WORKSHOP FOR PROFESSIONAL GLASS ARTISTS 2024

From June 17 to 21, 2024 : the workshop “Blown Glass Object Design with Jay Macdonell” 

What if we forgot everything we know? Does that make everything possible again? We will explore the object/maker relationship and the love of material, cause and effect in the blowing process to break down linear thinking. We will make mistakes faster and fail harder to discover the full spectrum of material understanding. We will then celebrate and dissect failure as a mechanism. Student ideas will become class demos. Talks about the design world, lighting manufacturing, industrial processes will accompany problem solving. Let’s get to materiality and away from process. Our goal with this class is not to leave with finished objects but a pathway to expansion of ideas and exploration.

Since 1992, Jay Macdonell has worked in numerous studios for various artists, designers, and architects as a project manager, design consultant, and glassblower. He has taught at institutions including the Pilchuck Glass School, the Bay Area Glass Institute in San Jose, and the Pittsburgh Glass School. Jay served on the board of directors of the Glass Art Society from 2010 to 2014, was vice-president from 2012 to 2014, and currently sits on the board of Berlin Glas eV, the first nonprofit public access studio in Berlin, Germany. He has been the educational coordinator at Pilchuck and is now responsible for materials exploration at Bocci, a design and architecture firm based in Vancouver and Berlin. He has been a guest artist at venues such as the Museum of Glass, the Bay Area Glass Institute, Sheridan College, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and the Berengo Studio in Murano. His work explores botanical-inspired sculptural vessel forms, mixed media sculptural works, and time-based video/glass installations, and his pieces are part of numerous private and public collections.

For more information: https://www.jaymacdonell.com/

This workshop was conducted in collaboration with CMAQ and Intervention-compétences de Compétence Culture with the financial participation of the Gouvernement du Québec.

***

On the occasion of his presence at Espace VERRE, Jay Macdonell presented his remarkable professional journey during a conference on June 20, 2024.