Greenfield Village

FACETS OF GLASS

The Henry Ford’s popular artist-in-residence program is back in 2022

THIS SPRING/SUMMER MARKS the return of The Henry Ford’s artist-in-residence program in the Glass Shop of Greenfield Village. After a long pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program kicked off in early June with an extended visit from contemporary glass artist Benjamin Cobb. In July, artists Michael Schunke and Josie Gluck, of the award-winning Vetro Vero glassblowing studio in Pennsylvania, will be in residency with the team of artists of the Glass Shop. Their work, process and collaborative spirit will be on display for visitors to The Henry Ford to experience.

“With this year being the United Nations International Year of Glass, we felt it was the right fit and the right time to bring back our artist-in-residence program and make it available to our guests,” said Joshua Wojick, crafts and trades program manager at The Henry Ford. “As we cautiously rebuild, we decided to reinvite a few of the artists who were canceled due to the pandemic and make good on those promises.”

As Wojick explained, the artist selection process is rigorous and carefully curated. “We sit with curators, the glass team and a larger collaborative group to discuss artists that are influential and are doing something different than what we do on a daily basis in the Glass Shop so our guests can experience the many facets of glass,” he said.

The added bonus is that, along with the guests, the young artists and staff of The Henry Ford are also exposed to the artists and their artistic process, giving them an opportunity to learn, work and collaborate over a focused period of time.

The final takeaway: Each artist leaves a piece created during their residency to be added to The Henry Ford’s collections. And this year, guests will be able to see a selection of these works in a new permanent case within the DavidsonGerson Modern Glass Gallery in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, with videos of artist interviews and segments depicting their process on a loop nearby. “It’s another element that helps build the narrative and tell the story of the modern glass movement,” said Wojick.

— JENNIFER LAFORCE

RETYPING HISTORY

While The Henry Ford’s artistin-residence program brings well-established artists on-site to share their skills with staff and guests, a budding program with the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit is exposing student artists to the institution’s collections.

This winter, The Henry Ford collaborated with Communication Design Professor/Chair Susan LaPorte and students in her typography design class. “We talked about different ways to utilize our collections to inspire students in different ways,” shared Joshua Wojick, crafts and trades program manager at The Henry Ford.

As part of the outreach, LaPorte’s students were invited to tour The Henry Ford’s Main Storage Building, where curators pulled objects of interest and relevance, from hand-lettered signs and industrial machinery to early mechanical arcade games. Students also spent time in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and were encouraged to take notes and photos of what inspired them so they could build their own unique typefaces for CCS and The Henry Ford staff critiques.

“Our goal is for the collections of The Henry Ford to be a catalyst for creativity to the designers of tomorrow,” said Wojick, who added, “This partnership is an opportunity for us to showcase the immense talents of these students, who are truly bringing the past forward.”

ONLINE For more information, hours and pricing for Greenfield Village, visit thf.org/villagec

ONLINE Learn more about the Davidson-Gerson Modern Glass Gallery in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovationc

SAVE THE DATES

Michael Schunke and Josie Gluck July 20-24 Glass Shop Greenfield Village

DID YOU KNOW? / 2022 is the United Nations International Year of Glass, celebrating the essential role glass has and will continue to have in society. Learn more at glass.org/IYOG.

bProminent members of the contemporary American glass community, artists Michael

Schunke and Josie Gluck (below) will be sharing their techniques and expertise in the Glass Shop at Greenfield Village in July.

The duo follows a June residency with veteran glassblower Benjamin

Cobb (bottom), known for his passion for elemental forms and use of abstract patterns.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS