The City of Slidell is honored to present “Surrender,” an inspiring new art exhibit by Solange Ledwith of Swamp Girl Glass, which will debut with an opening reception on Friday, November 8, at 6 p.m. at the Slidell Cultural Center. Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer invites art enthusiasts and community members to come experience Ledwith’s captivating glasswork.
“We are honored to display Solange Ledwith’s remarkable work here in City Hall,” said Mayor Cromer. “Her talent and dedication to her craft reflect the very spirit of our community. I encourage everyone to come and experience the beauty of ‘Surrender’ and support the arts in Slidell.”
Solange Ledwith is a local glass artist who began her journey with glasswork in 2001 while studying at Chico State University, California. She later earned her Master’s of Art from California State University, Fullerton. She honed her craft in Los Angeles, working alongside top artists and glassmakers, and further refined her skills at the prestigious Pilchuck Glass School. Returning to New Orleans in 2010, Ledwith embraced her love for family and community, joining the Air Force Reserves to give back to her country. After returning from deployment, she launched “Swamp Girl Glass Blowing LLC” in Slidell to create custom glass art and offer educational classes, sharing her passion and process with her local community. Her gallery and studio is located at 1060 Front Street.
“Surrender” presents a juxtaposition of two bodies of work by Ledwith; the first being glassware made in the traditional Venetian style, a skill honed by Ledwith while studying under Master Glassworker, Davide Fuin, in Murano, Italy. In direct contrast, the exhibition will also debut a new body of work by the New Orleans native involving what she calls “sketching with hot glass.”
Venetian glassware, also referred as Murano glass, is an extremely precise craft. Each vessel is delicately blown and molded as one single piece at around 2100 degrees. “There is no room for error. If something gets messed up, it’s trash,” said Ledwith. The stemware, which includes traditional imagery such as Venetian dolphins, is an excellent demonstration of the glass-making process invented in Venice, Italy, over 1,000 years ago.
Surrounding the artist’s intricate stemware will be a new series of painted wood panels upon which Ledwith used molten glass to “sketch” drawings onto the rough surfaces. The hot glass scores the wood, providing the charred outlines for the painted and gold gilded works. The artist later attaches fluid-esc pieces of glass to simulate a visual reminder of how the works were created. Each painting is a “release” for Ledwith.
Ledwith began the hot glass sketch series in 2023, but a Jiu-Jitsu accident in early 2024 which left her leg broken in four places forced her to focus more on this new body of work due to her physical limitations at the time.
“In Love With Being Queen” by Solange Ledwith
“One of the positive aspects of the accident is that it forced me to focus more on my glass paintings. I was unable to walk around easily, but I could stand with assistance when using the glass, and I could easily sit on the floor and paint,” explains Ledwith. “So this series now became something different for me because it wasn’t just about the ‘release’ anymore. Now it has become a way to enhance the beauty in my mistakes.”
“There is both intention and aimlessness in these works, and I’m enjoying highlighting the beauty of my mistakes right now. It’s a place in my life where I am allowed to lose control just a little bit.”
For more information about Ledwith, visit her website at SwampGirlGlassLLC.com.
“Surrender: Solange Ledwith Solo Exhibition” was organized by independent curator, Liv Butera and presented by the City of Slidell and the Slidell Commission on the Arts. Butera has worked on several curatorial projects for the City of Slidell and previously served as the operations manager and curatorial assistant for Prospect New Orleans, the international art triennial. She has written for Edge of the Lake Magazine, Slidell Magazine, and the Slidell Independent as well as contributing to several exhibition catalogs throughout her career. Butera is also the founder of The Local Camellia lifestyle blog. She lives in Slidell with her husband Ben and two beautiful little girls.
“In December, our daughter was born with a severe heart defect. She underwent open heart surgery at just three weeks old and spent a month in the hospital. Our sweet Tilly is healthy now, but a few months later our family lost my brother-in-law, Brandon Butera, at the age of 28 to his three year battle with a rare form of Kidney cancer. My husband and I have been grappling with how to process the extreme emotional rollercoaster of this past year. It was during this time that I visited Solange in her gallery,” said Butera.” Solange was on the floor, crutches to the side, gilding this massive painting which is now the centerpiece for the show. I was so struck by how she was able to create something so beautiful out of such devastation. I saw my entire past year quite literally burned into that painting. It was all there: that darkness we all go through, the trauma and grief, perfectly complemented by color, joy, and beauty. This show is an expression of the ups and downs of what it means to be human; the beautiful chaos of life. Surrendering to the notion that we can’t really control any of it.”
“Surrender” will be on display at the George Dunbar Gallery within the Slidell Cultural Center at City Hall, located at 2055 Second Street in Olde Towne Slidell. Following the reception, the exhibit will run from November 12 through December 20, 2024, and will be open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. by appointment only. Same day appointments are usually available. To schedule an appointment, please contact the Department of Cultural & Public Affairs at 985-646-4375. Admission is free.
For more information about the exhibit, please visit MySlidell.com or call the Department of Cultural & Public Affairs at 985-646-4375.
