Glass Studio Visiting Artist

NORFOLK, Va. – (April 2013) – The Chrysler Museum Glass Studio welcomes world-renowned artist Laura Donefer May 3 to 5 as part of its Visiting Artist Series. Donefer will work in the Glass Studio daily from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Her special noon demonstrations will be narrated by the Studio Team. Admission is free.

Donefer is known for her imaginative designs, captivating personality, and melding of Avant-garde fashion and contemporary art. At the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio, she will create her signature glass amulet baskets combining colorful blown glass, beads and found objects. These bright assemblages reflect Donefer’s passionate spirit as much as her red hair and warm embrace of the Studio Team.

The public is invited to a special artist lecture on May 5 at 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Donefer was born in Ithaca, N.Y. and was raised in Quebec, Canada. She trained as a glass artist at Sheridan College and has been using glass as the primary medium in her work for more than 25 years. She has been staff in the glass department at Sheridan College and has been permanent faculty in Montreal at Espace VERRE. She also teaches regularly at the Pilchuck Glass School, the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, Penland School of Crafts and Red Deer College.

Her work has been exhibited at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Japan, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the Hammelev Arts and Culture Centre in Denmark, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston, the Museo del Vidrio in Mexico, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in China. Her work is in many public and private collections, including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, and the Museum of Arts and Design in Manhattan.

The Chrysler Museum Glass Studio is located directly across the street from the Chrysler Museum at 745 Duke Street in Norfolk. The Chrysler Museum of Art is one of America’s most distinguished mid-sized art museums with a world-class collection of more than 30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America, The Glass Studio, which opened in November 2011, brings the collection to life through innovative performance and educational programs. The Glass Studio offers free glassmaking demonstrations, classes, and workshops for students and adults. The state-of-the-art facility accommodates both aspiring and master glass artists with fully equipped facilities for a range of glassmaking processes. For more information, events and programming, call (757) 664-6200.

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