A free public celebration of glassmaking including demonstrations of hot glass blowing plus entertainment and activities for all ages will be presented at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art later this month.
Glass Fest, sponsored by U. S. Bank, will be held in OMFA’s Ryan Sculpture Park from 1-4 p.m. on June 26.
A 2 p.m. walking tour of the exhibition Glorious Glass will feature Owensboro native Brook Forrest White, Jr., a well-known Kentucky glassmaker and owner of Flame Run Gallery in Louisville.
A highlight of the gallery tour will be White’s discussion of a major gift to the museum’s permanent collection of a monumental glass vessel by the internationally recognized glassmaker, the late Stephen Rolfe Powell (1950-2019). White was a student and protégé of Powell.
The gallery talk will feature comments by White regarding the museum’s collection of more than 300 works of art in a wide variety of glass making techniques including blown, cast, etched, slumped, and carved objects dating from the mid-19th century to the present by major American and European artists.
At 3 p.m. there will be a drawing for a door prize of an original piece of glass by White. The winner must be present for the drawing.
Children’s activities, presented in tents in Ryan Park, will include crafts simulating works of art made in glass. Accompanying the festivities will be food trucks featuring Gene’s Health Foods and Hodges Ice Cream.
Admission to the museum is free but donations of $3 for adults and $2 for children are encouraged.
For more information about current programming visit the museum’s website omfa.us or call 270-685-3181.
