Foundation Helping Young Artists

“It is my dearest wish to help young artists of our country…and assist by helping them establish themselves in the art world.”  ~ Louis Comfort Tiffany (pictured below)

Much before his death in 1933, Louis Comfort Tiffany began planning for his legacy. In 1918 he established a foundation and a plan to use his home, Laurelton Hall (pictured below) as a retreat for young artists. Although the real estate property on Long Island was sold, his foundation still exists and it’s focus has changed.

Grants to young artists are now awarded.However, an artist can not apply for a grant, they must be nominated by a person of prominence in the art world as an up and coming artist of promise and talent.

It is interesting to read about previous and recent grant award-winners on the website for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. 

What an honor it must be for young artists to be recognized as someone who is worthy of following in the footsteps of this highly esteemed glass artist. Makes me wish I’d found my passion working in this wonderful medium years sooner but doing “Art for Art’s Sake” is reason enough and for that reason I find fulfillment in it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Honors for the Shattered

This blog post is not about flags made of polyester or nylon. I promise you it is not! So read on and learn something about a flag made from a different kind of fabric! It always feels good to show off the red, white and blue no matter what medium its made from.

Did you know? The largest stained glass flag in the world is right here in America. So, today, let’s put political preferences aside and enjoy this image, posted for all who are patriotic and proud to be an American.

This stained glass installation hangs in a public place named after one of America’s wounded warriors, which seems appropriate given the fact that the ancient poet of love, Rumi once said,  “The wound is the place where the light enters you.”

Want to know what city this glass installment hangs in? In Lawrence, Kansas at the Dole Institute of Politics.

Want to know another interesting fact? It’s bookends are two steel “I” beams from the World Trade Center.
Today I feel gratitude for Bob Dole
and all the other wounded warriors and civil servants (past and present)
who have so honorably served our country.
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Art & The Brain

 

When it comes to science and art, research has found the two can not be talked about independently because creativity involves brain activity. Did you know through neurological processes used in creating art, a person’s perspective on life can be changed in a positive way?

Including the arts in a child’s education is healthy for brain development and in my opinion, it should not be left out of the curriculum. Otherwise how would a child be able to explore his or her creative capacities?

One of the most convincing books I have ever read about creativity and the brain is by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor called My Stroke of Insight. If you have not read it plan to do so. I don’t want to be a spoiler and tell you too much but Dr. Taylor’s personal story relates to today’s theme.

That’s all for today. Do return to this page on our website.Our goal for our blog writings is to shed light on art which adds color to our life.

 

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Pass it On

Today’s blog is simply to re-share one of our previous blogs because we’ve been asked the question –  who is Elizabeth Kubler-Ross?  She was a pioneer in the hospice movement. A psychiatrist and humanitarian who deeply understood people and their emotions during the most difficult stages of life.

Thoughts like hers are worthy of remembering and passing along to other people. Every single living person around the world regardless of age and background go through times of darkness and light. And today we hope you have your glitter on!

Join us next time as we explore how art brings beauty to the soul.

This blog is brought to you by MZGlassworks: Scattering Light and Color Everywhere.

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Favrile Favorite

“Art history is littered with work that involves light.” ~ James Turrell

Step inside this historic building and you will see a wonderful example of a favrile glass mural.

So what makes favrile glass different than other glass? It’s iridescent qualities is ingrained in the glass itself not just from the refraction of light. Favrile was developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The term favrile glass may be less known unless you are antiques dealer or appraiser or a stained glass enthusiast. 

One of the most beautiful examples of favrile glass is a 1916 installation of a glass-mosaic mural by Maxfield Parrish and Louis Comfort Tiffany called ‘”Dream Garden.” Cyrus Curtis of Curtis Publishing hired Mr. Parrish, a prominent magazine illustrator of the era and Louis Comfort Tiffany to design and make the mural which is 16 ft high and 50 feet wide. It has an astonishing number of hues – 260 to be exact which makes the scene “breathtaking.” It is the only known collaboration between Tiffany and Parrish.

In the year 2001, the mural was at risk for being removed from the lobby of the Curtis Publishing Company. To make a long story short, Pew Charitable Trust stepped in and the art will remain because of it’s historical importance to the building. Want to know more about the controversial reasons for why it was almost removed? Here is a good article from the Association of Public Art.

Looking for an art journey? Head to Philadelphia! The mural is in the Curtis Building at 6th and Walnut Streets and can be viewed by the public. A photograph certainly can’t do glass work justice in fully capturing it’s reflective qualities. It would be worth seeing up up close.

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Coat of Colors

You’ve heard of the story Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors?

Well, today, I’m going to introduce you to Missy, the cat with fur of a spectrum of colors. Her uniqueness is brought to you by her laying in the reflection of a stained glass window!

Psychologist say there is something behind the colors we chose to wear and surrounding ourselves with a little color can do something not only for appearances but also the spirit. Don’t believe me? Read the article for yourself.

As for Missy, I’d say she’s a pretty colorful character.

What are you going to do to add more color to your life? Share it with a comment on this website because “The world needs your prismatic soul!” ~Amy Leigh Mercree

 

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Museum Wanderings

“A museum is a place where one should lose one’s head.” ~ Renzo Piano

“It’s quite an imposing building,” I said to my daughter Shannon, as we walked up to what looked like a huge palace. Neither of us would leave Amsterdam without seeing The Rijks Museum. It was on our list of things to see and do in Amsterdam. The day had arrived to wander and roam  this 1885 structure designed by Pierre Cuypers. We were excited to step inside.

“The Rijks” is the pride of the Netherlands, the equivalent to the Louvre in France because it is the most frequented collection of art in the country. The national museum was closed for ten years to be refurbished. It reopened in 2003, presumably better than ever!  

True to it’s reputation, the museum was filled with masterpieces of the Dutch painter, draftsman and printmaker Rembrandt, Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer and it reportedly houses 1,000,000 objects of art and history.

Here I am standing in front of some tall, tall stained glass windows installed in the museum. 

I am pondering how many lifetimes would it take for me to make these stain glass windows single-handedly? I think I’ll go cypher on something else like why we hadn’t planned a longer trip. I could easily become a dromomaniac. Don’t know what that is? Look it up.

If you missed out on the beginnings of my art travels, catch up with me through these two posts about The Home of the Blue and White  and Glass Chimes.

Come on back to this creative writing space on MZ Glassworks.com. There will be more fun things to follow.

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Home of the Blue and White

When in the Netherlands what do you do? You visit Delft! Any respectable artist would, wouldn’t you? Delft is home to Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer , the iconic blue and white pottery, and the little lady with the pearl earring! (Ah…yes, you say, I remember that great book, The Girl With the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier!)

We found the blue and white, and a pair of bicycles. Naturally, I was on the look out for rainbow-colored windows too!

Yay! We made it across the big blue

and to

The Nieuwe Kerk in Market Square! All is alive and well in Delft!

 

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Glass Chimes

Belated Greetings from Amsterdam, Holland. This spring at the height of Tulip Season, my daughter Shannon and I had the good fortune to visit a place on our bucket lists – Keukenhoff Gardens. Our travels took us on many artistic journeys which included museums, churches and towns I’d only read about. In a series of blogs, I will be sharing a little with you about my experience which has broadened me even further as an artist and stained glass maker.

One windy day which still had a spring chill to it, as we walked the grounds of the Keukenhoff Gardens, I thought I heard some tinkling in the distance. My first thought was it was coming from a fountain. We walked toward the gentle song in the air and came across the most impressive wind chimes I have ever seen. Imagine the delight on the face of yours truly, as I realized the lilting music was coming from something made of glass. I was right in my element!

Immediately I wondered how many pieces of glass were used to make this structure/musical instrument? My friends, since I don’t have the facts on that, it’s still a mystery to me. The answer is blowing in the wind.

If you plan on going to Amsterdam to count the pieces of glass yourself, you will have to wait until 2020. These magnificent gardens are only open the end of March until mid-May every year. Here is a link to Keukenhoff Gardens. Read more about the 32 hectares of flowers in this park where millions of visitors from around the world arrive yearly to stroll 15 kilometers of footpaths and view 800 different species of tulips. There is a different theme in the plantings each year and in 2020 it will be World of Colors. 

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