Events and Contests

We are all looking to make connections. The success of social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube prove it. We want to connect with people who have similar interests and affinities. We want to share our likes and dislikes with others-our time and talents. Perhaps this is why Delphi's Art Glass Festival has been so successful, especially in recent years. The Michigan Art Glass Festival brings in art glass enthusiasts from all over the world to meet Delphi instructors, art glass industry experts and fellow glass artists. More than 1,000 art glass enthusiasts poured into Delphis Creativity Center in 2010 and more are expected this year. This is a great opportunity to make new friends and learn more about art glass, said Lisa Parks, Executive Director of Delphi Glass. Its so neat to see people reunite who havent seen each other since previous Festivals. The level of competition increases each year as well. We are always amazed at the projects we receive, Parks said. It seems the bar is raised every year. All of the entries are put on display in the Lansing Creativity Center for visitors to peruse. Admission is free. The second arm of the Art Glass Festival is t

If you're looking for a reason to go Las Vegas, (as if you need a reason!) consider attending the 2011 Glass Craft and Bead Expo. The expo, held every Spring, comes alive with hundreds of classes and exhibitors, and this year will be no different. Classes will take place March 30 - April 3, and the show floor will be open April 1 - 3. Here are just a few of the unique classes that caught my eye. The full class line-up is available on the Expo website . Beginning Dichroic Boro Marbles by Josh Mazet Offhand Flamework Glass Blowing by Suellen Fowler Working with Reactive Glass, Opaline Color Shifts, Shadows and More! by Gail Stouffer Kiln Formed Dimensional Glass by Diana Wondergem Screen Printing on Glass by Tony Glander Up-Cycle It: Kiln Casting with Recycled Glass by Petra and Wolfgang Kaiser Beginning Fritography with Michael Dupille There are also several classes on photography and Photoshop software, and Internet success for your business. If you do plan to attend, please stop by the Delphi booth. We have a large booth every year with Delphi experts on hand to answer your product questions. Delphi also donates supplies to GC&B Expo ins

Pets make great inspiration for art. In Delphi's new contest Animal Creations submit a project of your pet to our online Artist Gallery for your chance to win. This contest is going on now through September 30th. See the contest rules and enter today! More About the Contest: Submit any project done in art glass, mosaics, ceramics or even in jewelry form! This is an online contest open to everyone. All skill levels, from beginning crafters to studio artist, are encouraged to participate. Entries must be submitted electronically through the online Artist Gallery by September 30, 2010. See full contest rules on the Delphi Glass website. Prizes: Delphi Glass Genius T-shirts will be awarded to 10 randomly selected entries. All entries are also eligible to be featured in future Delphi catalogs and publications; artists selected for publication will receive a Delphi Gift Certificate. Artist Spotlight: Our featured artist is Robin Capra of Southington, CT. Robin has been working with stained glass for about 5 years. She created this stained glass panel from a custom pattern she made using a photography of Charlie, her long haired Chihuahua. Robin's next project wil

Who says that learning cant be fun? The Kay Bain Weiner Foundation, which is dedicated to sharing information about glass art, recently proved that its certainly possible when it sponsored a fun and successful cruise to the western Caribbean to help support its educational goals. Glass Enthusiasts Coming Together On January 10, 2010, the KBW Foundation sponsored a cruise on Celebrity Solstice that set sail for the western Caribbean. This was the Foundations first glass art conference cruise. There were over 148 glass enthusiasts on boardbeginners to experts from Alaska to Florida, from California to New Hampshire to Israelto participate in this inaugural event. Workshops, lectures, and demonstrations devoted to the various types of glass art, the business of glass, and the beauty of glass made up a large part of the experience. The theme of the event, Accelerate Your Creativity, rang true for all of the attendees as they participated in this great chance to improve their techniques and learn new ones. The cruise was a resounding success, with nearly twice the number of expected glass enthusiasts signing on to participate in the cruise, demonstrations, workshop

Please remember to continue voting for Beads of Courage to win a $25,000 grant through the Pepsi Refresh project. Beads of Courage helps children RECORD, TELL and OWN their stories of courage during treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses. Through the Program children receive different colored beads each which symbolize their unique and challenging treatment journey. You can vote once every day until the end of July. VOTE NOW!

July 17 and 18, 2009, saw a unique event in Colorado lampworking history. The Colorado Project, a nonprofit organization committed to building the glass community through philanthropy, held its first annual event in Denver, Colorado. Shack Man Glass Studio in conjunction with Glasscraft, Inc., hosted the two-day event. People from all over the country came to participate and show support. Glass Artists with a Mission The purpose of the event was to create a collaborative glass art installation consisting of a four-foot-by-eight-foot mask to be sold at auction to raise money for Learning Landscapes, a University of Colorado program that rebuilds playgrounds in disrepair. Composed of lampworked pieces of crucible-pulled color and a huge bead necklace and headdress, the mask was impressive to say the least. The community aspect of the event was emphasized by having nearly 150 glassblowers rotating through lampworking stations at both Shack Man Studio and Glasscraft to produce the beads for the headdress and necklace. The work for the mask itself was done by Nathan Aweida, Cary Hollenberg, and Adam Graf

The Ring of Fire Artist Challenge , lasting from May-June, sparked the interest of artists of varied media all across the country. While Delphi received entries of paper, glass, ceramics, wire, jewelry, etc., it was a select group of 10 products that united them all. Every eligible entry incorporated at least one of 10 unique products making up the Ring of Fire. These products included copper metal mesh, millifiori, clear glaze, dichroic scrap, recycled glass tiles, metallic tiles, color slide, krafty blok, fine silver wire and pressed flowers. Below is a complete list of contest winners. Congratulations to Grand Prize winner of the Jen-Ken Deluxe EZ-Pro Kiln , Kristin Simpson, with her Garden Whimsie entry. Also, congratulations to Lisa Norvell for her Mountain Meadow Surprise entry which will be featured in an upcoming Delphi catalog. Stay tuned for other great contests like this one in the near future! Delphi Awards Delphi's Favorite: Mountain Meadow Surprise by Lisa Norvell People's Choice: Copper Flowers in Raku Vases by Lindsay Schubel Best Use of Ring of Fire Materials: The American Dream by Brenda Gartman Hottest Project for the Summer:

In its 38 years of business, Delphi has become increasingly well known on the American art glass scene. What started with a handful of products sold in the family's garage, has become the country's largest selection of glass, classes and workshops. Now, Delphis art glass supplies are becoming more familiar even further from home. In what some may see as an unlikely place for Delphi products to reside, the Michigan-based company recently announced its partnership with Anguse International, a well-established glass company in Taipei, Taiwan. But Taiwan is not as implausible a place for art glass to exist as one might think. Its art and cultural scene is vibrant - teeming with woodcarvers, stonecarvers, ceramists, paper artists and glass artists. In fact, traditional crafts like these are becoming increasingly more popular with modern artisans. According to the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan, Oriental glassware art has taken a new lease on life in Taiwan: Liuli Gongfang and Tittot are two examples of glass artists who have earned international acclaim in recent years. And interest is growing. Ray Chen and May Wang, owners of Anguse International, originally an architectural gl

Youve seen the commercials on TV and read about it on the can . Pepsi is refreshing everything. They've been giving millions of dollars away in grant money to good ideas across the country. And Delphi is trying to help one idea in particular get the funding it deserves. The Beads of Courage program brings brightly colored handmade beads to children coping with life-threatening conditions and painful treatments. For each treatment, the child is given a bead to symbolize his/her strength and bravery during the procedure. Chemo. Radiation. Spinal injection. Surgery. Pictures of the patients show them wearing multiple necklaces with dozens of beads. These kids have been through a lot. Beads of Courage is asking Pepsi for a $25,000 grant, which will bring the program to 10 new hospitals and serve 10,000 children coping with life-threatening illnesses. Jean Baruch founded Beads of Courage, Inc. in Arizona while working on her PhD in nursing. Since then, the organization has established programs in more than 60 childrens hospitals throughout the US, New Zealand and Japan.The program has gone through extensive research determining its impact on the young participants, their famil

The Flint Institute of Arts (FIA) is currently hosting Tiffany Lamps: Articles of Utility, Objects of Art - a celebration of Louis Comfort Tiffany's artistic contributions. According to the FIA website, the exhibition offers more than 40 stunning objects in an array of colors, sizes and decorative styles featured in five sections exploring themes of fabrication, design inspiration and changing lighting technologies. The show also includes tools, materials and photographs demonstrating how objects were designed and made. Tiffany is known for his stained glass windows and lamps, but he also created glass mosaics, blown glass pieces, ceramics, jewelry and metalwork. The first Tiffany Glass Company was incorporated 1885, which later became known as Tiffany Studios. His company concentrated on stained glass windows and lamps, but designed a myriad of other interior decorations. Tiffany Lamps: Articles of Utility, Objects of Art Johnson and Rabiah Galleries 5.23.10 - 8.15.10 www.flintarts.org Community leaders founded the Flint Institute of Arts in 1928 as a place for art classes and exhibitions. The FIA is located in the Flint Cultural Center and is known as one of

Imagine creating waterfalls that actually shimmer or night stars that really twinkle. Delphi is bringing in guest instructor Janet Schrader to show students at the Lansing Creativity Center how to do just that. Janet will show students how to achieve different textures, colors and effects with mica powder. Mica can be used to liven up Christmas ornaments, jewelry, mixed media projects and more. Each student will make a pendant and several samples to take home. Class will be held Thursday, Jun 24th from  6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. Glass Artist Janet Schrader lives outside Olympia WA where she has been doing glass since 1979. She has won both local and national competitions for her stained glass and jewelry designs. Always wanting to find something exciting and different to do with glass kept Janet creating and developing new designs and one-of-a-kind works of art. The same desire for something new has lead her to write 11 art glass design and instructional books that are distributed by CKE publications. More about Lansing Creativity Center Classes