For France Aubrey, turing the the first floor of her northeast Baltimore home into a showplace for glass artists just made sense. So, this Friday will mark the grand opening of Portable Rainbow Art Glass Gallery and Studio.
"When I bought the house in 2003, I put nine recessed lights in one of the first rooms thinking I might want to have a gallery later. Finally, I just got to the point where I felt like it was time. I know other glass artists, I love glass and I want to get the word out. Baltimore has nothing like this," she says.
While there are two galleries featuring excellent works done using blown glass, according to Aubrey there wasn't a place for artists working with glass in other ways to display their masterpieces.
"There was nothing for other techniques. I work in kiln-formed glass. I'm showing stained glass window panels and painted glass, which is not simply painted but is done using special paints that are then fired and the paint becomes part of the glass. There are many techniques that people just don't know about. They know about blown glass because of J.L. Chihuly, but there are these other techniques that people are working in that are just as exciting," Aubrey says.
Located at 6500 Brook Avenue, the gallery is also environmentally-friendly with all of its electricity a result of wind power that Aubrey purchased through a local renewable energy brokerage. In addition, the glass Aubrey uses in her pieces are from an environmentally conscious Oregon source.
"One room is just artwork and the other two rooms will have displays of glass as well," she continues. The gallery will be open this weekend, Friday 4p.m. to 9p.m., Saturday 10a.m. to 8p.m., and Sunday 10a.m. to 6p.m. as part of School 33's Open Studio Tour.
Source: Frances Aubrey, Portable Rainbow Art Glass Gallery and Studio
Writer: Walaika Haskins