Sunday, October 4, 2015

A Trip to Winterthur Now Just Might be Better than "Breakfast at Tiffany's"...

By Christine Facciolo
Christine holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music and continues to apply her voice to all genres of music. An arts lover since childhood, she currently works as a freelance writer.

Well by Fence window, design attrib. to Agnes Northrop (1857–1953), 

Tiffany Studios, New York, ca. 1910. 
The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, Queens, New York N86.W.9

Rarely has there been an American artist as innovative and creative as Louis Comfort Tiffany. Son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of the renowned jewelry and silver firm, Tiffany (1848-1933) chose to chart his own artistic path rather than settle into the family business.

Tiffany’s career spanned from the 1870s through the 1920s, embracing virtually every artistic and decorative medium: painting, interiors, lighting, metalwork, pottery, enamels, jewelry, glass and mosaics.

Of all his artistic endeavors, though, it is his work with stained glass — especially lamps — that has earned him the greatest recognition. Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library is celebrating that legacy with the dazzling display “Tiffany Glass: Painting with Color and Light” which runs through January 3, 2016.

The exhibit features items from the collection of Egon and Hildergard Neustadt, who began acquiring the works in 1935 following the death of Tiffany and the demise of his studios in Corona, Queens, New York.

Tiffany began his artistic career as a painter but by 1875 had developed an interest in glassmaking. His constant drive to innovate led to the development of a new technique for making stained glass which had remained essentially unchanged since medieval times, when artisans applied paint to clear glass before firing and leading. Tiffany created and patented a radical new process called opalescent glass, in which several colors are combined and manipulated to produce a rainbow-range of hues and three-dimensional effects.

The windows — Tropical Landscape (ca. 1910), Well by Fence (ca. 1910) and Grape Vine and Lemon Trellis — which greet visitors to the exhibit, are breathtaking examples of Tiffany’s ability to “paint” with glass.

Tiffany looked to nature as the primary source of design inspiration. Nowhere is Tiffany’s mastery for translating nature into glass more apparent than in his iconic lamps. We see them in pictures and on television but only deliberative observation can reveal the complexity of the shapes of the blossoms and the unruly growth patterns of the flowers as well as the nuances of color and texture.

Lampshades of all shapes and sizes are adorned with profusions of peonies, pond lilies, poppies, poinsettias, dragonfly and wisteria.

Supplementing the exhibit is an educational display showing the painstaking and labor-intensive process that goes into making a Tiffany lampshade as well as sheets of original Tiffany glass.

The exhibit also recognizes key figures who worked at the Tiffany Studios and their contributions: chemist Arthur J. Nash (1849-1934) and leading designers Agnes Northrop (1857-1953), Clara Driscoll (1861-1944) and Frederick Wilson (1858-1932).

There is also a primer on forgery with three fakes on display and tips on how to spot the imposters.

A secondary exhibit, “Tiffany: The Color of Luxury,” offers a fun look at the iconic retail operation. It features one of Tiffany’s own paintings as well as fine stationery, silver wedding gifts, diamond engagement rings and brooches. There’s even a silver telephone dialer and — of course, the “Tiffany Blue Box”— the most recognized and desirable retail container in history.

See www.winterthur.org.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Delaware & American Craft Week Kicks Off Tomorrow!

Celebrating artisans and art organizations throughout the state of Delaware who enrich and contribute to the economic fabric and vibrancy of Delaware.

In this month of celebrating arts and humanities, Delaware is prepped to welcome American Craft Week! What began as a small, grassroots effort to enhance the knowledge and appreciation of handmade craft now celebrates its fifth anniversary. American Craft Week is a well-established, national event celebrating the tradition of American craft in artists' studios, galleries, museums, schools, and festivals.


In celebration of craft in America, American Craft Week will present a Masterpiece exhibit and sale -- an online exhibition featuring one-of-a-kind work by one exceptional craft artists from each of the 50 states and Washington, DC.
An architect who creates wearable art, Arden Bardol of Dover will represent Delaware in this nationwide event. The exhibition will be available online now through October 11.

Delaware's 2015 Individual Artist Fellow in Craft, James Ulry, will have an exhibit at the Dover Art League during October, and events will be held throughout Delaware in celebration of American and Delaware Craft Weeks.

Listen here to the WILM "State of the Arts" Podcast interview with Esther Lovlie, Lorin Felter and Hilary LaMotte Burke about Delaware Craft Week, all of whom were instrumental in getting Delaware Craft Week into the public's consciousness.

Join the Delaware Craft Week Facebook page and support local artists!

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Nadjah Nicole Brings Down the House at "The Voice'"

Photo: NBC
Huge congratulations to another Delawarean making her voice heard in the entertainment industry!

Singer Nadjah Nicole (aka Nadjah Nicole Pennington) wowed the celebrity judges of NBC's "The Voice" during her appearance last week, where she sang Janelle MonĂ¡e's song,Tightrope. The 23-year-old Claymont resident has regularly performed around the First State, in Gable Music Venture events like Ladybug Music Festival and World Cafe Live at the Queen singer-songwriter showcases.

She returns home this weekend to celebrate her slam-dunk performance. Nicole is headlining at the World Cafe Live at the Queen's downstairs stage on Friday, October 2 in a show by Gable Music Ventures. She'll be backed by her four-piece band and a pair of back-up singers. Tickets for that show are available HERE.

  • Check out a recent interview with Nadjah Nicole by Dominick 'King Dom' Draper in 55 Hours last weekend. 
  • Read Ryan Cormier's News Journal coverage of her appearance on "The Voice" here.
  • See her knock-out performance on "The Voice" HERE!