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Bowled Over by Glass Art

April 20, 2025

Chelsea Rousso is back at WMODA with another of her fabulous creative glass workshops at 10:00 am on Saturday, May 17, as part of our weekend program celebrating International Museum Day. Chelsea will show you how to make a fused glass Fazzoletto-style bowl inspired by the Chihuly Macchia collection at WMODA. Ignite your creative spark, call WMODA now to secure your place in the Bowled Over by Glass Art workshop.

Fazzoletto bowls became a specialty of Murano glassmakers during the 1950s and were made by companies such as Venini. Fazzoletto translates to “handkerchief” in Italian, and the wavy rim resembles a fluttering, falling handkerchief.  WMODA has a fine example by Lino Tagliapietra, who collaborated with Chihuly during his early visits to Murano. Chihuly made the style famous with his monumental Macchia forms with undulating rims, named after the Italian word for smear or spot to describe his impressionistic color effects.

Chelsea Rousso is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, lecturer and author. She began her career as a fashion designer in New York and began working with WMODA ten years ago while teaching fashion at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. She rekindled her early art practice in studio glass art, specializing in kiln-formed fused glass. Inspired by Chihuly and other glass masters represented at WMODA, she began experimenting with fused glass methods to make blown glass forms.

Chelsea has developed many different styles of draped Fazzoletto-style bowls and was commissioned by Broward Cultural Division to make a collection of unique fused glass table centers for their State of the Arts address in 2023. Chelsea’s free-form style uses strips and pieces of colorful glass, which can be arranged on clear glass to create a fabulous Fazzoletto-style bowl or draped to create an abstract table center. Some of Chelsea’s latest designs are available for sale in the Studio Collection Museum Shop at WMODA.

Ignite your own creative spark by signing up for Chelsea’s Bowled Over by Glass Art workshop, which runs from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm at WMODA on Saturday, May 17. The 2 ½ hour class costs $150 and includes all the glass you need to make a 9-inch bowl, use of the specialist cutting tools, and expert instruction by Chelsea Rousso. You are also invited to the International Museum Day program at WMODA, which includes a celebration of Chelsea Rousso’s Unity in the Community: Transparency through Glassinstallation at the entrance to WMODA, and inspirational talks on the Hot Glass collection at WMODA by Louise Irvine, Executive Director & Curator.

 

After the WMODA class, Chelsea will take your glass creation away for firing and slumping in her kiln and return your works of art for the “Grand Reveal” on Saturday, May 31. Bring your friends to WMODA on that day to see what an amazing artist you are or collect your bowl at your leisure from the museum after that date!

Book today and unleash your creative spirit. Spaces are limited. Call WMODA at 954.376.6690