Capitol Hemp's 3rd Anniversary Event to Benefit Restoring Japanese Agriculture

Washington's First Functional Glass Art Show

Sales of Vintage Uranium Glassware to Benefit Japan Clean-Up

Japanese Radiation Refugees 'The Nobis' to Perform

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Capitol Hemp, DC's only source for high quality hemp clothing and accessories, is celebrating three years since co-founders Alan Amsterdam and Adam Eidinger joined forces to open the first of their two stores. To celebrate Capitol Hemp's valued customers on the annual '420 Holiday,' the store will host DC's first functional glass art show for the public at the Montserrat House located at 2016 9th St, NW Washington, DC 20001 on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 from 7PM to 12AM.

Capitol Hemp has raised expectations among the DMV's functional glass enthusiasts offering unique pieces by highly sought-after American glass artists. There will be a wide array of functional art including work by Hybrid Glass, AKM, Salt, Lace Face, Mike Higgins, Fat Mike and others. Capitol Hemp will be showcasing art that pushes the boundaries of functional glass, employing techniques including Electroform (fusing copper and glass), Fuming (blowing oxidized gold/silver into the glass), Graal Work (twice-blown glass that is cut, etched or sandblasted with a decoration), Dichro (multiple layers of metal oxides in the glass) and much more.

Capitol Hemp will also feature a room full of glowing uranium glass objects spanning the Victorian (1880s), Depression (1930s), and revival (1990s) eras of glass making. The collection is the largest of its kind to have been shown in Washington DC. Most importantly, proceeds from the sale of the vintage uranium glass will be used for hemp bio-remediation of polluted Japanese farmland.

"Uranium Glass, also known as 'Vaseline glass', is clear glass mixed with uranium oxide at about 1%," says Capitol Hemp Co-Owner, Adam Eidinger. "In the Victorian and Depression eras, without access to artificial UV light, glass makers were unaware Vaseline glowed brilliantly. Glass makers simply used the uranium as a colorant, but today we can appreciate this mystical glass as art form," says Eidinger.

Background on Hemp Bio-Remediation

In the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, an agricultural area within a 30 km radius of the reactor was heavily contaminated with uranium, lead, cesium-137, and strontium-90. In 1998, the Ukraine Institute of Bast Crops and other stake holders began to grow industrial hemp to soak up and trap much of the metals and toxic waste, thereby preserving the nutrient rich topsoil. Why not employ this clean up method in Japan?

The art show will also feature a musical performance by Japanese duo The Nobis, who recently relocated to Washington DC after being evacuated from their home near the Fukushima reactor.

For more information or to schedule a media only sneak preview of the art please contact Adam Eidinger at 202-744-2671 or email [email protected] .

SOURCE Mintwood Media Collective