Hot of the virtual presses, the BAGI Auction catalog was just posted to the BAGI website.  View it on-line, download it, print it ... review images of the pieces along with dimensions and pricing ... learn about the artists' backgrounds.  If you have not bought your tickets, there are less than two weeks left to the event on March 26 - you can bring home one of these pieces.  Please register on-line right now so w

The BAGI Great Glass Auction is in two weeks on Saturday, March 26th.  Nearly 70 pieces are ready for the Auction with spectacular examples of fused, cold-formed, blown, cast, lampworked, and painted glass art.  The event, which includes a multi-course dinner, silent and live auction, is in the Cultural Hall at the Oshman JCC in Palo Alto.  To make it easy for you, please RSVP on-line.

The Auction is just over two weeks away and we're excited!  A number of pieces were photographed over the past week and those images are now available on the BAGI 2011 Auction page.  The catalog is being produced, RSVPs are coming in and artist invitations will be available shortly via an on-line sign-up.

We just received a donation from Preston Singletary for the BAGI auction.  Thank you to the Blue Rain Gallery for helping to make the donation happen.  We are thrilled to have another great artist be a part of this year's benefit, helping us to deliver garts educational programming for kids and adults.

Here's an image of the piece, Teeth of the Killer Whale, a blown & sand-carved glass basket.

Preston was born in San Francisco, worked with Dante Marioni when they were both young men and now is a leading artist creating glass sculpture based on Native American themes.

Come to the Auction and bid on this piece to make it part of your collection.

Life is exciting and the shop is running hot to start the year.  On the heels of a great visit by Jenny and Sabrina, BAGI will host another awesome class and demo with glass sculptors Charlie Lowrie and Michael Angelo Menconi. Class will run from March 17-19th with the demonstration to be held on March 20th! This will be a great warm-up to the BAGI Auction on March 26.

This is a busy time at BAGI ... Jenny and Sabrina were just here ... new classes are being created ... and the Auction is going full steam ahead of the March 26th event.

Last week a number of pieces were photographed for the catalog ... the first group of uimages are now posted on the BAGI website.  Please take a look and RSVP to the event - we'd like your support to keep our great arts education programming going strong.

Sabrina Knowles and Jenny Pohlman are at BAGI teaching a three day class focusing on hot glass sculpture.  Come down to BAGI to listen to a short lecture about their work and their travel (they have amazing stories) and watch their demo on Sunday, February 20, from 1pm-4pm.

In the last two weeks, BAGI has received numerous pieces and commitments for dozens more. 

We now have 50 artists participating, including people who create (and some who teach) at BAGI like Treg Silkwood and Candace Martin, Larry and Tracey Cazes, Melissa and Keith Bispo, Tom Upchurch, Shirley Cook, Rich Small, Shaun Grffiths, and Johnathon Schmuck.  Visiting artists like Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz, Martin Janecky, and Michael Janis have let us know they are donating work.  Bay Area glass art luminaries like Mary White, Randy Strong, Jay Musler, Michael Sosin, and Micheal Nourot have told us they are donating work.  And national and international artists like Jennifer Umphress, Ethan Stern, Toland Sand, Tone Orvik, and Vladimira Klumpar have also provided artwork.

Look for a weekly series starting next week if you are on the BAGI email list to learn more about the artists and the pieces they have donated.  And please register now - you can do it on-line.

2011 is here and the BAGI Great Glass Auction is only 10 weeks away.  This year's fundraising event is on March 26th at the Palo Alto JCC.  Proceeds from the event help us grow our impact as the proceeds from this year's auction will be used to run the studio, sponsor more visiting artists and expand outreach efforts to students of all ages including our new kids classes.

Artists will include Mark Abildgaard, Keith and Melissa Bispo, Kathleen Elliot, Jaime Guerrero, Martin Janecky, Michael Janis, Susan Longini, Jenny Pohlman and Sabrina Knowles, Ethan Stern, Treg Silkwood and Candace Martin, Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz, and many more ... visit the Auction webpage to stay in touch and register to attend.

For all of you procrastinators!  Yes, I know you're out there!  We are extending our Sales tomorrow 12/24, from 9am - 3pm!  Give a gift of Glass this year!!  (Your purchase helps your local Artist and the Bay Area Glass Institute.)