Tg: Transitions in Kiln-Glass: at Bellevue Arts Museum

May 31, 2024 - January 5, 2025

Tg: Transitions in Kiln-Glass is a biennial juried competition organized by Bullseye Glass Co., honoring outstanding contemporary kiln-glass art and design. Jurors Heike Brachlow (artist and educator; Tutor in Ceramics & Glass at the Royal College of Art, London), Tina Oldknow (art historian and curator; former senior curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass at The Corning Museum of Glass), and Corey Pemberton (artist and nonprofit co-founder; Director of Crafting the Future) narrowed the selection down to 38 finalists, from which 11 award winners and two honorable mentions were chosen.

 

An exhibition featuring the works selected as award winners and honorable mentions is on view at Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Washington, during private and public events through January 5, 2025. Contact Bellevue Arts Museum for details and viewing opportunities.

 

  • AWARD WINNERS 2024

  • In the kiln, glass undergoes a transformative experience in its materiality, transitioning between behaving like a solid and behaving like a liquid. Near the center of the region in which this shift occurs is the glass transition temperature, known as Tg. As the material acquiesces to the heat and its molecular mobility increases, artists take advantage of its adaptability, turning raw material into expressive artwork.

     

    The pieces included in Tg: Transitions in Kiln-Glass were selected for their innovation, quality of concept and content, and attention to technical proficiency. From cameo-engraving to casting, pâte de verre to the use of 3D printing, the artwork in the exhibition highlights the vast capabilities of kilnformed glass and the progressive approaches to it taken by contemporary artists from around the world.

  • Jury Members

    • Heike Brachlow

      Heike Brachlow

      Heike Brachlow is an artist and educator. She is currently a Tutor in ceramics and glass at the Royal College...

    • Tina Oldknow

      Tina Oldknow

      Tina Oldknow is an art historian and curator, formerly the senior curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass at The Corning Museum of Glass.

    • Corey Pemberton

      Corey Pemberton

      Corey Pemberton is an artist and co-founder of non-profit Crafting the Future, an organization that connects BIPOC artists with opportunities.

  • Gold Award

    Jill Burks
  • JILL BURKS

    USA
    My work uses a three-dimensional form as a repeating motif to create new patterns in the negative and positive spaces.

    Perception Shift, 2023

    kilncast glass (open-faced) from 3D printed model

    2.5 x 15.75 x 10.25 inches

     

    Jill Burks holds a BFA from New York University and has over 25 years of professional graphic design experience. She has exhibited in group shows nationally and has received several awards, including an Urban Glass scholarship and a New York State Council of the Arts Individual Artist Grant. Burks lives and works from her small farm in upstate New York.

     
    My work uses a three-dimensional form as a repeating motif to create new patterns in the negative and positive spaces. Light and viewer positional changes affect the visual experience of the pattern. This exploration of space, material, and pattern plays with perception and invites closer inspection.
  • SILVER AWARD

    Ryan Tanner
  • RYAN TANNER

    USA
    I use the thousands of years of history that comes with cameo engraving to create monuments to a contemporary culture that is often focused on the disposable and temporal.
    All Day Breakfast, 2023
    kilnformed and cameo-engraved glass
    10 x 7 x 0.5 inches
     

    Ryan Tanner was born in Fairfax, Virginia. He began working with glass in 2007, during his studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. There, he began his research into the history of cameo glass engraving in the pursuit of re-creating past techniques, a passion he still pursues to this day. He now passes on the techniques he has developed in demonstrations at educational facilities including the Pittsburgh Glass Center; The Ohio State University; Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University, Philadelphia; and The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia.

    Combining my love for the ancient tradition of cameo glass engraving, and a childhood immersed in the illustrative chaos of comic books and cartoons, I attempt to create some kind of harmony between these two distant forms of art. In this pursuit, I use the thousands of years of history that comes with cameo engraving to create monuments to a contemporary culture that is often focused on the disposable and temporal.
  • BRONZE AWARD

    Patricia Ludovici
  • Patricia Ludovici

    USA
    My work is a challenge to hierarchical systems that dictate what is worthy of admiration and what is not.
    Family Portrait, 2022
    cast glass, found wood
    25.5 x 21.5 x 2.25 inches
     

    Patricia Ludovici began working with glass in Philadelphia at the age of 13. She received a BFA in glass from California College of the Arts, and an MFA in Spatial Arts from San Jose State University. She has worked for several glass artists both in California and abroad, and lived and worked for a period in Berlin, Germany. In 2012, she was awarded a residency at Berlin Glas e.V. Ludovici’s work has been exhibited in and around the Bay Area, the West Coast, and in Berlin.

    My art is a call to action, prompting us to question our desire for newness and perfection, and to confront the consequences of our throwaway culture. It is a challenge to hierarchical systems that dictate what is worthy of admiration and what is not. Drawing inspiration from found objects, I utilize glass as a medium to reconstruct and transform these artifacts. I explore questions of validity, identity, and function, particularly in a world increasingly defined by disposability.
  • DESIGN AWARD

    First Place CELIA DOWSON
  • CELIA DOWSON

    UK
    My work seeks to create a contemplative space to reflect upon the rhythms of the atmosphere.

    Sake Set in Cloud Opal, 2023

    kilncast glass

    2 x 2.25 x 2.25 inches

    2.25 x 2.5 x 2.5 inches

    4 x 3.5 x 3.25 inches

     

    Celia Dowson graduated from the Royal College of Art, London, in 2018, where she specialized in both ceramics and cast glass. In 2014, she completed a BA Honors in Ceramic Design from Central Saint Martins, London. She has received awards including a Wallpaper* Design Award and a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship in 2017. Dowson exhibits internationally and her work can be found in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan.

    I explore the interplay between fluidity and form in cast glass. My vessels are informed by observing the transformative nature of materials, from wax modeling to glass flow and movement. I integrate technical processes from ceramics into kilncasting and color approaches, using form to define material depth, gradation, and opacity. My work seeks to create a contemplative space to reflect upon the rhythms of the atmosphere and our innate connection to materials we use and spaces we inhabit.
  • DESIGN AWARD

    SECOND PLACE KATE CLEMENTS
  • KATE CLEMENTS

    USA
    Utilizing the seductive qualities of glass, I draw the viewer in, but upon further inspection the work reflects a nervous tension and precariousness that is palpable.

    Window to the World, 2022

    kiln-fired glass, paint, pins

    120 x 144 x 0.25 inches

     

    Kate Clements received an MFA in Glass from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in 2015. Since then, she has been awarded residencies at Studios Inc, Kansas City, Missouri; Museum of Arts & Design, New York; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington; and S12 Gallery Bergen, Norway. Her work has been exhibited at The Delaware Contemporary, Houston Center of Contemporary Craft, SOFA Chicago, and Urban Glass, New York. Clements has been featured in Italian Vogue Gioiello, American Craft Magazine, and New Glass Review.

    I construct delicate and ornate large-scale paintings and installations comprised of kiln-fired glass panels. The wafer-thin panels reference naturalistic designs and floral motifs that I use to explore ideas of beauty, taste, and impermanence. Utilizing the seductive qualities of glass, I draw the viewer in, but upon further inspection the work reflects a nervous tension and precariousness that is palpable.
  • ACADEMIC AWARD

    FIRST PLACE HOLLY HOOPER
  • HOLLY HOOPER

    UK
    Using a meticulous process of layering multiple colors, the work transforms with the shifting light throughout the day.

    Rollover, 2023

    pâte-de-verre

    20.25 x 17 x 3 inches

    (edition of 4)

     

    Holly Hooper is a British artist, born and currently living in London. She attained a BA in Communication Design from London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, in 2013. Hooper worked as a theater producer and designer in London for the next five years, before taking a foray into glass, as a hot shop assistant from 2018 to 2021. She went on to receive an MA in Ceramics and Glass from the Royal College of Art, London, in 2023.

    Using a meticulous process of layering multiple colors, the work transforms with the shifting light throughout the day. It is an invitation to explore the deep connections between personal experiences, emotions, and the physical world, as we construct our own narratives and forge lasting impressions of the spaces we inhabit.

     

  • ACADEMIC AWARD

    SECOND PLACE HELEN RESTORICK
  • HELEN RESTORICK

    UK
    Initially inspired by patterns of blood flow in the human body, I use principles of fluid dynamics to link the behavior of molten glass channeled in the kiln to that of other viscous fluids.

    Square Interaction, 2023

    cast glass

    11 x 11 x 1.5 inches

     

    Helen Restorick lives and works in Surrey, England. She received a Certificate of Advanced Practice in Glass from Richmond Art School, London, in 2021, and an MA in Glass (with distinction) from the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK, where she developed her explorations in glass flow patterns. Restorick’s work is informed by her first career in medicine and genetics.

     

    My current work explores flow patterns in cast glass. Initially inspired by patterns of blood flow in the human body, I use principles of fluid dynamics to link the behavior of molten glass channeled in the kiln to that of other viscous fluids, such as blood in vessels. Controlling different variables, I alter and change the patterns of flow produced. By layering and directing different flow streams, I aim to push boundaries to produce an intriguing aesthetic with references to the body, the natural world, and human psychology.
  • ACADEMIC AWARD

    THIRD PLACE JOANNA MANOUSIS
  • JOANNA MANOUSIS

    UK/USA
    Incorporating the audience’s gaze, whether it is distorted or clear, centralizes them within the work and facilitates a stronger connection between the observer and object.

    Iris Obscura, 2023

    core-cast glass, hand-polished glass, mirror, stainless steel

    7 x 9 x 4.25 inches each

     

    Joanna Manousis is a British/American artist pursuing a practice-based PhD in dimensional cast glass mirrors at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK. Her sculptures were recognized with a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award nomination, and received the Margaret M. Mead Award and the Hans Godo Frabel Award. Manousis has an international exhibition and teaching record. Her work can be seen in public collections including The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, and Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Denmark.

    I am drawn to the contrasting qualities of glass. It is transparent yet solid; it reveals yet barricades. I use cast glass as a lens to magnify residual formations within. Negative spaces are often gilded or silvered, enlivening static surfaces in pursuit of reflecting the viewer and the environment that the work inhabits. Incorporating the audience’s gaze, whether it is distorted or clear, centralizes them within the work and facilitates a stronger connection between the observer and object.
  • EMERGING ARTIST AWARD

    FIRST PLACE ADEYE JEAN-BAPTISTE
  • ADEYE JEAN-BAPTISTE

    USA
    Within my work, I present a perspective of those who are non-native to the environment that they have traveled to or through. 

    Map of America (Configuration #1, Iteration #2), 2023

    fused glass

    48 x 72 x 0.25 inches

     

    Adeye Jean-Baptiste is a recent graduate of Alfred University, where they received a BFA. Their work focuses on movement from the perspective of those who are non-native to a given space or place. The core of their practice, however, is rooted in community. This has led them to be a co-facilitator for the GEEX community table group and co-create Alfred University’s Black Glass Artists series.

     

    From an early age I was always on the go, hopping, running, jumping, and later scooting, rolling, and zooming. This fascination with movement became the crux of my artistic practice. I am fascinated by the movement of people, specifically across landscapes. Beyond physical movement, I am interested in why people migrate.

     

    Within my work, I present a perspective of those who are non-native to the environment that they have traveled to or through. A common motif within my work is “the Alien” or “Star people,” which represent otherness. I draw from both personal and generational experience when building out my narratives. Aesthetically, I am influenced by the cultures I grew up in: graffiti, skate, and city, and by the 1980s, the era in which my parents immigrated to the US.

  • EMERGING ARTIST AWARD

    SECOND PLACE CAMILLA BRIDGEWATER
  • CAMILLA BRIDGEWATER

    UK
    My work investigates the disparity between transportation of livestock for fattening and slaughter and the transportation of inanimate objects for consumer pleasure.

    “don’t just stand there!” 2022

    cast and blown glass, bronze, cardboard

    35.5 x 40 x 36 inches

     

    Mils Bridgewater is a London-based fine artist who uses glass to communicate the stories and social-political views that are important to her. Having grown up in a remote rural setting, her work is influenced by place and present-day attitudes to farming, values, waste, and the environment. After receiving a Fine Art degree from City and Guilds of London Art School in 2019, Bridgewater went on to study glass at the Royal College of Art, London. She continued her education in the US with scholarships to Pilchuck Glass School and Urban Glass, and spent three months in Stockholm at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design on an RCA Anglo-Swedish Exchange Residency. Bridgewater is currently a Glass Fellow at City and Guilds of London Art School.

    Why is an inanimate object given more value than a sentient being? don’t just stand there!” investigates the disparity between transportation of livestock for fattening and slaughter and the transportation of inanimate objects for consumer pleasure. One is encased in bubble wrap, packing peanuts, an oversized cardboard box; the other in overcrowded metal cages, in extreme temperatures, without food or water.

     

    The works in glass and tinned bronze are displayed on the cardboard boxes in which they traveled from the UK. These boxes all had past lives and carry the hallmarks of age and travel, drawing attention to the disparity of value given to the objects once transported in them.

     

    I am conscious of the impact my making has on the environment. By highlighting the three largest environmentally damaging aspects of the Anthropocene age – farming, packaging, and waste – I hope to alleviate my guilt while telling, through my art, this story of disparity.

  • EMERGING ARTIST AWARD

    THIRD PLACE HELEN STARK
  • HELEN STARK

    AUSTRALIA
    My work, Yowani Gone, is a response to the loss of my home on the New South Wales south coast, caused by the devastating Australian summer bushfires of 2020. 

    Yowani Gone, 2022

    waterjet cut and kilnformed glass

    5 x 17.75 x 17.75 inches

     

    Helen Stark is an emerging artist living and working in Canberra, Australia. Her practice explores the interconnectedness of nature, humanity, and the universe. She recently graduated with a BVA Honors from the Australian National University School of Art & Design, Glass Workshop. In 2022, Stark won the Australian National Capital Artists Emerging Artist Support Scheme Exhibition Award.

    My work, Yowani Gone, is a response to the loss of my home on the New South Wales south coast, caused by the devastating Australian summer bushfires of 2020. The intense heat of the bushfire is replicated in the kiln. Under heat and gravity, the flow of glass is captured as moments in time, reminding us that our lives are a series of memories, and we are part of the natural world with its cycles of birth, death, and renewal.
  • HONORABLE MENTION

    Marzena Krzeminska-Baluch
  • MARZENA KRZEMINSKA-BALUCH

    POLAND
    I use glass as the dermis and process through which form emerges.

    Emotion 2, 2023

    kilnformed glass

    57 x 19 x 16 inches

     

    Marzena Krzemińska-Baluch received an MA in 2006, and a PhD in 2018, both from The Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, Poland. Krzemińska-Baluch is currently Dean of the Glass and Ceramics Department at her alma mater. Her work is represented in a number of public collections, including Glasmuseum Lette, Coesfeld, Germany; Museum Jan van der Togt, Amstelveen, Netherlands; Marilyn K. Glick Centre for Glass, Muncie, Indiana; Muzeum Karkonoskie w Jeleniej Górze, and Glass Heritage Centre, Krosno, Poland.

    I observe my surroundings, and, from memory, draw vignettes from nature or snapshots from history that reflect a mood, ambience, or the shape of a scene. I use glass as the dermis and process through which form emerges. I experiment and observe the behavior of glass during its shaping. Influenced by air and the gravity process, objects develop, revealing the subtleties of memorized places and events, and encouraging reflection and musings.
  • HONORABLE MENTION

    LUISA RESTREPO
  • LUISA RESTREPO

    COLOMBIA/MEXICO
    My artistic practice is characterized by a fervent exploration of form, rhythm, and pattern to produce works that are both essential and ambiguous. 

    Module 1, Transferred Geometries Series, 2022

    (collaboration with Pedro Cerisola)

    fused, waterjet cut, and sandblasted glass

    20 x 15 x 4 inches

     

    Born in Colombia and currently based in Mexico City, Luisa Restrepo attended the University of Wolverhampton, UK, receiving a BFA specializing in glass. She completed an MA in Design Studies at CENTRO College for Design, Mexico. She has participated in North Lands Creative and CGSC residency programs, and taught at schools including Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, and Urban Glass, New York. Restrepo was the 2022 winner of The Glass Prize from Warm Glass UK, and awarded prizes from the Bogota Art Biennale, Colombia, and the Istituto Europeo di Design, Milan.

    I specialize in warm glass techniques, creating pieces that range from contemporary jewelry to collectible design and performative actions. My artistic practice is characterized by a fervent exploration of form, rhythm, and pattern to produce works that are both essential and ambiguous. I maintain an unwavering commitment to quality and meticulous attention to detail, resulting in finely crafted pieces that are as aesthetically captivating as they are conceptually rich.
  • View all Tg: Transitions in Kiln-Glass finalists online and visit the exhibition in person at Bellevue Arts Museum.