By Kim McDarison
Several participants attending the Whitewater Arts Alliance and The Vinery Stained Glass Studio class and social night created barn squares made of fused glass.
Thursday marked the first in a series of ongoing projects offered through a collaboration between the alliance and the Whitewater-based stained glass studio. The series will be held at the glass studio, 218 Elkhorn Rd.
Barn squares were selected as the theme of the first class and social night to bring awareness to and inspire imagination in advance of the 2023 Whitewater Public Art Project, Whitewater Arts Alliance Manager Ashley McDarison said, adding that the theme of the project this year, albeit on plywood, is barn squares.
The Whitewater Arts Alliance launched its first public art project in 2005.
Each year, the organization picks a theme and invites local artists of all ages and skill levels to participate by decorating an item provided by the alliance in accordance with the chosen theme.
Last year’s theme was “The Color of Literature,” McDarison noted.
Participants received 2- by 3-foot plywood boards which were cut to resemble scrolls. Artists next decorated both sides of the boards with images depicting literary works. The finished pieces were hung from lampposts within the city’s downtown area where they remained throughout much of the summer.
During Thursday’s event, which was designed to be both inspirational and fun, McDarison said participants, while working with glass, learned how to cut, break, assemble and prepare shapes for firing. The finished product created by each artist was an 8- by 8-inch glass barn square.
“This is a precursor to the public art project to boost the imagination and give people another form, with some guidance, when thinking about barn squares,” McDarison said.
Among those who participated Thursday was Whitewater Arts Alliance member and sponsor Roni Telfer.
According to McDarison, Telfer said she was eager to attend the class and social night because it provided her with an opportunity to visit the stained glass studio, which, McDarison said, she noted was a place which she found intriguing.
McDarison said ze learned after talking with Telfer that the class and social night provided her with a calming atmosphere in which to create.
McDarison said participants expressed an enthusiasm for working with glass studio owner and artist Josh Krogman, whom ze described as “fantastic.”
“He was good at coming over and checking on everybody, saying with enthusiasm, ‘You’re doing this! You got this!’ He is very sociable and fun,” McDarison said, describing the studio experience as one that provided the right mix of guided help and room for independent creativity.
Said McDarison: “You feel like you are making your own project, and doing it on your own with Josh’s help, and when you look at your finished piece, you feel like you made a very cool thing with glass that you would never have been able to make before.”
McDarison said both Krogman and his partner Shaina, engaged with the class.
“They don’t just teach you to make a piece; they are also very informative about the process. I was assembling my piece — you get really immersed in it — and the class time goes by so fast you don’t even realize it.
“Josh is very good about wanting you to be your creative self and try new things. Artists that want to go off on their own with creative ideas and designs are encouraged,” ze said.
The next Vinery and Whitewater Arts Alliance class and social night is slated for Thursday, April 27, at which time the group will be making three-dimensional flowers, McDarison said, noting that the project, which ze described as “extremely friendly for kids,” was chosen in recognition of International Children’s Month. Both the class and the Whitewater Unified School District’s art exhibition, which will be held in the Cultural Arts Center gallery April 13 to 30, are meant to work in tandem in support of the international recognition.
An earlier story about the first collaborative Whitewater Arts Alliance and The Vinery Stained Glass Studio class and social night is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/whitewater-arts-alliance-vinery-stained-glass-studio-offer-fused-glass-class/.
Public Art Project
In Addition, McDarison said, those interested in participating in the 2023 Public Art Project are encouraged to obtain their plywood boards beginning Thursday, March 2, at one of two locations: The Cultural Art Center Gallery, 402 W. Main St., or the office of the Whitewater Area Chamber of Commerce, 150 W. Main St., both in Whitewater.
According to McDarison, a board can be purchased for $10 in person at either location or can be purchased online for $12, and picked up at either location.
Monies collected from board sales are used to support the cost of the materials, ze said.
Also beginning Thursday, March 2, McDarison said books will be available in the cultural arts center for those interested in learning about shapes and designs used to make traditional barn square patterns.
The books will be made available in the center’s gallery until the end of the Whitewater Unified School District’s art exhibition, ze said.
When making pieces for the public art project, McDarison said: “You can have geometric shapes that create a cat or adapt more classic barn square designs.”
Boards will be provided in the same 2- by 3-foot size as in past projects, public art project chairman and alliance board member Mary Nevicosi said, noting that while the boards themselves are not square, artists can use the additional foot to dedicate the work to someone, or personalize the board in some way, or sign their name to their art.
“Or do two squares,” she said, adding that artists are at liberty to decide how to use their real estate.
A goal of 40 boards has been set for this year’s project, Nevicosi said.
Boards should be decorated on both sides and artists can use a wide range of mediums and materials to cover their boards, however finished boards cannot weigh more than 20 pounds. Each board also must be “clear-coated” to protect the images from the weather, McDarison noted, adding that a single board also can be the work of a group of people.
Artists are encouraged to make their boards creative, whimsical, unique and quirky, McDarison said, but are asked to avoid company logos, advertising, and any depictions of messages that offer religious or social disrespect. The Whitewater Arts Alliance reserves the right to make final decisions on any boards offered for inclusion within the public art project, ze stated.
Finished boards must be returned to the Whitewater Arts Alliance or the Whitewater Area Chamber of Commerce by April 15, McDarison said.
For more information about the Whitewater Arts Alliance, including its hours of operation; the Whitewater Cultural Arts Center, and the 2023 Public Art Project, visit the alliance’s website: https://www.whitewaterarts.org.
For more information about the Whitewater Area Chamber of Commerce, including its hours of operation, visit its website: https://www.whitewaterchamber.com.
For more information about the collaborative class and social night series provided through the alliance and The Vinery Stained Glass Studio, visit the alliance’s website or The Vinery Stained Glass Studio website: https://www.vineryglassllc.com.
Photos of pre-fired fused glass barn squares made by Thursday’s class and social night participants can be viewed on the glass studio’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheVineryGlass.
Images of submittals made to last year’s public art project are here: https://www.whitewaterarts.org/public-art-project-2022.
Whitewater Arts Alliance member and sponsor Roni Telfer prepares to create a fused glass 8- by 8-inch barn square. She was one of several participants in the first in a series of collaborative efforts to be held by the Whitewater Arts Alliance and the The Vinery Stained Glass Studio in Whitewater.
Stained glass artist and owner of The Vinery Stained Glass Studio, Whitewater, Josh Krogman, at center, demonstrates steps in a process to make a fused glass barn square. The demonstration was given to those participating in a class and social night provided collaboratively by the studio and the Whitewater Arts Alliance.
Participants in the first collaborative class and social night held by the Whitewater Arts Alliance and The Vinery Glass Studio peruse the glass options available as they make an 8- by 8-inch fused glass barn square.
The Whitewater Arts Alliance, in collaboration with The Vinery Stained Glass Studio, Whitewater, will be offering three-dimensional fused glass flowers as its next class and social night project.
Contributed photos.
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