Artist in Residence

Join us for this special opportunity to experience internationally renowned artists in action as they demonstrate how contemporary artists work, implement designs, collaborate and meld concepts into the physical. The Henry Ford has invited glass artists to work in the Greenfield Village Glass Shop alongside our artists.

2018 Guest Artists

May 22-25, 2018 Giles Bettison received a bachelor's degree from the Canberra School of Art in Australia. He has been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards for his intricate murrine vessels. He has taught at schools such as: Penland School of Crafts, Pilchuck Glass School, The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass, Camberra School of Art,and Creative Glass in Zurich. Bettison's work is in the collections of the American Craft Museum in New York; the Australian National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia; as well as other museums and private collections around the world.

June 12-16, 2018 Laura Donefer has been using glass as her primary medium for more than thirty four years, often in combination with diverse materials. Known for her innovative, colorful blown glass and flame worked “Amulet Baskets”, she also pushes the boundaries with work that explores ideas concerning memory, assault, bereavement, joy and madness. Her work is many public and private collections including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, and the Museum of Fine Art in Montreal. Laura has been honored with many awards, among them the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Glass Art Association of Canada, the prestigious “Honorary Membership Award” from the Glass Art Society, and the International Flameworking Award for “extraordinary contributions to the glass art world.”

July 3-7, 2018 Descending from a family of glassworkers in the 1700’s, Davide Salvadore is the 11th generation in his family to be part of Murano glass history. At a young age, Salvadore started to work in furnace following his grandfather Antonio and learnt how to build the kilns. In 1978 he began producing lamp-worked beads in his mother Anna Mantoan’s jewelry studios. This would lead to a series of collaborations with fashion and design houses such as Roberta di Camerino, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, and Swatch. In 2012 he founded his own studio “Salvadore” where he works still today with his two sons Mattia, Marco and assistants. Within the studio Davide works as a glassmaster, mixing lampwork and furnace techniques in new ways. His work is collected internationally and in many public and private permanent collections.

September 11-15, 2018 David Walters studied at the Rhode Island School of Design from 1989-93. After graduating, he moved to Seattle to work for Dale Chihuly and many highly regarded artists in the Puget Sound area and beyond. David has been traveling teaching and demonstrating nationally and internationally for the past 18 years. His work has been included in many distinguished private collections and several museum collections. His incorporation of sound fundamental glass skills with a less than conventional approach to vessel making has enabled him to create a series of interesting and original forms on which to paint. He works mostly with characters from fairy tales and children’s stories, primarily for their familiar associations.