Talking Out Your Glass podcast

Shawn Waggoner
Talking Out Your Glass podcast

Former editor of Glass Art magazine Shawn Waggoner interviews internationally respected artists and experts in hot, warm and cold glass. For questions or comments shawntelroyale@yahoo.com

  1. EPISODE 1

    Flameworking Pioneer Sally Prasch

    Combining technical skill with a strong aesthetic, flameworking pioneer Sally Prasch is known for her work that places other-worldly figures in glowing globes filled with rare gasses. She has also constructed portraits from broken shards of glass and is well known for her goblets made with coiled stems that allow them to bounce when handled. Her latest work incorporates cast bronze with glass. But perhaps Prasch’s greatest fulfillment has come from teaching. She has taught flameworking workshops at UrbanGlass, Brooklyn; the famous Niijima Glass School, Japan; Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA; Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC; Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA; Grove Gas & Light Co, University of CA, San Diego, CA; Ingalena Klenell’s Studio, Sweden, and many more. States Prasch: “Teaching has always been a part of my life. My parents were teachers, and both my brother and sister have also been teachers. Lloyd Moore, my first teacher, found it very important not to have any secrets but to share your knowledge with others – share your love of glass and making things. He taught thousands of people, and I continue in his tradition. Lloyd started me teaching at age 15. It was scary for me to teach adults, but made me practice things over and over again. We started people on soft glass tubing and then worked them up to borosilicate.”  Prasch began her career at age 13 with Moore working as a part-time apprentice at the University of Nebraska and then worked as a glassblowing instructor for the City of Lincoln Recreation Department. Later on, she took workshops from some of the best glassblowers of the time including William Bernstein, Ray Schultz, and Lino Tagliapietra. She attended the University of Kansas from 1977 to 1980 and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art in Glass and Ceramics.  After college, Prasch started her glass art business that is still active today. She soon began to receive recognition for her artistic work and was selected for the Corning Museum of Glass’ New Glass Review in 1993. The artist has been attending Glass Art Society (GAS) Conferences since 1978 and continues to participate by giving demonstrations and lec-moes, serving on the GAS Advisory Board and working with the organization’s History Committee. In 1985, Prasch received her Certificate in Scientific Glass Technology from Salem Community College (SCC), Carneys Point, New Jersey. Soon afterwards, she obtained a position with AT&T doing large quartz work for the semiconductor industry. Continuing with her studies, Prasch earned her degree in Applied Science from SCC in 1986. Later that year she got a job as a scientific glassblower and glass instructor at the University of Massachusetts. She has worked as a scientific glassblower at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass Amherst), Syracuse University, and the University of Vermont, Burlington.  Currently, Prasch is the scientific glassblower and also teaches Scientific Glassblowing and the Properties of Glass to graduate students in Chemistry, Art and Physics at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is a member of the American Scientific Glassblowers Society (ASGS) and the director of the Northeast section. Her ASGS experience includes participating in seminars on such subjects like vacuum technology, quartz technology, and glass sealing. She has instructed a neon class with David Wilson, presented a paper on her work with the discovery of the gravitational wave, and co-chaired symposiums.  In 2025, Prasch will exhibit her work in Glass Lifeforms at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, opening February 7 and running through April 20. Her work will also be on view in Glasstastic at the Brattleboro Art Museum, Brattleboro, VT, March 22 through November 1. The artist will teach at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA, from July 28 – August 1. After curating the annual glass exhibit at Leverett Crafts and Arts in Leverett, MA for the month of November, Prasch will have a one-week fall residency with George Kennard at SCC, as well as a residency at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In 2026, the Herter main gallery at UMass Amherst will host a solo exhibit of Prasch’s work from January 29 through May 8. The opening will take place Friday, April 24, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. with an artist talk from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Her work will also be on display at the Science Library and at the Durfee Conservatory at UMass during the show.  As Prasch develops new work, including pieces for Laura Donefer’s 2026 Glass Fashion Show to be held at GAS, she continues to teach and fabricate scientific glassware at UMass. She says: “I have taught on average 25 students a month for my entire career, only taking a break during the pandemic. Obviously, teaching is a part of me, and I gain so much. It is not about teaching, not about glass, not about notoriety, not about pay – it is about the energy between people. It is about trust.”  UPCOMING EVENT LINKS Spring and Fall semester classes and weekend workshops at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst https://www.umass.edu/natural-sciences/research/scientific-glassblowing-laboratory February 7 – April 20, 2025 – Glass Lifeforms Exhibit, Pittsburgh Glass Center https://www.pittsburghglasscenter.org/event/exhibition-lifeforms/ March 22 – November 1, 2025 – Glasstastic, Brattleboro Art Museum, Brattleboro VT https://www.brattleboromuseum.org/2024/09/06/glasstastic-2025/ March 21 – 23, 2025 – International Flameworking Conference, Salem Community College, Carneys Point, NJ https://www.salemcc.edu/glass/international-flameworking-conference April 5, 2025 – Northeast American Scientific Glassblowers Section Meeting, Cornell University https://northeast.asgs-glass.org/ May 14 – 17, 2025 –Glass Art Society Conference https://www.glassart.org/conference/texas-2025/ July 28 – August 1, 2025 – Teaching at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh PA https://canvas.pittsburghglasscenter.org/classes/1632 Fall, 2025 – one week residency with George Kennard at Salem Community College, Carneys Point, NJ https://www.salemcc.edu/glass Fall, 2025 – one week residency at the University of Massachusetts https://www.umass.edu/natural-sciences/research/scientific-glassblowing-laboratory January 29 – May 8, 2026 – Exhibit at the Herter Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Opening April 24, 5 – 7 p.m. with artist talk 6:00 – 6:30pm https://www.umass.edu/herterartgallery/herter-art-gallery January 29 – May 8, 2026 Exhibit at the Science and Engineering Library and the Durfee Conservatory https://www.library.umass.edu/sel/ https://www.umass.edu/natural-sciences/research/greenhouses/durfee-conservatory

    52 min
  2. EPISODE 2

    Rita Shimelfarb: Combining Traditional Stained Glass with Contemporary Painting and Forming Techniques

    The raw brilliance and color of glass are primary inspirations in Rita Shimelfarb’s work. The deeper she explores the technical side of working with glass, the more it leaves her in awe at the range of possibilities for something new and beautiful to emerge. Building upon the millennia-long tradition of stained glass art, Shimelfarb pushes her material beyond traditional imagery and conventional construction methods by utilizing both time-proven as well as innovative contemporary glass forming and painting techniques. By combining modern and traditional, play and purpose, she makes the seemingly conflicting entities sing together in harmony. Shimelfarb’s unforgettable series, The Sacred Feminine Grace Archetypes, recognizes the universal interconnectedness and divine essence of all living beings. Through moving portraits of strong, wise and soulful female subjects, the work embodies beauty in movement, thought and action, reflecting an inner harmony that transcends physical appearance. This state is not just external; it is a quality that emanates from within, allowing individuals to navigate life’s challenges with poise and dignity. It’s an acknowledgment that life’s challenges are opportunities for growth, and by flowing with these experiences, one can find wisdom and serenity.  States Shimelfarb: “The subjects I choose are meant to slow you down mentally for long enough to have the light start working its magic. To me, the purpose of my art is not about making you see something pretty, or having your brain analyze a specific story, or having your heart be overtaken by a specific emotion. It is more about the whole re-tunement. I feel that there is no end to the myriad ways glass allows me to do this. I prefer to mix the techniques, for instance, combining traditional glass painting and contemporary fused elements with dichroic glass. Engineering new ways to not just approximate, but zero in on evoking the exact frequency I am after is a never-ending quest, sometimes frustrating, sometimes surprising, but always hopeful and exciting.”  Born in the USSR in 1972, Shimelfarb immigrated to US from Ukraine in 1989. A refugee, she eventually made Chicago her home. She completed a Bachelor’s degree in Math and Computer Science and finds her analytical background indispensable in solving various glass-construction challenges and in developing new processes for image and medium manipulation. She has worked extensively with her mentor Sylvia Laks, a celebrated stained glass painter, and has taken several glass forming and painting workshops with world renown glass artists.   Shimelfarb has exhibited her work nationwide and is included in numerous public and private collections. Commission work by her Glass Can Dance Studio has been featured on the cover of Ed Hoy’s catalog, at the Ronald McDonald House near Central Du Page Hospital, IL, and at Chute Middle School in Evanston, IL.  In 2025, Shimelfarb will teach a glass painting / mosaic workshop for Campanella Choir kids at the Children’s Educational Center Campanella in Northbrook, IL, March 15 – 16. The solo exhibition of her glass paintings there just closed January 18. She will also teach a glass painting workshop at Delphi Glass, Lansing, MI, April 19 – 20. Her work can be seen in a group show of Chicago area glass painters to take place in April and May at the Illumination Art and Design Gallery in Chicago as well as at EvanstonMade’s summer member exhibit. Meanwhile, there is a new series of glass paintings in progress on her bench with the working title Unintegrated.

    1h 19m
4.6
out of 5
80 Ratings

About

Former editor of Glass Art magazine Shawn Waggoner interviews internationally respected artists and experts in hot, warm and cold glass. For questions or comments shawntelroyale@yahoo.com

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