San Jose Artist To Participate in Internet-Based
International Art Glass Refrigerator Magnet Swap
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2002
CONTACT:
Geri Comstock, Comstock Art Glass, geri@comstockartglass.com, 408.268.1844
Brad Walker, Four Corners International, mbwalker@warmglass.com
Barbara Bader, B&B Media, bbmedia@mindspring.com
Artists Online
International Glass Artists Hot for First Fridge Art Swap
Ever wonder what artists really do in their studios all day? Right now, more than 100 "warm-glass" artists from around the world, including Geri Comstock of San Jose, have fired up their kilns to make more than 10,000 small, unique works of glass art for the First International Fridge Art Glass Magnet Swap.
The terms "warm glass" and "kiln-formed glass" refer to glass worked in a kiln.
"The challenge of the magnet is to express your style in a very tiny scale," says Nancy Underwood of Weisser Glass Studio in Kensington, MD. "You want each artist that receives one to pause and to think about your work. The fun will be to see how each artist meets the challenge."
Coming Soon to a Fridge Near You
Thanks to glass fusion artist Brad Walker, a visionary Internet community leader, warm glass workers from around the world are firing, packing, and shipping batches of glass magnets to share with each other for the First International Fridge Art Glass Magnet Swap.
Walker, author of the book Contemporary Warm Glass, started the online Warm Glass Bulletin Board (www.warmglass.com) in March, 2001 as a central location to share expertise, techniques and information on tools. A photo of one of Geri Comstock's glass sculptures appears in Walker's book, and additional photos of her artwork appear on the website.
"I've been amazed by how quickly the Board has grown," Walker says. "When I started it we were lucky to get a dozen posts a day, and today there are about 100, with a thousand or more visitors a day. There's no doubt that it's provided a great forum for glass artists to exchange ideas and meet each other."
From the beginning, bulletin board members have been fun-loving jokesters, as well as serious artists sharing glass information. Walker's light touch as a moderator is a big part of the friendly atmosphere on the board. "This [bulletin board] is a good side of the Internet," says Beth Burns of Bethesda, MD. "Look at us: older, younger, men, women, bonafide artists, hobbyists, wannabes, from the U.S. to Norway."
Into the Real World
Late last year, some of those friendships jumped off the Internet into the real world when Walker and Director Lani McGregor of glass manufacturer Bullseye Glass, an ongoing sponsor of the Warm Glass website, arranged a juried exhibition of artwork by the online group. Other Warm Glass website sponsors are Spectrum Glass of Woodinville, WA; Centre de Verre of Allenstown, NH; and Stained Glass Warehouse of Fletcher, NC.
Out of 160 entries submitted to the jury, 40 pieces were included in the exhibition, including a sterling silver and glass pendant Geri Comstock. The show, dubbed WG@BE (Warm Glass at Bullseye Exhibition), was held in November at The Bullseye Connection Gallery in Portland, Oregon. Many of the artists attended the show's opening to meet each other in real life.
The magnet swap was born of the real-world energy generated by the exhibition and the spirited humor of the bulletin board. "During the early days, we made up amusing contests for each other, awarding glass prizes for the winners," recalls veteran board member Geri Comstock. After Vancouver, British Columbia artist Brock Craig gave studio glass refrigerator magnets to winners of his contests, it became an ongoing joke to try to cajole Brock into sending magnets.
"It sure gained momentum on the board after the Bullseye show, when Brock promised Jackie [Beckman of Mesa, Arizona] one of his cool fused-glass magnets," reports Barbara Bader, a bulletin board regular based in Portland. "In no time, it seemed like everybody was chiming in to rib Brock about the magnets -- but requesting one as well."
Things Happen Fast on the Internet
Before long, the First International Fridge Art Glass Magnet Swap became this online community's second real/virtual world project. Once Els VandenEnde, a WG@BE award winner, offered her home in Snohomish, Washington as the central repackaging and distribution site, the swap list swelled to more than a hundred participants.
Many have posted links to photos of their Fridge Art straight from the kiln, looking like batches of shiny, bejeweled, exquisitely-baked cookies. "Everyone who comes into the studio and sees my magnets is also asking for one" says Colorado artist Gale Bez. "I've decided to start packaging them and boxing them away from sight ASAP!"
Real-World Facts
"Has anyone really grasped the "magnetude" (pardon the pun) of our endeavor?", Bob Leatherbarrow of Canada's Leatherbarrow Glass Studio queried online. With the humorous touch common to most of the bulletin board's regulars, Leatherbarrow described the real-world task VandenEnde faces.
According to Leatherbarrow's calculations, if 100 participants each send 100 pieces of Fridge Art averaging 1.5 x 1.5 inches and weighing 15 grams before their magnetic backs are attached, then VandenEnde will receive 10,000 tiny works of glass art weighing about 330 pounds, and requiring 22,500 square inches of floor space to lay out.
Fifteen swappers from Oregon and Washington will join VandenEnde for a "sorting party" on February 9th. The other swap participants are including treats with their magnets to thank the sorters for their efforts. "If each of us sends Els a one-pound box of chocolates," Leatherbarrow calculated, "I estimate that will provide just about enough energy -- 94.4 kilocalories -- for her to get the job done, bless her big heart."
For VandenEnde, this latest group project is already more real than virtual, as boxes of glass artwork arrive almost daily from swap participants, who hail from 32 states and eight countries. The sorters will divide up thousands of glass pieces, pack them, and mail them to addresses as diverse as Wisconsin and the Isle of Wight.
What's Next?
Ideas for future projects sprout regularly on the Warm Glass Bulletin Board. Project #3 may be a benefit online auction of a carefully selected refrigerator decorated with a magnet from each of the swap's participants.
Also simmering online are a glass tile memorial to the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks, a kiln-formed glass bracelet swap, a design competition for a Warm Glass Bulletin Board "family crest," and a bevy of regional gallery exhibitions. A second WG@BE juried exhibition is scheduled for October.
More About Geri Comstock's Work
Geri Comstock, an Almaden Valley resident for 16 years, sells her glass artwork and sterling silver and glass jewelry at approximately twenty California arts and crafts festivals each year. In addition, her work is sold through several local gift shops and galleries.
Recently, Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis-Brown House, built in Los Angeles in 1924, began selling her work in their gift shop. "This was a huge thrill for me," says Comstock. "I first saw the house more than twenty years ago in the classic science-fiction movie 'Blade Runner', and wanted very much to see it in person. Not only did I get to spend three hours touring the house, including areas not included in the public tours, they also sell my work now. This is a dream come true."
Her website, currently under construction, is www.comstockartglass.com.
Geri Comstock studied jewelry making at Evergreen Valley College under Professor Walter Soellner and completed the college's Jewelry Certificate Program in 1998. She has been a guest lecturer in the 3-D Design and Sculpture classes at Evergreen Valley College, teaching the basics of glass fusing to art students.
For a larger view of the refrigerator magnets Geri produced for the First International Fridge Art Glass Magnet Swap, click on the image above.
