'Hot Glass/OC' Exhibit At SNA Features Laguna Beach Glass Artists

LAGUNA BEACH, CA—If you are lucky enough (or brave enough?) to fly off this summer to see loved ones and friends for reunions and hugs, enjoy some glowing art while you wait for takeoff. Several local Laguna Beach artists presented at the airport will have their wares on display at our very own Sawdust Festival.

On view through October 2021 in the Vi Smith Concourse Gallery at John Wayne Airport, “Hot Glass/OC” features 17 professional artists who work in hot glass. And by hot, they mean 2000 degrees Fahrenheit hot.

Once in that molten, viscous form, the glass can be blown, sculpted, cast-molded, or exposed to other compounds to create sculptures, wall pieces, or whatever Art lovers can imagine objects.

"Hot Glass is not a common medium of expression,” says exhibition curator Antoinette Sullivan, “and it requires remarkable creativity, patience, innovation, and passion."

It also requires an E-ticket or an OC AirPASS to see the show: Once you’ve made it through TSA security, the “Hot Glass/OC” works can be viewed on the departure level in Terminal A across from gates 2 through 5; in Terminal C, they are opposite gates 18 through 21, and in display cases across from gate 14.

But, if you’re on staycation, residents can see several of the artists’ work right here in Laguna Beach at the Sawdust Art Festival.

Here, in alphabetical order, are the works and artists:

Gavin Heath was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and spent much of his youth among the Ndebele. His work merges that profound inspiration with traditional glass technique—and a dose of America’s car culture.

The McQuaids have worked as a team on their art for more than a decade.

Jason provides the grand shape while Nicole focuses on the details. Among glass artists, the pair are well-known for using a torch at the furnace in forging their hot-glass creations.

“Forget Me Not” by Sian Poeschl (see main image above)

“My wall sculptures are inspired by my English heritage, and some include the poetry and writings of my great grandfather,” says Poeschl, who has been exhibiting at the Sawdust since 2000. “Having trained in the United Kingdom, it was in Laguna Beach where I undertook a fused-glass apprenticeship. As my work evolves, my technique becomes more complicated, my designs more personal, and I continue to find new ways to express myself through the fused glass on differing scales.”

Maggie Spencer infuses humor and a Zen vibe into her art, which has been evolving in her Laguna Canyon studio for 30 years. Though she isn’t exhibiting in this summer’s festival—her kiln-formed glassworks did fill a booth for 23 consecutive years—Spencer's connection remains strong. She serves as a trustee for the Sawdust Art Enrichment Fund, bringing hands-on art-making to underserved people. Spencer’s glass-making workshops and classes have restarted in the canyon, but they fill up quickly.

While not exhibiting at the Sawdust this summer, other Laguna Beach glass artists in the show include Leslie Davis and Jill Cooper.

"It is an honor to bring together a group of amazing artists," says Sullivan, "and provide an opportunity for passengers to view vibrant artwork filled with color, shape and imagination as they travel through the Terminal."

Bon Voyage! and let us know when you see them.