OCTOBER 2023
GVREC.ORG
New GVR Glass Artists Club Studio
Trudie Layton and Jayne Becker loading kiln for firing.
Fox mosaic is by club member Laurel Benson.
Fused-glass pumpkin by club member Judy Stodieck.
The GVR Glass Artists Club is prepping to open a brand-new studio at Santa Rita Springs. This project has been a long time coming, and as a growing GVR club with more and more interest each season, we are pleased that the finish line is on the horizon. We recently asked GVR Glass Artists Club President Jayne Becker about the excitement around this new creative space. Here is what she had to say. How did the GVR Glass Artists Club raise funds towards furnishings for the new studio? GVR funded the conversion and remodel at Santa Rita Springs, of course, and is providing the space. But we have always known that the club would buy our own furniture and equipment. For glass art, this means not only tables, chairs, and shelves, but also kilns, grinders, drill presses, various saws, and many other tools. So, for the past seven years, our members have donated their artwork to the club to sell at community fairs and club-sponsored sales at Desert Hills Center. Our members also have made generous financial contributions. And many GVR members have donated equipment, shelving, tools, glass, and innumerable resources.
a stained glass room, a separate area for the saws and loud equipment, a safe area for working with powdered glass, a kiln room, and a classroom. It’s a big change from having a one-room studio that supports only one activity at a time. At the new studio, our members will have the freedom to pursue many interests. Our members are so excited about no longer having to carry fragile projects from Abrego North over to the kilns at West Center, hoping to avoid ruining their work by hitting a pothole. Now, with everything in the same building, it will be safer, far more convenient, and will spark a creative synergy as members work together. We are also looking forward to potential collaborations with the other wonderful arts clubs at Santa Rita Springs.
What are you most looking forward to? The Santa Rita Springs studio is multi-functional, with an open space for cutting and assembling fused or mosaic projects,
What are the major upgrades the club is excited about? Everything. We’re moving from a space the size of a garage to a fully functional place for making art. Continued on page 6