SEPTEMBER 2–8, 2012
Help Pilchuck commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the studio glass movement during this five-day
session led by celebrated artists of American studio glass. Presentations, demonstrations, and hands-on
workshops will survey a variety of glassworking processes and will be led by artists who have been
integral to the development of studio glass art and Pilchuck.
Open to all skill and experience levels, participants will be able to design their own program by choosing
from simultaneously-scheduled creative activities. It will be an opportunity to learn how and why artists
make their work, gain new perspectives on the challenges and fun of working with glass, or re-ignite the
passion for glass and fan the flames!
Presentations will include artists showing images and talking about their art, inspired historical
perspectives by Walt Lieberman and Fritz Dreisbach, and notable visiting artists and professionals.
Demonstrations, presentations, and hands-on workshops will include: GLASSBLOWING & COLDWORKING
As an established glassmaker, artist, and teacher,
AMY RUEFFERT has apprenticed with the best, including
Richard Marquis and Richard Royal. She will be teaching half-day workshops in the hot shop with a focus
on solid and bit-working processes she uses in her own work. Rueffert will also lead participants in
introductory-level teamworking, including the making of flower forms. Participants will also have the
opportunity to learn her coldworking and decal application techniques.
HOT-GLASS CASTING PAUL MARIONI will lead sessions on hot-glass casting into open-faced sand molds created with positive-
forms such as carved Styrofoam. Activities will place a strong emphasis on creativity and imagination. A
consummate artist and craftsman, Marioni first came to teach at Pilchuck in 1974 and has returned to
instruct and inspire multiple times over the past thirty-eight years.
PAINTING ON GLASS & PRINTMAKING CAPPY THOMPSON,
DICK WEISS, and
WALT LIEBERMAN are known as the Pacific Northwest’s premier glass
painters and collaborators and have inhabited the Pilchuck campus in a variety of different capacities
since the late 1970s. Together they will introduce collaborative opportunities for applying imagery to
the glass surface by means of painting with fired-on vitreous enamels and printmaking, guaranteed to
be endless fun!
GLASSBLOWING & COLDWORKING FRITZ DREISBACH, in the hot shop with the help of
DANTE MARIONI, will demonstrate and explain the ideas
behind making “trick” goblets. In the cold shop Dreisbach will introduce the basic carving techniques he
uses in creating his optically engaging work. Dreisbach is one of Pilchuck’s earliest artist-instructors and
a leader in the studio glass movement. He has remained dedicated to the school ever since he helped to
build the first glass furnace. Dreisbach continues to teach and serve on the board of trustees, and lead
the occasional pig-roasting workshop.
GAFFERS’ STATION
Well-known for their superior abilities and aesthetics with glass,
DANTE MARIONI and
JANUSZ POŹNIAK are artists, designers, and glassmakers with international exhibition and teaching careers, who have
worked together in Seattle for many years. As artists and craftspersons in residence, they will work on
their own art and assist with some of the demonstrations.
See more about Hand On History in our 2012 Course Catalog.
To apply, complete a 2012 Summer Program Application.
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