Blow by Blow

Competition, Exhibition, Education - Lifeforms

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:35:21 -0400

“Lifeforms” is a two-part exhibition coordinated by Robert Mickelsen and inspired by the Rudolf and Leopold Blaschka glass biological models made in the 19th and 20th centuries for the Harvard University’s Botanical Museum.

More information about entry guidelines can be found at both Pittsburgh Glass Center’s website and the Lifeforms website.

If a competition and exhibition weren’t enough, the lead organizer and world renowned artist, Robert Mickelsen will be offering a week long all levels class focused on creating glass Lifeforms July 1-5. Robert’s classes the last several years have all filled to capacity and often had a wait list so we’re dumbfounded that this class still has space available.

The Lifeforms deadline was originally May 1, but it was announced just this week that it would be extended to May 8! That’s a whole extra week to get gorgeous entries in.

To delight and inspire, Robert has graciously shared a selection of the entries that have already been submitted. I’m so impressed by the diverse interpretations of the life in our world- enjoy!

Carol Baum, “Eternal Bloom” Rosa Sinensis - Gardiner, NY

Kimberly Fields, “Courtship” Ramphastos Sulphuratus - Metamora, MI

Jaccie Delaney, “Fossilizations: Lookdown Fish” Selene Vomer - Columbus, OH

Victor Trabucco, “Midnight Orchid” Cattleya Intermedia - Clarence, NY

Supporting PGC from Within - Pittsburgh Marathon

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:51:54 -0400

I’m very fortunate to work at Pittsburgh Glass Center and for nearly 10 years now!

It was 2003 that I ran my first marathon and joined the staff at Pittsburgh Glass Center, two completely independent events that I never realized would intersect 10 years later.

I actually interviewed to get the marketing job at PGC on a platform of expertise in triathlon as proof of my ability to multitask among other special skills that allude me now. Regardless, they bought it.

I think that I was a good influence on my coworkers and became an important member of the team. In 2008, I was invited to go to San Francisco for the Nike Women’s Marathon with our executive director Heather McElwee for her first marathon along with good friends and PGC volunteers Marie and Shelley. It was a great adventure. Everyone finished successfully. I realized how fortunate I was to be among such smart, caring, fit and fun friends at PGC.

I’m excited this year that PGC was selected as an official charity of the Pittsburgh Marathon.

I’m psyched to see even more of my coworkers quickly get on board to participate in everything from the 5K to the marathon. This shows the true team spirit at PGC. It’s the people here that make it such a special place to work and a world-class facility to make art.

Running a 10K to celebrate 10 years at PGC never even crossed my mind. I’m in for the long haul. That’s why I signed up for the marathon. Both my paperweights and my marathon may be wonky, but I’m giving it everything I’ve got! PGC can count on me!

Please support our efforts by making a donation and coming out to cheer us on from the sidelines on May 5.

Paige Ilkhanipour is the Marketing Director at Pittsburgh Glass Center. After working here for nearly 10 years, her enthusiasm for the magic of glass is a testament to the fact that the magic never gets old.

Meet the PGC Staff - Billy Guilford

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:00:17 -0400

Inspired by how often we hear that a crucial element to Pittsburgh Glass Center’s awesomeness is the staff, we’re starting a new blog series that will feature individual staff members.

Because the staff isn’t the only human component to our success, we’ll be starting up a series about volunteers, board members, instructors and students as well.

This week, we’re starting off with a staffer who won’t be here much longer. Whether he’ll be heading off to grad school to get his MFA in Glass or traveling cross county for a few months is yet to be determined. But come June, the talented and friendly Billy Guilford will be leaving PGC.

Cue sadfaces.

Billy came to PGC as a technical apprentice in 2010 and continued on as a full time studio technician after that. He’s taught several advanced glassblowing classes including ones focused on specific techniques like color application, cane and incalmo. He’s also done countless demonstrations for the public (maybe you saw one or two?) at our monthly Hot Jams all the while continuing to develop his own stunning body of work.

Before he leaves us, let’s get to know him a little better.

Where are you from?

Cleveland, Ohio

How did you get into glass?

I started out with ceramics, and then at Alfred I took a Hot 1 class and got hooked.

Who and/or what informs/influences your work?

Living in the Pittsburgh has been very influential. I am also very interested in the idea that we are all connected in one way or another. I am also very inspired by Venetian cane work, and classic Venetian forms.

Describe your favorite piece you’ve made.

I am excited about a new series I call moon towers. I am using the optic quality of the glass to distort the inside cane patterns.

If you had six months with no obligations or financial constraints, what would you do with the time?

Travel, and enjoy the outdoors. Some activities would include heli skiing in Alaska, rock climbing in Italy, and surfing in Australia.

When you have 30 minutes of free time, what do you do with it?

Research

Dogs or cats?

DOGS

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Calm and Collected

What are you going to miss most about Pittsburgh?

PGC - all the people here, and the studio facilities. I will also miss the city, and biking to Pirates games in the summer.

The next time you are around, say hi to Billy and wish him luck on his next adventure!

Local Glass Art Gets Psyched for Spring!

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:00:00 -0400

I am so excited to see more glass at Phipps, especially because its all hand crafted in the region. Beginning on April 27, glass will glow in the gardens at Phipps Conservatory for the Summer Flower Show 2013! Featuring the creations of 11 talented artists working in the Pittsburgh region, each display will incorporate delicate, dazzling and whimsical forms surrounded by colorful blooms.

I’ve been surprised to catch some of the artists at work here in the studios at PGC. Glass exhibitions are magical to me because I rarely see the artists at work during the day. Either they are magic (they pretty much are) or work feverishly in the wee hours of the day and night to create these amazing works of art.

I’ve been watching a life-size wooly mammoth take shape in our studios for a while. It is going to be extraordinary. Life-size! The skull alone is almost bigger than me. Chris and Travis have meticulously been in the hot shop blowing each vertebrae and stretching and sculpting each rib to precision. See it and believe it.

Jason Forck has also been hard at work creating a new installation of Chinese Lanterns for display in the gardens. They are exquisite. I wonder how they will be displayed?

I haven’t seen Daviea Davis but I’ve seen her mosaic towers of light on Facebook. These will really come to life at night in the gardens.

I’m looking forward to seeing all of these works on display in the gardens and experiencing the others for the first time. See a full list of the artists and get more details about what they are creating.

International Flame Conference - Salem Community College

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:37:00 -0400

Every year, Salem Community College hosts the International Flame Conference which brings the flameworking community together for master demonstrations and panel discussions. The 2013 conference was held this past weekend March 22-24 and our own flame instructor, Melissa Fitzgerald was in attendance.

When she returned, she was eager to share what she enjoyed and what she learned and of course, photos!

Why do you think it is important to attend the IFC?

It brings the flame community together from all around the world, and is a great opportunity to make new friends/connections. It’s a chance to talk with others about what they are working on, new ideas and possible collaborations. You can also learn about new products on the market and learn more about products that are already on the market, new colors and color combinations. Salem Community College and the Samuel H. Jones Glass Education Center is an amazing facility with great program(s) - the conference is a great opportunity to visit this place that every flameworker should visit at some point. Watching demonstrations from talented artists, taking in those subtle how to moves, learning what tools others favor and getting turned on to new techniques is just an awesome way to spend a weekend.

Who is one person you met that you thought was a valuable connection?

Vittorio Costantini and his translator Emilio Santini told the best stories of growing up on Murano and Burano. Aside from meeting Paul Stankard, I met upcoming artists/hobbyists, masters, instructors, distributors and more. It’s difficult to narrow it down, every new person I met was great and a valuable connection, even if only a new friend.

What was your favorite thing that you saw or learned at the conference?

Abe Fleishman from Northstar Glassworks and Jahnny Rise’s demo on Sunday wins hands down. They gathered Borosilicate from a crucible and hand pulled colored tubing. Abe is one of the leading innovators in the glass color world for flameworking. He had everyone’s attention as he gathered borosilicate glass as if he was in the hot shop, triple dipped gathers on the end of a modestly sized piece of boro tubing and because it held so much heat he was able to work it into the proper shape for pulling. Listening to his experiences from when he first began, to his trial and error of today - it was very inspiring. We all need to continually push forward.

Melissa Fitzgerald teaches beginning through advanced flameworking classes, at Pittsburgh Glass Center throughout the year. She frequently demonstrates at our monthly Hot Jams.

A New Website is Born

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:03:20 -0500

Pittsburgh Glass Center is thrilled to announce our new website. If you follow us on Facebook, you were likely refreshing your page many times on Monday before the new site came live in the late afternoon. As with most things in life, not everything went as planned on launch day and yet I’m still told by the awesome guys at Bearded that it was what they would call a relatively smooth launch. The stress and anticipation we experienced were all perfectly normal, so to that we say YAY!

The way technology works these days, and the rapid rate of growth and development, it’s a true wonder that our now old site served us so well for 5 whole years. With the increase in functionality, flexibility and adaptability in this new site, we look forward to it lasting us another 5 years.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be updating and tweaking certain features to optimize as much as possible to make your experience on the site as smooth as possible. We worked tirelessly to get it pretty close to perfect before launch, but we know there’s still work to do. We ask for your patience while we transition into this new exciting web presence. Please do let us know if you find things that aren’t working or could use improvement—your feedback is invaluable.

To learn more about the exciting features implemented on the new site, check out the project page on Bearded’s site.

This development of this new website was generously supported by The Emma Clyde Hodge Foundation.

Some Staff Favorites

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:46:54 -0400

Over 100 pieces of glass art were donated for this year’s auction. 22 of those pieces were curated into the Live Auction by Executive Director Heather McElwee. The staff was asked to pick a favorite piece from the live auction, assuming cost, size and any other limiting factors were eliminated. The work here is stellar and to choose a favorite was a tough task but several staff members rose to that challenge!

Heather McElwee, Executive Director

Jeremy Lepisto- Central Symmetry

“I love the simplicity in his work and the reference to architectural elements, plus this piece in particular reminds me of Pittsburgh’s bridges.”

Jason Forck, Youth Education Coordinator

Benjamin Moore- Cobalt Interior Fold

“I like the way Ben combines classic technical skills with a modern sense of design to create these interior fold vessels.”

Brian Engel, Studio Coordinator

Benjamin Moore- Cobalt Interior Fold

“I’ve been eyeballing this piece from the time it came out of the box and dreaming about how wonderful it would be to have it as a part of my collection. For me this piece is a constant reminder of the bridge built by Mr. Moore between Venetian technique and contemporary American design. We as glass artists are forever in debt to Ben Moore for his contributions to the Studio Glass Movement and Venetian connection, and this piece stands as a constant reminder.”

It’s no wonder this Benjamin Moore piece was a favorite—it has already sold at the Buy It Now price.

Billy Guilford, Studio Technician

Janusz Pozniak- Reticello Veronese

“Aesthetically the Veronese is perfect - the proportions are dead on, and as a glass artist I appreciate that kind of thing.

Paige Ilkhanipour, Marketing Director

Rik Allen & Shelley Muzylowski-Allen- Super Mouse Saves the Day!

“It would go perfectly with my Zoot Zipper by Rik Allen.”

Sam Laffey, Marketing Associate

Lyla Nelson, Botanicals

“I love that this piece is nature inspired—most of the artwork I own is nature inspired and organic so it just fits well. I also love the juxtaposition of muted and bright colors and the deep and detailed texture.”

Becky Smith, Instructor

Jeff Mack- Guggenheim Goblet

“This piece has so much history wrapped up in all it’s detail and difficulty. I love that I got to see Jeff make it at PGC when he was here last summer.”

So, now we ask you, if cost, size, etc was no issue, what is your favorite? What would you most like to have in your home?

All photos by Nathan J. Shaulis.

Between Summer and Fall

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 10:25:00 -0400

Did Summer go fast for you? It went really fast here at PGC! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not really the end of summer yet—I mean, we have summer hours through September 4, right? But yesterday signified the end of our summer session of classes which for us is a big deal. The summer session of classes is the only time of year where the whole building operates in a different way and at a different pace. We see students and instructors come from all over the world to work here in our studios and really creative wonderful things happen.

Check out some more of the amazing photos captured during these classes this summer!

But, now official PGC Fall doesn’t start until mid September. What are we up to until then? This is down time for our studios and equipment when ovens are cool and our technicians can get in and do routine maintenance as well as complete seriously needed repairs so that everything is ready to go for the aforementioned fall class season. You might be surprised to see what goes into cleaning and maintaining of our thousand pound hot glass furnaces—someone has to actually crawl inside to do the work!

Meanwhile, our office staff fields calls and emails to answer questions for people planning to sign up for fall classes, as well as plans the event of the year, our annual fundraiser Art on Fire Celebration & Auction! This year our theme is super heroes as we celebrate the artists and supporters that have helped PGC thrive for its first 10 years and help us to prepare for the next decade! If you’ve never attended this party in the past, it’s really a treat with tasty food and drinks and up close views of incredible glass art. Plus all the money raised supports PGC’s education and exhibition programs!

And of course, even though the building is quiet during this hiatus between summer and fall, we’re still open to the public during our normal summer hours (M 10-4, T-Th 10-7, Fr-Sat 10-4, closed Sunday) so visitors can see the amazing 10x10x10 exhibition in our gallery. It’s been lauded as one of the best shows in PGC’s history so you really can’t miss it—it’s up through September 17th!

Hot & Sticky: A Night of Xtreme Art & Entertainment on July 23!

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:58:00 -0400

If the current weather holds out, the name of this event will certainly prove to be very apropos, and really we weren’t taking a huge gamble on that scheduling this event in late July in Pittsburgh, were we?

So far our 10th anniversary celebrations have been amazing. We kicked it off with the 10th fundraiser Art on Fire Celebration & Auction in October of 2010 raising over $100,000 in one night to support the artistic and educational programs that we offer throughout the year. Then, we followed up with some Xtreme class offerings, and number “10” themed exhibitions. If you haven’t yet seen the current 10x10x10 exhibition featuring 220 artists, it’s really not to be missed. If you can’t make it in to see it in person, there is a digital catalog showcasing all the work thanks to our favorite local photographer Nathan J. Shaulis.

It’s all been building up to this big birthday BBQ on July 23 called Hot & Sticky!

Some of the exciting elements of this killer party are:

Tasty Treats

Corn lollipops, bourbon shrimp, finger lickin’ ribs, pulled pork and more from 2 Brothers BBQ

Sweet treats from Dave & Andy’s Homemade Ice Cream

Cool Refreshments

Your favorite microbrews and mine from East End Brewing

Tasty twisted cocktails from Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka and FUZE

Caffeine to keep you going all night long from Voluto Coffee

Xciting Entertainment

Burnt Asphalt Family invites you to eat food from spinning towers of fire, poured glass grills, and hot glass sculpture!

Fiery feats by Andrew the Impaled

Rhythm and beats to dance the night away from The Allegheny Rhythm Rangers

And well, that’s just not all!

Don’t forget with a VIP ticket (limited to 100) you get private access to the Verde Lounge a cool space overlooking the party where you’ll get to be the first to sample the creations from our soon to be neighbor Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina and their exciting chef, as well as private demos, and a special Hot & Sticky gift!

We can’t even begin to thank all of our supporters over our first 10 years or express how excited we are to be able to commemorate this occasion with such a unique and fun party. The best anniversary present ever would be for you all to come have a great time helping us celebrate and looking forward to the next years!

______________________________________________________________________________________

There is an amazing number of people who go into creating and executing an event like this. While many are mentioned above, the complete (so far) list follows. Please remember the people and businesses and support them as they have supported us!

Dollar Bank, Sampson Morris Group, Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina, Karen & Daniel Johnese, Lea Simonds, Violet Soffer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Songwhale, FUZE Beverage, WYEP, Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka, East End Brewing Company, Whole Foods, Nerds Behind the Lens, La Dorita Dulce de Leche, KNOTdance, Pittsburgh Marshmallow Factory, Voluto Coffee, The Yoga Hive, Richard Parsakian, Laurie Moser, Brian Supler

There is so much going on, we haven't had time to blog...

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:11:34 -0400

It’s shameful that there hasn’t been any posting here on this blog since November—we’re so sorry! We’ve had so much going on that blogging about those things fell by the way side.

Good things that have happened:

A record number of you signed up for Winter and Spring classes and workshops- go you!

A record number of you applied for Summer Scholarships and we gave out a record number of Summer Scholarship Awards- go you and go us!

The TENacity show was a huge hit!

Good things yet to come:

Gardens of Glass Spring Sale is THIS WEEKEND!

Summer classes haven’t started yet. We’re consistently told it’s one of our best instructor line-ups yet. Many classes still have space. Check them out! Oh, and we’re offering payment plans which we’ve never done before, email saml@pittsburghglasscenter.org for details.

10x10x10 is coming soon. (May 6 to be exact) The Hodge Gallery will be filled with artwork by over 200 artists from around the world. The tech staff has built over 150 new pedestals for this show. It’s the 30th show we’ve had in the gallery over 10 years and it’s the most ambitious to date as we celebrate our 10th anniversary. Not to be missed!

Hot & Sticky is going to be a great community party at PGC on July 23 with special demos, music and entertainment. Learn more about this exciting celebration of PGC’s 10 years and it’s supporters in an upcoming blog post!

Pittsburgh is Art Day of Giving is just like last fall’s Day of Giving, but only for arts organizations. All donations (at least $15) made through the Pittsburgh Gives website on May 11, 2011 will be matched with a portion of a $500,000 pool. Don’t miss this opportunity to make a big impact with a small donation!

We promise to do better about sharing this info with you in a timely manner. Don’t hesitate to give us ideas on what you’d like to hear about in this forum!

Tis the Season

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:28:28 -0500

Is anyone else annoyed that I just titled this post with that phrase? I am. Where on earth has this year gone?

It seems that every time I turn around, something amazing that I was looking forward to has already happened. Sometimes I missed it and sometimes I didn’t. With less than 2 months left of 2010, there’s so much happening here at PGC that I know I’m going to feel like I missed when I come back to work after the New Year. Let me tell you about them so maybe you won’t miss them!

There are still tons of 2 hour workshops available! Blown Glass Ornaments has proven to be one of our most popular classes once again and almost every section is full, but Flamecicles, and Fused Glass Ornaments, as well as the less seasonal options of Paperweights, Fused Tiles, Wine Stoppers and more all have ample availability. These provide such an incredible opportunity to make a unique handmade gift for someone you love! I personally have a hard time giving away my creations and prefer to keep them for myself, which is a valid option for you as well ;)

Our annual holiday sale which hosts nearly 2 dozen local artists selling their creations has been extended an additional day! At the same time our friends over at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts will have their annual expanded holiday shop open so there’s a multitude of options for local, handmade, creative gifts this year!

And of course the Holiday Make-It-Now on Dec 4 as well!

On Dec 17, our High School Students will hold their end of session exhibition to display all their creations from this Fall. It’s always really exciting to see what the students at different levels learn over the course of their 10 week course.

In addition to all that’s left in 2010, we’re busily working away at what’s to come for 2011!

We kicked off our 10th anniversary in October and 2011 will be filled with exciting exhibitions, events, and classes to continue the momentous celebration. We would have never made it to 10 years old without the support of our artists, students, and donors so we hope you’ll enjoy all the programming we’ve come up with to celebrate our success!

5/10/10 Novice Glass Artist - Eighth Hot II Class

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:45:00 -0400

For our final class of the session, we were given full reign of our three hours, open to work on whatever projects we desired.

With all the freedom, I wanted to be sure and work on techniques I had only tried once or twice - so cups were out of the running. My first piece was a small vase that I used jacks to pull the neck on (as opposed to newspaper) which I added a small blue body wrap to. I was happy with the general shape of the vase but less satisfied with the size.

I seem to suffer from teeny tiny gather syndrome. Although my gathers are usually fairly even, they are always wicked small (I am reminded each week that I’m probably not turning fast enough in the glass). So for my final piece I had one goal – Make it big. Remember a few weeks ago we practiced working with three gathers? Same drill, except I ended up taking four gathers just to get about the same amount of glass. I worked that glass into a simple vase with a body wrap – I know, another class, another body wrap.

Even with four gathers, my “big” vase is only about seven inches tall. Still, it’s the largest piece I’ve made during my glassblowing time so I am pleased with it. It will be a while before I can take another glassblowing class (PGC does one week intensive courses during the summer – check it out). Until then, I’ll try to catch some practice time with my glassblowing buddies and work on lip wraps, improved facility with newspaper and try to find a cure for my teeny tiny gather syndrome.

Much thanks to all the folks at PGC (especially all my fabulous instructors and TAs) for another spectacular glass class!

5/10/10 Novice Glass Artist - Seventh Hot II Class

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:42:31 -0400

With only two classes left in the session, Everett gave us two more techniques to add to our glassblowing repertoire. Bowls and wraps that go both ways.

Funny enough, each of these new skills at some point entailed, “Hey, remember that thing you’ve been learning to do? Ok, now do the opposite.”

Up until now, we’ve been using gravity to elongate the glass into a cylinder for our cups and vases. To make a bowl instead, we cap the end of the pipe with our thumb (to keep air trapped inside) and hold the pipe up, using gravity to squat out the shape. Then after transferring to a punty, the shape is opened up wide to create the bowl.

When applying body wraps to our glass, we’ve been using extreme care to maintain consistent thickness and spacing of the wrap, all while rolling the pipe away from us. For this new, crazy wrap, we apply it while spinning both ways and paying no attention to thickness or spacing. This ends up adding a pantload of glass to your piece. How much is a pantload exactly? An awful lot. Once the wrap is on, you take a super reheat and marver the wrap into the rest of the glass. Since you marver the piece, this wrap is applied sooner than a traditional body wrap and results in a more subtle addition. Think of a stripe instead of a trail.

In practicing these new tricks, I created a bowl with a light purple stripe and a cup with an orange lip wrap. Although my lip wrap skills are still a work in progress, I am pleased to say that my mistakes are coming fewer and farther between!

4/27/10 John Miller: This post will make you hungry...

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:37:14 -0400

I just spent about an hour and a half watching John Miller making an enormous cheeseburger up in the hot shop.

The cheeseburger is part of Miller’s “Blue Plate Special” series. Super-sized fast food sculptures from French fries to burgers are reminiscent of a certain Swedish pop artist. Miller is at the PGC all this week creating new work for hisupcoming show at the PGC’s Hodge Gallery.

How many glass blowers does it take to create a ≈ two-foot-wide cheeseburger? Well, Miller is working with four assistants upstairs. I watched as they crafted four cheese triangles and the lower half of the bun.

The collaborative dance created while attaching the cheese to the bun was pretty impressive, but watching the entire group smack the bun using the ends of tweezers was probably the most fun / silly moment.

The John Miller show opens on July 2nd, but if you can’t wait until then (I know my stomach is already growling), stop by PGC this week to watch the glass in action!

All photos in this blog are from Miller’s “Donut Demo” and courtesy of Nathan J Shaulis - thank you!

4/25/10 Novice Glass Artist - Sixth Hot II Class

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:25:54 -0400

This week wasn’t focused as much on shapes as it was on details and making our vessels pretty. Really, who doesn’t want to adorn their cup in a body wrap? Why take a simple vase when you could have one with a lip wrap? You’d rather have the best of both worlds? Well, okay then, you can have both.

We learned wraps in Hot I and also practiced them a few weeks ago, but this week we were able to spend a little more time and start adding color. Just a reminder, lip wraps and body wraps are the addition of a trail of glass from a small, tapered gather. Lip wraps are laid on the top of the lip, body wraps go around, well, the body. After a quick refresher, we were given the bulk of our class time to work on projects of our own design.

I had intended to do a body wrap on my first piece but changed my mind halfway through and decided to do a lip wrap instead. The proper order for a lip wrap is to transfer your piece, trim the lip and then add the lip wrap BEFORE opening the form. In a beginner glassblower moment (I’m too young for senior moments) I forgot and opened my form without the lip wrap. So my first cup of the day actually came out naked. Learning from my mistake (and sticking with my original goal), my next cup was slightly lopsided, but with a light blue body wrap.

I know that for more experienced glassblowers, wraps are probably a dime a dozen. But I am still getting big thrills out of these simple tricks. I brought my blue body wrap cup home to meet some of my other cups; I could tell that my plain cups were jealous of this fancy newcomer.

Have a look for yourself, here is blue body wrap cup hanging out in the kitchen with my other cups (yes, they are in fact recycled jars).

Even slightly tipsy, blue body wrap cup looks like he’s having more fun – don’t you think?

4/20/10 Novice Glass Artist - Fifth Hot II Class

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:18:51 -0400

A deep sigh of relief…things in the hot shop are looking up!

I’m not sure if it was the full eight hours of sleep I got the night before or the enormous coffee I had at the start of class. One way or the other, blowing glass was actually making sense on Saturday. Not only did I manage not to break anything, I also managed to make (and keep) both a cup and a very tiny vessel with a neck. These are the first two pieces I’ve kept from Hot II.

My partner and I took turns making vessels and pulling necks. Instead of using newspaper to begin the neck (like we did last week), we used our jacks to put in a line for the start of the neck and then pulled the neck out (still with the jacks). Although you get pretty much the same result with either jacks or newspaper – I think I like the jacks better. Maybe I should try the newspaper again before making any serious commitment to jacks.

After finishing one piece each, we had a little time left over to play (practice). I used my time to crank out a cup – although I’m still not able to do it in 15 minutes!

Although success was enjoyed by all, it took us an awfully long time. We each spent about 45 minutes on our necks. Also, even though Everett keeps showing us how to use a soffietta to blow up shapes after they’ve been transferred to puntys, I’ve yet to do it. Two new goals for the last three classes: speed up my steps and try out a soffietta.

4/12/10 Novice Glass Artist - Fourth Hot II Class

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:17:30 -0400

Sticking our necks out (bwah-ha-ha)! This week we learned how to form necks on our pieces and use wet newspaper to shape our glass.

Have you ever seen a gaffer use what looks like a wet washcloth to hold and shape the glass? It’s actually wet newspaper and it allows glassblowers a little more hands on control while they are forming their piece. This newsworthy tool is used at multiple points during the process, but we specifically used it to help create necks on our vessels.

After gathering, popping our bubble and forming our glass as usual, we used the paper to start the initial shape of a neck. With our thumb and forefinger we lightly squeezed our glass bubble at the end closest to the pipe. This pushed the air inside the piece toward the bottom, creating the body of the vessel. Once the neck was begun, we added two jack lines. One at the base of the piece, just after the pipe. The second where the body of the piece would narrow and become the neck. I guess you could consider the jack lines falling at the top and bottom of the neck. Between the newspaper and double jack lines, our necks were formed and the piece was ready to transfer and finish. Trim it, shape it, and box it.

We cycled through the process of making vessels with necks throughout the class. I managed to bust two of my pieces which I’m certain equates to progress, I’m just not sure how. The first piece dropped off the punty just after being transferred. This mistake could be partly due to getting the end of my punty caught in my shirt on the way to the bench. The second cracked after I let it get too cold in between flashes. Unfortunately, that mistake cannot be blamed on any type of wardrobe malfunction.

Everett is pretty serious about having us take notes during class and write down all the steps for the various drills we’re working on. The premise is if we write down the steps, we are less likely to forget them. During the past four classes (only four more left) I’ve collected a nice set of lists scribbled throughout with images of puntys. I do think that they’re helping me stay on track, but they are becoming longer and longer each week. At some point, I may just need to compile a book-on-tape. Once upon a time, I gathered some glass, cooled my pipe and then started my bubble…

4/5/10 Novice Glass Artist - Third Hot II Class

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:15:04 -0400

Our class worked on three different drills this week: trimming, wraps and we attempted making wicked big cylinders using three gathers instead of two.

One of these drills did not go so well. (The word attempted is a major clue)

Both the trimming drill and the wrap drill were pleasant little warm ups. I need to work on cutting faster while trimming and shaping the punty a little quicker to maintain heat for the wrap.

For our final drill, we worked with three gathers of glass to blow bigger cylinders. The process is essentially the same, but with more help from the assistant and more glass. Working in teams of two, each person had twenty-five minutes to see how far they could get. My partner went first, working all the way up to flattening the bottom before running out of time. As I stepped up to the plate (or in this case, furnace) I felt pretty excited.

Then my bubble blew in sort of uneven. Then my second gather was a little lumpy. Then my third gather was more lumpy. A few deep breaths and a couple blocks later, I was working with my asymmetrical piece trying to make the best out of a wonky situation. In hindsight, I probably should have started over. I managed to blow too much air into my piece, thinning out part of the wall past the point of return. Have you ever saved a helium balloon and seen it slowly deflate over a few days, looking more and more soggy? That’s kind of what it looks like when your walls are too thin.

This wasn’t really the way I wanted to end the class. My frustration during the last twenty minutes overshadowed the rest of the class. To be honest, it took me a little over a day before I even felt up to writing about it. But now, as I’m recalling my mistakes, I’m laughing at myself (just a little bit). Apparently time does heal all wounds, because I’m actually starting to think about ways I can improve for next week and maybe even looking forward to it.

So, my personal goals for next week are:
• Less lumpy
• More focus, less frustration
• Bigger, better, more glassier!

3/29/10 Novice Glass Artist - Second Hot II Class

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:11:41 -0400

Trimming, fifteen minute cups and baton twirling.

Everett showed us how to trim our pieces this week. Why do you even need to trim your piece? Funny you should ask, I know I did. When you transfer a glass vessel (cup, vase, etc) from pipe to punty, the jack line doesn’t normally break off perfectly. The break may be uneven or the walls may be inconsistently thick at that point. For those reasons, after breaking your piece off the punty, you should trim the lip. Once you have a clean edge (clean = no tool marks, consistent wall thickness and even lip), you can continue shaping your piece.

Tweezers are used to pinch, pull and cool the rim and then shears cut just below the tweezer marks. We practiced trimming multiple slices off a single piece until there was nothing left. With that new skill, we were ready (in theory) for fifteen minute cups.

Everett did a cup demo complete from starting the bubble, transferring to the punty, trimming the lip and shaping the final piece…in fifteen minutes. Then we paired up and started fifteen-minute rotations, trying to run through the process and complete a cup. On my first try, I made it just through transferring to the punty. On my second try I managed to make it a little further, up through tweezing, but ran out of time before trimming. These fifteen minute cups seem to be a common drill in glass blowing, sort of like sprints!

Oh, and the baton twirling. I’ve started noticing little glass blowing habits, for example, my first glassblowing teacher, Jason, would sway the pipe side to side to help shape the glass. Everett likes to swing the pipe like a pendulum, and sometimes even in full circles like he’s a baton twirler. Any other glass blowing “twitches” out there? Have you noticed glass blowers doing funny little moves to manipulate their glass?

3/21/10 Novice Glass Artist - First Hot II Class

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:10:12 -0400

Here we blow again…

After a four month hiatus from the hot shop, I’m back for Hot II. That’s right, I’m moving on up to the intermediate level glassblowing – ready (and willing) to build on what I’ve already learned. Take that!

Our teacher, Everett, spent just a few minutes discussing the course schedule, rules, expectations, etc. As we move through the next eight weeks, we’ll be practicing bubbles, cups and simple forms before moving on to more complex shapes and adding color. Our first class was mostly reminder demos and practicing all our old tricks. We worked on gathering glass, making bits, starting air bubbles, and finally, making glass bubbles (or spheres).

Working in pairs, we went through the familiar steps of gathering, marvering, blowing bubbles, gathering again, blocking, reheating, more blowing and finally using our jacks to add jack lines and shape our little, lopsided globes. My partner and I each made two glass bubbles before Everett did a final demo on cups, to prepare us for next week.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was a bit nervous that I’d forget everything we learned in Hot I and need to start from scratch. You know that old nightmare where you step up to the furnace only to realize you’re holding your punty backwards, then you figure it out but you’re not sure if you should marver or block first, then your glass is too cold to blow a bubble in…
No? Never had that one? Yeah, me neither.

Well, I didn’t magically transform into a glass god overnight, but I managed to pull some of those skills back out of my memory and put them to use. Now that I’ve dusted them off, it’s time to polish those techniques. Pipes, puntys, bubbles, jacks and furnaces, watch out…I’m coming after you.