Happy Anniversary to MoltenWolf Glass!
Recently, MoltenWolf Glass celebrated its one-year anniversary of opening its doors on January 4th, 2022. What started as a fun hobby for Jeff & Valerie Wolf while living in the United States has turned into a successful store in the heart of Kralendijk, creating fused glass art.
When Jeff & Valerie initially planned to move to sunny Bonaire, they were looking forward to winding down. Of course, creative minds have creative ideas, and just like that, MoltenWolf Glass was born! Their vision wasn’t only to create stunning pieces of glass art, but also to teach like-minded people the skills they learned over time. With determination and a little patience, they shipped all the necessary equipment, tools, and glass down to Bonaire to start their new dream.
What happened during their first year?
Over the past year, the MoltenWolf Glass team has been busy learning techniques and creating unique designs. Before opening, Jeff and Valerie realized they needed to hire some local artists. The first artist was Joëldrich Muzo, a Curacao-born sketch artist with a background in graphic design and art. Soon after, they added Josie Martinez Mangle to the team, a local Bonairian with roots in Venezuela. As they worked together, they taught Joëldrich and Josie how to work with glass while using their own artistic inspirations to create unique glass art.
Halfway through the year, they realized four people were not enough, so they added Jessica Semeleer-Welch to the team to work in the shop. Jessica, originally from Pennsylvania, soon showed her artistic side and started learning the basics of glass fusing.
Was every piece of art a success?
Of course not! Joëldrich and Josie had to learn glass fusing from scratch, and over time they became more comfortable with the techniques. People may not realize that you can lay out the glass and have one vision in mind, yet it may turn into something completely different after melting in the kiln. Everyone has a different vision of art, so even though it wasn’t your original vision, someone else may love it.
With trial and error, the artists created enough products in terms of wall décor, standing décor, kitchenware, and necklaces to fill the shelves for the store’s opening. Over the last year, the artists created additional items such as earrings, bracelets, rings, glass fish, holiday décor, and ornaments. They even made decorative turtles pieces to celebrate World Turtle Day and hosted two Turtle Decor Art Giveaways!
Sharing with others.
Not only did they create new designs, but they also welcomed BSO kids into the studio for an interactive tour. They also gave 12 “Meet the Artists” presentations in the store after hours.
MoltenWolf Glass also promoted other local glass artists by providing them with a section to showcase their artwork in the store. By showcasing local guest artists, they truly show that the art community is supportive.
Commission pieces.
The MoltenWolf Glass team of artists are continuously busy creating glass art pieces for the store, but did you know they also work on commission pieces?! Over the past year, they successfully completed two large commission pieces for Bonaire DailyFresh and the Tiki Bar! One fun fact is that it is a team effort, as each artist shares their ideas and works on certain sections of the commission pieces. Stay tuned for an upcoming article dedicated to the stunning commission pieces!
What’s next?
As you can see, the MoltenWolf Glass year in review was a busy one! But there is even more planned for 2023!
MoltenWolf Glass plans to be open on all of the Bonaire Shopping Nights. For the special shopping nights, they plan to have a buy 3 get a 4th item of lesser value for free. They also plan to hold “Pop-Up” gallery shows for local artists in their ongoing commitment to foster an artistic community. The Pop-Up gallery shows will take place once a quarter and is available for any local artist (not just glass art) to be able to showcase their art in a storefront location. If you are a local artist interested in participating, keep an eye out for more details or contact MoltenWolf Glass directly.
A little birdy also told me they might have workshops later this year! Of course, who knows what else the team of artists come up with for the shelves of MoltenWolf Glass!
‘Meet the Artist’ night turns into ‘Art Talk’.
This year, the monthly event will be called ‘Art Talk.’ MoltenWolf Glass thinks the name represents what the night is all about, which is talking about art.
Are you in town this week? The first ‘Art Talk’ of the year is this Friday, January 20th, at 7:00 PM. Joëldrich is the presenter and will be giving a dual presentation, first in Papiamentu and then in English.
Not in town this week? Check out our calendar of events for all upcoming Art Talks.
(Source: MoltenWolf Glass)
