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Some of the world\u2019s best glass artists will converge on Detroit this weekend for the seventh year running to help\u00a0The Michigan Glass Project\u2019s continuing effort to save art education in the city\u2019s public schools.<\/p>\n
Local and national artists \u2014 and an army of community members donating their time \u2014 will support the Michigan Glass Project<\/a>\u2019s mission of bringing art classes back into Detroit public schools, as the event proceeds benefit\u00a0Art Road<\/a>, a nonprofit dedicated to immersing students from metro Detroit schools in the benefits of art instruction.<\/p>\n \u201cOur event space is very special. There is such beauty in the ease of which individuals can contribute to the mission on a grassroots level, by donating art or buying art or by simply showing up to see music or watch glassblowing,\u201d said the Michigan Glass Project\u2019s Co-Founder and Executive Director Allison Key. \u201cThe huge donation checks we write to Art Road, each year, are a testament to what a united force of people can do when they pool their talents and resources for a common cause. It\u2019s so amazing to see the part that each individual plays in art classes for children in Detroit public schools, and for those people who attend the event to know that they had a part in that outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n Artists from as far away as New York and Los Angeles will spend the weekend blowing glass projects live, both individually and by collaborating on a wide spread of works with other artists. The big names in glass hitting the torches to help the kids this year include\u00a0returning participant Salt<\/a>, gorilla king\u00a0Coyle<\/a>, chain queen\u00a0Cha Cha<\/a>, duck demigod\u00a0Ryno<\/a>\u00a0and, as previously featured for his high-end skull sculpting in Cannabis Now\u2019s print edition,\u00a0Annealed Innovations.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cUpon agreeing to attend and participate as a contributing artist for the Michigan Glass Project, I reviewed the cause we were set to support, Art Road, and I approved wholeheartedly at face value,\u201d said the glass artist Salt. \u201cHowever, once I arrived in Detroit and saw with my own eyes what the truth of the city was and began to contemplate the true meaning and context of art in my own life, I felt a profound deepening of my connection and determination in regard to the project.\u201d<\/p>\n Salt says that, over the course of his life, art has played \u201ca central role in providing income, sanity, therapy, social connection, catharsis, spirituality, and entertainment.\u201d Even more importantly, Salt says that art \u201csaved\u201d him. This epiphany about art\u2019s role in his life inspired Salt to create new glass pieces.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt the lightning of creativity surge in me and my heart was full of the realization of what our collective effort could mean,\u201d he said. \u201cI poured these thoughts and feelings into my parts of this special piece as best I could with my entire being.\u201d<\/p>\n We spoke exclusively with Art Road\u2019s founder, Carol Hofgartner, about what the Michigan Glass Project has meant to the nonprofit organization over the last seven years, and what it\u2019s been like seeing the event grow to its current scale \u2014 where last year, the festival was able to grant a $100,000 dollar donation.<\/p>\n \u201cFrankly, without the Michigan Glass Project, we wouldn\u2019t be growing to other schools,\u201d Hofgartner told Cannabis Now. \u201cSo, without these artists coming together, young artists wouldn\u2019t have a chance to have their own creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n Hofgartner said with the Michigan Glass Project\u2019s support, the program is now impacting the lives of 1,600 students.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Their goal this year is to up that number to 2,200 by adding another school.<\/p>\n Detroit, of course, is in the midst of a wider art, culinary and social revitalization, following the 2008 recession and accompanying auto industry collapse. We asked Hofgartner what it was like giving kids the opportunity to tap into this creative energy wrapping itself around the city.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s phenomenal,\u201d she replied. \u201cWe have artists driving 2,000 miles to get here. We have people flying in today. Anywhere from Canada, Los Angeles, New York, down south \u2014 all descending on Detroit to donate their talents, dig deep and [work hard] because they know what art has done for them. Some of these artists come up to me, hugging me and crying, saying that art saved their lives and to please pass this on to your kids.\u201d<\/p>\n Hofgartner said that watching the Michigan Glass Project grow is \u201clike a blooming onion that keeps unfolding.\u201d<\/p>\n This year\u2019s festival will take place at Detroit\u2019s historic Russell Industrial Center from Friday, July 20 through Sunday, July 22, when the main auction will take place.<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t make it to Detroit, but want to score a sweet rig and help the kids, it\u2019s no problem. The Michigan Glass Project will be accommodating bidders from across the country who have hopes of taking home one the weekend\u2019s crown jewel collaborations.<\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>,\u00a0have you given back to your community recently?<\/p>\n The post Michigan Glass Project Looks to Support Detroit\u2019s Public Art Education<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Some of the world\u2019s best glass artists will converge on Detroit this weekend for the seventh year running to help\u00a0The Michigan Glass Project\u2019s continuing effort to save art education in the city\u2019s public schools. Local and national artists \u2014 and an army of community members donating their time \u2014 willContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":27915,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4986,4987,50,4988,99,671,565,4569,4989,69,179,4990,4991,4992],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27914"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27914"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27916,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27914\/revisions\/27916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Michigan](\"http:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Glassblowers-Art-Road-Check.jpg\")
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\nRead More: Michigan Glass Project Looks to Support Detroit\u2019s Public Art Education<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"