AdammsGallery

Tommie Rush "The Joy of Being a Glass Artist"

          

 

I was speaking to Tommie Rush yesterday. Every time I talk to Tommie I feel full of laughter and joy. This woman is a wonderful, optimistic, and loving person. Her work reflects her radiance. I have known Tommie for at least ten years. Not only is she a wonderful artist, but an excellent business person. I can always count on her to deliver work on time, and without exception it is flawless.

Tommie makes very thick walled pieces which works very well with her designs. She works in a variety of palettes from pale greens and blues, to bright reds, yellows, and cobalt blue. All of her work is lightly sandblasted and sealed to give a soft matte finish which tends to glow with a comfortable radiance.

Many of her pieces are simple designs such as leaves and vines appliqued on the bowl of a vase or bowl. Then she also makes built up sculptural vases. Her tulip, daffodil, flowers and vines, and Iris vases feature three dimensional flowers fused to a colorful body. All of her work is very solid, and often quite heavy.

I am so please to have her work in my gallery, and to consider her a friend.

You can see Tommie's work at most major glass galleries in the U.S.A., and at Adamm';s Stained Glass & Gallery. Santa Monica, CA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glass Sculptures of John Mc Donald

 

There are many types of glass sculpture. There is the fantastic and exotic hot sculptures of Richard Jolly. Blown glass and hot worked sculptures of William Morris, cast glass of Susan Gott, slumped and fused glass of Karen Ehart and Jane Tivol, and blown glass of Barry Entner. The styles and names go on and on. Each of the techniques has there appeal.

There are a multitude of relatively unknown glass artists that produce stunning work at reasonable prices. One of my favorites in this category is John McDonald. John learned much of his trade while working for Rollin Karg in Ketchi, Kansas, and at the prestigious Corning School of Glass in Corning New York. John works out of his studio in Valley Center, Kansas.

John is a very talented and innovative artist. His continuum sculptures are fluid, colorful, and very appealing to all ages. John also blows a variety of vessels that have wonderful depth, color, and engaging shapes.

Whenever we get some of John's work in the gallery it sells very quickly. If you are not familiar with his work I suggest you check it out.

MeridianStreetArtGlass.com

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Stained Glass Restoration-Grace Church of Orange

 

BEFORE , Note buckling, and twisted zinc came divider

Early September 2011 we(Adamm's Stained Glass, Santa Monica, CA.) completed the restoration of the stained glass entry for Grace Church of Orange, Orange, California. We removed the entry stained glass, boarded up the openings, and brought them to our studio.

Once we had them in the studio we disassembled them removing all the leading and then cleaned the glass.The lead was a variety of 1/4", 1/2" and 5/8" wide. Many of the pieces were broken, so we either re-leaded in at the beaks or replaced the pieces completely. Matching the variety of colors was not a problem as the windows were just over 50 years old. Much of the glass we either had in stock or was easily available. We generally use Mad Dog Stained Glass(Van Nuys ,CA), or Hollander Glass(Stanton, CA) as our suppliers. However, if necessary we will use Bendheim, Kokomo Opalescent , Uroborus, or Bullseye Glass directly.

It is interesting to note that the side light panels did not have reinforcing bars. As a result the panels were creasing(bending) on the diagonal leading. When we re leaded we added reinforcing bars along the lead lines. The panels originally were installed using 3/4" zinc came as dividers. These cames did not hold up over the years and the panels were bowing and twisting from the weight.When we reinstalled the central panels we used 1" T bar for support between the panels. This relieves the pressure on the bottom panels and makes them much more sturdy. The windows cleaned up like gemstones. We were told that the congregation was greatly relieved to see the windows restored. Evidently they were very weary of walking under them with their condition being so dangerous. They were very pleased with the results, and we were very gratified .

AFTER

 

Adamm's Stained Glass Gallery Show "Firefox & Co."

We kicked off our Gallery show "Firefox & Co." on August 11th. We had a wonderful reception for the artists, Danielle Blade of Gartner and Blade Glass and Paul Allen Counts. Stephen Gartner, the other half of Gartner and Blade wasn't able to make the trip out from their home base of Ashley Falls, MA. The show was well attended, especially considering the economy, and our guests were delighted to see and hear Danielle and Paul talk about their inspirations, techniques, and history with glass. Danielle was born on The Isle of Wright, England. Here father is a glass blower as well as her two brothers. Danielle visited the United States in 1985 and decided to stay. She met Stephen Gartner while she was working as a glass blower in Arkansas. Shortly after they left to start their own studio. After a few years of blowing glass on their own in Arkansas they decided to move North to Ashley Falls. Their work is a collaboration. Danielle blows the forms and Stephen does all the sculptural work. They are constantly evolving and creating new forms and introducing new colors and patterns. Danielle had a large quantity of worked shipped out for the show.

Paul Allen Counts is a Southern California native. He began glass blowing at Palomar Junior College and received his Masters in Fine Arts-Glass at California State College Fullerton. He has worked and studied with the masters of the world including Venetian giants Lino Tagliapiertra, and Pino Signoretto.Paul is well known for his whimsical teapots, fish, and vases. One glance of his work will bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart. Paul resides in Southern California with his wife and children.

The show was a great success, although the turnout was less than expected. Actually these days we didn't really know how many to expect. Everyone one had a wonderful time discussing techniques with the artists and art glass in general with one another. Sales, while not the most important aspect of the show, were much higher than anticipated and set a record for all the shows.

With a great selection of these artist's work in the gallery we look forward to continuing interest.

Wendy Lin Jewelry Designer

  

I met Wendy LIn in Baltimore earlier this year at the American Craft Council show. Immediately I was struck with the originality, and wonderful quality of her work. Wendy creates what she calls caterpillar bracelets that are filled with fascinating beads that move with wrist movement, and are comfortable to wear. They are easy to put on with a convenient and safe snap. 

Her lariat necklaces are made with thousands of tiny beads with either pearl or jade accents.  Her earrings are expertly designed for color, texture, and above all style. Wendy uses combinations of pearls and semi-precious stones such as aquamarine, carnelian, and garnet along with Venetian glass.

 

        



All of her pieces have the same style and sopistication that she has. I am vary happy to have her work in my gallery, and already see how fascinated my customers are with her work.

Wendy is a life long knitter who applies textile techniques to jewelry. A journalist for 25 years, she began her second career when a friend brought her gold mesh bracelet to the editors of InStyle magazine.

Wendy exhibits at juried craft shows. She lives in Great Neck, NY.

Michael Jackson Etched Limousine Window by Adamm's Stained Glass

    
In 1993 Adamm's Stained Glass in Santa Monica, CA. was commissioned by a company called Electronic Entertainment. The commission was to replace the original divider window in Michael Jackson's Rolls Royce limousine with a new window with Michael's Jacksomn's  Neverland Ranch logo etched into it.

     In order to produce the new glass we needed the original. The original window was slighly curved and was made from laminated toughened glass. The original manufacturer was Triplex Safety Glass of St. Helens, England, now a subsidiary of Pilkington Glass. They initially made glass for MG automobiles.Their logo has a number of symbols that identify not only themselves, but also the date the glass was made. We had a company called Glass Pro in Santa Fe Springs, CA make the glass using the original glass for a pattern and mold.

     The design for the Neverland Ranch logo was given to us.  As a sample we used the original window and etched the logo on it.The process we used was:

                  1.Tape the window with 280 tape from 3M.

                  2. Draw the logo design on the tape.

                  3. Using an exacto knife cut the logo and peal away the area to be etched.

                  4. Using sandblasting equiptment sand blast the etched area.

                  5. Remove the excess tape and clean the window.

     The sample came out perfectly so we repeated the process on the new glass. The window was installed in the limousine with no problems.

    To this day we still have the original window with the etched design.

California Preservation Foundation

 

On Sunday May 15th I set up a booth at the 36th California Preservation Foundation Conference. This year the conference was held at the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica.

For many years now we have been restoring and repairing stained and leaded glass as well as etched and beveled glass. He have developed quite a name for ourselves, and have directed our efforts more towards this area of stained glass work in recent years. Among the more notable projects we have worked on are :

The Doheny Mansion at Chester Place Campus

Mt St Mary's College, Los Angeles, CA

St Joseph Chapel at Santa Teresita, Duarte , CA

2nd Church of Christ Scientist, Los Angeles, CA

The Hollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Los Angeles, CA

The Oviatt Building, Los Angeles, CA

Sinai Temple, West wood, CA

Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles, CA

Kerkoff Hall, UCLA, Westwood, CA

Royce Hall, UCLA, Westwood, CA

Hershey Hall, UCLA, Westwood, CSA

Woodlawn Cemetery, Santa Monica, CA

New Bethel Baptist Church, Venice, CA

St.Albans Episcopal Church, Westwood, CA

Beit T’shuvah, Synagogue, Los Angeles, CA

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Santa Monica, CA

Metropolitan Community Church, Los Angeles, CA

Westwood United Methodist Church, Westwood, CA

The Kabbalah.Center, Los Angeles, CA

Adat Shalom Synagogue, Los Angeles, CA

Motown Mansion, Bell Air, CA

George Washington Faulkner House, Santa Paula, CA.

In the beginning it was somewhat difficult getting restoration jobs. The feeling was. "You are not qualified if you haven't done anything notable".

This began changing once we established a record of notable projects. Before this however, it was a catch 22. Now people look at our track record and tell us that "you are the guys to use". The conference was very well attended in comparison with past conferences. There were in excess of 640 participants. Among the businesses that set up booths were architects, structural engineers, cultural historians, photographers, book sellers, contractors, and various state and federal preservation organizations.

For the first couple of days we were dissapoi9nted by the small number ofpeople that actually came into the display hall. By the end of the second day however, it became obvious that the businesses in the booths were exactly the people we had to network with. The result was, by the end of the confernces, we had a well established network. Most of us considered the show to be successful. The cloeing Gala was a lot of fun with a very nice banquet at the Annenberg Beach House on the beach in Santa Monica. The Beach House is located alongside the Marriane Davies Estate which was built by William Randolph Hearst.

Art Glass at Woodbury University Fashion Show and Dinner

On May 1, 2011 we packed up 30 large art glass pieces and about 50 smaller pieces for the 36th annunal Woodbury University Fashion Show and Dinner. This year's event, as last year, was held at the Millenium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. I was approached a couple of months prior to the show about bringing glass for center pieces for the dinner. There were 30 tables.

After getting all my concerns addressed( guarantee, insurance, my donation to the University, etc.) we reached an agreement. In return for bringing the pieces and setting them up I would be donating 15% of all sales. The event was to provide dinner for two, and a guarantee in the event we did not sell enough to cover expenses. Members of the University picked many of the pieces to bring. Artists represented were Karen Ehart, Josh Simpson, Barry Entner, Tommie Rush, John McDonald, Charles Lotton, David Tsai, Rick Satava, Victor Chiarizia, Wes Hunting, Michael Nourot, Scott Bisson, Susan Gott, Donald Carlson, Jared Davis, Algerine Correia, Rick Strini, Richard Silver, Rollin Karg, Orient & Flume, John & Heather Fields, Kyle Gribskov, and more.

We packed up at 8:00 AM and arrived at the Hotel at 2:30 PM. The Biltmore is truly a grand hotel from Los Angeles' past. The first Academy Awards were held there. It has entertained Presidents, Kings, and many other dignitaries. It is kept up in incredible coindition. We finsihed setting up the tables by 4:30. Then we went to the room(provided by the University) to change for the fashion show and reception. At the reception we met Dr. Kenneth R. Nielsen, Ed.D.President of the University and his wife. The hoir d'vours were fantastic as were the beverages. The fashion show was very impressive. If you have never been to one I recommend it . Probably once is enough, unless you are in the business. After fashion show we returned to the ballroom for the dinner.Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. Great food, especially desert. The entertainment were dancers from "Dancing With The Stars". Sold only a couple of items but that was OK. When you do promotional things like this you never know when the return will come.

We were fortunate that there was no breakage. Our return trip to Santa Monica was uneventful, and a very good night sleep awaited. All in all it was a tiring, but very good experience. The art glass made for magnificent table settings and we recieved many complements on the pieces. The artists received good representation, and we all had fun.

Leaded Glass Restoration at UCLA's Hershey Hall

 

 

A few months ago I was contacted about a new project at UCLA. Hershey Hall, the first on campus dormitory Circa 1931, was under going extensive seismic retrofitting and all the leaded glass windows and doors needed to be removed and restored. Although we have been working on the stained and leaded glass at UCLA for nearly 20 years I was not familiar with Hershey Hall. In all there about 28 doors, transoms and windows that need restoration. Over the years the leaded glass had been repaired with plastic, and colored glass. While most of the windows are not in need of total re leading they do require  glass and lead replacement and reputtying. They are all in very heavy steel frames. A burden to transport, especially the eight foot doors.

I will be publishing additional blogs as we proceed. However, the following pictures show some of the process in replacing glass and lead to date.. 
  These images show breaking out the old broken glass, setting up the lead to accept the replacement glass, and cutting and installing the new glass.
The door pictured was made with clear window glass, but others have obscure glass we will be matching. 
 
 

 

 

  
 
  
 


 
 

Leon Applebaum Glass Artist

 

                                                      
 

I have known Leon Applebaum for over 25years, and from the first time I noticed his work I became a fan.. You can not help but be fascinated with any of his pieces. Leon uses vibrant transparent colors cased in clear glass.  He creates paperweights, sculptures, perfume bottles,tables, vases,and bowls in all shapes and sizes.

Leon is one of those artists that does not like to stay fixed on one design for a long time. Even though he may have an extremely popular piece of work he retires it and goes on to another. He is constantly looking for the next form that will challenge his skills.

While I greatly appreciate his work ethic, and artistic sense it can be frustrating.  There are many Leon Applebaum fans that would love another one of his paperweights, sculptures, or large vases.  Some would like to add to there collection, or give them as gifts.  The limited series however, only adds to the mystic and value of Leon's work. If you see a piece of his you like you had better snatch it up because you may never see another again.

It is just this philosophy that pushes me to collect more of his pieces for my personal collection.

You can check out Leon's work at glass galleries throughout the United States and notably

 Adamm's Stained Glass & Gallery

 1426 4th St.

Santa Monica, CA 90401

866 764 6513

 

American Craft Buyer's Shows

 

Randi Solin                                Wendy Linj                            CVhris and Alexandra Pantos      

I returned last weekend from trip to Philadelphia and Baltimore to attend this years buyer's markets. The first show "Buyer's Market of American Craft" was held at the Philadelphia Convention Center.  Among the 768 artists that set up booths were glass artists, jewelers, potters, wood workers, clothing and accessory  designers, iron artists,  candel makers, and mixed media artists. It is always fun visiting old friends and enjoying new work.  I was happy with the turn out, although the show is down from over 1200 artists.

The second show was the American Craft Council show in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore show had just over 700 artists. As is always the case the ACC show had a higher quality of work due to their more rigid standards for admission.  This is not to say that many of the artists in Philadelphia were not of equal talent.  In fact many artists do both shows, or choose to do one or the other and are easily accepted into both.  Here again I found some new artists for the gallery. In addition to ordering work(old standbys and new pieces) from my current artists, I was happy to find new artists both recognized and emerging that attended the show. Philly and Baltimore both have great restaurants, museums, antique shops, shows, and historic sites. I highly recommend both these sites, although not necessily in February.     Some of the new artrists I picked from both shows include Jennifer Duffy and Niev Duffy www.urbanlinksdesign.com  jewelry, Scott Maryjaszek www.artephax.com multi media photography, Sean Browen www.seanbrownartist.com jewelry, Chris and Alexandra Pantos www.tourchworksglass.com glass, Eric and Trudi Cooper www.seaofglassstudio.com jewelry, David Lindsay www.lindsayartglass.com glass, Paul Counts-glass,Wendy Lin www.wendylindesigns.com jewelry, Randi Solin  www.solinglass.comglass,  Margaret Neher www.margaretneher.comglass, Tamara Baskin www.tamarabaskin.com glass, and Art of Fire Glass for Christmas Ornaments. In looking for new work this year, more than  in years past, I looked for work that really blew my socks off.  I hope you will agree.  Most of these artists work will be arriving in the gallery in the next few months.  Of course there will be many new pieces from the over 190 artists I currently represent.

     Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter if you want to stay in touch with what going on  monthly.  Remember, all subscribers are entered into a contest to win  a Glass Eye Celestial Series  Paperweight given away each month.

     I'd also love to hear your feedback on the blog and nesletter.  Until next time  stay healthy.

Adamm Gritlefeld

Adamm's Stained Glass & Gallery

1426 4th St.

Santa Monica, Ca. 90401

310 451 9390

www.adammsgqallery.com