WAUSAU – Two glass exhibitions that opened in early March will be enlivened by 10 days of glassmaking demonstrations beginning in late April at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum.
“Art Deco Glass from the Huchthausen Collection” and “Molten: 30 Years of American Glass” from the Woodson Art Museum’s collection, coincide with and celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Studio Glass movement and the United Nations International Year of Glass 2022.
Molten glass will be transformed into sparkling objects throughout the free narrated glassmaking demonstrations, April 29-May 8, in the Corning Museum of Glass Mobile Hot Shop, a fully functioning glassmaking studio on wheels converted from a semitrailer, that will set up shop on the Woodson Art Museum’s campus.
Hot Shop visitors will experience the sights and sounds of hot glass being transformed into objects of utility and art during glassmaking demonstrations, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 29 through May 8. The Mobile Hot Shop’s three-person glassblowing team demystifies the properties and processes that make glass one of the world’s oldest and most favored materials for functional and aesthetic objects. Visitors drop in to watch the artists work, listen to their process descriptions, ask questions, and view finished work as it is placed into the annealing oven to cool.
During Hot Shop Talk from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. May 5, Corning Museum of Glass Mobile Hot Shop visiting artists share insights into the Art Deco movement’s influence on functional and fine-art glass design.
Get additional details about the Mobile Hot Shop visit at https://www.lywam.org/learn-do/guest-artists/corning-museum-of-glass-mobile-hot-shop/.
Watch this video about the Museum’s Mobile Hot Shop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UsJ31pAwjQ
Two free glass exhibitions
The artistry, tools, and techniques employed to produce a range of art glass during the Mobile Hot Shop glassmaking demonstrations complement the two exhibitions on view in the galleries, featuring Art Deco designs from the 1920s and 1930s as well as later 20th century glass from the Woodson Art Museum’s collection.
Clean lines, geometric shapes, and bright colors characterize “Art Deco Glass from the David Huchthausen Collection,” on view through June 5 and organized by the Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington. Emerging in contrast to Art Nouveau’s ornate style amid World War I austerity, Art Deco glass fell out of favor after World War II, and regained popularity in the 1970s when David Huchthausen began collecting in earnest. The exhibition includes glass by iconic Art Deco studios and collected by Huchthausen, a glass artist with Wisconsin roots whose work altered the history of contemporary glass. After discovering and experimenting with an abandoned glass furnace in 1970 while a student at the then University of Wisconsin Marathon County in Wausau, Huchthausen later became Harvey Littleton’s graduate assistant at UW-Madison and went on to become a Fulbright scholar, university professor, and museum consultant.
Glass artwork from the Woodson Art Museum collection is featured in “Molten: 30 Years of American Glass” this spring and summer and exemplifies the wide-ranging studio glass experimentation of the 1970s through the 1990s. The Studio Glass movement that extended from Wisconsin to the East and West Coasts through a student-teacher network led by glass artist Harvey Littleton was marked by a new approach to glassmaking. In a radical departure from glass manufactured in factories, studio glass was designed and created by the same person – the artist. “Molten” showcases the inventive experimentation of this new approach, fusing designer and maker, that continues to fuel artistic possibilities.
Two Student Exhibitions on View
The 45th annual “Student Art Exhibition,” on view through April 10, celebrates Youth Art Month and the creative efforts of central and north central Wisconsin students in grades 9-12. The exhibition is open to art educators teaching in public, parochial, and home schools in central and north central Wisconsin.
Portfolio artworks by students in Wausau East High School’s International Baccalaureate Art Program are featured at the Woodson Art Museum in “exh-IB-ition,” April 15 through June 3, coordinated by art department chairman Joel Pataconi and the Woodson Art Museum. During artist presentations from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. June 2, this year’s IB Art Program students share insights into their work.
Spring Program Highlights
- During Night Out @ the Woodson on the first Thursday of each month, the Museum stays open until 7:30 p.m. Engage with artworks on view, try your hand at art making, and explore Art Park – the Museum’s interactive gallery.
- Slow Art Day, April 2, noon- 2 p.m., observe and converse in the galleries, joining a worldwide art appreciation event designed to encourage taking time to view and reflect upon artwork. Visit the galleries and linger with a few artworks of your choosing, noon-1 p.m., and then share your observations with others during a discussion with museum volunteers, 1-2 p.m.
- SPARK!, May 5, 10:30 a.m.-noon: Bring a friend or loved one with memory loss for a social outing in soothing surroundings. “Art Deco Glass” sparks one-on-one conversation between participants and an accompanying friend, family member or care partner. Social interaction is followed by a hands-on art activity. Call the museum at 715-845-7010 to register.
- Art Beyond Sight, May 7, 10:30 a.m.-noon: Individuals with low vision and blindness join Corning Hot Shop artists and museum educators for a multisensory exploration of glass production and Art Deco designs. Call the museum at 715-845-7010 to register.
- International Museum Day, May 18: Help the Woodson Art Museum celebrate International Museum Day by coloring and sharing your favorite museum memory by picking up a coloring page at the museum. Drop-off your finished page at the visitor services desk for display at the museum.
For additional details, check the events calendar and these webpages:
Glassmaking demonstrations, April 29-May 8
Art Deco Glass from the Huchthausen Collection
Molten: 30 Years of American Glass
For more information, visit www.lywam.org, email the museum at [email protected], call 715-845-7010.
