Open Studio Hours
Exclusive Workshops
Artist Lectures
SCG ART Program Events
Blue Line Arts offers the following activities as a special opportunity for our community to meet with Mark Abildgaard and learn about his craft first hand in 2022
Glass Casting Workshop I with Mark Abildgaard
Mark Abildgaard has taught classes in kiln casting glass at many different studios and schools including The Pilchuck Glass School, The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, Red Deer…
Glass Casting Workshop II with Mark Abildgaard
Mark Abildgaard has taught classes in kiln casting glass at many different studios and schools including The Pilchuck Glass School, The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, Red Deer…
OPEN STUDIO HOURS
Interested in watching a professional artist in action?
Stop by and visit Mark Abildgaard to see him working in the Education Gallery:
Dates & Times in 2022
Wednesday, August 24th from 4-6pm
Thursday, August 25th from 4-6pm
Wednesday, August 31st from 4-6pm
Thursday, September 1st from 4-6pm
Wednesday, September 7th from 4-6pm
Thursday, September 8th from 4-6pm
Meet Mark Abildgaard2022 SCG Resident & Teaching Artist
I have been working with glass as a studio artist since 1986. My involvement with this unique material has always been inspired by how glass, light and color interact. In creating glass sculpture I want to use the inherent property of the material to transmit light as a way to express a feeling of spirituality.
I have found inspiration in looking at the artifacts from many different cultures that are able to convey a sense of mystery about mankind’s existence through time. I use images of totems, boats and figures in my work to explore ideas about the cycle of life and death. I try to create archetypical images which are not culturally specific. In working with these images I am seeking a way to combine ancient forms and my own life experiences. I want my work to maintain a connection to the past and at the same time reflect a sense of the immediacy of the moment when glass, light and color interact.
Mark Abildgaard
www.markabildgaard.com
Education:
1983 M.F.A., University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii
1979 B.A., San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California
Selected Exhibitions:
2020 Unbroken Legacies: Art Glass from Northern California,
Museum of Northern California, Chico, CA
Chasing Ghosts 5, Verum Ultimim Art Gallery, Portland, OR
2019 International Exhibition of Glass, Kanazawa, Japan
2018 Craft Forms – 2018, Wayne Center for the Arts, Wayne, PA
Marking the Path, Grand Theatre Center for the Arts, Tracy CA
2017 30 Years of Kiln Cast Sculpture, Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
Crossings – A Boat Show, Bender Gallery, Asheville, NC
Cross Currents, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
El Corazon, Bathhouse Cultural Center, Dallas TX
2016 Talismans, Maria Elena Kravets Gallery, Cordoba, Argentina
2015 Enlightened Glass, San Jose Works Gallery, San Jose, CA
2013 Earth, Wind and Fire, Philabaum Glass Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2012 Red Hot and Blown, Crocker Museum, Sacramento, CA
Playing with Fire, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
2011 Curious Harmony, Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
Offerings – Sacred Images in Nature, Masaoka Glass Gallery, Carmel Valley, CA
2008 Hot/Cold, Group Glass Exhibition, Micaela Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Suspended Elements, Solo Exhibition, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
2007 Tribal Visions, Kuivato Gallery, Sedona, AZ
2006 Aquarium Invitational, Vespermann Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Made in California – Oakland Museum Café, Oakland, CA
Collections:
The Crocker Museum, Sacramento, California
The Oakland Museum, Oakland, California
The Triton Museum, Santa Clara, California
The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York
The Fresno Museum of Art, Fresno, California
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Racine Art Museum, Racine Wisconsin
The Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, Virginia
The Wheaton Museum of American Glass, Millville, New Jersey
The Contemporary Museum of Honolulu, Honolulu, Hawaii
The Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass, Neenah, Wisconsin
Saks Fifth Avenue, Corporate Collection, Phoenix, Arizona
Pacific Enterprises, Corporate Collection, Los Angeles, CA
Hawaii State Foundation of Culture and the Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii
Commissions:
2019 “Tuli Mem Gate” – 2019, 11’x12’x4’, stainless and cor ten steel, County of Yolo,
Esparto Aquatic Center, Esparto, CA.
2015 “Granary”- 2015, 12’x7’x5’, blown glass and stainless steel
Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, Dogwood Park, Sacramento, CA
“Rainbow Wave”- 2015, blown glass and steel cable, 4’x16’x4’
Art Consulting Services, Mercy General Hospital, Sacramento, CA
Installed in the entrance of a café inside the hospital
2011 “Green Light Column” – 2011, slumped glass block, stainless steel, LED lights,
10’x1.5’x1.5’
Griffiss Land Development Corporation, 153 Brooks Rd., Rome, NY
Installed in an outdoor sculpture garden
2010 “Fire Rainbow” – 2010, blown glass, steel cable, 16’x12’x12’
Yolo County Library – Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch
2801 – 2nd Street, Davis, CA
“Stringers” – 2010, blown glass, steel cable, 30’x5’x1’ each
Embarcadero Partners LLC, Office building
100 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto, CA
2009 “Suspended Element Curtain” – 2009, blown glass, stainless steel, 3’x22’x6”
DESS Building, 25 N. Cottonwood, Woodland, CA
“Wave” – 2009, blown glass, stainless steel, 12”x72”x8”
DESS Building, 500 Reed Ave., West Sacramento, CA
“Light Columns” – 2009, slumped glass block, stainless steel, LED lights,
10’x 1.5’x1.5’ each
Griffiss Land Development Corporation, 153 Brooks Rd., Rome, NY
Installed in outdoor sculpture park
2008 “Tree of Life” - 2008, stainless steel, blown glass, 16’x10’x8’
Woodland Healthcare Medical Building, 632 W. Gibson Rd., Woodland, CA 2007 “Virga” – 2007, blown glass, steel cable, 36’x18’x15’
Embarcadero Capital Partners LLC, Office Building,
1301 Shoreway Rd., Belmont, CA
2006 “Green/Blue Column” – 2006, slumped dalle glass, 96”x16”x16”
“Suspended Elements” – 2006, kiln cast glass, stainless steel, 18”x72”x8”
Herbert Bauer Mental Health Building, 213 W. Beamer Street, Woodland, CA
Grants and Fellowships:
2015 Individual artists grant from the Leff-Davis Fund for Visual Artists of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation.
1985 Five month fellowship at the Creative Glass Center of America in
Millville, New Jersey.


The Susan Cooley-Gilliom Artist in Residence and Teaching (ART) Program is a lasting gift to the many artists, arts educators and students, and arts enthusiasts we are fortunate to have in our community. The program represents a significant part of Susan’s lasting legacy–as a beloved local artist and environmental advocate.
The ART program works to develop and enhance the visual arts through short-term residencies and workshops taught by nationally-established and highly reputable artists who create in a range of media. Past visiting artists include: Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen, Michelle Ross, Richard Notkin, Katherine Ace, Laura Ross Paul, Tip Toland, Sergei Isupov, Michelle Gregor, Ana Lisa Hedstrom and Phoebe Toland.
To learn more about Susan Cooley-Gilliom and this lasting gift to the community, visit The Placer Community Foundation.
Stipends for free workshop registrations are available for Local Artists (residing in Placer and surrounding counties) and are generously provided by the Placer Community Foundation.
Applications are due by 12pm on Monday August 1st, 2022