Lovers of Blenko Glass, one of West Virginia's oldest and most beloved handmade glassware companies, will have the opportunity to add three unique new pieces to their collections in time for West Virginia Day on Monday.
As part of the state's 153rd birthday celebration, the West Virginia Division of Culture and History will have two limited edition handblown-glass pieces for sale on Monday at the Culture Center. The first, a cobalt blue and gold topaz vase, will be introduced by Culture and History Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith and Blenko president Walter Blenko at 10 a.m. Only 153 of the vases will be available for sale, to correspond with the state's 153rd birthday.
The other piece that will be available at the Culture Center, an azure-to-crystal fade pitcher, was commissioned by first lady Joanne Jaeger Tomblin to commemorate the state's birthday. Only 80 of the pitchers will be available for sale. The pitchers will be available for $63, and the vases, also designed by Harvey and hand-blown by artisans at Blenko Glass in Milton, will be sold for $54. Walter Blenko will sign the vases from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at no additional charge.
The two Blenko pieces are only one part of the Culture Center's birthday celebration, which will feature a Blenko Glass exhibit of works from 1950 to the present and the Sesquicentennial Artists Invitational exhibit, a collection of pieces from 30 West Virginia artists produced in 2013 for the state's 150th birthday, as well as youth programs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that include weaving and other hands-on crafts, according to Caryn Gresham, deputy commissioner of the Division of Culture and History.
"The Culture Center sits right here on the Capitol grounds, so it is the premier welcome center and the premier visitors' site for people coming to West Virginia; not only do we have the state museum here, but we have the state archives and continually rotating art and craft exhibits, so that people get a real sense of what is best about West Virginia," Gresham said. "Because of the role we play, it's important for us to take time and invite people to celebrate West Virginia's statehood."
Special guests for the event will include re-enactor Wes Armstead, who will speak about the history of the civil rights movement in the region, and West Virginia native and author Cat Pleska, who will read an excerpt from her book "Riding on Comets: A Memoir." The event will also feature music by jazz musician Steve Himes, of Charleston, as well as birthday cake to be served at 12:15 p.m.
On Saturday, the Capitol Market will have its own Blenko piece available in its West Virginia Marketplace. Allan Hathaway, owner of the Purple Onion and the West Virginia Marketplace, said the collectible, a decanter in the shape of the Capitol dome, is a functional piece of art that benefits a worthy cause - 10 percent of the proceeds will go to the CAMC Foundation to benefit CAMC Women's and Children's Hospital.
"We are the West Virginia store, and everything we sell is made in West Virginia - this ties in perfectly for our state's birthday," Hathaway said. "I'm a Milton boy, so working with Blenko in our West Virginia store is just the perfect combination."
Like the other two pieces, the decanters are limited in number, and the market will have 100 of them to sell Saturday starting at 9 a.m. They come in three colors - crystal, yellow topaz and cobalt blue - and cost $110 apiece. The mold used to make them will also be on display, and will also be donated to CAMC, Hathaway said. The two designers who created the piece will also be at the West Virginia Marketplace to sign the decanters Saturday.
Reach Lydia Nuzum at
lydia.nuzum@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow
@lydianuzum on Twitter.