That's five in a row!

The fifth Festival of Glass started with the fifth annual glass Expo on Sunday February 15, followed by five days of workshops, finishing on Saturday February 21.

'Rosella'. Darryl Trezise.

The 2015 Festival was also the fifth time that thousands of visitors ignored above-average temperatures to attend the Expo. A steady stream of people came through the doors of Drysdale's Christian College throughout the day, with many staying well over an hour.

Expo visitors browsed seventy sites displaying diverse forms of glass work by artists, craftspeople and companies. At several sites, they could see demonstrations of glass-working techniques; and Glass on Film presented short films about various aspects of glass work.

Glass Art Awards
Visitors saw the winning entries in the Sculptural, Functional and Photographic categories of  the 2015 Glass Art Awards, as well as the new, Rotary-sponsored 'Second Life' Award for a piece made of recycled glass. (Photos will follow in the next post on this blog.)

'Collective' glass art

Mark Eliott shows how it's done

A new feature of the 2015 Festival Expo was a demonstration of glass-blowing by renowned Sydney glass artist and animator, Mark Eliott. Mark also encouraged visitors to help make some 'collective' pieces of glass art. A lot of children took the opportunity to try their hand at glass blowing and went away with big smiles on their faces, convinced that when they grow up, they want to be glass artists! (Photos will follow in the next post on this blog.)
Become a glass collector
Visitors to the Expo could choose from a wide array of glass art, from hand-made glass key rings to stained glass door panels. A raffle, a 'silent auction' and hourly door prizes gave visitors several chances to win glass collectibles donated by exhibitors.

Classes in glass work
Mark Eliott ran a one-day course on Monday 16 February for beginners to glass blowing; then a three-day course for people with some experience. Students took away the pieces they had made, including animals, trees, bottles and vessels. (Photos will follow in the next post on this blog.)