Seattle, WA – January 11, 2008

Watkinson, who became Pilchuck’s Executive Director in 2002, is credited with bringing leadership, strength, and stability to Pilchuck in her five-year term. Longtime Pilchuck trustee and President of the Pacific Science Center, Bryce Seidl says, “Patricia Watkinson’s leadership has enabled Pilchuck to evolve as a more professional and established institution while maintaining innovation and creative freedom within its artistic programs. She has helped to raise the profile of Pilchuck both nationally and internationally and has created tremendous confidence in our reputation as an educational institution. One of her biggest accomplishments has been to regain and maintain Pilchuck’s financial health. We are grateful for Patricia’s many accomplishments during her tenure at Pilchuck. She will be greatly missed, and we wish her well in her retirement.”

Patricia Wallace, President of the Pilchuck Board of Trustees, has announced the school’s plans to conduct a national search to replace Watkinson. “The Board of Trustees and staff are united in our commitment to find an outstanding individual who can continue to provide strong leadership for Pilchuck. We anticipate that a new director will be in place prior to Patricia's retirement in May 2008, and we are delighted that Patricia will play an active role through the end of 2008 as the school transitions. Patricia leaves a strong legacy and while she will be missed, we are at a strong point in the school’s evolution, poised for a successful future dedicated to inspiring creativity, transforming individuals, and building community among artists of the Pacific Northwest and throughout the world.”

Watkinson’s career spans several decades in the arts and education in the United States as well as in her native England. She has been a curator, art history professor, author, editor, and frequent art juror. Prior to joining Pilchuck Glass School, Watkinson served as the Director of the Museum of Art at Washington State University for twelve years, and left to become the Executive Director of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Indiana.

Watkinson shared her retirement plans at a regularly scheduled Executive Committee meeting of the School. “I will leave Pilchuck with great admiration for those who inspired the school’s founding and for those who continue to stoke the school’s flame of creativity. One of my greatest pleasures has been meeting each summer’s influx of artists, of all ages, from all backgrounds and countries, who share a fascination and passion for art and for glass. Seeing the lives of students transformed on a regular basis has been humbling. I have had the privilege of serving at the heart of an institution that honors the importance of the artistic process itself.”

Upon retirement, Watkinson plans to travel, spend time with family, and explore interests in the arts.

Founded in 1971 by Dale Chihuly, Anne Gould Hauberg and John H. Hauberg (1916-2002), Pilchuck Glass School is an international center for glass art education. Located on a former tree farm in Stanwood, Washington, Pilchuck sponsors two- and three-week classes each summer in a broad spectrum of glass techniques as well as residencies for emerging and established artists working in all media. Pilchuck welcomes over 500 artists annually at the world’s most comprehensive school for artists working in glass.

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Pilchuck Glass School receives generous annual support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Washington State Arts Commission, PONCHO, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Kreielsheimer Remainder Foundation, the Corning Incorporated Foundation, the Jean K. Lafromboise Foundation, the Laila Twigg-Smith Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation and many generous individuals.