Viscosity Gallery in Seattle presents "Heads" by local artist Jeanne Ferraro, May 7-30, 2009.
The Gallery is open Thurs.- Sat. from 12pm- 5pm or by appointment
5720 Rainier Ave. South
Seattle, WA. 98118
206-760-1762
"I am honored to have the Docents and Volunteers of the Museum of Glass ask me to respond to questions about my job and life as an artist. I have decided to answer several of the questions in narrative paragraphs, as it’s easier for me to explain myself in this way. I want to compliment the Docents for doing a wonderful job during the Lino Tagliapietra exhibition. I received many compliments from the audience on the amount of information you offered, as well as compliments from glass blowers who spoke of your accuracy.
One cannot ask to start the summer with a greater experience than the residency of Maestro Lino Tagliapietra. The audience, the artist, and the glass blowers came together in the true sense of team and family. As the days went on throughout his residency, everyone became closer each person involved with the beauty of the process of making glass into art. Glass is alive and it attracts artists. It is what brought me to glass 30 years ago and keeps me “in” glass today.
My main job is to translate the language and actions of the artistic process of creating to the audience in a way they can understand and enjoy. I try to bring them into the world of art that I love and have known since I was 17. The greatest challenge is to think of a wide variety of ways to explain the same information so that the audience, who remains with us for a long period of time, does not get bored. I try to involve the audience as if they were part of the team, part of the process of creating, because in truth, art comes from human interaction.
I get very excited when I see the light go on; the person asking questions understands and then advances to a greater level of inquiry. I know they have become more engaged with the artist as well as with the glass. Because I am accustomed to engaging the public in the educational atmosphere of college, as well as in years of performance, I am comfortable speaking to the audience. I feel I am the connection between the Visiting Artist and the museum visitor.
During the summer I could watch the team of professional artists that work for the museum respond and relate to each of our respected Visiting Artists. Every member of the team had their VA, the artist whose artistic voice or aesthetic was more similar to their own. I was able to see the relationship of influence from the VA to the team, as well as the team’s influence on the VA. We, in glass, have always shared the success of a piece, just as we share the failure of one missed heat. It makes the experience a bonding much like that of performance, played out as well in the artist/model attachment. In our hot shop, we also share this bonding with the museum viewers. They hold their breath at the tense moments and share in the sadness of loosing a piece.
They see the difficulty of the task as the team begins again to make the next object. The bond is beautiful.
I have met and known many of the artists that came to the museum this summer, but had waited for Jiri Harcuba. The honor of watching him work and seeing the subtleties of his technique floored me. I will admit that at times I forgot to talk to the audience and would find them staring at the movements of his hands along with me. He is a very kind man who gave many of his creations to the people he worked with, as well as Karen Hobbs, for running the cameras and Jamie Rivers in security. His technique and grace shall influence me for the rest of my life.
All of the artists came here to share what they know and love with the audience, including glass students who came throughout the summer. This made it for me, as an artist and teacher, extraordinary.
What is the most frequently asked question? Where does the color come from or when do they add the color?
What is the strangest question asked? A year ago when I first started working at the museum, the strangest question asked of me was, “Is Chihuly here?” No, not today. “Well, when will he be back?” I don’t know. “Doesn’t he live here?” You mean in Tacoma. “No, here” You mean in the Museum? “No, here” You mean in the Hot Shop. “Yeah” …I had no idea at the time how many people thought Dale lived on the blowing floor. I also like the small children trying to understand how hot 2000 degrees actually is. The look on their face when they finally get the idea is priceless.
Tell us a little about your background. I have a BFA in sculpture from Kent State University where I studied Glass, Painting, Sculpture, Film and Performance. My final project was a combination of all of these disciplines. I also studied and started a post-bac in history as it influenced art movements. The following year I started a study of painting at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. That program no longer exists, but I was able to work with Suzanne Coffee and Dan Gustin. During that time, I blew glass in a production glass studio and then a glass factory and studied glass chemistry with Dr. Fry at Chicago Art Glass.
When I left Chicago, I moved to San Francisco and worked in a glass factory making 150 cordials a day (in 22 assorted colors) with a team of three glass blowers. At the same time, I worked part time in the music industry for one of the first indie labels, and had a hand-blown perfume bottle business. Suddenly, I felt tired. So I left San Francisco to go to Grad school at Rochester Institute of Technology to study under Michael Taylor. I wanted to focus again on sculpture and glass.
Mr. Taylor was kind enough to grant me two years as his TA. At that time, I began teaching glass blowing. I had taught several drawing classes during my time in Chicago and at Akron University while an undergrad in Ohio, so teaching at RIT felt right. From that day to this, I’ve never stopped teaching some form of art. I’ve also taught in many programs for troubled youth and volunteered at run-away shelters, but that is another story.
In 1994, I moved to Seattle to become an AIDS caregiver to my twin. At that time I began to teach at Pratt Fine Arts Center and worked as a glass blower and glass blowing assistant to many artists in Seattle, including Mr. Chihuly. In 2002, I was invited to teach a course in Italian glass blowing techniques at the Bezalel Academy for the arts in Jerusalem. There are other teaching experiences that happened during the many years that eventually lead up to taking the position of Studio Head of the Glass program at Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada. I was given the title of Professor and in two years, worked on rebuilding the program, rewriting curriculum and upgrading the studio equipment to create a more fuel efficient, safe department with health concerns in the forefront.
I left Sheridan and became an Artist-in-Residence at Worcester Center for Crafts in Massachusetts with a Sugarman Grant in sculpture. When that ended, Paula Stokes, my forever friend, influenced me to return to Seattle, and that lead me to the museum and back to Pratt.
In all, I spent 12 years at colleges and universities studying fine art, craft, and the connection between history, politics and science as it applies to art. I continue to take courses wherever I live. For example, during my year in Massachusetts, I audited a course at Harvard’s Fine Art Library on the influence of the manufacturing of oil paints on the Impressionist period. Presently, I am studying the effects an economic depression can have on an art movement.
I work in a wide variety of materials. My last group of blown vessels, completed on Sept 1st, contained electro formed copper flowers, chemically colored to match the color of the glass used for the vase. The shape of each vessel was drawn from the shape of the flower’s “bud” with the flower’s patina (chemical coloring) or tint, reflecting that of the bloom. In my next series, the plants depicted are classified as weeds and are cast in bronze.
I am privileged that many people have allowed me to use their portraits for my work. I have studied the narrative on my fellow humans’ face since high school. At this moment I have 3 heads in different stages of development. One of a family member will be “hot pour cast glass” with inclusion made in the hot sculpted techniques I learned during a class with Karen Willenbrink Johnsen. These will be included in the glass pouring using the techniques of Bertil Vallien and Teresa Batty. The sculpted images will reflect the memories of the subject’s life. I am also continuing to work on the “hot Pate de Verre” sculptures in the same series as my donation to the Red Hot Gala.
Education and learning are never ending. I will always be grateful to the Museum of Glass for giving me a position in which I can teach as well as learn the many possibilities glass has as a material for the making of art. Thank you all for supporting me and the hot shop team. You help the audience experience the grace and beauty that is glass."
Tacoma Museum of Glass "Bits of Frit" blog post "Hot Topics: Jeanne Ferraro, Hot Shop Interpreter" October 20, 2008 by "MOG docents" Accessed May 6, 2009. http://museumofglass.org/blogs/docents/2008/10/hot-topics-jeanne-ferraro-hot-shop-interpreter/
photo credit: Viscosity Gallery website: http://www.viscosityglass.com/Gallery.htm
"If you haven’t heard, Viscosity Studio & Gallery is up for sale, which is a big bummer since Cristy Aloysi and Scott Graham are not only super talented, but all-around great neighbors as well.“They will be missed,” said Hillman City Business Association president Denise Gloster. “Scott and Christi have been a great addition to the Hillman City Business District.”"
Unknown. "One of Valley's hottest businesses goes up for sale." Rainier Valley Post. March 28, 2009. Accessed May 6, 2009. http://www.rainiervalleypost.com/?p=5034
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