Vermont-artist Jen Violette is inspired by nature, her own children, and glass artist Martin Janecky. All three came together this summer when Violette took Janecky’s two-week Blowing and Sculpting Inside the Bubble class at The Studio.
Martin Janecky demonstrates crafting a glass hand for
his students.
Violette has been making glass for 25 years and has been working sculpturally since 2003 when she took a class at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington state. Through her instructors at Pilchuck — William Morris, Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen, and Randy Walker — Violette “learned a lot about working sculpturally with molten glass” and has been working sculpturally ever since.
Almost 10 years ago, Violette discovered Janecky’s work online and has been a big fan of his ever since. So when she saw that Janecky was teaching a glassblowing class at The Studio this summer, she jumped at the opportunity. Having taken a class at The Studio in 1999 with Pino Signoretto, Violette knew that this was bound to be an incredible experience. And Janecky didn’t disappoint: “This class with Martin was fabulous, and I learned a lot of new tricks that I’m looking forward to applying.”
Jen Violette works on crafting a glass hand,
inspired by her own children’s hands.
During the class, Violette made child-sized glass hands that held natural elements such as glass acorns, glass fruits, and glass vegetables. “I wanted to echo the surprise and discovery of nature in young children,” she explained. She is excited about this new direction in her work and to be adding new techniques to her artist toolbox that will keep her inspired for years.
Interested in taking a class at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass? Check out the new schedule of fall and winter classes.