Meet our Canadian visitors

Cédric Ginart and Karina Guevin will join Davide Penso, a glass master and jewellery designer from Murano, Italy as Artists in Residence at the 2019 Festival of Glass.

Cédric Ginart

Karina and Cédric are renowned glass artists from Montreal, Canada. Cédric is a scientific glass blower and a glass artist. In both capacities, he has worked with scientists, artists, industrialists, designers and architects. At present, he works as a scientific glassblower at Montreal University, while also pursuing his career as an internationally renowned glass artist and teacher. 

Karina Guevin is a sculptor and a glass artist, renowned for her technical and aesthetic innovation in glass. She teaches flame working at many international schools and her glass sculptures and jewellery has been exhibited throughout Canada, as well as in the United States, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Karina Guevin

What a team!

Karina and Cédric often teach flamework together at international schools. Cédric has the quiet concentration you might expect of a scientific glassblower, while Karina has a riotous sense of humour and delights in small animals! Put the two together and the results are spectacular! Their modern-day versions of traditional Venetian-style goblets must be seen to be believed and, of course, you can do just that at the 2019 Festival of Glass.

A Guevin/Ginart goblet

You can see Karina and Cédric at work by joining their workshop, More is Better: sculpting, fusing and assembling borosilicate glass, from 13^th – 15^th February at Drysdale’s Cafe Zoo.

You can also sign up for their evening demonstration, Torch and Talk; blowing and sculpting a glass goblet on Monday 18^th February from 5.30pm – 7.39pm.

More information about each event is on the Festival web site (www.festivalofglass.net.au).

For more information about Karina and Cédric, visit their web sites:

* Cédric Ginart: https://www.cedricginart.com

* Karina Guevin: https://www.karinaguevin.com

This will be their first time teaching in Australia and the Festival is delighted to welcome them and host their visit.

Artists in Residence

The Festival started to feature an Artist in Residence four years ago in 2015, when Mark Eliott filled the bill. Since then, we’ve hosted Mark Eliott and Peter Minson in 2016, Davide Penso (Murano) in 2017 and Mauro Vianello (Venice) in 2018.

2019 Festival - not one but three Artists in Residence!

In a Festival first, the 2019 Festival of Glass will feature not one but three international Artists in Residence.

Davide at work in Murano

Firstly, Murano glass master Davide Penso makes a welcome return to the Festival of Glass. Davide was our international Artist in Residence in 2016 and was a great hit with the general public who attended his demonstrations and with the people attending his three workshops.

Davide is internationally renowned as a master of flamework, but also as a jewellery designer and creator. He will demonstrate his skills as a flameworker at "Twilight Flames" and at the Festival Expo; and he will give personalised guidance to students at "The Jewellery Lab" - four days of intense experimentation and creativity.

The sub-title of this unique event is "From wondering to wearing", because at "The Jewellery Lab", students can turn their jewellery ideas into finished pieces and then show them off at a gala "Glitz and Glam" evening.

Karina and Cédric at work in Montreal

Our second and third Artists in Residence will be Cédric Ginart and Karina Guevin, from Montreal, Canada. Cedric is a scientific glass blower and glass artist, who has worked with scientists, artists, industrialists, designers and architects; Karina Guevin is a sculptor and a glass artist, renowned for her technical and aesthetic innovation.

Karina and Cédric will join Davide Penso at "Twilight Flames"; at "Torch and Talk" they will create their own flamboyant versions of extraordinary  Venetian glass goblets; and at their "More is Better" workshop, they'll show you how to do it!

Twilight Flames: The Range at Curlewis. 16 February at 6.30pm. Tickets: http://www.festivalofglass.net.au

The Jewellery Lab:  Zoo cafe, Drysdale High Street. 21 – 24 February.

Registration and information: http://www.festivalofglass.net.au

Torch and Talk:  Zoo cafe, Drysdale High Street

 More is Better:  Zoo cafe, Drysdale High Street. 13 – 15 February. 9.00am – 5.00pm.

A glass mural to brighten Drysdale's arcade

The Festival of Glass committee is creating a glass mural to brighten the shopping arcade in Drysdale High Street.

"Before"

The arcade was painted a deep brown, making it a dark and uninviting place to visit or even to walk through. The Festival committee felt that the arcade could be improved by repainting it in a lighter colour, then installing a glass mural to make it a unique site of interest.

Business owners in the arcade were enthusiastic about the proposal, as were the arcade’s owners, so painting started in July. Festival committee members were joined by DCSCA committee members and by some Festival Friends (were you there?!) and after two coats of paint, the arcade looks better and brighter already – even before the mural!

"After"

Passers-by made lots of very positive comments to the painting team, who explained that the project is a Festival of Glass initiative and promoted the Festival shamelessly!

The Festival committee is now considering possible designs for a series of murals to decorate the arcade walls. Each mosaic will be created on a board, which will then be fixed to the wall.

The arcade project is the second mosaic in Drysdale initiated by the Festival of Glass. In October 2016, we unveiled the ceramic and glass “Welcome to Drysdale” mural overlooking the town’s ‘village green’. The mural was created in collaboration with Wathaurong Glass, Bellarine Secondary College and the Rotary Club of Drysdale.

2019 Artist in Residence programme announced

Davide Penso, an internationally renowned glass master and jewellery designer from Murano, Venice will return as an Artist in Residence to the 2019 Festival of Glass.

Davide will teach and demonstrate glass sculpting and blowing, using traditional and modern Venetian techniques at Festival workshops and at a number of public events. He was the Festival’s Artist in Residence in 2017, when he received very good reviews from his workshops and a lot of applause from his demonstrations.

Experiments at the Jewellery Lab

A highlight of Davide’s time at the 2019 Festival of Glass will be a 4-day masterclass – Glass Jewellery Lab: from wondering to wearing. This will be a unique event and Davide and the Festival of Glass committee are looking forward to it with great excitement and high hopes.

As its name implies, the emphasis at the Jewellery Lab will be on experiments! (BYO white lab coat!) Participants can test, try and perfect fresh, new jewellery ideas under Davide’s individualised expert assistance and guidance.

Even seasoned workshop goers are unlikely to have attended an event like the Jewellery Lab. The learning will be intense as each day, people swap and share ideas with each other and with Davide. The excitement will mount as participants’ creativity starts to bear fruit.

What can you do at the Jewellery Lab?

As a participant in the Jewellery Lab, you can let your imagination run wild and turn the results into wearable pieces:

·      Experiment with an exciting menu of glass jewellery components and materials – from the familiar to the extraordinary!

·      Test a range of glass jewellery techniques, including bead making on mandrels, blown beads, cold working, embroidery, engraving, flame work, fusing, grinding, head pins, sculpting off-mandrel, slumping and stringing.

·      Create jewellery that’s perfect for you or for gifts – because you designed it and created it!

·      Learn how to enter public exhibitions, increase your success in competitions and turn your jewellery hobby into a business.

 

The climax of the four days will be the “Glitz and Glam” gala evening on Sunday 24 February 2019, where the products of four days of creativity will be arrayed, displayed and applauded. “Glitz and Glam” will be a unique evening of fashion, flamboyance and flounces, where Jewellery Lab participants will display their finished pieces, delighting the assembled friends, family and admiring onlookers!

Glass Jewellery Lab: from wondering to wearing. Thursday 21 February to Sunday 24 February at Cafe Zoo, Drysdale High Street.

More information about Davide Penso’s workshops at the 2019 Festival of Glass: www.festivalofglass.net.au

You can book workshop places directly from the web site using Eventbrite. Places at each workshop are limited and if you think that now is too early to book .... some places are booked already!

The Festival started its Artist in Residence programme four years ago in 2015, when Mark Eliott filled the bill. In 2016, Mark Eliott returned with Peter Minson, Davide Penso (Murano) came in 2017 and Mauro Vianello (Venice) was Artist in Residence in 2018.

Glass in a library

In the week preceeding  the Festival's "Twilight Flames" and Expo, the Drysdale library is exhibiting a selection of books about glass.

The exhibition is just a sample of the non-fiction books about glass art that are available from Geelong libraries. There is also a range of fiction featuring glass art or in a setting famous for glass.

The exhibition is just inside the entrance to the library - you can't miss it!

Thanks to the staff at Drysdale library for creating the exhibition as a feature of the 2018 Festival of Glass.

Building community with glass

Now in its eighth year, the Festival of Glass is helping to build a sense of community as it promotes local glass artists.

The Festival is an initiative of the Drysdale & Clifton Springs Community Association*, which set up a Festival committee in 2010 to establish and run the Festival. The Association’s intention was always that Festival would contribute to the identity of the growing local community while it promoted glass art – especially by local glass artists.

Consequently, the Festival has actively involved local organisations, groups and individuals since it started in 2011. The committee draws on its strong links with the Community Association and several committee members are also involved with other local groups and organisations, including the Lions, Rotary and the SpringDale Neighbourhood House. These organisations sponsor various elements of the Festival – especially the Glass Art awards - and their members volunteer to help at specific Festival events. The Bellarine Historical Society recently initiated an annual Historic Bottle Evaluation, which it runs as part of the Festival with the two organisations cross-promoting each other.

The Festival has involved local schools – through its “Welcome to Drysdale” glass mural project and its Mentorship Progamme for local young aspiring glass artists.

Business meets art at the Festival

As the Festival has grown, it has benefited an increasing number of local businesses in various ways. First, by buying goods and services from them – the committee always aims to “Shop local”. Second, the Festival Expo brings several thousand visitors to Drysdale and the Festival promotional material encourages them to explore local commercial attractions such as wineries, cafes, olive farms and shops. Third, the Festival’s Treasure Hunt brings treasure hunters to each participating local business across the North Bellarine - and every treasure hunter is a potential customer!

Local businesses have responded in various ways and the Festival committee is very grateful for their support. Without it, the Festival of Glass wouldn’t be what it has become. Some businesses sponsor specific elements of the Festival, such as the annual Glass Art Awards, the Artist in Residence Programme, the Mentorship Programme and, of course the Treasure Hunt; others give 'in kind' support, such as vouchers or special prices.

Special mention must be made of the Festival’s two biggest and most consistent sponsors - the City of Greater Geelong and the Bendigo Bank. Each one’s support and encouragement has been crucial to the Festival’s establishment, growth and diversification. Without them, the Festival committee would not be able to bring together anywhere near the number and range of people that it does – artists, visitors, businesses and community groups.

A sense of historical identity

Since the Festival committee was established in 2010, it has learnt that the Festival is the latest event in the centuries-old history of glass on the Bellarine Peninsula. The Festival has initiated an online history of glass in the area:

http://fogglassreflections.blogspot.com.au/

This history started when John Batman first arrived at Indented Head, bringing glass beads and mirrors as ‘gifts’ for the local aborigines. At the turn of the century, the area was known for the ‘torpedo bottles’ in which local spring water was sold; in the 1930s, huge quantities of shell grit were exported from the Bellarine to Melbourne’s glass factories and Pilkington opened Australia’s first automotive glass factory in Geelong. Glass has been implicated in the area’s growth since then.

* Now the Drysdale, Clifton Springs & Curlewis Association.

Featured Festival Sponsor: OPSM (Waurn Ponds)

The Festival of Glass committee is grateful to OPSM (Waurn Ponds) for supporting the Festival of Glass – in particular, the Festival’s Mentorship Programme for local young aspiring glass artists.

Since Optical Prescription Spectacle Makers opened its first store in Macquarie Street, Sydney in 1932, the company has expanded until there are now nearly 400 stores across Australia and New Zealand – including the one at Waurn Ponds, of course! OPSM stocks a wide range of designer frames, brand-name sunglasses (most can be fitted with prescription lenses) and contact lenses.

OPSM (Waurn Ponds) 173 - 199 Pioneer Road, Shop T913, Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre, Waurn Ponds, Vic 3216. Tel: (03) 5243 9288

Opening hours. Monday – Thursday 8.00am to 6.00pm; Friday 8.00am to 9.00pm; Saturday & Sunday 9.00am to 5.00pm.

Featured Festival Sponsor: Lisa Neville

The Festival of Glass committee is grateful to Lisa Neville - Member for Bellarine - for her continued support of the Festival of Glass. Lisa has supported the Festival both financially (assisting with our advertising costs) and in person, visiting almost every Festival Expo despite her busy schedule. Following her 2017 visit, Lisa made a Member Statement to the parliament, praising the Festival as a “wonderful achievement” and congratulating its organisers.

Lisa was elected as the Member for Bellarine in the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 2002 and is the Minister for Police and Water in the current Victorian State government. Between 2006 and 2010, she was the Minister for Mental Health and Minister for Community Services and Senior Victorians. Prior to entering parliament, Lisa was Manager of the SpringDale Neighbourhood Centre in Drysdale, President of the Board of Barwon Health and Chairperson of the Barwon Network of Neighbourhood Houses.

Electorate office: Shop G066, Gateway Plaza, Leopold, 3224

Tel. 03 9637 9654       lisa.neville@parliament.vic.gov.au

Featured Festival Sponsor: Silvan family

The Festival of Glass committee is grateful to the Silvan family for sponsoring the People’s Choice Glass Art Award at the 2018 Festival. The Award consists of $200 and a hand-made glass plaque from Wathaurong Glass. It is awarded to the creator of the most original and eye-catching entry to the Art Glass Awards, as voted by people attending the Festival Expo. The Silvan family sponsors and presents the People’s Choice Glass Art Award in memory of their loved one, Antonio Silvan. Throughout his life, Tony valued community events. He encouraged everyone in his family to get involved in their community and to celebrate and embrace its diversity.

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Web site: www.festivalofglass.net.au

Blog (you’re here!): http://festivalofglass.blogspot.com

Volunteering at the Festival

Our Friends of the Festival online newsletter gives the latest Festival news, with special emphasis on opportunities to volunteer to help. To become a Friend of the Festival, please send an e-mail to: festivalofglassdrysdale@gmail.com

Put “Festival Friends” in the subject bar and put your name and address in the body of the e-mail. Thanks - we look forward to welcoming you!