Getting Ready to Set Sail

I have had a strong desire to return to California for a visit.  My previous visit was terrific.  I feel like I made some very real connections with folks there.  And I really want to spend a little time with those giant trees.  So will begin the Spring Tour.  I leave on the 16th of April, and will travel West to Seattle and then South along the coast.  I hope to visit several friends and studios along the way.  I had been planning this trip, to come back to Bozeman before heading East in late May/early June (the Summer Tour).  Word of my father's health has redirected my plans a bit - I will now be going to Oklahoma between California and the East Coast.  I had just signed up for a P.O. Box in Bozeman when I got the news.  Seems like the Universe doesn't want to let me settle down just yet.

    I have a workshop scheduled at Bay Area Glass Institute for April 21 & 22, where I will be teaching folks about the glass blowing molds I use and how to make them out of just about anything.  I blew a little glass here on my previous visit, it is a really nice facility, and I am looking forward to a return.
    The following weekend I have been invited to have a show & will be the lead demonstration for Public Glass' Hot Glass Cold Beer fundraising event.  Followed by a workshop the following week. I am going to do my best to work in any additional visiting artist demonstrations in between.  Exciting stuff!
    I am making the work for the show here,  the concept being a play on the 99 bottles of beer on the wall song, instead being 99 bowls made of glass on the wall.  I have been making these little dishes and I think it would be pretty neat to display them.  It is a culmination of the work I have done here in Bozeman, and what the experience has taught me.  Making multiples becomes meditation.  Making glass keeps me on the right path, in a healthy state of mind.  I had no idea what was in store for me when I came back here.  That I would learn an entirely new aspect of glass.  That I would be welcomed with open arms & such generosity.  That I would get to collaborate and play like I have not done in a very long time.  It has helped me work through some very intense moments.  

Regarding Balance

    Balance is one of those things I have been working on all my life.  It can be quite elusive.  I am not sure if I have ever had this figured out, actually.  Sometimes, I wish there was another one of me - an opposing brained me that could take care of all those things that don't seem to come naturally.  Balance in every aspect of life, takes constant attention. There are many facets to this life.  There is the manic creative that delights in pure expression, this being the most powerful force, the one that drives the bus.  Then there is the part that has to figure out how to fill the gas tank of said bus....
    The variety of activity need to keep going can be a little overwhelming at times.  I seem to go in waves. I get caught up in driving the bus, then, crap, the bus is out of fuel.  And so on and so forth.
    Things have been quite interesting for the past month. I feel like I have been progressing in a very positive way in the glass studio.  Furnace dipping boro is quite a different feel than what I am accustomed to.  I have been adapting my soft glass techniques, blowing into molds making a limited series of small vase-pipes - Morris has kept some amazing colors swrling around in the furnace for me, so I have been producing as much as I possibly can while the furnace is hot.  I have been getting some very positive feedback regarding the work - that is always very encouraging.  The creative juices are in full swing, there aren't enough hours in the day!

     All this being said, life doesn't stop either.  Just as I started to make plans for the Spring & Summer Tours, some pretty heavy family matters have come up.  Enter the unexpected balancing act!
   

A Big Anniversary

    It was exactly one year ago, I was finishing and sending in my application for the Kohler/Corning Residency.  This is an amazing residency sponsored by Kohler (yes the faucet, sink & toilet manufacturer) and the Corning Museum of Glass.  For me, it was a pivotal moment, being the first residency I have ever applied for.  I found that there was a state of mind I needed to get myself into in order to finish the application.  I worked on it for a couple of months, finishing work, taking photographs, and figuring out how to express ideas that I have been mulling over for years into a very short proposal.  I had to completely believe that I was going to be awarded the residency, and wrap my head around what that actually meant.  It meant that I would be leaving Philadelphia, to begin a new chapter of my life.  I would be completely devoting myself to the pursuit of my artwork.  I would be going out on a limb, opening up for others to see. I could be amazing, or fail spectacularly.  I delivered it to the Post Office about 10 minutes until close on the postmark deadline of April 1.  Not that I didn't have enough time to get everything done, it was that I had convinced myself that I was committed to the fact that everything was going to change if I sent the application in.
    Here's the cover letter to the proposal:

I have had my own studio for 11 years, which has allowed me to concentrate on sculpture in a variety of materials.  I have also worked as a project manager/consultant in the creative construction industry.  At the Kohler/Corning Residency Program, I would like to marry these two skill sets to work on a large scale with a team of skilled artisans. I am comfortable working within the dynamics of a studio that has many projects happening simultaneously. As a glass blower and a project manager, I have experience with the give and take that occurs in these situations and believe it strengthens the relationships between the participants, while adding energy to the work.

I have been exploring the idea of sculpture consisting of a vocabulary of symbolic, modular shapes and elements for several years. These elements become symbols that have individual meaning and when put together create new meanings in their relationship to each other, the space and viewer. I see large scale installations that relay the essence of a story, constructed of modular components made of metal, glass, wood, and ceramic. 

    The Proposal:


    I will develop a series of modular pieces of sculpture which will have the potential to be assembled in many different ways.  A vocabulary of shapes, sizes, textures and colors will be created representing individuals, events, and how they relate to and affect each other.  I want to create an experience for viewers that will evoke feelings and emotional responses to this abstract language. I see these forms manifesting as room sized fixed installations, as well as being presented as “kits” for others to assemble using their own vision or expression, thus creating a living language in three-dimension. 

Time line:

Month 1 – Planning, drawing, creating mock-ups, understanding studio logistics and installation spaces

Month 2 – Continue with drawings, mock-ups, begin making models and prototypes

Month 3 – Using a variety of materials, create blow molds and glass manipulation tools

Month 4 - Time at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass to make pieces using these molds and tools in the hot shop, and any cold working that is necessary.

Month 5 – Return to Kohler Arts Center, assess the stock. Plan installations and design non-glass elements

Month 6 – Create non-glass components

Month 7 – Final constructions and site installation.

Here is a link to the photos of the work.

    I thought it was pretty good.  The big thing was that I actually followed through with the application. No more just talking about what I was going to do someday, time to start doing it.  Once that piece was in the mail, things changed for me.  I spent a couple of weeks at my brother's place on the Potomac River, house sitting & trying to figure out what I was going to do with myself.  It was during this time that the seeds for what I am up to now were planted.

   

    

From Teacher To Student

    I believe I made a very good decision.  Actually, I think I have made a series of good decisions.  I am getting accustomed to the altitude here.  The air is such a joy to breathe.  What seems to be taking a bit longer for me is adjusting to the attitude here.  I left a lot of my baggage behind - in Philadelphia and along the trail, but there is plenty left that needs sorting out.  The layers have taken a lifetime to put on, so I suppose it'll take more than a year or two to get through to the core.  I know I am on the right path, anyway.  The travelling has been extremely healthy in that respect, I a becoming very aware of the crap I walk around with.

    Back in January I stopped at Mountain Arts Pottery on a week day evening to check it out.  It is  just down the road from Silica Styles (the glass shop) in Four Corners. They are a hand made pottery company, the work is made there, they have a gallery and a coffee shop on the premises.  I started chatting with the woman behind the counter, and a couple of minutes into the conversation, was invited to dinner at their home!  The woman is Jennie Lockie, who, with her husband David Lockie own the pottery business.  I had a very lovely evening.  Great conversations, in a very relaxed atmosphere.  Made me feel very comfortable and welcome. They have a vibrant business - and make some beautiful work.  Click on this Link to visit their website.
    I have been working very long hours in the glass studio honing my skills - have to get the quality of the work up to snuff - and quickly!  I have been enjoying the learning process, it has been a while since I have learned a drastically new way to work with glass. (Photo album click here!) There are many skills that transfer over, but there are many things that can be done with this type of glass & process that I didn't really understand.  The way this stuff can withstand temperature shock is still blowing my mind.  While my forms are still quite basic, I have been working with some more complicated color applications to make up for it.  Lots of twisty cane and murrini work.  Morris showed me a process called coiling - where you take a rod of glass with colored stripes on it, and as it is heated, you twist it and wrap it onto itself to create a tube. This gets melted in and creates a very attractive effect that reminds me of the look of weaving or knitting.  The best part is that I have been able to use scraps of cane that would otherwise be waste to create effects that are definitely unique - I like that.
    It feels great to be learning every day.  I am revisiting a mindset that I had long ago (in the late '90s), before life got so heavy.  There is a playfulness in the work I am creating now.  I am not bound to a style or specifc sequence of form.  I get to explore.  There is only my own whip cracking - Morris' teaching style is much like my own - he gives plenty of room to play and explore, then steps in when he notices something or is asked a question.  What is really interesting, is that while being the student, I am also teaching.  The habits & way I have been working with glass for the past 18 years are still there - most of which are not traditional flameworking techniques.  Often I will do something - and get to explain it & show the guys a different way of doing something.  The glass is still kicking my ass occasionally, which means I am pushing the limits of my skill level. And that is a Very Good Thing.  Here is a link to some pics that represent a progression of 4 weeks of work.

Cheers!

New Beginnings

    18 years in one area of the world.  Whew. I have been sitting somewhat still for a little more than a full month. Time flies. I am reminded of this when my phone rings - ring tone is the first line from the song "Time" by Pink Floyd. "Ticking  away, the moments that make up a dull day, you fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way".  My high school German teacher would play this song on the last day of class for the outgoing seniors.  I wrote the lyrics on the cover of the sketchbook I carried around the first semester I was at college.  After hearing it at least a thousand times, I still think the guitar solo is one of the most perfect guitar solos ever recorded.
    "And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you, no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun"  This one has always haunted me.  Especially lately.  Full speed towards forty, no real job, no real estate, no children, no pets, no savings, everything I own in a really small truck, some skills, and hopeless optimism.  Living by the grace of good friends, family and strangers, while trying to sort it all out.

    While there is a shortage of hot shops in the Bozeman area, this is not the case with flameworkers.  I have become friends with several recently, and have taken up the craft.
    I was walking around town a few weeks ago - actually, it was that first Tuesday in town - with my fresh fearlessness, noticed a coffee shop called Lil' Sherpa. Note to self - I should check this place out at some point.  I went on to chat with the owner at Altitude Gallery - I noticed on my previous visit that they had some glass work on display.  Had a good conversation, a couple more leads to follow up on - I will admit I was a little tired, I had spent all morning talking about my ideas & plans, and I was beginning to feel it.  Coffee.  Something told me to go back to Lil' Sherpa, so I did.  Talked with a very interesting gal there, showed her one of the short videos I have on the blog of me blowing glass.  She mentioned that there are some glass blowers at an area called Four Corners and that I should go down there (about 10 miles south of town).  Okay, I'll put that on the list.
    The following morning, I hopped in the truck with the idea of driving around to get a feel for the town, and randomly found myself on the road that leads to Four Corners.  I have been by here - on my way to and from San Francisco - this is the road that follows the Gallatin River through the canyon.  I'll take a left.  About a quarter mile down the road I noticed a sign for Silica Styles, a flameworking studio, specializing in tobacco accessories.  Okay, I'll pop in and say hi.
    There is a gallery in front, and a flameworking studio in the side building.  There are some amazing objects in that gallery. I have always had an appreciation for flameworked glass, but for one reason or another things have never worked out for me to pursue it.
    The place is owned by Morris Shull who is quite an interesting character.  He has a lot of energy, I can see the gears constantly turning - kindred spirit - he has the glass bug and has a studio attached to his house! He is a couple of months older than I and started blowing glass about the same time as I - although in a completely different setting.  His experience is primarily in the pipe scene, which is one that I have appreciated and respected, but never quite fully embraced as my own artistic outlet. We hit it off - chatted for a bit and I showed him some of the molds and samples I have in the back of the truck.  He immediately asked me if I would be into collaborating. Whoa. Sure! Sweet.
    Timing is everything. This has been a recurring theme in my life. I bring this up because of my arrival at Silica Styles.  Flameworking involves using torches to reheat the glass, things are traditionally done on workbenches, with premade glass cane and tubing as raw materials.  These are heated up and manipulated in a variety of ways to create whatever-it-is that you may be making.  The scale of the work is generally more intimate than what I accustomed to. Significantly different set up in the studio. They use a type of glass referred to as "hard" glass (pyrex, or borosilicate).  Compared to what I have traditionally worked ("soft" glass), hard glass requires more heat to manipulate, and is much more viscous.  Hard glass can also handle drastic differences in temperature. Not so much with soft glass.
    It just so happens that two weeks prior to my arrival, Morris purchased two little furnaces.  They are designed to hold about 10 pounds of hard glass, at 2350 degrees.  This keeps the glass somewhat molten, allowing us to dip tubing and cane to achieve some effects that cannot be achieved any other way.  Turns out Morris has never worked with glass that has come directly out of a furnace before.  Interesting that I walked in the door when I did.

Archie Bray

    The semester had not quite started, so Cheryl took advantage of the time by organizing an outing to Helena to visit the Archie Bray Foundation with our neighbor Amy.  I have heard of this place before, and it had been mentioned to me several times from different directions, all in the matter of a couple of days. Helena is about an hour & a half from Bozeman, but there were a couple of stops along the way to break up the drive.
    First stop would be at a place called Wheat Montana in Three Forks.  I was able to pick up a five pound sack of oat groats for less than $5!  Simple pleasures!  Breakfast for weeks!
    Next stop would be in Townsend - there is a hot glass studio called Goose Bay Handblown Glass, owned by Jim & Terry Gunderson.  They have a gallery set up in the front & the glassblowing in the back, with chairs set up so you can watch them work.  I had a lovely visit - they even invited me to blow a piece of glass!  Needless to say I was pretty excited!  Its one of those things I don't like to go too long without doing, it was such a pleasure to work in their shop.  The glory hole doors are some of the best I've seen. They open vertically via a handcrank - very easy to adjust and control.  This feature is also great because it allows for a variable size opening depending on what you are making, and it looks like a fiery eye!
    On to Helena!  Archie Bray is a little outside of town, a series of buildings - some occupied, some not, with  a beautiful mountainous backdrop.  It is "'a place to make available for all who are seriously and sincerely interested in any of the branches of ceramic arts, a fine place to work.'  Its primary mission is to provide an environment that stimulates creative work in ceramics."  The artists in residence are there for two years! What a dream.

    We spent the afternoon wandering through the buildings and around the grounds - there is sculpture everywhere.  We also popped into the studios where the residents were busy at work.  We were able to chat with a few, Alanna DeRocchi, Nicholas Bivens & Sean O'Connell.  Small world Alanna and I have mutual friends - I tend to run into that often within the glass & ceramic world.  Our visit there was really inspiring to me, it is a very peaceful place, with the evidence of over half a century of creative energy floating around.  Here is an album of the visit.

Stopped off at Blackfoot River Brewing Company for a quick one on the way home.

 

Hit The Ground Running

Ahhh Bozeman.  My re-arrival came on the first day of 2012.

The road in was great, yet another series of epic views. Just 40 miles south, the road was closed - just outside of Big Sky. The police officer said there was an accident, it would be about 3 hours until the road was opened.
"Is there another way to Bozeman?"
"Yes, back the way you came and in from the West - about a 3 hour drive."

Welcome to Montana!  There is one road to there, and if it's closed, change your plans!  I relaxed and waited - it was only a couple of hours before the road was cleared.  Very happy to be back.  Warm reception, settled in - it was nice they both had off Monday, so we had a chance to hang out, which also gave me a chance to rest up & collect myself in preparation of what was ahead of me.  I came back for a reason.  Home Base.

    Tuesday it began.  For those of you who don't know me very well, I can have a bit of trouble putting myself out there.  My whole thing on this trip has been about putting myself in positions to overcome the things that cause me anxiety & have restricted me from getting on with it, both personally and professionally. Push the boundaries of my comfort zone.  I have no choice but to move forward now. Full tilt.  There are still things from my past that need to be dealt with, but that can only happen by moving forward.  Kind of a funny coincidence, but this little tryptic is displayed very prominately in my room.

    First stop would be the Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture.  Logical place for an new artist to check into - the local Arts Center.  It is a very cool place, I stopped here on my previous visit.  I chatted with folks in the office, and in all the galleries.  My approach has been this:  I came back to Bozeman because of a feeling I got when I drove into town that first night (the full moon eclipse night in December).  This place is ripe for a public access glassblowing studio.  I feel it and everyone I have talked to has given me very positive feedback.  That is why I came back.  It's like there is a critical mass developing & I want to help push it over the edge to help make something happen.  I really enjoy exposing people to glassblowing, through demonstrations,  teaching & collaborating, and I decided to be very open about my thoughts.  Ideas cannot come to fruition if they stay swimming around in my head.  This has lead me on an interesting path since I have landed,  sort of a word of mouth adventure of "you should talk to so-and-so".  I have met a lot of folks so far in my short time here.