I would like to clarify
something regarding the last posting. The experience I had at Public Glass was amazing. The group of folks there have been so very
welcoming and gracious to me, especially when my head was in its
strange place. I was able to make a piece that I had been dreaming
of for Years. I got to spend a fair amount of time in the area and
get to know some extraordinary people. I hung out during the open
cup blowing times and encouraged the folks who came by (to blow cups
for the Hot Glass Cold Beer event) to try out my molds. I even got
to blow a few cups! There were many other intimate interactions that
really changed my outlook on things. These interactions are what it
is all about for me. There was a beautiful give and take between everyone I
interacted with there. There is and will always be a little part of
me at Public Glass.
It turns out that the lack of
enrollment for my class forced me to closely examine my approach.
This was needed, but like many things, we don't deal with them until
we are forced to (Everything happens for a reason, remember?). I had
been in touch with my next two venues, and receiving similar reports.
Not what I was hoping for. I really needed to start looking at what
I have to do differently. After all, this is a
make-it-up-as-you-go-along life, if something doesn't work, change
it. One thing that I arrived at, is that the two day workshop is quite a commitment. For me, two days of dedication to one specific
thing is not a big thing to ask – any day of the week. Most people
do not live the lifestyle that I do. In response to this
realization, I contacted my next two venues & let them know my
thoughts. I proposed a more open format, where I would be available
for private lessons, or as a guest artist in any ongoing classes.
That was one aspect. The
next was that I needed to step up the quality of my presentation & think about
what I need to do to sell the work that I have been making along the
way. With regard to the bowls, sans box was fine when the bowls were on shelves on the wall in the gallery, but now they needed to be presented as individual objects, in a way that lets folks know they are representations of unique moments in time. The repackaging was an enjoyable process, I found a place called Scrap - seems like most cities have a place like this - and if not, they should! It is a warehouse full of an eclectic mix of stuff - all organised in such a way that it is possible to locate things. It is terrific if you are looking for some random, obscure item, or 100 of them. It was here that I found just what I was looking for - little boxes & some pretty green tissue paper. Printed up some stickers, signed the card & wallah!
A much improved presentation! There are a few of these left for sale, you can view them here.
These things sorted out, I felt like I was getting my head straightened out a little and when the weekend came, I went to Half Moon Bay Art Glass to help out, blowing some glass in between Douglass' lessons. We made some fun stuff!
One of the blue vases we made that weekend is available at my Etsy Store.
There was another thing about that weekend. It just so happened to be a very powerful full moon Saturday Night - which also added to my wacky head space that week! I was invited along for a moonlight hike in the redwood forest with friends from Public Glass, who happened to be house sitting in Half Moon Bay. As you probably have noticed from earlier posts, the full moon tends to have a powerful effect on me. This was no exception. I was in excellent company - and as we pulled out of the driveway, the first track of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" came on. I felt a little like Pink, sitting in the back of the car wrestling with bottled up emotions that decided to start bubbling up to the surface. We went to a spot not too far away from where I had been just a week before. We hiked for a couple of hours by the light of the full moon.
It was an absolutely Magical Hike - and Much Needed!
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