Brooklyn’s Bullseye Glass Gallery displays employee art

By Rita A. Leonard

The Bee, Nov 25, 2009

Janet Bartholomew indicates two patterned glass pieces created by instructor/technician Jim Weiler – entitled “Compartmentalization” and “Meander”.

Rita A. Leonard / THE BEE

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Bullseye Glass Company, in the Brooklyn neighborhood, is recognized internationally for their colored glass products, tools and expertise. They also hold classes and special events at the Bullseye Resource Center next door, at 3610 SE 21st Avenue, offering troubleshooting advice for glass artisans.

Many employees at Bullseye have backgrounds in art, and create glasswork of their own “off the clock”. During November and December, the upstairs gallery exhibits employee-made glass art, along with a company display of glass materials and their uses.

Sales Supervisor Janet Bartholomew says not many of the finished pieces are for sale, although some employees have their own small studios. “This is our eighth annual ‘Working Glass’ show, which joins our ‘Material Matters’ exhibit already in progress,” she smiles. “Our customers love learning about the artists and their techniques. The work includes decorative, functional, and even interactive pieces. There are so many design options, which can be driven either by process or by the artist’s own vision.”

Bartholomew explains that Material Matters is a professional educational exhibit telling about glass products and techniques. These include sheet glass, billet, cullet, rods and stringers, frit and powdered glass. They can be used in everything from fused, patterned glass to three-dimensional “lace glass” and a technique called “painting with light”.

“One of the most recent styles is ‘Australian roll-up’, which adds to the rich and varied material choices available to today’s glass artisans,” she adds.

The Bullseye Resource Center features a huge classroom and lecture studio, complete with furnaces and worktables. Classes are offered year-round, exploring everything from color theory and drawing with glass, to bead-making, coldworking, and working with the torch.

“Classes here are a good value in time, price, information, and practice, with internationally renowned artists invited to demonstrate and share their techniques,” says Bartholomew. “And anyone who has taken a class here can rent studio space to work on their own projects.” says Bartholomew.

Exhibited glass art includes both wall hangings and display art. There are buttons, scenics, goblets, glass beads, portraits, and free-form and functional pieces. Techniques involve carving, texturizing, powdered glass screen print, fused manipulated glass, Murrine silhouettes, blown glass, and kiln-formed glass. “We also have a gallery over in the Pearl District,” reveals Bartholomew. “It’s a huge old warehouse space with two floors of displays. Check online at: www.bullseyegallery.com.”

Clearly, Bullseye Glass represents the Brooklyn neighborhood well, offering much more than a retail outlet with racks of supplies and products. You may want to explore their galleries and class offerings, and discover the many fascinating forms that can be achieved with glass.