OCEAN ELEVEN

Happening October 15

Museum curator Jodie Nelson presents:

Ocean Eleven

A (free) live online presentation featuring eleven artists pushing the boundaries of the studio glass movement, working with luminous color, glass, and light to create sculptures that explore the resilience of the ocean, the beauty of the Earth, and the majestic forces of our natural world.

Select TICKET & use special code: REFRACT for free access.

RSVP now and receive BONUS: limited docuseries featuring behind-the-scenes interviews with each artist!

Ocean Eleven is inspired, in part, by astronaut Christina Koch’s powerful message from Artemis II. Reflecting on Earth from a lunar vantage point—”Planet Earth, you are a crew”—this project investigates what it means to move forward with shared responsibility for the planet.

This online presentation with museum curator Jodie Nelson brings together artists who extend the role of the artist—acting as record keepers, tracing environmental change, and as peacemakers, holding space for reflection across the visible and unseen forces shaping our environment.

Together, these works by April Surgent, Julie Conway, Kait Rhoads, Meg Holgate, Jenny Pohlman, Sabrina Knowles, Mary White, Stacy Levy, Steve Jensen, Steve Klein, and Rik Allen offer visual form to stories of relationship—between people, place, and ecological intelligence, recognizing that what we cultivate defines the communities we live within.

Select TICKET & use special code: REFRACT for free access and link.

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Collaborations

REFRACT | The Seattle Glass Experience logo
WEAD Women Eco Artists DIALOG logo

The Artists

  • artwork by Rik Allen made of hand blown glass forming an astronaut helmet with tiny red chair.

    Rik Allen

    Vantage Point

    Expand your imagination with Rik Allen, whose work connects the natural world, human experience, and the liminal space between inner and outer worlds.

  • glass artwork by April Surgent of a view of ocean water with waves, taken from a boat, as seen through a grid of 9 tiles.

    April Surgent

    A Call to Attention

    Witness the delicate state of our ecosystems through the unique vision of master engraver April Surgent, a record keeper of our planet’s changes.

  • Colorful art installation resembling deep-sea creatures, featuring illuminated coral-like structures with long, winding tentacles, displayed in front of a blue backdrop with marine-themed text and illustrations.

    Kait Rhoads

    With Our Ocean

    Curiosity is unbound with Kait Rhoads, whose awe of the oceans led her to develop a signature hexagonal form used in monumental public sculptures and intimate handheld works.

  • A glass pendant light hanging from the ceiling, with a visible bulb inside, casting colorful light projections on the ceiling and walls by artist Julie Conway.

    JULIE CONWAY

    Lighting Paths in Bio-Glass

    Conway’s passion for giving new purpose to found glass bottles by melting them to a molten liquid before sculpting them into something beautiful.

  • Vertical glass sculpture with multiple small bowls filled with liquid by eco-feminist artist Stacey Levy.

    Stacy Levy

    Respecting the Rain

    Discover how this Yale alum abandoned the “white box” approach to art-making, bringing creativity into our daily passage.

  • Artist Mary White standing next to a large, her site specific public art near a river with trees and rocks in Colorado.

    Mary White

    Peacemaking in Glass

    Find out about ecofeminism from Mary White and how she integrates peacemaking into her public art commissions.

  • A glass and steel artwork featuring a stylized eye design with a pearl in the center, mounted on a rectangular textured background by female artists Jenny Pohlman and Sabrina Knowles.

    JENNY POHLMAN & SABRINA KNOWLES

    Unseen Forces

    Like ocean tides governed by the unseen pull of the moon, their work holds memory and carries forward the resilience of the feminine.

  • Stacked glass rocks forming a cia in various colors and sizes by artist Meg Holgate

    MEG HOLGATE

    Luminous Landscapes and Entryways

    Learn Holgate’s unique perspective on art and environmental awareness as she reflects on microplastic consequences.

  • Close-up view of a textured, blue glass by artist Steve Klein.

    STEVE KLEIN

    Water Marks

    Klein’s visual vocabulary has turned to our environment, global warming, and the vanishing beauty of our natural world.

  • glass artwork by artist Steve Jensen with intricate carving and a curved design, set against a black background.

    STEVE JENSEN

    Of Vessels and Voyages

    Inside the peak of Jensen’s sculpture is thick carved glass swirls, there floats a single transparent glass bottle filled with water — and potent message for us all.

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