Glass Show Lights Up Arbor Crest

Arbor Crest’s picturesque Cliff House overlooking the Spokane Valley is the backdrop for the kaleidoscopic “Glass on the Grass” show this weekend.

Dazzling rainbows of brilliant color will dance off hundreds of individually made glass objects, including hand-torched marbles, fused jewelry, beveled windows and iridescent crystal vessels.

Representing a variety of techniques and styles, the seventh annual exhibition and sale hosts 25 of the Inland Northwest’s top glassworkers Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to sunset.

Both afternoons feature demonstrations by Spokane master lampworkers David Gover and Wayne Myers.

Gover says lampwork, done freehand over a torch, uses very few tools, “maybe tweezers and a carbon rod. Our hands are like lathes — holding, twisting and shaping the glass.”

Dating back 500 years, this technique is used to create delicate hollow objects such as wine glasses, perfume bottles and holiday ornaments.

Conrad Bagley, artist and owner of Spokane’s Cat’s Eye Gallery, will demonstrate a beadmaking technique similar to one used in ancient Egypt.

Over a torch, Bagley heats a glass rod a little thicker than a coat hanger. The molten glass is then spun around a thin metal rod treated with a substance that allows the beads to slip off easily once they have cooled.

“While the glass is hot, I may add decorative materials, change colors, press it, or pull it depending on the effect I want,” says Bagley.

Among the other exhibiting artists is Paul Labrie, who specializes in free-form sculptural pieces and multicolored blown glass vessels.

In his Newman Lake studio, Labrie’s natural gas furnace holds a crucible filled with 150 pounds of molten glass.

To create a vessel, Labrie gathers a bit of molten glass on the end of his blowpipe and adds different metals and oxides to achieve various colors and effects. He then blows air through the rod to expand and shape the object.

Even after working with glass for more than two decades, Labrie still finds the medium fascinating. “A lot of people get the bug once they’ve tried it,” he says. “They become fanatics.”

One such fanatic is Post Falls artist Louise Telford.

“Glass is a very magical, colorful and exciting medium,” she says. “What drew me to it is the variety of things that can be done with glass.”

The fused glasswork Telford is showing includes jewelry, fish-shaped platters and sushi dishes.

“We live way out in the country and watch beautiful sunsets from our front porch,” says Telford. “I try to capture those colors in my designs.”

Capturing the authentic feel of 19th-century stained glass designs is a specialty of Spokane artist David Glass.

Glass spends much of his time repairing intricate Victorian-style leaded glass windows and antique lampshades.

A participant in the exhibit since its beginning, Glass says the show is “a great opportunity for the community to see how many glass artists there are in this area.

“Besides,” he says, “it’s really cool for glass artists to get together, see each other’s work, and swap information. It helps keep us excited and fresh.”

Rounding out the event is music by Too Fat Blues on Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. As for food, bring a picnic basket or purchase snacks from the winery or a booth featuring vegetarian fare from Mizuna.

Because Arbor Crest is offering free wine tasting, attendance is limited to those 21 and older.

To reach the Cliff House, 4703 N. Fruithill Road, take the Argonne exit off I-90 and head north. Turn right on Upriver Drive; proceed 1 mile and then turn left onto Fruithill Road. Signs mark the rest of the way.

Northern Sky Arts Exhibit

A Celebration of Art will be held Saturday between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. as part of the Northern Sky Arts Exhibit, which runs through Sept. 2 at the Kettle Falls Historical Center.

Demonstrations by artists and performers are scheduled throughout the day, including stone carver Stephen Noyes of the Colville Confederated Tribes, says Jean Woods, center director. Corn on the cob and Indian tacos will be sold.

Show winners, all from Washington, include: Best of Show and Best Oil — Charlotte Dahlen, Colville; Best Watercolor — Susan Parker Ferguson, Blue Creek; Best Scratchboard and Best Acrylic — Evelyn Bolt, Kettle Falls; Best Gouache and Best Graphite — Butch Bovan, Gifford; Best Linocut — Elinor Distler, Chewelah, and Best Basket — Helen McNinch, Deep Lake.

Other Washington artists exhibiting at the show include Joan Fantasia and Christy Yarnell, Chewelah; Ina Kaser, Christine Vosen and Marjorie Wilson, Colville; Jean Woods and Montana LeFavre, Kettle Falls; Dale Lent, Kelly Hill; Polly Merle, Orient, and Caroll Vrba, Gifford.

The center is located three miles west of Kettle Falls on Highway 395. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday.