Stained Glass of McKinney owner Jacqui Bush was recently named to the national art glass industry’s KBW Foundation Board of Directors as the “voice of the retailer.” Stained Glass of McKinney was named a finalist in April’s Art Glass Association Retailer of the Year competition, missing the sparkling top spot by just one vote.
Ms. Bush was named to the KBW Foundation Board for her enthusiastic and creative promotion of glass art in a wide variety of venues. The shop hosts glass art demonstrations at downtown McKinney’s Second Saturday Monthly Art Walks. Hands-on work during Chesnut Square Historic Village’s Living History Days include a stained glass window in the making.
Ms. Bush, with co-owner husband Reid, provides free glass art classes to schools, teaching about glass techniques and the physical properties of glass and glass fusing. In addition, the shop offers a “Teach the Teacher” program for teachers who wish to start a glass art program at their own school.
New this year is the innovative Summer Art Camp, where students and adults will create their own art projects using pottery and ceramics, sewing and quilting, painting, jewelry- and print-making and glass art techniques at several shops around the Square. The weeklong day camp will be taught by five artists specializing in a particular medium.
For more information about Stained Glass of McKinney and the Summer Art Camp, see http://www.stainedglassofmckinney.com/ or visit the shop at 214 N.
Kentucky Street on the Square.
Background
The KBW Foundation, named for Kay Bain Weiner, promotes and encourages the art of glass crafting through a variety of innovative community and school outreach programs. The foundation is comprised of a team of glass business owners, publishers, and glass artists who donate their time and resources to encouraging and promoting glass art.
Ms. Weiner is the recipient of the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award in the glass art industry and has been one of the pioneers in the glass art industry for close to four decades. She has taught hundreds of workshops in the United States and abroad. As the author of 14 books on glass art and design, she is a sought-after and well-respected art glass authority.
The Foundation, with cooperation of glass art publishers, has distributed over 2,000 surplus magazines, patterns, videos, CDs and books to schools, senior citizen centers, and adult education centers in 2006.
The foundation’s goals are to:
· Offer scholarships annually to attend various glass conferences or seminar groups held in the US.
· Promote and encourage glass craft classes at public schools, colleges and continuing education facilities, senior citizen centers, YMCA’s, and summer camps.
· Offer surplus supplies and books donated by manufacturers and publishers to public schools and educational facilities.
· Create a national directory of teachers and schools that offer glass art classes.
· Promote glass art through educational projects such as “Teach the Teacher” and Artist in Residence programs.
Future KBW Foundation projects include encouraging glass artists to apply for artist-in-residence workshops in schools or help set up such programs; to help glass artists and retailers to arrange glass art show exhibitions in their facilities, in public venues, and in private industry locations; and to offer scholarships to attend glass seminars.