Within months of folding her print magazine about the visual arts in Texas, Rainey Knudson established Web-based Glasstire (www.glasstire.org) in 2001 to fill the gap. “Any healthy art community has to have a media component in addition to artists, galleries, museums, patrons, collectors and nonprofit organizations,” says Knudson. “Without critical dialogue and a forum to let people know what’s going on, art just goes out in a vacuum.” Knudson, whose mother owned an art gallery, is married to a well-known local artist, has a master’s degree in business and brings knowledge and experience to the enterprise. She compares the Web site’s name—an homage to Robert Rauschenberg and his tires fabricated out of glass—to Apple as a name for a computer company and says, “An unusual name is a great asset to an organization.”

Knudson saw Texas as “one big art scene” and realized a Web site would eliminate shipping costs, expensive heavy paper and the lengthy production lead times that often preclude concurrent notices and reviews about shows while they are open. Using her administrative abilities to create a sustainable organization, she built a board, gathered a staff and enlisted paid writers to provide “smart, irreverent, entertaining and readable” coverage about the visual arts in Houston and in Texas. The site posts one or two new feature articles each week and provides a space for self-published, unedited blogs from selected writers, daily news, lists of events, a message board and free classified ads.

Visits to the site have quadrupled since it went online in 2001. Knudson says, “In the beginning we got excited over 1,000 daily visits. Now we’re disappointed if we don’t get at least 5,000.” She expects one million hits in 2010. More than 60 percent come from Texas; 20 percent come from Houston. Knudson says, “Texas and Houston have an amazing contemporary art scene. People check out Glasstire to plan their weekend, to read the news and to see what their favorite blogger has to say.” She adds, “At the end of the day, it’s about the artists who work here and about the institutions and galleries that support them. Glasstire provides a sense of community to Houston, to Texas, to local artists and to the people who enjoy their work.”