2005 Days of White Glass – schedule:

9.07.- 16.07. Estonian artists:
Kai Saarepuu, Liisi Junolainen, Kairi Orgusaar,
Kati Kerstna, Malle Hallimäe, Eeva Käsper, Maret Sarapu,
Sofi Arshas, Virve Kiil, Merle Kannus, Toomas Riisalu, Kai Koppel, Susanne Koskimäki (Finland).

14. 07. kell 12.00 – 15.00 Children’s Day
Glass painting workshop for kids, the theme is White Lady.

16.07. – 23. 07. International hot glass symposium
16. 07. Opening ceremony, free stage, show

Participants:
Su 17. 07. Robert Tannahill (Canada) / Sung-Hwan Hong (Korea)
Mo 18. 07. Vesa Varrela (Finland) / Barbala Gulbe (Latvia)
Tue 19. 07. Anda Munkevica (Latvia)) / Cicy Ching (Hongkong)
Wed 20. 07. Lachezar Dochev (Bulgaria) / Nicolas Morin (France)
Thu 21. 07. Renate Korinek (Austria) / Remigius Kriukas (Lithuania)
Fri 22. 07. Sue Parry (England) / Kai Koppel (Estonia)
23. 07. Closing ceremony, vernissage, free stage, show
23. 07. – 14. 08. Exhibition of White Glass.

2005 DAYS OF WHITE GLASS

The Third Haapsalu Glass Days
July 16-23, 2005
Evald Okas Museum,
Karja 24, Haapsalu

Exhibition of works:
July 23- August 14, 2005
Opening ceremony: 4 p.m. July 16
Exhibition opens: 4 p.m. July 23

Theme: light objects

White glass, with its translucency or semi-opaqueness, possesses a certain mystery,
an element of disguise. This year’s hot glass festival in Haapsalu focuses on light objects
made of white glass. The keywords are light, luminosity, whiteness in all its
possible connotations; inspiration may be found from the full moon, from a blank screen,
from the White Lady – whatever comes to mind.

So who’s the White Lady?
The most renowned of Estonia’s ghastly apparitions, she presents herself in a window of the Haapsalu
Dome Church every time the harvest moon reaches fullness in August.
Her story speaks of the Dark Ages. A girl was caught in the service of the church choir,
where she had infiltrated, disguised as a boy. For punishment, she was set in the wall of the church alive.

Working conditions:
The glass furnace is located outdoors, under a roof.
There’s 80 kilos of white glass in the tub.
Two master glassblowers provide their assistance.
For cast glass works, the thickness limit is 6 cm.

Information: kontakt [at] klaasikunst [dot] ee

2005 Maie-Ann Raun BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS

Maie-Ann Raun
BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS
Tartu University Library
March 14 – April 18, 2005

The show presents a selection of works executed at the Skankristall factory 2002-2003 and Tarbeklaas 2004.

We do not see troubled waters at the show; three tough years of work at a struggling glass factory. The show is a bridge – bright and colourful, expressing the author’s belief in the survival ability of the Estonian glass industry. The bridge is a symbolic link from the past to the future, a story of evolution – the evolving mastership of our glass designers and glassblowers.

The centerpiece of the show is a bright red vessel, titled “Moment” (2003) – a memorial to mark the rebirth of glass art. “Sea” (2004) expresses the dynamic of the glass industry’s struggle for survival.

The colourful exhibit reveals no hints of tension and concern. Sea-green, flaming red, sky-blue and sparkling glass characterize the author’s attitude and positive message.

The author will meet the audience on April 4, 16.00 at the library, next to the exhibit.

2005 ESTONIA’S OLDEST GLASS – FROM HÜTI TO ROOSMA

March 7 – April 22, 2005
Masters’ Courtyard Gallery, Vene t.6, Tallinn
Curator: prof. emeritus Maie-Ann Raun, Estonian Academy of Art

More than 2000 exhibits feature iridescent shards – archaeological finds from the sites of our oldest glass huts: Hüti (1628 – 1664), Piirsalu (1740 – 1790), Gorodjonka (1764 – 1771), Laashoone (1764 – 1775) and Lehtse / Rekka (1776 – 1808).
The exhibition is made possible thanks to the research work of MAKS ROOSMA (1909 – 1971) – the founding father of Estonian glass, our first professional glass artist, teacher and historian. He conducted his excavations during 1958-1965, and remains the only one who ever did research in this area. While his engravings are well-known, his archaeological materials are exhibited for the first time in history.
Roosma’s own creations are represented by 5 pieces from the years 1938 to 1959. The masterpiece “Kalevipoeg Fighting the Devils” (1959) can be seen as a summary of his life’s work.
An installation of 50 vessels – Hüti 375 – presents replicas of the ancient Hüti ware, executed at the Skankristall factory in 2003, and is a hommage to the dignified history of glass in Estonia, continuing to survive in the 21st century.
The fight for the Estonain glass industry’s development was the life’s work of Maks Roosma. He dedicated his strength and deep knowledge to this, and to recovering its heritage. This show expresses his students’ gratitude on Roosma’s 95th anniversary.
A conference on the same topic will be held in April.

2004 MEELI KÕIVA MAKES A PRESENTATION AT THE STOCKHOLM CITY COUNCIL

This September, Meeli Kõiva presented an overview of glass and light art for the Stockholm city council, at a light seminary held by the city’s environmental department, where she was invited as one of the main performers. The aim of the seminary was to inspire local designers to use the latest environment-friendly technologies in illuminating the Old Town.
Many companies introduced their new lighting technologies. Meeli Kõiva, whose presentation was titled “Glass touches lght, electrified by the artist’s handwriting,” spoke of the use of glass and various lighting technologies in art. Meeli Kõiva is recognized in the world as a pioneer of glass and light art, having experimented with glass, lasers, fiber optics and other new technologies for years. Applying these, she has devised innovative light objects both in Estonia and abroad; regrettably, none have been executed in Estonia so far.
All the more welcome is Stockholm’s interest in something new, original and environment-friendly. Kõiva’s laser compositions and fiber optical light sculptures aroused special interest at the seminary.

2004 STRIPE AND DOT BY KRISTI KASK

On October 5, young glass designer Kristi Kask presented her first private view Stripe and Dot at the Craftworld Gallery of the Tallinn Department Store.
She exhibits more than 50 decor solutions for glassware, based on the contrast of matte and clear surfaces. Her main design elements are series of horizontal lines (RINGS series) and round dots (DOTS series), applied to clear glass cylinders of various sizes. The designs were executed by the author at the Skankristall/Tarbeklaas factory in 2002-2004 and took contemporary interior design as a starting point.
The resulting works are elegant and fashionable 21th century designs.
Opent thru Oct.11
Text: Maie-Ann Raun
Curator: Aime Raimets
Setup: Aino Jakobi