Workshop at BAGI - Day 2

    I spent that evening walking around downtown San Jose. It was quite a scene. People watching is always a trip.  There was a stand up evangelist at one point - microphone & amplifier, bible in hand, standing on a crate. It was a fairly busy spot on the sidewalk in a courtyard, he was facing the street and traffic and there was some interaction from the crowd.  Sort of showboating on the ol' soapbox.  A block away was another, this time in a not so busy spot, no amplifier, just on a crate against a building in some dramatic lighting.  This guy had a sense of conviction that was very intense - you could feel it as you walked by.  More real, in a way.  Less approachable.  Witnessing these two reminded me of a scene from Monty Python's "The Life of Brian".

    There were a few other minor observations along the way that evening, families on vacation, touring.  One of them left a camera behind - good job I noticed, that really would have put a damper on the evening!
    Onward to the next day!  There were molds to be finished & molds to be blown! The shop was a flurry of activity, as there was another workshop going on at the same time - Murrini making with Jonathon Schmuck.  It was fun to have multiple things going on around us.  I have been familiar with Jonathon's work for quite sometime & it was good to get to hang out a bit.  One of the students in Jonathon's class was Todd Tankersley, a professional photographer from San Francisco.  He was entranced by my mold collection & asked if he could photograph them!
    We had a blast blowing all the molds, some with success, others were a learning process.  That is one of the fun things about the workshops, It is really like sketching out ideas and seeing what is possible, and how these processes can be used in a person's own work, beyond the two days.  Here are some pics - Click!
    At the end of the day, Jon, Rich & I gathered up a ton of glass & blew the Biggest Mold I own.  It was a fun way to end the session. We made a bit of a mess, but man, what fun!  There was much video taken - all of which needs to be edited - it will be posted as soon as I get to it.