GLASS ART SOCIETY 2007 Conference

The Glass Art Society (GAS) is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1971 whose purpose is to encourage excellence, to advance education, to promote the appreciation and development of the glass arts, and to support the worldwide community of artists who work with glass. GAS members are artists, students, educators, collectors, gallery and museum personnel, writers, and critics, among others. Membership is open to anyone interested in glass art.

Pre-Conference ReceptionPhipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens and The Carnegie Museum of ArtWednesday, June 6, 5:30 - 9:30 pmStart your evening with a special preview hour to enjoy Chihuly at the Conservatory: A Garden of Glass, a special exhibition that fuses fantastic glass art with Phipps' garden under glass. A shuttle or a short walk will then deliver you to the nearby historical Carnegie Museum for an elegant evening of music, delicious food and a cash bar. The exhibit Translations and Transformations:Glass in Venice and America, 1950-2006 will be on view with exhibition curator Sarah Nichols. Meet, mingle, and wander the Carnegie's Hall of Architecture, which contains the largest collection of plaster casts of architectural masterpieces in America and one of the three largest in the world. The marble Hall of Sculpturebeautifully replicates the interior of the Parthenon.

Gallery HopFriday, June 8, 6 - 10 pmDove release 5pmThe Gallery Hop will take you on an adventure though the city from downtown Pittsburgh's sophisticated galleries to the wild South Side to the well-known Carnegie Museum of Art. Keeping with tradition, the Gallery Hop kicks off from the Student Exhibition. This year, view a White Dove Release by the National Aviary from inside the Student Exhibition, through the huge windows on Concourse A; shuttles will begin leaving the convention center at 6 pm, and circle throughout the city. Finish up the evening at the Pittsburgh Glass Center¹s exhibition of Japanese glass. A list of galleries for the Gallery Hop will be noted in the conference program book, distributed onsite at the conference.

The Closing Night PartySports Rock CaféSaturday, June 9, 9 pm - 2 amThe venue for our Closing Night Party, the Sports Rock Café, encompasses several floors of activities and entertainment. Spend the evening listening to a great local band or try your hand at any number of games including pool, electronic darts, football, boxing and basketball. When it's time to take a break, upstairs is Pittsburgh's newest nightclub, krobar, featuring four distinctivebars; an ice bar, a martini bar, a champagne bar and a vodka bar.Experience the lights and the music, enjoy great food and spirits, and meet and mingle with other GAS participants around the fire pits found throughout the largest outdoor deck in the city. Shuttles will depart and return to the Omni Hotel throughout the evening.

The conferences and lectures should also be very interesting I'll post a list of topics tomorrow and photos as /if my camera is working properly. IF you are in the area (and Pittsburgh is a short drive) consider the exhibits. The student exhibits are most interesting, and of great interest to me are the 'pioneer' glass arts craftsmen/ designers artist who belong and or founded this group. . . in an effort to have the movement grow and become what it is today.
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