Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center, the non-profit arts organization in Millville, will host Glass Weekend with artist demonstrations, exhibits and lectures open to the public on Saturday and Sunday.
The event is a major fundraiser for the Creative Glass Center of America Fellowship, which provides working fellowships to 10 glass artists from around the world each year.
Included with Glass Weekend admission is entry to an exhibit of Japanese ceremonial dolls, which runs through Oct. 3 at the on-site Folklife Center. Dolls in the extensive collection will be interpreted as they relate to festival traditions in Japan and among present-day Japanese Americans in southern New Jersey. Most of the dolls are made of fine silk and have embroidered brocade costumes. Their beautifully crafted wooden faces have charming, animated expressions and human hair. Like the wooden hands and feet, the faces are covered with a shining white lacquer made from ground oyster shells and glue.
Wheaton Arts is at 1501 Glasstown Road in Millville. Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for students. Children five and under are admitted free. There is an additional $6 charge per person to visit the galleries. Glass Weekend hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call (800) 998-4552 or visit glassweekend.com.
Glass Weekend will include artist demonstrations in the Glass Studio, and 16 art galleries will show the most current work of hundreds of professional glass artists in the Event Center. Participating galleries are from New Jersey, across the nation and Israel. The event is expected to draw glass collectors, enthusiasts, curators and artists from across the country and Europe.