Hot Glass Bits #30

Contact Mike Firth

February 1 - April 5, 1996

Prev.Issue 29 Link to HGB Table of Contents Next Issue 31

WHOAMI Newsletters NEUES GLAS/NEW GETTING TO
INTERNET HORIZONS SUMMER FAX:4141] M THE STUDIO
MEA CULPA FIRE ISLAND CASTABLE GLORY HOLE
  COUNTERWEIGHTS EQUIPMENT ELECTRICALLY
GLASS TOGETHER AND A GOOD TIME GLASS GEM K-R OPENING
BOOKS HOT GLASS HAWAII HANDS-ON GLASS HALOGEN LIGHTING
BUYERS MARKET NICHE AWARDS NICHE THE GLASSBLOWERS
GLASS ART SOCIETY CANADIAN CONFERENCE REQUEST FOR  
RECIPES/VIRTUAL CLOSING DOWN AUSTIN CARLYN GALERIE
GALLERY

This issue contains the following deadlines.
4/15/96 Class deposit due THE STUDIO
4/18/96 Opening at CARLYN GALERIE
4/22/96 Early Registration deadline for G.A.S.CONFERENCE
4/22/96 Workshop application deadline CANADIAN CONFERENCE
8/1/96 Entry deadline NICHE AWARDS
[capitalized KEYWORD starts a paragraph below]

ZIPs of known hot glass class sites: 01002, 01375, 04627, 14830, 11217, 43216, 70130, 75253, 76028, 98144, 98292 Contact MF for more details. Would like to know of others

Hot Glass Bits is a personal chronological record of my wanderings through glassblowing and the bits and pieces of knowledge I gather along the way. It includes things I try, thoughts I have, information I receive, and reports on things I do. In many ways it is an edited diary and events calendar about glassblowing. If it is useful to others, it is worth the effort. It is normally closed near the end of the odd numbered months and mailed soon after.

WHOAMI? - Mike Firth is a 52 year old, low experience glassblower who signed up for his first class in '91 without having seen anyone blow, although he had seen TV shows, and had done stained glass and worked clear tubing in the past. He has built cheap equipment in his back yard to learn and practice. When not blowing, he is a married self-employed computer programmer and teacher about computers.

Vision Thing: Everyone makes mistakes and has successes. Professionals learn from their mistakes, amateurs often have to live with them. By discussing my explorations and observations, I can reduce the number of mistakes and increase the number of successes.

The legal stuff: Working glass is inherently dangerous, involving heavy materials that can be razor sharp, so hot that damage can be done before feeling occurs, with chemicals immediately poisonous, dusts that can damage the lungs, and heat sources that can wreck the eyes. Understand the safe practices required and use them to blow beautiful glass.

------------------- ------------------------ Hot Glass Magazines and Newsletters ------------------- ------

Antique Notes [Blenko Glass, P.O. Box 67, Milton, WV, 25541] Small newsletter on Blenko glass.
Ausglass Magazine, goes to members of Ausglass [Jan Blum, Sec., Box 915, Leichhardt NSW 2040] Hot & Cold glass.
Glass Art Magazine [P.O.Box 260377, Highlands Ranch, CO, 80126-0377] "The Magazine for Stained and Decorative Glass" Stained, lampworking, kiln worked Glass Artist magazine [28 South State Street, Newtown, PA, 18940, (215) 860 9947]
Glass Focus, the Contemporary Art Glass Periodical, [9323 Olcott, Morton Grove, IL, 60053, 708-967-8433, $5/$24]   
Glass Gazette [Glass Art Association of Canada, P.O.Box 653, Station 'P', Toronto ON M5S 2Y4, quarterly, International membership $30 Cdn per year, Canadian $25]
Glass Line [120 S. Kroger St., Anaheim CA 92805 714-520-0121 FAX: 714-520-4370, $7/$25 6/yr]
Lampworking Newsletter GLASS Magazine [UrbanGlass, 647 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY, 11217-1112, 1-718-625- 3685] High quality Art glass;
Hot Glass Bits Newsletter [1019 Martinique, Dallas TX 75223 2 , $11, 6/yr] Newsletter for molten glassblowers.
Independent Glass Blower [% Gruenig Glass Works, Main St.,W.Barnet VT 05821,1- 802-633-4022, $25/yr, qrtly]
NEUES GLAS/NEW GLASS [GLP International, P.O.Box 9868, Englewood NJ 07631-6888 for American subscriptions (only) $48/yr, or MasterCard or Visa to 1-800-457- 4443] International glass, not stained. Not seen.

-------------------Hot Glass Web Pages & Internet Addresses ------------------
rec.crafts.glass is a newsgroup for all kinds of glass.
My home pages with notes on glass activities between issues
http://www.lnstar.com/fireisland/ Fire Island Home Page

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GETTING TO THE WORLD WIDE WEB - This is just a summary lesson. Access to the Internet can be had in several forms and ways. Three forms are FTP, newsgroups, and World Wide Web Pages. FTP is used for directly getting files, treating the entire world like it was your disk drive; password access or anonymous access being used. Newsgroups are formal collecting points for information where (usually) everything sent is re-sent to everyone who has subscribed; a few are moderated. Web sites and Web pages require special software, called a browser, to look at the information because it includes formatting information (like for headlines), pictures, sound, moving pictures, and (soon) programs. Three ways of connecting to the Web are setting up your own network and linking (colleges do this routinely), buying access via someone who is linked (1-800-BE-A-NERD), or using a commercial service that provides other services: (America On Line, CompuServe, Prodigy.) I have used CompuServe (CIS) for years and America OnLine (AOL) recently. When I first encountered AOL, I was amazed at how easy they had made it to install-it dials its own 800 number to get local phone numbers to call. CIS requires the standard installation process for Windows and looking up numbers. AOL is easy to use and in the latest software version WWW access and newsgroup access is seamless.
On the other hand (OTOH in netspeak) the first ease of use becomes tedious as one clicks through 5 or 6 or 7 screens (windows) to get to hot glass. While every single page (text section) on CIS has its own code (like NET-5 for newsgroup access) and every major section has a name (like INTERNET) that can be used with the GO command, in AOL only a few places have Keywords that can be accessed with the equivalent Ctrl-K. Internet access is more smoothly fitted into AOL (Ctrl-K can be used to go to a Web page) and was done earlier. CIS also has an active Glass Section of the Crafts forum with a well filled library of images and information that can be accessed in one step (GO HANDCRAFT.) AOL has a Stained Glass Folder under Arts & Crafts, Crafts & Sewing, Stained Glass Board, Hot Glass and Blown Glass Folders, each step taking at least two clicks. While CIS scrolls messages after about 3 days, apparently all messages ever posted on AOL's folders are still there. AOL doesn't seem to provide libraries. Accessing AOL has become slow in the mid-evening high access times. Feeding the Web through AOL is even slower. One of my delay problems has been wanting to print pages I am looking at, which slows access to the next page. CIS uses Mosaic for Web access and it seems faster. Mosaic also hangs on to pages looked at better than AOL, so printing can be done off-line. I find Web pages to be fairly unchanging and some disappear for reasons known (costs too much) and unknown. The best use of the Web seems to be seeing samples of people's work. I have a home page (see above) on which I post Hot    Bits and Texas Glass info and late breaking items. I am going to be taking some slides of my work and of studios around here and post them. 3/31/96

HORIZONS SUMMER AND FALL - [The New England Craft Program, [108-P N.Main St., Sunderland MA 01375 413-665-0300, FAX:4141] May 18-25 Glass Beads: Lampworking, May 18-25 Glass Beads: Lampworking, May 18-25 Glass Beads: Lampworking, Kristina Logan, in Italy.Kristina Logan, in Italy.Kristina Logan, in Italy. Early Summer June 15-17 Kiln-Formed Glass, Mary Ellen Buxton-Kutch; Late Summer, August 8-13, Glassblowing ($510)- Kelmis Fernandez, with an added session ($375), Aug.14-17 - Carmen Sasso. The latter two also have a lab fee, unspecified. Fall Foliage Intensive, Oct.12-14, Glassblowing:Focusing in - Jim Holmes ($310); Glass beads:Lampworking - Kristina Logan ($245) For the long August glass, cost of room and board is $235, others range down to $110 for most the intensives. Horizons offers many other topics and over-seas classes. 1/21/96 Repeat

THE STUDIO of the Corning Museum of Glass [One Museum Way, Corning NY 14830- 2253, 607-974-6467 FAX:607-974-6370 http://www.cmog.org/] announces a fabulous set of classes for their first summer. No specific deadline is given for applying, but deposits are expect by April 15 if accepted. Cost is $400+$250 (tuition+room&board) for one week sessions, $700+$500 for two week and lower rates for the short Session #2. Get the complete flier. Nine sessions are planned with one or two topics per session. Artists include (1) Linio Tagliapietra, Paul Stankard; (2) Mark Mathews, Dennis Briening; (3) John Brekke, Emilio Santini; (4) William Gudenrath, Sally Prasch; (5) Gianni Toso, Milon Townsend; (6) Pamina Traylor; (6a) Bandu Scott Dunham, Susan Plum; (7) William Gudenrath, Sally Prasch; (8) Ruth Kink; Laren Stump; (9) Ben Edols & Kathy Elliott, Kristina Logan. 1, 4, 5, 6a, and 8 are 1 week classes; 3, 6, 7, 9 are 2 week; 2 is 3 days. Each teacher listed has a separate class except in 9 with the &. 2/13/96

MEA CULPA - Well, I have been royally chewed out by Henry Halem for a couple of things that appeared in the last issue (and a couple that he thought appeared but were only stuff sent him.) Because of a misunderstanding on my part, a mistaken ad in Glass Gazette, and the rush to get Hot Glass Bits #29 out before my wife's sinus surgery, I did not think to carefully check the issue of Halem's Glass Notes that arrived in the midst of everything. What he sent was the second edition (created for teachers, he told me, and I thought not otherwise available.) I have no idea what the third edition looks like. He also takes issue with my comments about the book, American Glass Paperweights and Their Makers, in which I referred to the claim that what Harvey Littleton did was prove that "an individual glass artist could work melting a few hundred pounds of glass". Henry feels I am belittling Harvey's contribution and says I should learn more modern glass history. Actually, the limited credit that I felt I was countering was stated explicitly in another book mentioned in the issue, Out of the Fire, which states that Littleton and Dominick Labino "devised a small glass melting furnace. A furnace small enough to be used in an individuals artist's studio was innovative because it enabled artists to work with hot glass outside a factory setting, which until then had been nearly an impossibility." In fact, I am aware that Littleton and his students basically founded the modern art glass movement (not clearly mentioned in Out of the Fire) with a lot more than designing a small glass furnace. Yet there were people who were doing more than "making a few paperweights on their lunch hour" as Halem says in his angry note. [Ironically, Out of the Fire footnotes the quote I just gave with a reference to Thomas Buechner's forward of Frantz's Contemporary Glass (1989) crediting Parisian Jean Sala with having a small furnace in his garage in the 1950's. Whatever anybody was doing early, the introduction to Out of the Fire makes clear that art glass went through a squeeze process in which people were forced to work alone (mentioning that in 1966 and 68, artists exhibiting glass in national shows had to sign a statement that they had received no help in making their pieces. Absurd. Which is part of why Hot Glass Bits exists.) 2/17/96 [People who know him tell me Henry is like that, but I am sorry the errors occurred.]   

FIRE ISLAND - Marvelous note from Teresa and Matthew at Fire Island Hot Glass Studio [3401 E.Fourth, Austin TX 78702 512-389-1100, http://www.lnstar.com/fireisland] They just returned from the American Craft Buyers Market in Philadelphia and will do two more shows, Baltimore wholesale and Phily retail. Philly went well for them, Teresa says, tho not for all. They now have a Web Page (see above) and she recommends Lone Star Internet as doing a good job. They are having an Open House March 30 with demos every hour on the hour to reduce "demo fatigue" This issue will miss, but I will put it on my Web page.

CASTABLE - I consider it vital, if making a glory hole or furnace with two layers of material, such as vermiculite and castable, that all holes through the outer material be precast of the inner material and set in place before the other materials are placed. I have tried it the other way (making a castable mold of the opening) and it didn't work very well. The alternative, used by many other people, is to add the second insulation on the outside of the castable after casting. Art Allison adds frax insulation blanket outside and covers that with sheet metal. 2/20/96

GLORY HOLE - I just finished welding the base for the glory hole and raised the hole up onto it. This goes way beyond any definition of portable. I am going to have to rig something just to move it safely for the Glass Together, maybe an engine hoist. 2/20/96 2:28 PM [I used a come-along winch and an A-frame to get the pieces apart.]

COUNTERWEIGHTS - The most common method of balancing the weight of horizontal annealer lids is to run a cable from near the front edge of the lid over a pulley down to a set of weights which usually drops down behind the annealler. The primary problem with this method is that if the weight of the lid when closed is well balanced, the weight is too much as the lid opens and the geometry changes. Positive stops for the weights are required and everything may get moving too quickly. I prefer to mount my counterweight on a beam that projects back from the lid. If the weight is hung from a point even with the hinge the force applied to the lid decreases as the lid is opened, coming to a natural stop. On my first annealer, a board across the top projected over the back and a long eyebolt brought the hanging point down to the hinge point. When a concrete block was hung from the eyebolt (and the board moved until the weight was balanced), opening the lid moved the eye down under the hinge. I also adjusted the length of the weight hanger so the weight ended up on the ground for a stop. One disadvantage of the balance weight is that it may take more space behind the annealer. 2/20/96

EQUIPMENT THOUGHTS (ET 1) - I am sitting here trying to decide if I have already lost the chance to have some working equipment on the trailer for the Glass Together March 3rd. I cast the inner lining of the furnace this morning and will have to get more castable at lunch tomorrow to do the dome on Tuesday. But it is supposed to rain (for the first time since Christmas) on Tuesday. I find that the sheet metal on the new annealer is so weak I am going to have to reinforce it or replace it to do hinges. The panels are falling out of place and I either have to wire them or get some blanket to go over them. [See ET 2 below] 2/25/96

FAX - There is a subtle change in the letterhead above - I have removed the reference to FAX. I still have one available, but last night, when I had my computer off because of expected thunderstorms, we got calls from a fax machine at 4 a.m., disrupting an already restless sleep for the two of us. I don't know if these were from overseas or scheduled at cheap time in the U.S. I don't even know if it was glass related, because, for example, some stupid doctor has been giving out my wife's number or a close variation so we get fax tones on that line. We have been able to catch them on the third or fourth automatic repeat call and complain. 2/27/96   

ET 2 - Without actually finishing the thoughts above, I went over on my lunch hour and bought two more bags of IRC 25 castable and a roll of 1/2" frax. I don't know how much I will get done today, feeling so tired now (7:18 AM), but we will see. I made notes while at work of what I might do. Too long a list. [9:07 PM>] Well, the last part of the day went much better. I repaired, pulled tighter, the sheet metal on the annealer lid and used aluminum tape on it. When I turned the lid over, it was obvious the insulation board I bought will not support its own weight. I added a layer of 1/2" blanket and wired across with nichrome wire to hold the sides in and support the blanket et.al. Unfortunately, that means that if I mount the element inside the lid, as I planned, I will have to protect the element from the now grounded wire. The sheet metal is much too light and I will have to add reinforcement for hinges and counterweight. As I write this I am firing the glory hole using my old blown burner and will see how high it goes and how much damage (if any) is done. The furnace casting seems to have gone okay. I didn't precast the drain port, even after knowing I should and now will never make that mistake again. I used too little water glass (sodium silicate) with the vermiculite and it was very fragile. Based on my misc.stuff, it would seem that about 1/2-3/4 gallon per cubic foot is needed for a stable wall, and thoroughly mixed. While writing this I went out and fired the burner full blast. Got up to 2150F without too much trouble and shut it down. 2/27/96

ELECTRICALLY WET (GFCI) - Well, most of my plans for finishing equipment today are dripping in the backyard, raining lightly here, hail and thunderstorms just northeast, and (of course in Texas when a cold front piles into overly warm air) a tornado watch. Getting something out of it, if you have to work in an area with electricity and wetness (including cold working glass) if you do not have Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI), you are literally risking your life and incidentally, probably violating Electrical Code requirements. The purpose of a GFCI is to protect people from a small current leakage (30-50 ma.) across the heart that is large enough to set it into fibrillation. It is not a circuit breaker, which deals in amps and protects the wiring from overheating. A circuit in the GFCI detects that the current flowing out is different from that flowing back, the assumption being that the missing current may be flowing through a body, across the heart, to another ground. As I mentioned in another issue, mine tripped when a heating coil grounded part way around. Installing a GFCI at the circuit breaker box can be very expensive. Protection for up to 20 amps can be had much cheaper by installing a GFCI outlet (normally 15 amps at the outlet for about $12) most of which protect and feed through 20 amps to other much less expensive outlets, 15 or 20 amps. 2/27/96

GLASS TOGETHER PREP - I came home Thursday night so exhausted that I fell into bed after dinner and slept for eight hours. Then I got up at 4:30, did some computer work and planning, bathed and filled two propane tanks at 7 am and got new welding shade #4 face shields at 7:30 and got to work at 7:50. I came home and did a full evening of work then had a painful night of on-again/off-again sleep. Tonight I got home tired after work and grocery shopping for tomorrow and spent the evening gathering equipment and welding a frame for the trailer to brace stuff higher up. Hope things go well tomorrow, have to finish prep, load, etc. in early morning and drive to Ft.Worth. 3/2/96

AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL - The Glass Together went very well, drawing many more people than Terry expected and about what I hoped. It was as casual as Terry expected and less structured than I hoped. I felt a bit down as I worked into the night Sunday to unload and cover up everything (too much) that I took so I could go to work on Monday when it might (and did) rain, but what happened was good and I got two small smoo vases blown and one in the annealer. (The other fell off the pipe as we were puntying up because the gaffer didn't instruct the assistant properly.) Perhaps the most interesting aspect was the number of unusual combinations of people blowing pieces. These included Brad Abrams assisting Michael Riffkind    making a chunky goblet - Michael of Kittrell-Riffkind Art Glass gallery having done virtually no hot work, being a fusing and stained glass guy. Visitors from afar included Roger Peterson from California and CompuServe, lampworker with past training in furnace glass, who worked some glass in the morning and assisted in the afternoon; Ralph Sand visiting from long experience in scientific glass blowing in north Dallas and discovering what his step-son is doing at UTA and seeing what modern art lampworking is doing via Roger and by Bandu Scott Dunham's book Contemporary Lampworking . Several groups of young people from the UTA classes were there, plus the people planning a TV show on artists. Hugh Erwin probably did the large piece of the day, with a substantial square bottomed piece with inside opaque white behind surface color and some enlarged threads ending in flower-like shapes. Jim Bowman did a lovely goblet. And I talked to a bunch of people. The general feeling was that it was a considerable success and should be done again. We are working on that. Things wound down to a halt about 6:15. 3/5/96

GLASS GEM - When I visit Divas, I am allowed to blow a piece or two, the biggest problem being getting the pieces a month or more later. The last time I was there I tried a goblet that didn't work at all and a mushroom paperweight which I picked up Sunday and is absolutely stunning. The glass is very clear and the light works off the various curved edges and around the color thread in the center, giving a remarkable depth, it glows in the light. I call them mushroom weights because they are shaped like mushrooms with a small stem and uneven overhang. I think I will consider grinding the stem on this so that it can be displayed leaning on the rim without rolling. 3/5/96

K-R OPENING - I went to the 3/8 opening at Kittrell-Riffkind Art Glass [5100 Belt Line Road, #820, Dallas 75240, 214-239-7957] to see the presentations by Patrick Morrissey and Vernon Brejcha and look over the glass on display. The showing goes until March 31. Patrick blows into forged steel shapes after having created a parison with complex internal walls by folding in the surface and then working it smooth again. He then does large amounts of sand blasting to reveal the inside, creating a result that strongly reminds me of skulls. The steel is cold when he blows into it, so it a mold and does not adhere; he prefers to forge his steel starting with chunks of heavy cable for the texture that results. His pieces are over a cubic foot in volume. Vernon Brejcha is showing several of his native American influenced peace pipes and his presentation revealed the links that many of his hundreds of pieces have had to the plains and the pains in his life. The display for his pieces is totally suited to the long thin pieces and is a fair chunk of glass in itself: the ends of the oval case single sharply curved pieces of glass with more gently curved side pieces forming the doors. I enjoyed single pieces by two other artists among the many K-R shows. Bill Slade makes solid "weights" that are about 6" tall, 2" thick and wider at the top (4") than at the bottom; delicate tendrils of white tread through the blue glass. Michelle Capture has a vase, also blue, with a pair of spiral ridges working up the inside of the form. 3/12/96

On AOL : Christie asked on the AOL Stained Glass, Hot Glass, etc.
Subj: Re:Glass Info Date: 96-03-11 20:08:27 EST From: BarbRowe
> I'm a high school student doing a project on the physics of glass blowing who has found her interest piqued.
> Does anyone know of any classes offered in the San Francisco area,
Yes, classes are offered, especially in Berkeley. If no artistic glassblowers are listed in the Yellow Pages under Glassblowers, look for glass in the YP listings for Galleries and as them where a studio offering classes might be.
> or is there anyone out there who might be able to answer a few questions for me? I will try. I put out a newsletter for furnace glassblowers called Hot Glass Bits > Forgive the baseness of these questions; I have no experience.
> 1. I've read that glass never achieves a true solid state, it just exists as a super-cooled solid at room temp. At what consistency is glass when you blow it? That is part of the magic, it can be almost any consistency. Normally, when worked it is about the consistency of warm taffy. But when it is gathered and blown, it starts with the consistency of honey (different glass workers like different fluidity, so from warmed to cooled honey might apply) and thickens while being worked on. During working it is reheated in the glory hole (usually about 2300F) to the point that it is a soft mass, perhaps like soft yeast dough, so it is a battle to keep it from sagging out of shape but easier to work.
> 2. Does glass contract when it cools? Yes. And different glasses contract at different rates, so a glassworker (blower or fuser) has to worry whether a color is compatible with the base glass. If they have different coefficients of expansion, cracks will appear when cooled.
> 3. When glass is blown, does it just stretch and thin out like a balloon, or does the surface swirl like a bubble? Like a balloon. One of things that is remarkable is that glass does not mix, so that a line of color on clear glass will stay sharp and distinct during blowing and working. In fact, blurred color - like water color - is difficult to do.
> 4. Can anyone recommend anyone I might contact by phone or e-mail who might be able to give me more information regarding the science involved in the process? Glassblowing can include almost no science or a lot, depending on whether the worker mixes colors and glass batch or buys it. You are welcome to ask me questions if you want general answers from a scientifically literate person who does not do the science in detail. There are some very heavy books on glass in the library.

BOOKS - I have recently wandered through three books that (once you see the topics) were obviously near each other on the shelf. One was Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan, Kevin Nute, 1993, ISBN 0-442-30908-2. It seems that for years Wright proclaimed that any similarities between Japanese art and architecture and his own was the coming together of natural influences, that he hadn't seen any Japanese stuff until after his views were formed. The book is primarily dedicated to showing that he had many contacts with Japanese prints, with people who traded in them, with money made selling them, and that there was a prominent Japanese exhibit in Chicago when he was there. Whatever that says about Wright's ego, the book was more interesting for me because it closely analyzed specific prints (shown) and matched them to specific Wright drawings (shown) which gave me insight into drawing that I might have gotten in the art classes I have never taken. Great Prints & Printmakers, Herman Wechsler (ISBN 0-8148-0682-1) is a terrific source of information about various types of print making and examples in a hundred full page reproductions. Chagall, Jose Faerna Ed., Cameo/Abrams, Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1995, is a large format book of Marc Chagall's work down through the years, with 63 plates in great color. If I could put the glowing powdery color of Chagall's paintings into my glass, especially the yellowish reds, I would be much more likely to use color effects in my glass. 3/18/96

HOT GLASS HAWAII - From: glasarts@lava.net (Robert B.Miller) Date: Wed, 20 Mar 1996 06:30:40 GMT Hot Glass Hawaii a nonprofit cooperative workshop is now open for membership to all persons interested in molten glass working. Contact Robert Miller glasarts@lava.net with your address Snail or E mail, and I will forward all the details on how you can become a member. Faster, Hotter! 3/20/96

HANDS-ON GLASS - I am particularly impressed (having seen Deborah work) by the Intermediate Glassblowing offered as part of the 1996 Summer Programs at Hands- on Glass [261 Baker Street, Corning NY 14830, 607-962-3044] which include five Monday through Friday classes (9am - 5pm) and three Saturday (8-5 or 9-6) classes. Beginning Glassblowing with Rodi Rovner, $350, starts 7/15 and 7/29; Intermediate Glassblowing, Venetian Style, with Deborah Czeresko, $375, 7/22; while Engraving (7/15, $300) and Sandcasting (8/5, $400) fill out the M-F schedule. Weekend workshops at $125 are in Beadmaking (7/20), Lampworking (7/27) and Murrini (8/10) Classes are limited to 4-6 students.3/28/96   

HALOGEN LIGHTING - At the very end of HB#29's processing, I went back and inserted a note about mounting a light for the glass on my mantle. One of the great joys of the last two months has been having that light on in the morning as I prepare to go to work and in the evening when I am in and out of the room. I even took all the glass off the shelf and washed it by hand in ammonia and water, which I have not used before. The glass glows in the light and whether it is the Steuben I got from my parents, the gifts of glass from other gaffers, my own glass or the astonishing mushroom mentioned above, it is a delight. I did not know much about halogen lights before I began working in the store, but I have learned a bunch. All I did was buy a small (R-20) 50 watt flood and mount it with a gooseneck to the ceiling, so I can aim it from somewhat different positions. The bulb cost about $10 and the other parts were on hand but would cost about $10 if bought. Quartz halogen lighting gets its name from the halogen gases used around the filament to allow it to burn hotter (therefore whiter) and more efficiently convert electricity to light. The quartz is needed because of the higher temperature. Halogen lighting is available in very compact units that run off 12 volts and use 10 or 20 watts of power. Sets can be bought for surface mounting below a shelf or on a cabinet ceiling for about $40 and individual complete units and track lighting units can be had for about the same price ($35-$50.) These small units (using bulbs called MR-11 and MR-16) can be had in very precise degrees of beam spread from about 8. to about 30.. Alternatively, as I did, halogen bulbs can be powered directly from 120 volts in forms that screw in to a regular socket and range from 45 watts (reported on the box as equal in lighting to a 75 watt outdoor bulb) to 150 watts (no equivalent given.) Halogen bulbs also come in a tubular form used in work lights and floor lamps that is probably not suitable for glass lighting; these are 150, 200, 300, and 500 watts, and really cook. If you do not want to build a socket unit from scratch, as I did, most hardware stores will probably have a small selection of light fixtures at $8-$20 that can be screwed to a wall or ceiling and which will take a screw in bulb.

BUYERS MARKET of American Craft, Philadelphia, July 26-28, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, has been announced by The Rosen Group [3000 Chestnut Ave., Suite 300, Baltimore MD 21211, 410-889-2933] Events include a daily fashion show of wearable art and jewelry, evening tours of the Cezanne exhibit, and merchandising seminars. The 1997 winter market will be Feb.14-17.

NICHE AWARDS for American artists who produce work for craft galleries and retail stores has applications due by 1 August 97 according to Niche Magazine at the Rosen Group [Suite 304, 1-800- NICHE -14, see above] Glass is a category. Primary rewards are display of product at the February show and in the magazine. 4/4/96

THE GLASSBLOWERS BALL at UrbanGlass will be held Thursday, May 2 in three renovated historic theaters including the Strand where UrbanGlass occupies the top. Events cost $125 for a cocktail party, buffet supper, auction and dance. At 6:30, an all female team headed by Deborah Czeresko and Karen LaMonte will produce a unique piece of art while an auction keeps going until the piece is put away in the annealer. Other pieces will be auctioned off also along with other donated prizes in the second theater, BAM Majestic, and the dance will be held in a third, the Paramont, nearby. 4/5/96

GLASS ART SOCIETY CONFERENCE will be held June 6-9 in Boston, based at the Massachusetts College of Art.. This one will have a strong emphasis on lamp working and beadmaking and a greater emphasis on "doing". The overall title is "Critical Mass." Prior to the Conf. will be 3 day workshops at three studios, open studios in western Mass., and a Collectors Blow fund raising event with Lino, Dante and Michael (how's that for name dropping?) The Conf. starts with open studios in Greater Boston and demos at Mass.Art. including at least 16 Flameworking and Bead Making artists. During the Conf. there will be over a dozen demos at various colleges and studios and workshops and open studios will follow the Conf. As I mentioned last year, I will not be going, largely because    of the distance and cost, but now because I will have no time off from work this year and a low interest in lampworking. For non-students fees are $185 before April 22, $210 until before Conf.registration (6/5) and $235 at the Conf. Students are $75/100/125. Membership is required and costs at least $40 for non-students, $15 for U.S.students, with many higher rates. Contact G.A.S. at 1305 4th Ave., Suite 711, Seattle WA 98101-2401, 206-382-1305 M-F 8:30-4:30 PST, FAX:206-382-2630. 4/5/96 G.A.S. also announces that the Journal for 1995 will not be ready for distribution until May 1996.

CANADIAN CONFERENCE - The Glass Art Association of Canada [P.O.Box 653, Station 'P', Toronto ON M5S 2 Y4, CANADA, 514-287-7555] will hold their biennial conference ("La Biennale Canadienne Du Verre"), May 9-12 in Montreal, Quebec. It is titled Artist, Artisan, and Designer "For an Object with a Soul". There will be workshops after, including one by Pino Signoretto (5/13-17, 500$C, 12 max. juried) and one with John Childs on building a studio.(5/12, 50$C) Workshop deadline is 4/22. Before there will be three tours, including two with studio visits. Conference cost is 140$C, 75$C student rate; membership is required, 25$C/30$C foreign. Separate addresses for Conf. & Workshops.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS - Ohio's Center of Science and Industry [COSI, Angelique Schneider, 280 East Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215, 614-228-2674 x 543, smrcosi@aol.com] has opened a new hands-on center in Toledo, OH, and wants artists to provide works that "seek to integrate the palettes of scientific and artistic expression" in the atrium (50' high, 50' dia.) and hallways leading from it, (15' high, 60' long) with considerable ambient light. The Fusion Project will include 10-15 works funded at $5,000-$10,000 for installation late fall '96. Commissions awarded starting in Feb.96 and be ongoing. All works "must support a science or technology theme and provide enlightening visitor interaction.... mixed media and kinetic pieces are more appropriate." 4/5/96

RECIPES/VIRTUAL BOOK - I have started revising what I have called Recipes into pieces of a Virtual Book, where they will become sections, chapters and sub- sections listed in a table of contents with the possibility of ordering any or all of the "book." Until then, Index to the Recipes is available and they cost $2 each plus $1 extra per order for handling. 4/5/96

CLOSING DOWN - As the month ends, I have in my back yard the first half of all the pieces for an increased blowing capacity, glory hole, base of a furnace without a crown, larger annealer needing installation of on-hand insulation and element plus a 220 power line. What I lack is time. But things look positive. Debts are shrinking. All the best for you and yours. 3/31/96 I welcome Gabbert Cullet as an advertiser. We went out to dinner and somebody unknown paid for it! 4/5/96

Blow Good Glass

Hot Glass Texans

AUSTIN - LYONS MATRIX GALLERY - [1712 Lavaca, Austin, TX 78701] Often includes glass as one of two or more exhibitions. Pre-announced are Glass Vessels by Richard Royal, April 20-June 1; East Coast Glass Invitational Aug.3 - Sept.14. 2/6/96   

North Texas Glass

CARLYN GALERIE [6137 Luther Ln., Dallas TX 75225, 214-368-2828, FAX 368-2727] is opening A Class of Texas Artists on Thursday, April 18 to run through May 13. Artists include Jim Bowman and David Keens doing glass, and Randy Brodnax' pottery and many other unfamiliar names, all of which share the characteristic of being professors, a total of 21 listed in the first postcard. 4/4/96 GALLERY NOTES: Highland Park Gallery, #4 Highland Park Village, Dallas, 214-528- 0011, von Koffler, Medore, Girten, and SpiralGlass (Rees Bowen & Cathy McClure)

1 In this space is pasted an ad containing the following text. 2 Joppa Glassworks, Inc., We make and sell annealing kiln elements and Giberson Ceramic 3 Burner Heads for your gloryholes and furnaces. For ideas on how to improve your studio equipment 4 call or write Dudley Giberson, Warner NH 03278, 603-456-3569 fax:456-2138 5 ------------ 6 Divas Glass Art, Terry Maxwell, Shirley Daniel, Classes, Pipes, and Blocks 7 1100 East Rendon-Crowley Road, Building #7, Burleson TX 76028, (817) 293- 0190 8 Fax:(817) 293-9565 9 10

1 In this space is pasted an ad containing the following 2 Gabbert Cullet Company, Dealer in Glass Cullet, 3 Frank G. Lane, Owner, 700 Cherry Avenue, 4 Williamstown WV 26187 304-375-6435 Office 5 ---- 304-375-7790 Home; FAX:304-375-4832 6 7 8 9 10

I send Hot Glass Bits to: Those who are mentioned in an issue, Hot Glass Texans, others I feel like sending a copy to, and those who have paid for it. The only ones guaranteed to get the next issue are the last group.

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