Each spring, Salem Community College hosts the International Flameworking Conference (IFC), a three-day event that promotes excellence in flameworking through artist demonstrations and scholarly presentations. The weekend attracts glass artists and enthusiasts from around the nation and world. Salem Community College and the SCC Foundation are indebted to distinguished members of the glass art community who have graciously shared their talents at the IFC.
The 2025 International Flameworking Conference at Salem Community College (SCC) will be the 23rd installment of this nationally and internationally attended event that celebrates excellence in the glass-working process known as flameworking. In 2025, the conference will continue its core mission of education, and in the promotion of the techniques and its practitioners. The weekend gathering of the international flameworking community includes presentations, demonstrations, exhibits, and vendor displays.
This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, through the Salem County Board of Commissioners, and Salem County Cultural and Heritage Commission.
Kentaro Yanagi
Kentaro Yanagi was born in Tokyo in 1969. His father passed away due to illness when Mr. Yanagi was just five months old, and afterward his family moved frequently. Due to having only few friends in his youth, he often played alone. At that young age, he would go to the next town by bicycle once a month to buy plastic models at a toy store. Yanagi became fascinated by the assembly of such models, to the extent that he would forget to eat meals. He could complete the model assemblies quite quickly - whereupon, he would purposely break the models apart and repeatedly reassemble them into totally different forms.
In 1990, Yanagi was greatly impacted when he saw an art nouveau lamp exhibition, and decided that he would make glasswork his lifetime occupation. Just as a child might draw a picture exactly as they wished in a sketchbook, he felt that he wanted to be able to manipulate glass precisely as he wished. He desired to learn the techniques for creating the things he imagined. Since then, in order to garner experience in the glass working field, Yanagi has changed jobs as a craftsman several times.
In 2005, Yanagi opened a private studio, and began working as an artist. The original style which he ultimately developed is, in a way, like plastic models without blueprints - as if his childhood play has been transformed directly into glass. Hidden in the sophistication of the works are a craftsman's techniques which no one can duplicate. One characteristic of his creations is "moveable glass". People often chuckle despite themselves when they see the pieces which have the unwritten message, "Dedicated to all the men out there who never grew up". Underlying the artist's works are messages of sociality, love, etc., though children can also fully enjoy them. The pieces have a mysterious ability to be able to pull one in, and bring happiness to one's heart. We might even say they are full smiles and laughter.
Demonstrators
Each year, Salem Community College invites artist from all around the world to demonstrate their techniques. Guests will have a chance to get an in-depth look at how each artist creates their glass art. Check out this years line up.
Michał Adamski (Poland)
Michał Adamski (born 1983) is a highly versatile individual with a diverse skill set. Michał has a diverse professional background, with experience in a range of fields including furniture restoration, architectural conservation, industrial climbing as a radio technician, blacksmithing, and jewelry making. He is a self-taught scientific glassblower with 10 years of experience. His areas of expertise include the design and fabrication of advanced research equipment crafted from borosilicate, aluminosilicate, and quartz glass. He currently holds the position of scientific glassworker at the Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Wrocław, Poland.
Lucio Bubacco (Italy)
Lucio Bubacco has earned international respect for his sensuous works combining the anatomic perfection of Greek and Roman sculpture with the Byzantine gothic architecture of his native Venice. He focuses on large freestanding sculpture with incredible detail. He also combines large, cast glass forms with delicate flameworked figures to make scenes from mythology and express his fantasies.
"Bubacco's work combines virtuoso techniques and a theatrical narrative closely aligned to choreography. It is theatrical and lighthearted withal the magic of ballet or musical theater." (Author Dan Klein, Artists in Glass)
www.luciobubacco.com
@luciobubacco
Andrew Certo (US)
Andrew Certo began working with glass as a teenager at the Pittsburg Glass Center in 2007. He continued his education at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University where he was awarded a BFA in 2014. Andrew is a compulsive art maker who has invested much of his skill development in working with glass using the flameworking process. He is known for his experimentation and pushing of the material in new ways with his originality in both his sculptural approach and complex pattern making. Andrew currently lives in Denver, Colorado, but has travelled extensively to collaborate with many contemporary artists in studios throughout the United States and in Japan. His work has been included in several exhibitions including at the Pittsburgh Glass Center (PA), Legacy (Minneapolis), Elev8 Glass Gallery (CO), High Class Glass Gallery (FL).
www.instagram.com/certo.glass
@certoglass
Eunsuh Choi (US)
Biography by Colleen Bryan
Korean-born glass artist Eunsuh Choi is a portrait artist, whose flameworked pieces are personal narratives, portraits of her own moments of growth.
Eunsuh Choi is the archetypal immigrant’s tale run through the artist’s filter. Choi arrived in the U.S. having already completed a master’s degree in glass from Kookmin University (S. Korea) but determined to pursue further glass education. She chose the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as a place where she could both study English and earn a second MFA degree in glass.
Eunsuh Choi uses flameworking techniques to create objects and installations composed of intricately fused glass threads. Sitting in diligent concentration behind a small torch, she bends and joins thin glass rods into complex arrangements and systematic structures evoking the textiles she studied in S. Korea.
Today, the artist forms countless tiny glass rods into a cube composed within a perfect hexahedron. Eunsuh works her way through a psychological journey that juxtaposes aspiration and limitation; meanwhile, the forms in her art shift reflect the mental work. She has produced a succession of melting ladders, cages, boxes, and trees. “In my current work I combine a box or house with the organic form of the tree. The tree becomes a metaphor for self-reaching, climbing, singing, and striving. I place the tree inside the box or house, a cage with triangular symmetrical shapes as the object that lives and breathes and has the capability of growing or dying. It represents my struggle inside the box of my existence when, as a foreigner and woman, I come across limitations on the attainment of my dreams. I am in the process of flameworking my way out of the box.”
Choi strongly prefers to work larger than life. One piece “Aspiration” which is 12ft height is on permanent collection at the Corning Museum of Glass. Her artworks are also in the European Museum of Modern Glass (Germany), Cafesjian Center for the Arts, Cafesjian Foundation (Armenia), Wallace Library, Rochester Institute of Technology (USA), Lotte Hotel Yangon (Myanmar), Korea Craft Museum (S. KOREA), Kim Young English Institute (S. KOREA), EU Glass (USA), Pureun Cultural Foundation (S. KOREA), Tozour Energy Systems (USA), Byuck San Engineering Co.Ltd (S. KOREA) and she was nominated as a searchlight artist by the American Craft Council in 2009 and got a talent award from Jutta Cuny-Franz Foundation in Germany in April 2013.
www.choiglass.com
@eunsuhchoi
Lucie Kovarova-Weir (Canada)
Lucie Kovarova-Weir was born 1976 in Boskovice, Czech Republic. Pursuing studies in animation; she graduated with a MAA Degree from the prestigious Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, in Prague. Fascinated by glass, she started flameworking in 2001 in Toronto and established the Lunacy Glass Studio in 2002. Lucie currently lives and works in Tweed, Ontario. She is been teaching lampworking since 2010, in her own studio and numerous studios across Canada and USA.
Creative process and form awareness are always at the forefront of Lucie’s work focus. The glass pieces she creates surprise viewers by the great attention to detail and meticulous craftsmanship. Inspiration for her work comes from folk art, her garden and a daily life in a small town. Coming from an animation background, she tells a story with a sense of humor and lightness of spirit.
www.lunacybeads.com
@lunacyglass
Kamila Mróz (Poland)
Glass is like me – tough and fragile in the same time. I mostly employ a flameworking technique and neon light, which creates delightful and often unexpected effects. I am fascinated by the transformation of cold solid glass into a molten state, it offers unique opportunities of sculpting. Nature has always informed and inspired my creativity, and it is the primary influence for my sculptures.
Recently I have been touched by socio-political issues in my country as well as started research and working with plasma art. As a result, I have begun creating a series of works that connect simple straight forward visual references to universal symbols and associations with questions leading the viewer to metaphorical considerations.
www.kamilamroz.pl
@ kamila_mroz_glass
Lacey Walton (US)
Lacey (LaceFace) Walton was born in Grants Pass, Oregon in 1983. She was exposed to the blossoming art form of glass blowing and pipe making from an early age. Determined from the beginning to create beauty, Lacey fell in love with the color, fluidity, and form of glass the moment she began working on the torch in 2004. Lacey spent the next several years concentrating on her growing skills as a glass artist while simultaneously putting herself through school.
After graduating with an associate degree in the Arts, she became heavily involved in the expanding glass pipe art movement. In 2010, Lacey began attending several trade shows and flame off competitions around the country, her dedication has been rewarded by her receiving several of the glass pipe industry's highest honors and awards of achievements.
Now Lacey creates with many of the industry’s most renowned artists, motivated as a community leader to push the limitations of glass art. Her modern masterpieces of glass art exemplify her power and spirit and also speak volumes for her determination to create beautiful glass objects. Currently Lacey works from her home studio in Austin Texas and enjoys contributing to the glass community with her newfound love of teaching.
www.lacefaceglass.com
@lacefaceglass
Presentations
Don't miss Laura Donefer during our expanded Friday program at the Glass Education Center!
Join us Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Davidow Theater for our opening evening program with presentations from Bandhu Dunham and Floor Kaspers!
Saturday's program will include the opportunity hear from Meghan Bunnell, Buyer at the Corning Museum of Glass!
Bandhu Dunham (US)
Friday Evening Speaker
Some Things I Have Learned from Glass
Bandhu will share images and insights from his work with glass. Along with his own glass work, themes and stories will touch on what he has learned from creating the Contemporary Lampworking books and some things the magical material of glass can teach us about existence. The aim will be to encourage audience members in their own exploration of glass, art, and inner life.
About Bandhu:
An internationally respected glass artist, author and teacher, Bandhu's work is in the permanent collections of numerous museums in the US and abroad, and his Contemporary Lampworking books are the authoritative, standard instructional texts in the field.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1959, Bandhu began to teach himself lampwork technique in 1975, while still in high school. As an undergraduate at Princeton, he received informal training from the University’s glassblower before completing his apprenticeship under American and European masters at Urban Glass, the Pilchuck Glass School and the Penland School of Crafts. He regularly teaches workshops at craft schools and private studios around the United States and internationally including the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, The Penland School of Crafts and the Pilchuck Glass School. Bandhu has been a Visiting Foreign Instructor at Osaka University of Arts in Osaka, Japan, and has presented his work at numerous international conferences including The Glass Art Society, Ausglass, The International Festival of Glass, Kobe Lampwork Festa and Glassymposium Lauscha.
www.bandhu.info
@bandhudunham
Floor Kaspers (Netherlands)
Friday Evening Speaker
Many roads lead to Venice, but not all…..
An overview of different beadmaking techniques from around the world
Which glass can be used for lampworking? What is the correct position for a torch? Can you make beads with the heat from charcoal? Do all beads need to be annealed?
These and many other questions will be answered during this presentation, by comparing a variety of beadmaking techniques from round the world. From glass cane pulled from a cooking wok in Indonesia to lampworking with foot bellows in India. There are many different ways to create a bead, and some of them may surprise you.
About Floor:
Floor Kaspers is a glass and bead artist and bead researcher from the Netherlands. She has written several books on the history of beads. After becoming interested in the history of beads, she also wanted to get more ‘hands on’ knowledge, and started making her own glass beads and weaving beads. Her current artwork focuses on creating sculptures in gradually changing colors from both lampwork headpins as well as seed beads. Small components come together to create intricate, sometimes wearable, objects.
Her interest in beads and lampworking has since brought her around the world, where she has been documenting beadmaking techniques. From a seed bead factory in the Czech Republic to a wood fueled furnace in India. From a lampworking set up at the kitchen counter in China to a traditional beadmaking studio in Venice. Her bead travel has led her to a strong belief that there are always more options than you think to making something. Explore, have fun, break the rules.
www.floorkaspers.nl
@floorkaspers
Meghan Bunnell (US)
Saturday Presenter
Meghan D. Bunnell is the buyer for the table top, luxury brands and art glass products at The Shops of Corning Museum of Glass. Focusing on up-and-coming designers and artists, Meghan markets and handles the brand development for both onsite retail and online retail.
Laura Donefer (Canada/USA)
Friday Afternoon Speaker
The History of Laura Donefer's Glass Fashion Shows in 45 Minutes!
About Laura:
Laura Donefer is an award-winning artist who has been using glass as her primary medium for more than 40 years, often in combination with diverse materials. Celebrated for her innovative, colorful blown glass and flameworked “Amulet Baskets,” she also pushes the boundaries with work that explores ideas concerning memory, assault, bereavement, joy, and madness.
In demand as an exciting teacher helping her students to push the boundaries of glass as an art material, Donefer has taught workshops and given lectures worldwide, including in Japan, the United States, China, New Zealand, and Australia.
Her work is held in many public and private collections including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, the Museum of Art and Design in Manhattan, and the Museum of Fine Art in Montreal, to name a few. Laura has been honored with many awards, among them Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Glass Art Association of Canada and Craft Ontario, the prestigious “Honorary Membership Award” from the Glass Art Society for her dedication to the glass community at large, and the International Flameworking Award for “extraordinary contributions to the glass art world,” as well as being honored in 2016 with the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass award for her role in the glass community.
Every few years Laura organizes one of her wacky, exuberant Glass Fashion Shows, a spectacle for the international glass community to enjoy. The last one took place in Murano, Italy, and featured 33 amazing glass costumes in gondolas going down the famous Vetrai Canal. Laura lives in the wilds of Ontario, Canada, and in her spare time grows kale, hangs out with her husband The Mighty Dave, and kayaks the nearby waterways—loving and living her life to the fullest! (https://people.cmog.org/bio/laura-donefer)
The Silica Soirée: IFC Dinner Party
Saturday, March 22nd, 5:30 - 10:30 PM
The Pureland Ballroom @ The Holiday Inn
1 Pureland Dr. Swedesboro, NJ 08085
Add-On Event, Advanced Registration Required
Join your fellow flameworkers and flameworking enthusiasts for a casual community gathering on the evening of Saturday, March 22nd! A delicious buffet style dinner is included and a cash bar will be available. This is a great opportunity to congregate and socialize with the amazing flameworking community attending this year's event! We hope to see you there!
Advanced registration required. Limited number of tickets available.
5:30 - 6:30: Doors Open - Bar Opens - Social Hour
6:30 - 8:00: Dinner & Dessert
8:00 - 10:30: Fun with Friends!
Dinner Includes:
Assorted Diet and Regular Soft Drinks, Freshly Brewed Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee, Assorted Herbal Tea and Iced Tea.
Freshly Baked Rolls and Whipped Butter, Crisp Garden Salad with House Dressing, Fresh Seasonal Fruit, Polynesian Style Spare Ribs, Hawaiian Chicken Breast, Island Style Teriyaki Beef Skewers, Mahi Mahi with Pineapple Mango Salsa, Vegetable Egg Rolls, Steamed Seasoned Rice, and Stir Fry Vegetables.
Coconut Cake and Pineapple Upside Down Cake for Dessert.
The International Flameworking Conference returns to Salem Community College’s Samuel and Jean Jones Glass Education Center.
- Friday, March 21
Glass Education Center
1:00 PM - Registration Opens
2:00 PM - Lucio Bubacco Demo (Italy)
4:00 PM - Laura Donefer Presentation (Canada/USA)
Davidow Hall Theater
6:30 PM - Presentations from Bandhu Dunham (US) and Floor Kaspers (Netherlands)
- Saturday, March 22
Glass Education Center
8:00 AM - Doors Open, Breakfast
8:30 AM - Featured Artist: Kentaro Yanagi Demo (Japan)
10:30 AM - Break
11:00 AM - Michał Adamski Demo (Poland)
12:30 PM - Lunch (Available 12:00 - 1:30)
1:30 PM - Meghan Bunnell Presentation (US)
2:30 PM - Break
3:00 PM - Lacey Walton Demo (US) - 5:30 PM - Silica Soirée: IFC Dinner Party
(Advanced Registration Required)
Holiday Inn Pureland Ballroom
1 Pureland Dr. Swedesboro, NJ 08085
- Sunday, March 23
Glass Education Center
8:00 AM - Doors Open, Breakfast
8:30 AM - Lucie Kovarova-Weir Demo (Canada)
10:00 AM - Break
10:30 AM - Eunsuh Choi Demo (US)
12:00 PM - Lunch (available 11:30 - 1:00)
1:00 PM - Kamila Mróz Demo (Poland)
2:30 PM - Break
3:00 PM - Andrew Certo Demo (US)
IFC PARKING
Short placeholder heading
- Glass Education Center
- Salem Community College
- 460 Hollywood Avenue, Carneys Point, NJ 08069
- 856.299.2100
- gec@salemcc.edu
Discounted Hotel Information
Holiday Inn - Philadelphia South-Swedesboro
Exit 10 off Interstate 295 (1 Pureland Drive, Swedesboro, N.J.)
$129 per night (plus tax)
www.holidayinn.com/redirect?path=hd&brandCode=HI&localeCode=en®ionCode=1&hotelCode=BDGNJ&_PMID=99801505&GPC=FWC&cn=no&viewfullsite=true
Special rate available until February 28, 2025
Hampton Inn – Swedesboro-Philadelphia
Exit 10 off Interstate 295 (2 Pureland Drive, Swedesboro, N.J.)
$122 per night (plus tax)
1.855.244.8990 (Mention International Flameworking Conference when booking.)
https://group.hamptoninn.com/smdu0x
Guests using the Hilton Honors App can use the group code “SAl”.
Special rate available until February 28, 2025
Towneplace Suites by Marriott
Exit 10 off Interstate 295 (3 Pureland Drive, Swedesboro, N.J.)
$139 per night (plus tax)
Book your group rate for International Flame Conference
Special rate available until February 21, 2025
Barrett's Bed and Breakfast
Exit 2B off Interstate 295 (203 Old Kings Highway, Mannington, N.J.)
856.935.0812
http://www.barrettsplantationhouse.com/
Mention the International Flameworking Conference when reserving your room.
Hampton Inn - Pennsville
Exit 1 off Interstate 295 (429 North Broadway, Pennsville, N.J.)
$149 per night (plus tax)
856.351.1700
Mention the International Flameworking Conference when reserving your room.
www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/deeplink/?ctyhocn=PVENJHX&groupCode=CHHIFC&arrivaldate=2025-03-21&departuredate=2025-03-23&cid=OM,WW,HILTONLINK,EN,DirectLink&fromId=HILTONLINKDIRECT
Special rate available until March 7, 2025
SPONSORS
This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, through the Salem County Board of Commissioners, and Salem County Cultural and Heritage Commission.
Interested in sponsoring the 2025 International Flameworking Conference? Contact Melissa Daly for more information at mdaly@salemcc.edu or by calling 856-351-2644.
