The 2016
Festival of Glass will feature internationally renowned glass artists Peter
Minson and Mark Eliott in a series of activities under the title “Glass
Inspirations”.
1. "Endangered in Glass" – a Masterclass (19 February 2016)
Minson
and Eliott will each make glass sculptures of the locally endangered Hooded
Plover and
Orange-bellied Parrot, while talking about their techniques and
their involvement with glass. Large video screens will give ‘close-ups’ of
their work. To complement their commentaries, Wathaurong elder Uncle David
Tournier will give an Indigenous perspective on the birds and their habitat -
the area known originally as Bella Wein.
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| Weedy Sea Dragon. Mark Eliott |
The Masterclass
is a collaboration between the Festival, Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-op and several
local environmental groups; and the glass replicas will be auctioned to assist
the birds’ survival. Subsequently, they will tour the region, raising awareness
of the birds' plight and of the beauty of glass art.
2. "Inside
and Outside the House of Lamp-Work" (22 – 25 February 2016)
Minson
and Eliott will run two fee-paying workshops exploring interplays between
structure and
improvisation in the creation of glass art. The workshops are for
beginning and established local glass artists, who will be encouraged to exhibit
at a Festival of Glass and/or to enter its Glass Art Awards; and a mentorship
programme will assist them to do so.
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| Untitled. Peter Minson |
3. "It’s Your
Turn" – free workshops (20, 21, 26 February 2016)
These free workshops will offer local people who may be
newcomers to glass art an insight into its creation. In each workshop, Minson
and Eliott will demonstrate basic glass-working techniques, then invite participants
to create simple pieces of glass art and to create a collective glass sculpture
for the venue. One workshop will be for the general community and will be part
of the 2016 Festival of Glass Expo on 21 February 2016. The other two workshops
will be for the elderly and for young people and will be held in circumstances familiar to each
group.
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| Peter Minson |
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| Mark Eliott |
In “Glass
Inspirations”, the Festival of Glass collaborates with Peter Minson and Mark
Eliott to inspire local people to create glass art, to exhibit at a Festival of
Glass and/or to enter its Glass Art Awards. The aim is to grow the Bellarine
Peninsula’s reputation for glass-related activities by attracting creative and
economic investment in the region's glass artists.
