Margaret Zinser: Virtue Glass Flame Fest

Earlier this month, I traveled to Rockville, Maryland for Virtue Flameworks' Annual Flame Fest, an event in which they bring together teams of artists for a long weekend of collaboration. I've known Matt and Amy, the owners of Virtue Glass, for many years, and was so honored to be included in this year's event.

The three days were intense, tiring, inspiring, and terribly fun. The bulk of my time was spent working on a team with 4 other artists: Michael G-Check, Phil Sundling, Matty Phunk, and Rob Campellone. Together, we created a wall piece that included parts made by all of us. Rob made the green hollow disc that acted as a foundation for crows, hands, and branches (made by Phil and yours truly). Matty spent hours painstakingly creating, cutting apart, and reassembling flat cane that acted as the frame for the piece. Michael made the molecular bubbly elements and handled a lot of the final assembly. Our final night- during the last leg of final attachments- went very late (this pic was taken at approximately 4 AM), but our piece was a success. I had a wonderful time getting to work with these guys!

I also worked on a few smaller projects with other artists at the event: a winged "Goofball" creature with Joey Trankina; a colorful ruffle bowl with butterflies with Jason Gordon, another branched functional piece with Phil, and an articulated butterfly with friend Kim Edwards (https://www.kimedwardsglass.com/). Photos below!