
The famous Peruvian mask maker Gustavo Boada shares his 30+ years of experience! Explore the use of masks in ritual & theatrical contexts and how traditional Andean artistry & aesthetics are incorporated into contemporary performances.

Voices in Studio Glass – the Paul Hollister Archives
Rethinking & reinterpreting the history of postwar American studio glass—built upon critic & historian Paul Hollister’s work. A discussion with Bard Graduate Center professionals Barb Elam & Catherine Whalen.

Voices in the Gallery Space
Rewatch a lively discussion about artists & artworks, stories behind objects, personal experiences, and aesthetics from Julia Zagar (Eye’s Gallery), Tony Fisher (Indigo Arts Gallery), and Noele Alampi (WheatonArts Gallery of Fine Craft) as they share their many years of experiences from a gallery perspective.

Weaving Life – Maya Fiber Arts
Explore the amazing story of the Maya textile arts as they are studied and presented by the Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Clothing in Guatemala and the U.S.-based Friends of the Ixchel Museum (FOIM).

Wendel White & Glynnis Reed
Get drawn into these two artists’ creative processes, African American art & photography traditions, & their approaches to interweaving identity with nature & place.

West African Drums & Drumming with Maxwell Kofi Donkor
An in-depth discussion & live demonstration by Maxwell Kofi Donkor, sharing origin stories of African drums as well as their use and symbolism among the African communities of his homeland of Ghana.

A Window to Andean Traditions: Music & Instruments from the Andes Mountains
Listen to engaging conversations and live demonstrations of Andean music and instruments with Mr. Pepe Santana.

This virtual series is brought to you free of charge. WheatonArts is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to engage artists and audiences in an evolving exploration of creativity. Please help us in continuing to provide low cost, quality programming for our full community by making a donation today. Thank you for your support! 

Artist Losang Samten creates a sand mandala as four visitors observe.

Thank you to our sponsors, PNC Arts Alive! and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass.

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