Corning

    I found myself in south western New York state.  When one is in these parts and has any interest at all in glass, Corning is a must.  It is one of the glass meccas of the western world and frankly, it had been WAY too long since I have visited.  As it turns out, I have several friends there - one of which I had recently reconnected with in Toledo.  That visit to Toledo turned out to be very pivotal, even though I didn't actually attend the conference itself!  It was exactly what I needed and when I needed it.  That is the way life goes, if you allow it to. That has been one of the toughest lessons for me to learn, but now that I understand and have succumbed to this truth, the world seems to open up as needed.
    Jeremy and I have some history that goes back to former lives, and we hadn't actually seen each other since then.  He also attended Tyler, and worked at a manufacturing company in north Philadelphia, where I was a Project Manager. He had commented to me one day that he had never been West of the Mississippi, so I requested that he accompany me on my business trips out West.  He was a fantastic companion, as I had a tendency to get a bit manic, he would always remain steady, and keep me as level as was possible at the time.  He is now Technician and Teacher at The Corning Museum of Glass' Studio, and has a place just outside of Corning.  When I ran in to him in Toledo, he offered up, so being in the area, I decided to give him a call.
    The Corning Museum of Glass is an amazing place.  The collection runs the gamut, I am a real fan of the super early stuff.  Egyptian, Roman, the stuff that was made way back in the day when glassblowing was Invented.  For the First Time.

    There is a fantastic collection of such objects at the museum.  Researched, restored & displayed to let you know where this all started.  Things were made two thousand years ago that would take a lifetime to recreate!  That is one of the things I love about glass (in case you are keeping a tally)  there are tools and techniques that I have learned, that someone discovered thousands of years ago. Without a Natural Gas pipeline. Or a welder. Or electricity. Fire, sand, and seaweed, man.  It is a healthy perspective on life, culture and society to trace it back to its Roots.  You have probably heard the phrase "It's all been done before".  Bare Naked Ladies wrote a damn song about it.  You go to the Corning Museum, and you see all those original thoughts you thought you had, that someone had a thousand years ago.  Then you bring that current, add the twenty years that I have been at it, watching how it has all expand exponentially even in that short time,  and it is a bit overwhelming.  It is pretty amazing to me that all these objects exist, and am grateful that they are preserved & presented in a way that is accessible to contemporary attention spans.  Here is a link to a batch of pics.  Be sure to read the captions!
    I stayed for about a week - I originally planned on staying for just a couple of days - I was supposed to be in Cincinnati in early November, and didn't really want to jam up my schedule - but a couple of things came up.  Hurricane Sandy was one - as I had to pass through Philadelphia & Gettysburg on the way - I didn't think heading southeast straight at it would be the brightest move.  The second was that mid way through the week, Jeremy's teaching assistant for the weekend class had a schedule conflict, the position was in turn offered to me.  I am not the type to turn down an opportunity to teach, especially at The Studio in Corning! I managed to keep myself occupied between the museum, fireplace, pool table, great food, beer, company, and catching up on computer work, that the week flew by in a very pleasant manner.
    I neglected to mention above that Corning has the Rakow Research Library, perhaps the most extensive collection of glass related materials in a single location in the world.  I didn't even go there....saving that one for another trip.
    Suddenly, I am teaching at The Studio in Corning!  Pretty much all of the world renown artists who teach workshops have been affiliated with this shop at some point. You see that is the deal with taking a class at the Studio at Corning.   It is a beautifully equipped, immaculately maintained place to blow glass.  They don't mess around. Period.  Except for the messing around.  It maintains a balance between tight & laid back like no other place I have been to.  Which is why it was such a great thing to be invited to be there.  I was the Teacher's Assistant for the cane working workshop.  It was kind of great (aside from all the obvious reasons) for the role reversal, as Jeremy always worked for me in the past, and now I was working for him!  We had only been in the hot shop together once before, a really long time ago, and in our former lives.  He is a fantastic teacher, and we worked very well together.  The students were great, and we tried a couple of things that none of us had ever seen any one do before. Including this fun thing with a cordless drill attacking a cane pickup!  My visit ended with a few hours of blow time, where I got to pull out my molds and introduce everyone.  Wouldn't you know it, another long standing friend was blowing on the bench beside us!  It was a blast!

Roman Style Glass Blowing

    About mid way through my stint on Philly I saw a post from my friend Angus Powers on Facebook.  He has built a Roman Style wood fired furnace in his backyard.  My immediate response was something along the lines of "I want to play!"  It's like when the neighbor kid got the new Star Wars toy you've always seen in catalogues, but didn't have yourself.  In response to all the comments, he decided to host an open house, for all to come & participate.  I am so there.

    The open house was on Saturday, and I had work booked through Friday night around 10 pm.  I worked a 12 hour day in the hot shop, packed the truck, and headed North.  Alfred is about 6 or 8 hours from Philadelphia, I have actually never been there before.  I drove 'till about 3 am, and passed out on an exit ramp somewhere in upstate PA.  I woke at sunrise, had breakfast in some small town along the way, and rolled into Angus' driveway 5 minutes prior to the start of the open house.  Strange sensation pulling into the driveway, as I had never been there before, for a split second I wasn't really sure if I was in the right place!  That does happen to me once in a while, I just figure there is no embarrassment in making a mistake, so long as a shotgun doesn't appear....
    Angus has a fabulous backyard, the furnace overlooks the valley near Alfred, NY.  Just like his backyard, his life and family are fabulous as well.  Few folks have his kind of energy - it is infectious - I always appreciate the moments I get to spend around him.  This was no exception.  The little wood fired shop is amazing.  It is one of those things that all glassblowers want to experience, but few actually ever build.  Angus is a bit of a pioneer in this field -  this is not the first that he has built, he is getting pretty good at it. I am very much looking forward to owning the book (Hint, Hint).  The furnace is stoked by his friend & fellow pyro, Dan.  Everything needed to make glass is right there in the lean-to, except the annealer.  It is about 30 yards up the hill in the studio.  Which means after you are finished forming the glass, there is one last flash heat, the piece is held up for the spectator's approval, then, as the applause fades out in the distance, you jog up the hill through the autumn mist, hot finished glass on the end of the stick.  There wasn't a single casualty from the Olympic style marathon to the annealer.
    I had a blast.  There is a mini bench in front of the furnace, close to the ground, so the flames coming from the opening of the furnace do not remove facial hair.  It just so happens that I have a shorty blow pipe which turned out to be the perfect size - it got lots of use that day.  One by one, I would bring the molds out.  I would make a piece, do the triathlon up the Hill,  have a sip of cider, then go to the truck & walk another one down, and quietly place it behind the bench.  There were lots of folks there, we all took turns making stuff.  It was an experience like no other, as far as blowing goes.  Totally different than gas or electric fired equipment.  It really felt like I was getting to the roots of my craft. Here are some pics of the fun!
    The open house was timed with an event down at the school, where a massive iron pour was taking place.  We went down that way to watch, if you've never seen an iron pour, its a pretty wild thing to see.  Fire, sparks and molten metal.  Here are some pics.
    The day ended with an invitation to the local homebrew club Halloween party.  I am a little anxious about going to parties where I only now one or two folks, especially Halloween, when I don't have a costume.  Never fear when Angus is near.  He produced a costume from the garage for me (he just has these things laying around, you see).  Bacon!!!  The best ice breaker costume EVER!

Because Bacon makes everything better!   

Tyler Art Market & A Fresh Attitude

    I suddenly had a plan.  It felt like I was just getting into the groove of this whole not having a plan thing!  Now I'm going to move to Georgia, go back to school, RENT AN APARTMENT, maybe even get a part time job. This is Craziness!  But first things first, I had to get back to Philadelphia for the Tyler Art Market - my first art show since Hot Glass Cold Beer in April.  The Art Market was a collection of talented folks, most of whom I either went to school with or know from my years in the Philadelphia area.  I decided to go with the travelling salesman theme, my display consisting of the various suitcases I carry my work around in.  I think there is a lot of potential with this theme - although I will admit, I need to refine it a bit more.

    Doing a show like this is an interesting exercise.  You learn a lot about what you are all about when you put it out there for the public to see.  There is this idea of what you stand for that dictates everything, the process of making, the subtleties of your designs, how things are arranged on the table, the whole package.  Things look great (or not so) in your mind, in the vacuum of your Space,  and then you put it out there, for all to see.  You make a commitment to these objects, these are a part of your being and soul, there is so much energy that goes through you into these things.  Now there they sit, arranged on a table, and there you stand, not really knowing what to do the present situation.
    I do not always handle this part very well.  I tend to have no problems selling the interaction of person / material in the sense of making.  Get me in the shop, and I shine, demos, lessons, playtime - I love it and I thrive - but when it comes to the objects, the residue of the experience of making....that's seems to be a different story.  One of those things that I am working on.

    All this said, I had a BLAST at the show.  I made many new friends, saw many long standing ones, sold some work, maybe even inspired a couple of budding glass artists!  I was pretty exhausted afterwards, and was reminded of what a friend once said about trade shows - "It's like giving birth to a child - by the time it comes around again, you have forgotten how painful it is!"  I spent Recovery Monday at East Falls Glassworks, planning out the next couple of weeks worth of lessons.  All in All, my stay in Philadelphia this time around was really fun, I was able to catch up with quite a few folks that I missed the last time around.

Americus

    When I was blowing glass on the back of the truck in Toledo, a very mellow fellow named Devan Cole approached me.  We had a short conversation, all of about 20 minutes, he's a glassblower involved in a school in southwestern Georgia, and after seeing the molds, suggested that I should come for a visit.  Sure.  Why not?  A couple of months later I received an email from Devan, wondering if I was still interested, and laying out some possible details.  We sorted all that stuff out & tuned in on some dates.  At this point it was getting to be late September, almost Autumn in fact.  I had a wedding to attend, then would make my way south after that.

    I have only been to Georgia a few times, Savannah & Atlanta.  I thought about attending Savannah College of Art & Design back in '93, but the price tag was a little steep.  And they didn't offer glass.  What a different life that would have been... My time in Atlanta had been spent between a hotel bar & the mall - I was overseeing the installation of a store's worth of fixtures in a former life.
    Meanwhile, I was finishing up some work time in Philadelphia, and planting some seeds for a return - I had been notified that I was accepted to the Art Market at Tyler, this gave me a positive date that I would be back in town.  A loose plan was starting to develop. Sometimes it is a comfort to have things lined up, other times it is a comfort to be completely open!  One must allow time for things to materialize on their own, you know.
   The trip South was very pleasant, except for the fact that I had to make sure that I always parked uphill when refueling, so that I could pop start the truck - my starter had finally given out on me, I would eventually replace it.  I am not much of a vehicle mechanic - but this truck is very straight forward - two bolts & a little grime & truck starts like a champ!

  I stopped off in Durham to visit & spent a day helping to trick out the shop there.  There is always a list of things to be done in a glass studio, and my hands were much appreciated.  The following evening I made my way to Americus via mostly two lane roads (the best way to travel), past pecan groves and fields of peanuts.  It was harvest time, so the air was thick with the smell of fresh peanuts being pulled from the ground.  They actually till the plants up & flip them over in rows, so that the peanuts are exposed to the air.  They dry out a little like this, then are gathered & separated from the plant & loaded into big bins and carried away to be processed.
    Landed late that night, met up with Devan, then proceeded to head to the hot shop.  Upon entering the shop, I immediately felt comfortable.  The shop is located on the far side of campus (around back), with a row of trees to block the art area from the rest of the campus.  The studio has a rough edge to it, although everything functions beautifully.  The benches and equipment are set up well for working solo.  It is very rare to find a place like this.

    The program was started in the early 70's, and had been under the direction of Ralph Harvey from the mid 70's up through a few years ago, when it was taken over by Charles Wells.  Ralph is quite a character, and frequents the shop nearly everyday in his retirement.  We immediately hit it off & had some fun playing around with my molds.  It is always such an honor to blow glass with someone who has been working in the material as long as I have been alive.  I am rapidly reaching that point myself, having been first introduced to this stuff 19 years ago - often I will be working with folks who are in their early 20's and suddenly realize that they were like two years old when I started!
    Charles is a brilliant multi-media sculptor, who does an excellent job keeping everything rolling. The glass department is small, but well equipped, and well run.  The vibe in the shop reminded me very much of Tyler when I first started.  Loose, and open.  If you have an idea, try it & see what happens.  Charles asked me on the first day what I would like to accomplish while I am visiting.  I have had an idea for a mold floating around in my head for about a year now, and decided that I should build it & see what happens.  My initial intention was to use this opportunity to create work that I could use to apply for a Wheaton Fellowship - going back to that feeling of needing to settle down for a little bit.
    The mold I ended up creating is a step further into the idea of never making the same thing twice.  There are 12 spring loaded buttons that are pushed in by one, two, three, or four people while the bubble is inside the mold.  The glass is hidden, so that everyone is working by feel.  The ends of the buttons are threaded, so the parts that come in contact with the glass are interchangeable.  The end product has varied greatly, there are so many different factors involved, that each time has been a new experience.  Right now, I am more interested in the process and interaction of the participants with the mold & the materials, than in the actual lump of stuff that comes out of the mold.  It was a big deal for me to be able to create this piece, a big step in a direction I have been wanting to explore for some time. Here are some pics from the first few days & the mold.
    The visit culminated with a big demo which involved everyone.  Charles had a life sized head mold that we blew, and placed it in the annealer.  For the next couple of hours, everyone took turns blowing into molds, and attaching the pieces to the head with a "Hot Ball" (a little glue bit of hot glass).  There were some technical difficulties, and we took it all a little too far, the piece ended up breaking, but the energy in the room was awesome! Here is a link to some shots of the demo.

    The day prior to this demo, during a conversation in the morning, Charles had asked me if I have ever considered going back to school to finish my degree.  I never finished my BFA, you see - I had an opportunity to start a studio with a friend in '97, and have meandered through various career paths since.  I did consider it about 10 years ago, for CAD and industrial design, but was offered a job as a Project Coordinator - the job I would be looking for once I graduated with that degree, so of course I took the job. It is something that has always hung over my head, but could not justify the enormous debt I would incur to have a piece of paper that says I can blow glass.  There are certain advantages to obtaining the degree, I am aware of that, it would really free me up to pursue the bigger dreams and ideas.  I could come back to Americus as a Continuing Education Student and once a Georgia resident, attend school & finish my BFA.  I told him I would give it some thought.  Took me about a half hour (I didn't want to appear too eager).
    So that is the New Plan.  I am moving to Georgia at the end of the year.  I will be able to sit still-ish for a bit, finish my BFA, get an MFA somewhere in the world, and then see what happens after all that.  I didn't see this one coming, but very glad it has!

Hmmm...Made In China Studio, in Americus, GA...I like the way that sounds.

Summer Intensity

    The summer was pretty amazing - in many ways.  There was a lot of reflection, soul searching, heart ache, and joy.  Oh, and it was HOT! Record temps in Durham when I was there - like 108!  Left that to Oklahoma's 119!  Dry heat is still f-ing hot & there IS a major difference between 100 and 120, trust me! Anyway, I digress.  Typical of the Oklahoma born male to  revert to weather talk to avoid serious conversation....

   Much happened personally, I finally opened up & let some shit go that had been standing in my way.  Re-evaluation, if you will.  Looking some of my big issues in the face.  Feeling more empowered about where I am in life.  Patterns of behavior that need to change if I am ever going to move forward.  I started to feel a need to sit still for a bit.  Sometimes feelings appear while travelling down one path, then suddenly the path takes a completely unexpected turn on you. That feeling stayed true, but my sitting still did not happen the way I thought it was going to.
    I ended up at my sister's place in Gettysburg one evening.  She had mentioned in an email that I was welcome to come and stay for however long I needed to rest and patch my bones.  Boy, did I need it.  That day at the spa in Hot Springs Arkansas did not cut it (BTW, I highly recommend visiting Hot Springs Arkansas - that water is Amazing!).  I arrived in Gettysburg with it in my mind that I was going to hunker down & home base it for like a month at least.  There were a couple of opportunities that had presented themselves since GAS, and I needed something to do to fill in the gaps.  Not to mention I sort of had the wind knocked out of me a couple of times recently, and just needed to take a break!

    I set up my portable lampworking rig in the garage, so my nephews and I could screw around with it, and proceeded to visit long standing friends and family.  The second day back involved getting lost in the woods  and then found again, with two of my best friends - like we used to do as teenagers.  At a certain point, I actually made plans to start working at a farmer's market, just give up on this whole thing altogether and go sell fruit.  That is when I received a message from the Tyler Alumni regarding the Art Market in early October.  It took me all of ten minutes to apply, so after that I called Nik at East Falls in Philadelphia to inquire about any possible gigs at the glass studio.  That was on a Friday.  He hooked me up teaching a Fun With Glass class on Sunday, and then a smattering of lessons throughout the week.  Back in the saddle again.  Whew, that was close!  Here are some pics from all that....

There's a Glory Hole to be Built!

   Before leaving North Carolina in early June,  it was proposed to me that I should return after the GAS conference to Durham to help build some new equipment.  Originally, I was going to head out to Oklahoma and then back to Durham, but time and money were running a bit short.  So instead I aimlessly meandered South through Ohio and into West Virginia - into the town of  Williamstown.  A small sign lead me to the now closed Fenton Art Glass factory!  I had totally forgotten about this place.  Sad to see a place that has been around for so long no longer in business.  Right around the corner is the Gabbert Cullet company, who we used to get all of our cullet from in college.  Cullet is the name for scrap glass that can be remelted & used.  Theirs was the best.  I remember shovelfuls of little clear teddy bears and angels being thrown into the hot furnace!  We used a bit of their color too, the red was beautiful, as was the crazy carnival glass fabrine blue, and the peachblow...that was weird stuff.  They also had this fantastic striking opal, that would fade from opaque white through blueish white into clear.

    How strange to just happen upon this place after just attending the GAS conference.  I suddenly remembered another - Blenko!  I now had a plan, or the next destination, at least.  Stayed over in the parking lot of a fancy rest stop near Milton, WV.  First thing in the morning, I was at the Blenko Factory.
Blenko is one of my all time favorites.  They do a lot of mold blowing, and have had some pretty fantastic designers in their day.  They have this water bottle that was designed in 1938 and is still in production.  One of my all time favorite glass objects.

A table full of them!

    I spoke with the shop manager - I will admit, I was trying to get my foot in the door to be a guest designer - I think some of my designs would fit nicely in their catalog.  We had a great conversation about glass and the intricacies of dancing with the stuff.  I would really love to hang out at the factory some day & make some glass with those guys.  Unfortunately for me, they were not blowing that day, but casting billets for Dalle de Verre, which turns out to be one of the reasons they are surviving.  They also make rondels for stained glass windows, which is another item that is rare to find.  They have a scrap yard of colored glass that is for sale.

I ended up purchasing some cullet at 50 cents a pound, I'll take some red, thank you very much!  

This is the piece I made later on with that red.  

    Made it to Durham the next day, about a week ahead of when I was expected.  All good, my friend Paul is pretty laid back and open about visitors, I was welcome to chill.  The main project was to build a new glory with a 12" opening, using primarily the materials that Paul has been accumulating over the last couple of decades.  This is my style of equipment building!  Use what you have on hand, and adapt it to your needs.  I have put together a slide show, at this link, of the construction process.  

   All in all I stayed in the area for about 4 weeks. I threw in quite a bit of pleasure with the work - much needed after the previous summer (I spent most of that preparing to leave Philadelphia).  I checked out a fair amount of Central NC, as well as an unforgettable camping trip to the ocean.  My second time ever to the North Carolina beaches, I highly recommend!  It was a blissful month, one that I am so very fortunate to have experienced.  I was reluctant to leave, so I made plans to return after visiting my father.

The GAS Conference

    It had been many years since I have attended a Glass Art Society conference.  My first was in Tuscon in 97.  There have been a few more, Tampa, Seattle, Adelaide Australia, St Louis & Pittsburgh.  I have been talking the Toledo conference up during all my travels.  And it finally arrived.  About a week prior to the conference I realised that I actually could not afford the admission fees.  Nonetheless, having attended previous conferences, I knew that there would be lots of activities going on that I could check out without actually attending the conference.  I will admit that it was a strange experience.  Sort of an outsider feel.  I came upon this sculpture at the ballpark downtown, and it sums up what it felt like!

    But everything happens as it is supposed to, and for a reason.  I spent a lot of the time checking out the city, galleries & museums.  I ran into some friends from River Falls in the first couple of hours - some of the students that had participated in my demos last November, as well as Eoin Breadon & his family.  I attended a great party the first night at Firenation Glass Studio & Gallery where I met a few new & a few long standing friends.  I found out that Eoin would be demonstrating the next day at a venue that I could actually attend - I was pretty psyched.  It would take place at a mobile studio on the back of a box truck, located in a parking lot.  The truck belongs to Neusole Glassworks and wasn't part of the formal GAS agenda.  Sounds just about right.  His demo was a blast to watch, and a great way to spend an afternoon.

    The last day of the conference,  the students from River Falls gave a kick-ass demo at the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art.  This would be the one time I bent the rules a little & snuck in to watch.  The demo was beautifully coordinated, and well practiced.  Everyone worked together well and the piece went very smoothly - they created a blown & sculpted Falcon in a Nest.

     The one big deal at the end of the conference is the party.  It is included in your conference fee & is historically awesome.  I wanted to attend, but could not justify paying the equivalent of several tanks of gasoline for a few hours of partying with folks.  The networking was over at that point, and that would really be the main reason for attending.  I was actually gong to leave town before the party started until I received a  phone call from Eoin.  He had been talking with Jason Chakravarty from Neusole Glassworks.  I met up with them.  Jason asked me how I managed blowtime to make work, seeing how I am travelling all the time. 

"Do you Poach it?"  This is probably one of my favorite questions I have been asked.  

"Sure, man. Why do you ask?"

"There is a furnace on the back of a truck with about 50 lbs of glass in it that needs to be emptied"

"When?"

"Right Now"

    I followed them back to the truck in the parking lot & met the crew of the truck, Logan & Josh.  I pulled a bunch of the molds out of my truck.  Those who had not seen my molds before got pretty excited.  The guys gave me a studio orientation, and we started to play.  The River Falls folks all came by to watch, (and take some great photos, click here) as did a few other folks, it was nice to have the audience.

    First up was with a blowpipe that my friend Chad recently custom made for me.  It is a shorty with a long head, designed for use with small furnaces where you gather out from the top.  The opening in the head is a bit larger, so it requires less pressure to inflate a bubble.  This pipe was originally designed for use with the boro furnaces I was playing with in Montana, but did not acquire it until my recent trip to Gettysburg.  The glass they were using on the truck was Bullseye, which I had not blown since 1995.  Turns out it was great for mold blowing!  There are a few items left from this session available on my Etsy Store (Click Here).

    I must say it was a beautiful evening for blowing glass on the back of a truck.  The sun set in front of us, and as it grew dark, we worked by the glow of the glory hole & the ambient light of the street lights.  A block away in view, there was a wedding reception at a restaurant, the well dressed attendees would periodically stroll over to see what we were up to.  Others would come and go, and for our final feat, all three of us blew into different molds at the same time & stuck the strange glowing shapes together hot.

    I came to Toledo to network, although I did not make a large Quantity of connections, the connections I made were very Quality ones!