These delicate, icy leaves appear frozen but are actually made of glass! Made by Israeli artist Noah Hagiladi, they seem perfect for a cold February day.
Ever wonder how glassmaking got its start? This fun video by the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, hosted by Burnie and Ash, will introduce you to 2000 years of glassmaking in about 8 minutes.
Whatcha up to this weekend? How about a little window shopping at studio-e? We’ve got so many pretty things and everything’s under $100… Click “Store” above to browse around.
There’s still time to get your CIRQUE tickets for the DIA’s Founder’s Junior Council gala on February 28th! Fantastic food, decadent drinks, divine dancing and best of all, masked mystery… what more could you want? Join the party here:
The DIA is hosting a panel discussion titled “Mavericks: The Shape of Things to Come” this coming Wednesday, February 25th at 7 PM. The panel participants will discuss the role of the museum as a creative workspace, the changing identity of galleries and how art spaces are evolving as community hubs. It sounds like there are going to be a lot of interesting ideas bounced around! Tickets are free, but required to reserve your spot.
It’s another #tbt! This time we’re going back in time 10 years ago to when April created a piece for the Ross Controls world headquarters in Troy, MI. The piece was inspired by the graphic symbols that the company uses to explain their products. Almost like 5 pieces in 1, the work extends across the wall of Ross’ boardroom.
Solar panels might just be the way of the future. *Especially* if they look as cool as these! Cool to see how glass art can be used to spur the excitement around sustainable energy sources.
We’ve been having a barrage of holidays lately! Today’s Mardi Gras, and we’re celebrating with this piece “Burberries.” Purple, green and a hint of gold remind us of a New Orleans style party!
“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.” – President John F. Kennedy
Happy President’s Day! Here’s to more leaders who will support the arts in our country. Thanks, President Kennedy.
Time for a little Throwback Thursday… here’s a piece from the appropriately titled “Old School” series that April based off the style she explored at CCS.
A cranberry and purple Old School sculpture with a fantastic rim of lime green!
It’s no new news that Detroit is attracting artists faster than you can say “cheap real estate.” Here’s another group that’s making the transition from the Big Apple to the Motor City, and they’re not ashamed to shout it from the rooftops.
The party of the year will be happening at the DIA on February 28th when the Founder’s Junior Council holds its annual masked gala. This year’s theme CIRQUE: Empire, will transport you to a sultry 1930s speakeasy… it’s sure to be an amazing night! Get your tickets here:
A studio-e glass heart makes the perfect Valentine’s Day gift!
Only one week remains until Valentine’s Day! It’s time to put your game face on. Don’t worry though, it’s not too late to purchase a heart paperweight from our studio-e collection. Call the studio before noon and we can ship today! 248.745-3786.
We are thrilled to welcome Master Gaffer Marc Vandenberg to the epiphany studios team! Marc has been a glassblower for over 20 years and worked at Greenfield Village as well as creating his own art. We are excited to see where this collaboration takes us!
Marc Vandenberg at work in the glass shop, assisted by Ally Gurss.
It’s not too late for a New Year’s Resolution! (Ok, maybe a February Resolution…) We’re in the process of re-doing our entire website and that means lots of choices are being made about content, design, and user-friendliness. If you’re an artist looking to get your name out there, these tips on creating your own site will give you a good place to start.
This glass art piece by artist Ginny Ruffner gives homage to winter with its quirky title, “Shirts, Cherries, and Snowflakes, Of Course.” Listen to curator Tina Oldknow discuss the piece in a video by the Corning Museum of Glass.
Check out this glass art piece by artist Ginny Ruffner gives homage to winter with its quirky title, “Shirts, Cherries, and Snowflakes, Of Course.” You can also listen to curator Tina Oldknow discuss the piece in a video by the Corning Museum of Glass. http://www.cmog.org/video/ruffner-shirts-cherries-and-snowflakes-course
Happy Groundhog’s Day! No matter what Punxsutawney Phil has to say, there’s only 12 more days until Valentine’s Day! Get your rear in gear and check out our selection of glass hearts. They make the perfect gift for the love of your life, your family members, or even as a “treat yo’self” gift! Click “Store” above to shop.
January is coming to a close and that means Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! Plan ahead this year and surprise your sweetheart with a gorgeous glass heart from the studio-e line at epiphany studios! Several colors are available here on our website, or you can contact the studio to see what other colors are available.
Detroit is looking for its next great leaders! If you’ve got the charisma needed to help take this city to the next level, apply for the Challenge Detroit project. Thirty people will be selected to live, work, play, give, and lead in Detroit for a year. The applications for 2016 open February 1st, so get your brainstorming hat on! More info here:
Brrr! It’s cold out there and spring seems years away. How do you stay motivated to be productive in these dark winter months? At the studio, we like to keep our bodies moving to amp up the flow of energy. Or we just snuggle up to our 2000 degree furnace for warmth…
We all like to daydream about our ideal homes, and Houzz.com is the perfect place to drift away on a cloud of interior design inspiration! April and epiphany studios have a profile here that allows you to see some past projects. Don’t forget to check out the positive reviews! Thanks for your support, everyone!
Today is the last day of the NAIAS in downtown Detroit. What a ride! April’s sculptures featured by Lincoln Motor Company have the sleek lines and contemporary flair that might remind you of your favorite new car.
April’s sculpture at the Los Angeles NAIAS in November.
Looking for something to do this weekend? Head down to the Detroit Artist’s Market and visit their current exhibition, “It’s Like Toys In Here.” Three artists “convey their own child-like curiosity through art that combines serious themes with playful interface and fun aesthetics.” Sounds like a fun time to us! The exhibition runs through February 14th.
Did You Know? The official flower for January is the carnation. These flowers have edible blooms and used to be used as flavoring agents in beer, wine and liquor! Carnations come in an array of colors, as do the beautiful flowers made here at epiphany studios.
There’s only a few days left to hit up the NAIAS at the COBO Center in downtown Detroit! Not only are there cool cars to be seen, but April’s work is featured with Lincoln Motor Company as well!
Did You Know? There’s a special tool called a “battlemore” that’s especially for smoothing a flat bottom of a blown vessel or molded object. Learn about some other tools in this video by DC Glass Works.
What do you do when your brain is still burnt out on gift ideas from the holidays, but you know someone whose birthday is coming up? Why, check out the studio-e line of affordable and beautiful gift items! Each studio-e object is made by hand by an epiphany studio assistant and all items are under $100. We’ve got paperweights, ornaments, wine coasters, flower sculptures and more! Many of the studio-e pieces are available for purchase here on our website. Click over to the Store tab to see the work.
The CCS Center Galleries will be opening a new show on January 23rd called “Making Mischief: Cynthia Greig, Jennifer Dalton, Alex Gingrow, Laurina Paperina and Scott Reeder.” The exhibition features works by these artists that scrutinize (and satirize!) the systems and behaviors unique to the art world and its inhabitants. See their Facebook page for more info:
Today is the day, car-lovers! The North American International Auto Show is open to the public in downtown Detroit at the COBO Center. April created 6 custom pieces for Lincoln Motor Company to use in their display at shows throughout the United States.
The birthstone for January is the garnet! Even though garnets come in a variety of colors, you probably know it in its deep red form. The stone’s resemblance to a pomegranate seed prompted the name “garnet,” which comes from the word for seed. This piece, “Tempest,” utilizes the beautiful red hue often seen in garnets.
Today is the Charity Preview for the North American International Auto Show. Profits from ticket sales for the preview support a wide variety of children’s charities. Since 1976, the Charity Preview event has raised over $96 million for kids in Michigan!
Are you a visual artist working in the Detroit metropolitan area? Consider applying for the Kresge Artist Fellowship, which awards $25,000 to literary and visual artists of Detroit. Due date is January 22!
If you’re on Twitter, follow us at @epiphanyglass for more fun facts and tidbits about the studio! Be sure to “Like” our page on Facebook too to stay updated on the goings-on at epiphany.
P.S. We’re even on Google+! There’s a social media site for everyone!
epiphany glass nests are inspired by the motions of sand and wind. These intricate pieces push the boundaries of contemporary glass and are made by sculpting multiple bits of clear glass on a spherical shape. The
A beautiful violet epiphany glass nest.
nests sparkle like ornate chandeliers – the many strands of glass catch and reflect the ambient light.
Welcome to the Motor City, NAIAS! April created 6 sculptures for the Lincoln Motor Company that will be featured at NAIAS locations across the country.
Did You Know? A fiery hot piece of glass can’t just cool down on any old shelf or table. In order to prevent the glass from cooling too quickly and becoming brittle, we use an annealing furnace, which starts at 900 degrees and slowly lowers the temp. Cool, right?
Lino Tagliapietra is one of the world’s most renowned glass blowers. At age 11, he began apprenticing at a glass studio in his hometown of Murano, Italy, an Venetian island with a centuries-long history of glass-making. By age 21, he reached the level of “maestro” and now he’s been rocking the glass art world for decades. Check out this video that shows Tagliapietra in action!
Watch out, Detroit! The North American International Auto Show is right around the corner. April’s work is being featured with the Lincoln Motor Company at select shows across the country. Here’s her piece from November’s Los Angeles show.
One of six sculptures by April for the Lincoln Motor Company.
What is “studio glass?” This term refers to the use of glass to create artistic sculptures or three-dimensional artworks. The American studio glass movement is pretty young – it started in 1962 when a chemist and a ceramist at the Toledo Museum of Art began experimenting with molten glass. In 1969, the museum constructed the Glass-Crafts Building, and became the first museum to build a studio specifically dedicated for teaching the art of glassblowing.
Did You Know? “Epiphany” means “insight into the essence of an object and/or material” and served as the foundational idea behind the studio’s beginnings back in 1993.
Join us Saturday December 6th and Sunday December 7th 12-6pm for our annual holiday open studio. Watch glassblowing demonstrations, shop for beautiful gifts, and enjoy 15% off gallery prices.
Want to purchase our work but want to buy it in the city? We are thrilled to announce that you can now find us at the Detroit Institute of Arts gift shop. We love our museum and love Detroit, so we’re very proud of this new relationship!
We’re happy to announce that COTS is our charity partner for this holiday season. We’ve created these new icicles ornaments. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each icicle will be donated to COTS. COTS exists to alleviate homelessness by providing services that enable people to achieve self-sufficiency and by advocating for long term solutions to homelessness. You can purchase these fun gifts by visiting our web store here.
We have a new catalog featuring April’s one of a kind sculptures. You can download a .pdf of it from our Dropbox. 2014 Catalog. Or we can send you a hard copy of it, just email us at mary@epiphanyglass.com with your street address.
The big Daddy of the American Studio Glass movement is turning 73 today and we want to wish him a huge happy day! Here’s an article from the Corning Musuem of Glass on his great legacy. “Dale Chihuly: A Selective Biography”
We’re having a new catalog printed of all of our great new projects. Spent the morning at Allegra Printing in Plymouth watching them finesse the color, double check all the layouts, and start the run in the press. Very exciting!
Join us for an evening of luxury as we explore the Art of Detroit at Saks Fifth Avenue Troy. A fundraiser for the College for Creative Studies. Detroit restaurants, custom cocktails and a luxury giveaway all promise to ignite your imagination and delight your senses. Fabulous entertainment by Ben Sharkey and glass art by April Wagner of epiphany studios.
Almost time for new gloves in the hot shop. Rated to 1200 degrees and made from Kevlar but the glove fabric breaks down over time, developing holes in the areas that touch the glass the most.
We were proud to be asked to create the gifts for this year’s Focus Hope Honorees – Attorney General Eric Holder and Senator Carl Levin. Congratulations to both, heroes in the battle to overcome racism, poverty and injustice.
It seems like an easy thing to do to introduce yourselves as an artist, but sometimes it’s hard to be your own best promoter. Check out this interesting article from the Art Biz Blog on why it’s important.
We were honored to be asked to create a series of very special paperweights last month for a family whose loved one had recently passed away. Using a small amount of his ashes swirled with each family members favorite colors, each piece was unique and special, just like the person was.
We really enjoyed reading the articles in the arts blog ‘Business Blog for Artists‘. Especially fun to read the trends for 2014 article at this mid-way point in the year and to see that everything still holds true.
It’s hard being an artist. Never give up! Be smart and fight to do what you love. Reading good articles like this one will help you be the best you can be.
Glass dictionary: Striping – a technique of applying a different colored glass on the outside of a form. Starting at the end closest to the pipe and spiraling to the bottom.
Glory Hole – An insulated drum, which is heated with a natural gas/ forced air burner system to approximately 2400 degree Fahrenheit. Used throughout the glassblowing process to reheat the glass piece being worked on. Most glory holes have some type of door system, opened via handles, to accommodate larger pieces.
Not only does our glass get the best views and go to the most exotic places, it gets there in luxury. We thought that our client’s new convertable Maserati was the perfect way for his set of custom wine decanters to travel to his house.
All of out of glass after the awesome show last weekend. So today is charging day. The day we fill up the furnace with fresh juicy new glass. We turn the temp up to 2400 degrees and let it cook for 24 hours once we get all 1,000 pounds shoveled in. A massage after would certainly not be out of line.
A HUGE thank you to all of our amazing clients! Thanks for coming out this weekend and making it a fantastic show! Without you, we couldn’t do what we love to do!
We had a great day yesterday at the shop, lots of new faces, good demos, and great sales! Thanks to all of our awesome clients for supporting us! We’ll be open today from 12-6 pm. Stop by and see us.
All artists hate the words, but yes, soon it will be time for the Taxman. Here’s a great article for artists to read about bartering and the tax implications.
The master plan for our next big installation. A lot of time goes into the planning for large scale works. This piece will be 10 ‘ d x 10′ h. Pictures of the final install in a couple of weeks.
The Human Torch thinks he’s going to be our new assistant. Little does he know it doesn’t pay very well.
Almost time for new gloves in the hot shop. Rated to 1200 degrees and made from Kevlar but the glove fabric breaks down over time, developing holes in the areas that touch the glass the most.
We thought this was a pretty interesting website 
Sometimes, but not too often, things end up not making it. This was looking like a nice piece, but now it’s scrap.
A nice example of the reduction process (when you pull the silver and gold to the surface and trap it there).
Glory Hole – An insulated drum, which is heated with a natural gas/ forced air burner system to approximately 2400 degree Fahrenheit. Used throughout the glassblowing process to reheat the glass piece being worked on. Most glory holes have some type of door system, opened via handles, to accommodate larger pieces.
Cable layouts for the chandelier. Almost 200 of them!
