Nancy Callan + Mel Douglas: "Interlace"
The Bay Area Glass Institute welcomes Visiting Artist duo Nancy Callan and Mel Douglas for an enlightening 5-day glass intensive: "Interlace". Rather than focusing on a finished object, Interlace is about developing a way of working: learning to look more closely, ask better questions and discover possibilities that can continue well beyond the workshop. Nancy and Mel will also be discussing their artwork, collaboration, and individual journeys at Community Night with Nancy Callan + Mel Douglas, during which they will share how they make their work with live demonstration in the Aldrich Family Hotshop. All are welcome to attend this free event!
"Interlace"
Every object holds a starting point for something unexpected.
Interlace is a workshop about curiosity, experimentation and finding new ways of working with glass. Through the interplay of line, form, colour, surface and light, students will explore how ideas develop, intersect and evolve through making.
Students will begin by bringing an object or image that intrigues them. Rather than attempting to reproduce it, we will look more closely at what makes it compelling. Is it the relationship between forms, the rhythm of a line, the balance of colour, or the way light moves through a surface? Working between the hot and cold shops, students will pull these ideas apart, test possibilities and build new connections through a series of playful, focused exercises. We will explore how repetition, unexpected outcomes and a willingness to take risks can lead to exciting new directions.
This class will take place in May, 2027. Specific dates for this class are coming soon.
Please complete the Interest Form below by January 1st, 2027 to be eligible to join this class. Our team will be in touch by January 15th, 2027 with more information on how to sign up for class.
Fill out the Interest Form for Interlace
About the Artists:
Nancy Callan grew up near Boston, MA, working as a pizza-maker, band roadie and graphic designer before attending the Massachusetts College of Art (BFA 1996). A chance peek into the hot glass studio changed the trajectory of her life; she was entranced by the fluid, glowing material and the demanding choreography of working at the furnace. In 1996 she relocated to Seattle, WA to join maestro Lino Tagliapietra’s glassblowing team, rising to a key position as his assistant and traveling internationally to teach and demonstrate the craft. Through this nineteen-year apprenticeship, Callan mastered the traditional Venetian glassblowing techniques that are the foundation of her innovative work with line, pattern and color. She continues to blaze a trail as an LGBTQ woman, helping to inspire, teach and mentor the next generation of diverse artists in glass.
Callan began exhibiting her work in the 2000s; her first solo exhibition featured vessels and sculptures made during a residency at the Creative Glass Center of America at Wheaton Village in NJ. Residencies, workshops and collaborations continue to feed her practice and create space for experimentation. An avid fan of vintage pop culture and contemporary fashion, Callan’s work brings a modern sensibility to the material and processes of hot glass working.
Douglas’ work explores the potential, versatility and flexibility of glass as a material for drawing. In her words ‘objects and drawings are often thought of as two separate entities. My pieces explore and interweave the creative possibilities of this liminal space, where the form is not just a support for drawing; but a three-dimensional drawing itself. Using the unique qualities of the material, and the rich potential of mark making on and with glass, I am using line as a way to inform, define and enable three-dimensional space’.
