This year’s International Festival of Glass will give visitors the possibility of seeing famous glassmakers at work in their studios, and also to experience the history of glassmaking with guided heritage walks along the canals, visits to churches frequented by glassmaking dynasties.
Glass in all sizes and shapes will be on show at the four-day International Festival of Glass 2015 in Stourbridge, UK, 28-31 May. Exhibitions including an amazing wall of 150 glass postcards, cutting-edge pieces from renowned international glass artists, striking pieces of glass on loan from Hungary, spectacular glass, light and sound installations and even some celebrity doodles turned into glass.
Visitors from around the world will be at venues across the historic Stourbridge Glass Quarter for the festival, which also includes the 2015 British Glass Biennale exhibition.
A series of bookable glassmaking master-classes led by renowned glass artists will allow visiting glass artists to learn new techniques and refine their skills on techniques such as glass blowing, furnace building, bead-making, hot glass casting, kiln-forming, glass painting and expressive flame-working.
Artists will demonstrate their skills in their studios, with demos including glassblowing, lampworking (beads), kiln fusing and pate de verre (crushed, moulded glass).
There will also be the possibility of experiencing the history of glassmaking with guided heritage walks along the canals, visits to churches frequented by glassmaking dynasties, pilgrimages to graves of famous glassmakers and a hands-on opportunity to create new artwork using glass excavated from an archaeological dig at a former glassworks.
Elisabeth Johnson, festival coordinator said: “We are thrilled about the programme for the 2015 International Festival of Glass which we hope will inspire and amaze artists, glass enthusiasts and the public alike. Many of the world’s top glass artists are taking part – in exhibitions, leading master-classes, demonstrating their skills – and many more up and coming artists’ work will be showcased too.
“The festival is unique in its breadth and accessibility for all. We have lots of family activities and street entertainment as well as demonstrations, have-a-go sessions, lectures and talks from renowned glass experts.”
The festival hosts the British Glass Biennale, which features work from 77 artists who have been selected for this prestigious award. Artists are drawn from across the globe, including Costa Rica, South Korea, Israel, Sweden, Germany and Japan as well as glass artists living and working in the historic Stourbridge Glass Quarter.
Their pieces embrace a vast range of glassmaking techniques including blown, kiln formed, slumped and engraved glass with pure clean crystal through to opaque vessels and pieces featuring surface painting and glass inclusions. Submissions range from the miniature to large-scale installations.