Anna Mlasowsky, a glass and installation artist and 2017 Emerging Voices Awards finalist, joins us next week for a fascinating discussion diving into her research and studio practice. Through her work, Mlasowsky focuses on how the materiality and expressive qualities of glass provide insight into her own personal narrative, as well as allowing her to more broadly explore the influence of material culture.

I was able to catch up a bit with Mlasowsky as she prepares for an upcoming exhibition, and learn more about her fascination with glass and what she’s excited to share. Don’t miss hearing a fresh perspective on a traditional material in the ACC Library on May 9 (doors open at 6:30 p.m.).

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and what you do.
I was born and raised in Germany and am currently living in Seattle, Washington. I received my undergraduate degree in 2011 from the Royal Danish Academy in Denmark with a focus in glass. I have been fortunate in that my work has been shown and recognized in my field – even before I graduated. Since then, I’ve been awarded two residencies immediately following my graduation: the Toyama City Institute of Glass Art Residency and the Creative Glass Center of America Fellowship. Those experiences kick-started my studio practice, which I maintained for a few years before making the decision to go back to school, with the intention of reorienting the focus of my work. I graduated from the University of Washington with an MFA in sculpture in 2016.
 

For many, glass is a very functional medium. You seem to use it in a more exploratory and conceptual way. Can you talk a little bit about your views on glass as a material and why you turn to it again and again in your work?
I have often felt that glass is largely an extension of my character – temperamental, stubborn, unpredictable, but always surprising. I feel that I am not so much working with a material as I am working with myself. Glass has many different identities and carries considerable contradictory potential. It can be fluid and solid, opaque and transparent, reflective and transmissive, and sharp and organic. To me, glass is the most suitable material to abstractly give form to the ineffable questions we are faced with every day.

You've had the opportunity to participate in many residencies, fellowships, and awards programs – both nationally and internationally. Is there a past experience that was particularly meaningful to you or where you learned something entirely new?
In 2016 I was invited to the Specialty Glass Residency, hosted jointly by the Corning Museum of Glass and Sullivan Park Science and Technology Center. In this unique residency artists are paired with scientists to work on projects, research, and develop new ideas. I was the fourth artist they invited to participate and during my time at Corning I was able to work with many types of glass and materials, typically unavailable to artists, which were originally developed by Corning for other industries. I worked on a number of projects and processes that were unfamiliar to me prior to this experience. Now, a year after finishing the residency, I am slowly finishing those original projects. Working with those scientists was a completely new experience and one of the most challenging and magical opportunities I have had in my career.

What has being an ACC Emerging Voices Awards finalist done for you and your career?
As a European artist with fairly limited representation in the US, the ACC’s Emerging Voices Awards have exposed more people to my work. Through the wonderful article in American Craft magazine and the upcoming exhibition of the Emerging Voices Awards recipients’ and finalists’ work this fall, I am able to strengthen my career. I am currently working on some new pieces specifically for the exhibition.

If you had to choose one thing that you are most excited to share with our audience on May 9, what would that be?
Simply put: I make art, but for many, my work floats in the space between contemporary craft and contemporary art. Through my talk, I hope to share with attendees the energy I generate from working across disciplines and across mediums, and what potential exists in the overlap.

The ACC Emerging Voices Awards are made possible by the generous support of the John and Robyn Horn Foundation.