2026 Member Exhibition
On View: January 9-February 13, 2026
For the first time since Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts’ moved to its new location in the the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis five years ago, we are hosting a Member Exhibition. Juried by Linnea Seidling, Assistant Curator of Glass at the Cafesjian Art Trust, the exhibition displays the glass artwork of 16 selected members. The exhibition will feature glass artwork made by local artists in a range of processes such as blown glass and sculpture, neon, stained glass, mosaic, and kilnformed glass.
Foci MCGA’s Membership comprises glass artists and students of glass from a range of different backgrounds, ages, expertises in glass, and time spent with the organization. Since our non-profits’ move to a new location in 2020, we have expanded the areas of glass that are taught at our location, and have made efforts towards our vision of becoming a diverse community of dedicated makers, enthusiasts, seekers, and newcomers who feel welcomed and engaged at our center. We have seen tremendous growth in our organization in the past five years and are celebrating it with this exhibition.
Selected artists include Abegael Uffelman, Carla Christenson, Claire Coffee, Elizabeth Coleman, Gene Bird, Jane Magyar, Julia Treder Glass, Kagen Dunn, Lila Westreich, Lucie Cherel, Lynn Bierbaum, Mel Zeller, Healing Mosaics by Shelley Beaumont, Skyler Larson, Victoria Hansen, and Wichcraft Glass by Evelyn Wichitchu.
About the Artists
Abegael Uffelman is a glass and mixed media artist, who connects optical illusions to societal disparities within identity, politics, and social interaction. Uffelman earned her BFA with a minor in art history from Tyler School of Art, Temple University in 2019. She presented at the 2024 Glass Art Society's International Conference in Berlin, Germany, as a Saxe Emerging Artist Award Recipient, has been awarded first place in the Emerging Artist category for Bullseye Glass' Tg: Transitions in Kiln Glass Traveling Exhibition, and completed the Better Together Residency at Pilchuck Glass School. She has a passion for bridging communities with the arts and recently worked at Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts as their Program Manager before pursuing her MFA in Glass at The University of Wisconsin-Madison in fall 2025.
Carla Christenson is a visual artist residing in Minneapolis, MN. She received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2021 with a concentration in glassworking and sculpture. Since graduating she has spent her time working in glass production, teaching glassworking classes at Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts, and exploring her own work in and out of the hotshop. Her work has been displayed in shows around the Midwest and has been awarded multiple purchase awards by the Wisconsin Union Directorate. Currently her work focuses on parallels between glass and her own body and explores concepts of pain, resilience, and fragility.
Claire Coffee started working in glass when she was 14 years old at Foci MCGA back when it was in northeast Minneapolis. Coffee was able to build her skills up through Foci MCGAs amazing community and eventually became a full-time employee until she was hired for the demonstration team at the Corning Museum of Glass where she worked for 3 years until this year when she decided to move back to the Twin Cities and focus on building her own glass art brand. Coffee has traveled to different countries and all over the US to develop her voice in glass and have had the opportunity to work with multiple communities on many different projects.
Elizabeth Coleman is a sculptor who lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her narrative work explores how fragments of fairytales, myth, and popular culture, specifically advertising, allow her to tell coded stories of gender and sexuality. Elizabeth received an MFA from Ohio State University and a BFA in ceramics and glass from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has also studied at Penland School of Craft, Pilchuck Glass School, and Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts. Elizabeth has been a resident artist at the Vermont Studio Center and the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemét, Hungary. She has received a 2010 Jerome Foundation Ceramic Artist Project Grant and a fiscal year 2017 Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB). In 2021 and 2022, she received Creative Support for Individuals Grants from the MSAB. In 2025, she received a Flexible Support grant as well as an Arts Impact for Individuals grant from the Metro Regional Arts Council of Minnesota. Elizabeth is a 2025 McKnight Fellow in Ceramic Art.
Founded in 2025, Wichcraft Glass is the result of Evelyn Wichitchu’s many years of glassblowing experience. A play on words between her last name "Wichitchu" and the word "craft", Wichcraft Glass embodies Evelyn’s dedication to the centuries-old tradition of glassblowing and the relentless pursuit of skilled craftsmanship. She pays homage to beauty and precision through her refinement of form. Evelyn approaches traditional glassblowing as a language, with each movement and technique forming part of a unique vocabulary that allows her to find her own voice within the medium. By weaving together these techniques, Evelyn aims to create pieces that honor this craft’s rich heritage while simultaneously expressing her perspective on the art form.
Gene Bird’s path to working with glass began when a glassmaker friend told him about a mold-blown visiting-artist class at Foci MCGA who thought it would be a natural fit, given Gene’s experience with bronze and the lost-wax process. Since then, Gene has created several mold-blown glass works and, at times, filmed their interiors to develop related video pieces, further expanding his relationship with the material.
Jane Magyar is a glass artist whose personal interests bridge historical research and contemporary practice. Her interest in glass began during undergraduate studies and evolved through a master’s degree in art history, with a thesis focused on ancient Chinese glass beads. Her practice spans glassblowing, flameworking, kiln work, and bead-making. She aims to further connect her scholarly research to her artistic exploration of form, color, and historical reference.
Julia Treder is a Minneapolis based artist who specializes in blown, and stained glass. Her art is bright and colorful while also classic as she focuses on traditional techniques, processes, and designs and infuses contemporary and funky aspects to allow her art to be loud and original. She has been working with glass for 10 years, starting out apprenticing for a glass artist, followed by receiving a fine arts degree with an emphasis in glass.
Kagen Dunn is an artist and interdisciplinary creator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her work examines the preservation of everyday ephemera and the traces left by human interaction. She earned her BFA from the University of Texas at Arlington and her MFA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Her recent exhibitions include Intersection of Art and Industry (Toledo, OH), The Sixth Decade of UW Glass (Madison, WI), the 2023 TMA Contemporary at the Trout Museum of Art (Appleton, WI), and Telling Tales at the Wharton Esherick Museum (Malvern, PA). During her time at UW–Madison, Dunn played an integral role in glass programming and education, collaborating with Helen Lee to curate nine exhibitions, organize an academic symposium, and coordinate community outreach through Glass Madison.
Known for her thoughtful material practice and commitment to education, Dunn continues to contribute to the field as the Glass Arts Education and Partnerships Manager at Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts.
Lila Westreich is a glass artist focusing in neon sculpture and flameworked glass. She has studied at Western Neon School of Art, Pratt Fine Arts, and Pilchuck Glass School. Lila was awarded the John and Mary Shirley scholarship in glass from Pratt Fine Arts in 2022, and was selected for the Emerging Artist Award from Pilchuck Glass School in 2024. In 2024, their work was featured in the Cafesjian Artist Trust Museum’s Midwest Voices in Contemporary Glass and was later acquired by the museum. Most recently, Lila completed a residency in neon at Fire Arts Center, and held a solo show at the Nokomis Gallery in Minneapolis in October 2025. Her work focuses on depictions of ecological and personal grief through light and glass.
Lynn Bierbaum is a glass/photographic artist and educator who is captivated by intensive processes of glassblowing and historic photographic methods. These techniques offer a renewed lens through which she considers time and her place within it. Though photography’s origins are relatively recent in the broader arc of art history, much of its material culture is already fading. Lynn modernizes historic techniques, by integrating digital-age technologies within sculptural glass practices to actively challenge and expand the boundaries of the mediums of both glass and photography.
Lucie Cherel’s art encompasses all aspects of stained glass with a focus on abstract organic shapes. Using glass to investigate temporal change and materiality, Cherel incorporates historical elements, found objects, and painting. Since 2020, Cherel has experimented with fused glass, bead making, copper foil glass, and leaded glass, culminating in a stained glass apprenticeship completed in 2025. Cherel’s daily practice includes repair and restoration work for both ecclesiastical and residential clients.
A fused and stained glass artist for over 13 years, Mel Zeller is drawn to the medium’s ability to transform color through light, whether glowing from within or reflecting off each surface. Zeller continually explores the possibilities of glass, creating pieces that highlight its unique character and expressive range. Zeller’s work has been recognized with awards at the Minnesota State Fair and Glass Endeavors.
Skyler Larson makes glass sculpture informed by his interest in mathematics. Skyler started working with glass while earning his associates at Anoka Ramsey Community College, sparking a glass practice that flourished while he completed his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a minor in Product Design at the University of Minnesota. His work has been featured in the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibit, and Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Art’s exhibition gallery. Known in the glass community for his fearless experimentation and inventive techniques, Skyler has been able to provide visiting artist demonstrations to colleges and universities in Minnesota and California. He’s currently developing a series of pieces born from specialized tooling he created to achieve certain geometries in glass.
Shelley Beaumont is a Twin Cities mosaic artist who creates bespoke installations inspired by nature, science, and metaphysics. Leaving a corporate career in her late 40s to pursue her passion for art, Shelley has become known for crafting mosaics that celebrate the movement, light, and geometric patterns found in the natural world. Her work curates the interplay of tactile materials, vibrant colors, and reflective surfaces, offering visually stunning and emotionally enriching experiences.
Victoria “Tori” Hansen has been working with glass since 2015 and holds a BFA from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. She specializes in a wide range of glass processes, including flameworking, glassblowing, kilnforming, screen printing on glass, and coldworking. Alongside her glass practice, Tori also enjoys working with textiles and bookmaking. She joined Foci MCGA as a community member in 2018 and has served on staff as an administrator for the past five years.
About the Juror
Linnea Seidling is the Assistant Curator of Glass at the Cafesjian Art Trust Museum in Shoreview, Minnesota. She has worked in the museum field for 10 years and has held curatorial positions at institutions including the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Corning Museum of Glass. It was in Corning where she gained her expertise in glass. She holds a BA in Art History from Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and an MA in the History of Decorative Art, Design, and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center in New York City.