Hot Glass Bits 2006 Notes

(Hot Glass Bits #48)

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GAS 2006 CORNING 2006 EUGENE GLASS SCHOOL PITTSBURGH GLASS CENTER TEXAS TECH @ JUNCTION
TERMINOLOGY WES HUNTING SITE PENLAND GLORY HOLE CLASS SNOW FARM 2006 GAS
Conference
THE FLOW URBAN GLASS 2006 SUMMER SOFA EAST GAS COLLECTORS TOUR SOUTH TEXAS GLASS CLASSES
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS SHOW TEXAS OPEN HOUSES 25 YEAR OF NEW GLASS REVIEW ARTS & DESIGN ONLINE GLASS MAG
MICHIGAN GLASS MONTH AND WINDSOR BIRTHDAY HOUSTON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT GAS - CERF FUND GOBLET GRAB
EAST FALLS OPEN HOUSE COMPUTER WOES NICE PHOTOS MOSQUITOES NORTH-LANDS
BROAD GLASS VETRO EVENTS GLASS & ORCHIDS BOUQUETS for MOM SOFA NEW YORK GALA
LOWER FEE DEADLINE TOLEDO MUSEUM GLASS GLOVES ADVICE KITTRELL-RIFFKIND DALLAS EAST FALLS PHILADELPHIA
DONATION DEADLINE MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS JUNE 16 TWO NEWS ITEMS GLASS
Quarterly #103
I'VE BEEN WORKING
NEAT WORKSHOP IDEA NEW HOUSTON STUDIO HOUSTON HOT GLASS NEWS ART MARKETING PA OPEN HOUSE
JULY 1
EUGENE SCHOOL OF GLASS OFF TOPIC - DSL CRAFT WEB PIGEON BLOOD CLOISONNÉ GLASSBLOWING VIDEOS
KITTRELL-RIFFKIND SHOW FAIRVIEW GLASS OLYMPIC COLOR RODS OPEN HOUSE & CLASSES PHILY PA STUDIO CMOG FALL WINTER
IT'S JUST GLASS A GALERIE OF GLASS GLASS BLOWING DEMOS SOFA-Chicago JURIED SHOW
JURIED SHOW JOSH SIMPSON DALLAS OPEN HOUSE JOSH SIMPSON 2 TEXAS XMAS SHOWS
GLASS MOLDING URBANGLASS SPRING DETROIT AREA GLASS NOTES 4 'EXACT TORCH'
CORRECTION ONLINE VIDEO PILCHUCK 2007    

Like other online issues of HGB, this one is in reverse date order (for online reading of the newest stuff at the top.)

Events & Deadlines
 
Feb, 20
 Pilchuck Deadline
GAS  2007
Jun 7-9
GAS 2008
Jun 18-22

Receive email when this page changes
[And let me know if there are problems. Shows changes + ads MF]


PILCHUCK 2007 - The brochure for Pilchuck Glass School in Washington state has arrived with a schedule of five sessions beginning May 28 and extending to August 31. The first session is just over a week (5/28-6/8) while others are 2.5 weeks.  There are five classes in each of the sessions. As is usual, the middle session (3rd) is more warm and fuzzy and arts related and less hot glass handling. The complete schedule can be seen online http://www.pilchuck.com/default.htm Summer applications are due by Feb 20.  For those who don't know, Pilchuck is one of the big five major summer glass programs that offer serious work for intermediate and advanced workers.  It is relatively expensive (yet many people say they pay for their time with the pieces they produce there, not to mention the stimulation to their creative career) and is not the place to go to learn the beginnings of glass. Tuition, room and board will probably be over $3,000.  It is located in the woods north of Seattle and is isolated in other ways, so offering a self-contained summer camp kind of experience.  2006-12-28

ONLINE VIDEO - Paul Thompson reminds me via e-mail that although I have mentioned online videos here, I have not followed up with a central list.  He has been good enough to provide a sampling which has been added to my bibliography page.  I would welcome any additional suggestions of online and commercial videos about furnace glassblowing. 2006-12-28  As we all know, you rap the punty just enough to drop the piece gently into the gloves or drop off - Not like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-S4eBLg6sU 2006-12-29

CORRECTION - Have been listing The Book Exchange in several places although I am told the name was dropped eight years ago, so I have now fixed it.  I am properly humiliated to have not properly referred to Whitehouse Books, an excellent source for new and old glass books.

Exact style torch being used to heat piece'EXACT' TORCH - One of the familiar sights around a glassblowing studio is the handheld propane torch with the can sized burner end on a pipe from a handle with a valve that parks the flame to pilot size or lets it blaze out.  In crude form it is a weed burner.  The 'Exact' torch has a history (here) and is now made under a different name and in a different country.  In any case, a card from A.R.T.CO. indicates that they now have them in stock again. ARTCO - Exact Torches for Glassblowing and Glass Casting. I am actually a bit surprised at the prices, because I thought they cost closer to $200.  Sold as modular pieces the handle is $29.50, a mid-sized tube is $11.25, and a mid-sized burner $20.50 or $61.25 total (plus shipping, etc.)  Burners range from 70k to 300k Btu and tubes from 4" to 20" 2006-12-12

GLASS NOTES 4 - Henry Halem has the fourth edition of Glass Notes ready  The book is released and shipping. The cost is $40 retail.Henry Halem, Franklin Mills Press, P.O. Box 906, Kent, OH 44240, Tel. +330 673 8632,  Fax +330 677 2488 www.glassnotes.com Glass Notes is the legendary compilation of information from Henry's long teaching career with the last and this addition adding articles from people with experience in other areas, such a color making.  This edition runs 352 pages.  I have not seen it yet, but expect it to advance on the 3rd edition advanced on the earlier ones which was quite a jump in style and content.  Henry tends to favor the high end extremely solid construction of equipment as for schools and intense team studio use, so his choices are not cheap to build, but certainly are rugged. 2006-12-06

DETROIT AREA OPEN HOUSE - "tsunami glassworks inc. 1167 mercer street windsor, on, canada, n9a 1n8 519 258 7620 www.tsunamiglassworks.com"  "Our studio and showroom will be open to the public for one special weekend Friday December 8 10am to 6pm, Saturday December 9 10am to 5pm, Sunday December 10 10am to 5pm. Please click here for a map to our studio http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&searchtype=address&country=CA&addtohistory=&address=1167+mercer+st.&city=windsor&state=on&zipcode= 
2006-12-05

URBANGLASS SPRING - UrbanGlass in Brooklyn (www.urbanglass.org) has announced its weekend and weekday classes for spring. While the weekday classes require living within commuting distance, weekend classes are more accessible for those of us away from the NY metro area. Most of the weekend classes are two day, but some, including the top end class with Paul Stankard are three day and a couple are one day, including a pair of egg paperweight workshops in time for Easter.  Other items include kiln casting and hot sculpting and one bead working class in Spanish.  Most of the one and two day workshops are $200 a day. Classes run February to April.  2006-12-04

GLASS MOLDING - I will read almost anything, especially when there is only one thing to read or I encounter something I have never read before.  It turns out that NASA puts out a mag called Tech Briefs, Engineering Solution for Design & Manufacturing, www.techbriefs.com , although much of it is too brief descriptions for the purpose of exposing available results of NASA research to possible public use.  In the October 2006 edition, which I picked up while volunteering at Radio & Reading Resource (talking books and radio for the blind), there is a longer article from a guy at Edmund Optics about precision molding of glass optics, which has apparently much increased in the last five years. The process is used to make aspheric mirrors to 0.250 um accuracy.  Aspherics allow making mirrors with the focus off center which allows for a long optical path in a shorter space, as in a spacecraft or aerial photography application.  When using spherical mirrors the return mirror must be in the path of the light (therefore small) and the primary mirror must have a hole in the center to pass light to a detector. With aspherics a larger return mirror can be used closer to the surface because it does not block the path which is a Z shape passing beside the primary mirror.
"Heat must be uniform across the tool and its surrounding mass, and it must be precisely increased during melting.  The process must eliminate temperature differences across the mold, tool and glass at temperatures approaching 700°C (1292°F) By implementing advanced IR heating methods, companies such as Edmund have developed a way to control temperature variations to within 1°C across the entire tooling package...."
"A related issue is the ability of the process to maintain the surface tooling finish ... the most difficult problem.... Glass tend to stick to materials that are strong enough to withstand the pressures and heat of molding.  Therefore, manufacturers apply a thin-film coating to the tooling to act as a release agent, but the coating typically don't last long - only 200 cycles or so."  2006-12-03

TEXAS XMAS SHOWS - In Dallas the annual Randy Broadnax Show that brings together 40+ crafts people from the Dallas area, including Jim Bowman's glass with random live music, cowboy Santa, fabric, clay, metal jewelry, wood turning and carving, etc., will be held as usual at the Sons of Hermann Hall at the east end of Deep Elum 3414 Elm Street at Exposition Avenue, Friday to Sunday, Dec. 8, 5-9pm, Dec.9, 10a-6pm, and Dec. 10 10a-5pm.
Carlyn Galerie in Dallas is holding "Holiday Traditions" Dec. 7-24 at their location near Preston and NW Highway. www.carlyngalerie.com
In Austin, the annual Armadillo Christmas Bazaar featuring a wide variety of crafts including Fire Island Glass will be held 8-24 11am-11pm at the Austin Music Hall, downtown at 3rd and Nueces with live music nightly.  www.armadillobazaar.com www.fireislandglass.com 2006-12-02

BOWMAN GLASS OPEN HOUSE - Jim Bowman here in Dallas will be participating in the annual Cedars Open Studios on November 18, 10-6 across I-30 from downtown.  About 45 artists will be showing at 12 different locations between the old Sears Store near Cedars DART station to Old City Park.  Jim is located on the north edge of the area which runs south about 8 blocks.  Media include most anything you can think of including metal, concrete, glass, paper, photography, fiberglass, ceramics, wood, and so on.  Jim will have live music all afternoon into the evening.  Check www.cedarsopenstudios.com 2006-11-09
VETRO will also "kick off the 2006 holiday season with their Holiday Bash from 10:00am – 10:00pm on Saturday, Nov 18th at 701 S Main #103 in historic Grapevine, TX [just north of the railroad center] including their "Truth or Consequences" event which involves smashing glass that is not sold. http://www.vetroartglass.com/ 2006-11-07
KITTRELL/RIFFKIND ART GLASS will have an opening reception 10-5:30 Saturday November 18 for Ornament Extravaganza the show continuing through Dec. 30th. www.kittrellriffkind.com

JOSH SIMPSON's web site is neat to visit and the New Mexico glass which is intended to approximate Cherenkov radiation is very nice.  If you have ever seen the glow in the water of nuclear fuel stored there, you know how fascinating it is. I encountered it back in high school days on a field trip to Argonne National Lab as part of the National High School Institute. 2006-11-07  JOSH was honored by the Corning Museum of Glass  with a commission to make their "1,000 Paperweight" in their collection and also make the largest paperweight in the world as represented by a MegaWorld of over 100#.  See the steps in making it here 2006-11-19

WIMBERLEY MOVE - Wimberley Glass Works has moved 5 miles down the road, further from Wimberley and closer to San Marcos.  Check out their web site which is under reconstruction for details on their product line.  www.wgw.com 2006-10-25

JURIED SHOW - HotGlass in the BlueGrass II, March 24 – May 13, 2007 Lexington Art League, Loudoun House Gallery, 209 Castlewood Dr, Lexington, KY 40505 is open to all artists working in the U.S. and abroad using “hot” glass techniques, such as blown, cast, kiln-formed, fused, slumped, and / or lamp-worked glass. All work must have been completed since January 2005.
Che Rhodes, accomplished glass artist and Head of Studio Glass at the University of Louisville, in Louisville, KY, will juror. Mr. Rhodes is represented by the Marta Hewett Gallery in Cincinnati, OH, and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Glass Art Society.
Entry fee: $25 for 1-3 artworks, $35 for 4-6 artworks. Slides and digital images (300 DPI or better resolution; JPEG format) accepted for the jury process. Cash Prizes totaling about $2000 will be apportioned as to amount and relative size by the juror who will be given a recommendation that about half go to the best in show. On-site insurance. Download prospectus online at http://www.lexingtonartleague.org/calltoartist.htm , or send SASE to: Lexington Art League, ATTN: HotGlass II Prospectus, 209 Castlewood Drive, Lexington, KY 40505
Postmark and final hand-submission deadline January 19, 2007.  Accepted artists notified via mail on or around February 16, 2007.
For more information call 859.254.7024, or email at info@lexingtonartleague.org
Jonathan R. Goolsby, Marketing, Media and Membership Specialist, Lexington Art League, jgoolsby@lexingtonartleague.org 
859.254.7024 Ext 32 Voice, 859.254.7214 Fax   2006-10-21

SOFA - THE THIRTEENTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION OF SCULPTURE OBJECTS & FUNCTIONAL ART: SOFA CHICAGO 2006 NOVEMBER 10 - 12, OPENING NIGHT MISE EN SCÈNE: NOVEMBER 9 FESTIVAL HALL, NAVY PIER www.sofaexpo.com 2006-10-16

GLASS BLOWING DEMOS Carlyn Galerie and UT-Arlington will present demos in their relatively new studio in the rather new arts building (http://www.uta.edu/publications/utamagazine/fall_2004/stories.php?id=145)  on the Arlington Campus.  This will be a chance to see the studio and five or more participating artists working.  Demos will occurs 11-5, October 21 &22 (Sat. & Sun.) and involve David Keens (heat of the UTA program) Michael Fox, Justin Ginsberg, Martin Janecky  and Jason Lawson.  They will take place in the UT-Arlington Studio Arts Center, 510 S. Davis, maps etc at www.carlyngalerie.com or www.uta.edu  2006-10-13

A GALERIE OF GLASS has its opening reception on Thursday October 19, 6-8:30 pm with the exhibit running through Nov. 12.

IT'S JUST GLASS - You have the middle of November free, are interested in "antics glasses to nanoparticles , self cleaning glasses, glass colouration by coating or X-Chromics coatings" and can get to Nancy, France, Nov. 16-17, you might be interested in glass, functional material for the future : Nancy http://www.idverre.net/glass-conference/j17.html  2006-10-06

KITTRELL/RIFFKIND celebrates their 16th Anniversary in Dallas with a grand opening 30 September for a show of 50 favorite artists that runs through October. Also offered are a drawing for gift certificates on the 30th and 3 following Saturdays and a 16% Discount on the 30th and a Jewelry Designing Open House on the 16th  www.kittrellriffkind.com 2006-09-27

GAS CONFERENCES - Having held their 2006 Conference in St. Louis, the next two Glass Art Society (GAS) Annual Conferences will be in Pittsburgh, PA, June 7-9, 2007 and Portland, OR,  June 18-22, 2008.  The call for proposals deadline for the latter is December 1, 2006 and can be done on line at www.glassart.org  GAS is the largest organization of art glass collectors and artists and I encourage any budding glass artist to attend at least one conference because it provides a terrific concentration of top (by any definition) people in the field, of tools for handy comparison, of demonstrations of the craft, of gallery shows, and of visits to studios.  Having been to several, I choose to go or not based on my estimate of the value versus the cost of that particular conference.  Part of my judgment is based on whether I feel that the location and therefore the conference and workshops are stronger in furnace work, lamp work or warm glass work. More 2006-09-12

AUTUMN JEWELS - Carlyn Galerie, 6137 Luther Lane, Dallas, www.carlyngalerie.com has an opening reception 6-8pm on Thursday September 14 for their next show "Autumn Jewels" which will run to October 8.  Among 12 included artists are Lisa Chandler, Jessica Randall, and Jane Walvoord who are expected to attend the reception.  The show includes glass, metal, gems and stones. 2006-09-09 

WORLD ART GLASS - We have added a link on our glos-src.htm page to www.worldartglass.com which a major source of links to galleries, studios, museums, schools, various retailers and other links, including us.  Take a visit to see if useful to you. 2006-09-09

STUDIO CMOG FALL WINTER - The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass www.cmog.org has announced its Fall 2006 schedule which is detailed on the web site (follow links on framed site.) There is a super special workshop November 5-8 with Lino Tagliapietra where 25 participants will pay $400 to observe and possibly assist in the otherwise closed studio.  There are no 1 week courses in the fall.   As usual, there are ten-week sessions for those in the area meeting once a week to learn furnace glassblowing or lampworking.  Weekend workshops are offered in 3 levels of furnace glassblowing, 5 aspects of flameworking, and 6 aspects of flat glass.  One day workshops are offered in December to make paperweights or beads.  In the Winter 2007 session from January 8 to February 24, there are only 1 week sessions, 7 sets with 4 classes each session usually 2 furnace glassblowing, 1 lampworking and 1 kiln class. 2006-09-05

OPEN HOUSE & CLASSES PHILY PA - East Falls Glassworks http://www.eastfallsglass.com 215-908-7924 [good map on website]
"This Saturday (Sept 2nd), East Falls Glassworks will be holding our glassblowing open house. All local and visiting glassblowers are invited to participate in the demonstrations. If the weather is cooperative, we will move one of the benches outside and have both indoor and outside demos. We will also have our first ever "Seconds Sale"; this is a chance to buy some beautiful art glass at (almost) yard-sale prices.
We have posted our class schedule through November. We've broadened our offerings to include classes for more experienced glassblowers. An Intermediate Glassblowing class (8 weeks) is offered Thursday evenings, starting Oct 5. This is the perfect class for students who have been through the Introductory classes and are ready to take the next step.
Starting Oct 15, Advanced Drinking Vessels is offered. This 8 week, Monday evening, class is designed for advanced students; drinking vessels from tumblers through stemmed goblets will be covered in the class. There will be a lot of bit-work and use of the garage.
The Sunday afternoon Color Techniques class, starting Sept 10, has spots available. This class is for the intermediate to advanced student and will cover all sorts of cool color techniques, including color overlays, incalmo, french crackle, optic/powder applications and others. There is an additional $50 lab fee associated with this class, let us know if you have any color or technique requests and we will do our best to accommodate." 2006-08-31

OLYMPIC COLOR RODS - has decided to implement a Customer Loyalty Program: "Receive a 5% credit on your account with us at the beginning of each year based on total annual glass color purchases in the prior year. Rewards will be posted in January 2007 for 2006 purchases. Minimum qualifying amount - $1,000 Maximum qualifying amount - $20,000 (Applies to glass color purchases only) No sign up necessary - all customers are eligible."  I suppose all regular customers know about this as well as everyone else getting their e-mail announcements.  Oh, and if you were considering buying their closeout color at 20% off, they extended the sale to the end of September and went to 30% off.  www.glasscolor.com  2008-08-24

FAIRVIEW GLASS is a Maryland company dedicated to historic preservation through salvaging and recycling antique window glass Supplying Restoration projects with Authentic antique window glass. www.fairviewglass.com 2006-08-21

KITTRELL-RIFFKIND DALLAS TX - Featured Artist Series 2006 August 19th through September 16th - Join us this Saturday (8/19) for the Opening Reception of our Featured Artist Series 2006 exhibit 12 - 5:30 this Saturday, August 19th. We will be showcasing new work from artists Greg Fidler, David Leppla, Kenny Pieper, Cathy Richardson, and Nancy Tobey.  A Sampling of the Exhibition

GLASSBLOWING VIDEOS - Obviously, a place like YouTube which has lots of videos is going to have some with glass, so a search with glass blowing or glassblowing produces some more or less interesting sites (but the divided word also gets some blowing videos that are more or less sexual."   This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdnNizjlTzQ&search=glass%20blowing seems pretty normal, until he breaks off the piece, turns it over and tacks the bottom onto the pipe.  This was mentioned on CraftWeb where it was pointed out that the bottom has to be pretty hot and in this time frame, pretty thick and you can't flatten it and cool it.  In the video you can see it is indented when it goes back into heat, but it was pointed out that the demo pieces are thrown away, so they don't have to stand up.  Let me know if you find something interesting.  This one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJDh3ZAPz0E is a slightly blurred 6 minute video of two guys working at Maho Bay.  If you do a glassblowing search you will get lampworking and pipes as well as furnace.  It is mildly amusing to note the categories people put the videos in: entertainment, travel & place, science & technology. 2006-08-06

PIGEON BLOOD CLOISONNÉ - Pigeon Blood Cloisonne raised metal design under thick red glaze.I received an e-mail query about a bright red vase with a pattern of dimples and a bamboo stem and leaf under a clear glass surface.  The sender thought it might be glass blown into a metal vase and dipped again in glass as it is glossy inside and out.  I disagreed on the principal of never having seen that done and the incompatibility of glass and metal. I thought it was especially thick transparent glaze on silver or porcelain, even though I had not seen specific examples of that.  After some minor searching on my part and a further exchange of e-mail, the writer found a very similar pattern here Japanese Ginbari Pigeon Blood Cloisonne Covered Dish (Orientalia and Asian-Cloisonne) at Treasure Ship Antiques.  I bring this up here because the depth of the glaze does make it appear that it is somehow a material inside glass (glaze of course being a modified glass formula). The glaze is built up in two or more layers, with firing between each and polishing afterward, over either silver foil with the pattern or embossed base metal of copper or bronze.  In fact, once the method is defined, it is easy to find lots of examples on the internet (also called akasuke). Several sites indicate how hard it is to photograph and this image is used because it is clearer than the original vase sent. 2006-07-25 

CRAFTWEB - The CraftWeb Glass forum is a major gathering place (pun) for serious glass blowers doing hot glass.  It requires sign in with real name to use but is well worth following.  Lately, there has been a long thread with many examples of glass work that people are doing  http://talk.craftweb.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4710  To view this, you may have to sign up then use the link (since I get on automatically with a cookie on my machine.)  The thread is A Bunch of Glass Objects. 2006-07-27

OFF TOPIC - DSL - We have stepped closer to the modern age with installation of DSL here at the house.  Ironically, the need for speed is actually secondary to the interference between voice and dialup that was happening.  It came about like this:  Once upon a time we had two phone lines one in my wife's name and one in mine.  Then we added a cell phone.  Then we retired.  Then we looked at the phone bill, reconfigured the cell phone to cost less and dropped one of the land lines.   Then we found that my desire to jump on line was interfering with her desire to talk for long periods with blind friends and to receive calls from people in connection with her volunteer work.
As this got more and more irritating, I continued shopping for higher speed services, being really irritated that the people that were doing the most advertising of lower cost services continued to declare that they could not provide DSL because we were just barely outside the distance limit - like 300 yards in 14000.  And this is for a location that is considered downtown by most of the population of the metro area - 4.25 miles NE from the heart of downtown closer than the original reservoir for the city.  This comes about because of the location of the exchange station which is off north, built up to serve a monster pair of buildings that were to bridge over the expressway of which only one was built.
   When SBC bought AT&T and took their name and then told me they had no plans to expand DSL in my area, I complained that the failure to have plans was unfortunate because I thought it indicated a prejudice against the people in my neighborhood - which is mostly Hispanic.  One of the people I complained to put an e-mail in the hands of the right person at AT&T and they said they would come out and test the line to be sure I could get service.  So now I have it.
  Over the weekend, I ran a fresh continuous multi-wire phone line from the back of the house to the computers at the front thru the nice hot attic (105F on Sunday, in shade on open front porch!).  I planned to buy a splitter for the back to avoid having to install plug in splitters on each of the 9 or more phones and devices in the house, coping until I had it on hand.  The guy from AT&T came out bright and early and had no problems, immediately installing a splitter in the phone company box which left all my branching house phone wiring intact and sent the DSL through the new wires to the front where we got up and running under XP home almost instantly.  Wheeeee!!
   For us, it means we can check e-mail without interfering with each other, download (and upload) 8-10 times as fast and use the internet without having to coordinate with voice.   And at the advertised price of $12.99 a month for a year, it is much cheaper than getting a cable connection for the purpose (like $39) or deciding we would get TV cable and add modem cable to it (total $60-70 after the first 3 months when it still costs $40.)  2006-07-17

EUGENE GLASS SCHOOL   keeps sending me announcements in the form of 1.4 to 4 meg .bmp image files that arrive somewhat compressed in .3 to .5 e-mail messages on my dialup line.   There is no matching text.  I have asked several times that at least the text content be added to the message and have amused myself manipulating the image to black text without colored background so my OCR program will try to read its many fonts. No more.  I am not sure what they expect recipients to do with these monsters, print them in full color?  Post them? Retype them from the screen image?  Go to www.eugeneglassschool.org if you wish.  2006-07-09 

PA OPEN HOUSE JULY 1 - East Falls Glassworks, 3510 Scotts Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19129,  215-908-7924
East Falls Glassworks will be holding its monthly open house this coming Saturday, July 1. This one will be a bit different from our normal open houses. We have, visiting from Murano, Maestro Elio Quarisa teaching a class at the studio. For the open house, all are welcome to watch Elio's demos (from 9:00AM till noon) and then the students working on their projects (from 1:00PM till 9:00PM). Elio will be supervising and assisting the students from 1:00PM till around 5:00PM.
We have been working on the East Falls Glassworks web site ( http://www.eastfallsglass.com). We've added a glassblowing message board, some step-by-step glassblowing demos and an illustrated glossary. Any feedback you can send on our website is appreciated; we are trying to create an online resource that serves the Philadelphia-area glassblowing community.
For July and August, we still have some class openings; let us know ASAP if you'd like to sign up for any of the following...
Glass Casting Workshop, starting Sunday, July 9,  Introductory Glassblowing I, starting Saturday, July 15 or Thursday, August 10
Introductory Glassblowing II, starting Tuesday, August 12

ARTMARKETING - Many glass artists are getting a booklet from an operation called artmarketing [www.artmarketing.com] which wants money to put images on their web site and a journal called Living Artists.  It is the general opinion, with which I agree, that the operation is not up to a good standard.  It reminds me of some of the playwriting contests in my newsletter 30 years ago that collected money for entering the contest that amounted to more than the prize being offered.  Among the elements of this operation are a contest to appear on the cover, a "review fee" of $20 that is not returnable, advertising rates of quarter page ($325) to double-page ($1450) and selling the book for $10 ppd.  Work which does not pass "review" results in the fee check being returned.  The web page fee is $240 for 5 thumbnails images arranged across the page that enlarge to "three times the size." [five images would each need to be about 150 pixels each to fit; three times would be 450 pixels.  In comparison, the picture just above this link is 400x600. I would expect an art showcase image to be larger.]  The contest is for access to the front cover, back cover and introduction, and in the quarter page section (each assigned a value.) The book is supposedly provided "to 7,000 are professionals" mostly galleries and consultants. The people doing the review are not specified.  In comparison, Lark Books published recently 500 Glass pieces with no application fee and a specified expert doing the jurying. 2006-06-27

HOUSTON HOT GLASS NEWS - For a quick look at several events related to hot glass artists in Houston, including a couple of books and a couple of exhibits and a class, go to http://www.houstonstudioglass.com/2006_June_Newsletter.html

NEW HOUSTON STUDIO - A letter announces that Caliente Glass Blowing, [3815 Bolin Road, Houston TX 77092 713-688-9307 www.calienteglassblowing.com flores<>4831@sbcglobal.net remove <>] has opened facilities just off US-290 at the second exit [34th St.] outside the I-610 loop, in NW Houston   In 2000 sq.ft. the studio is reported as having 40# electric and 400# invested pot gas furnaces; 2 glory holes 12"ID x 24" and 18"ID x 34"; and 2 annealing ovens.  Two benches and cold working.  The studio is reported as having high ceilings, good ventilation, and, fans with misters to reduce heat. The space is offering classes and rentals with room and board in family style settings when needed.  Nikos Flores, RISD & Penland, is artist in residence and others have been in for a week. A conversation with Nikos adds that he wants to offer classes in all aspects of glass, more school that artist work.  2006-06-24 

NEAT WORKSHOP IDEA - UrbanGlass is extending the idea of ornament making (Dec. 2 & 3, two 1 day classes) back a couple of months to making Glass Pumpkins (Oct. 21 & 22, 1 day each) which in a B&W picture are grooved bulging sides with a thick twisted stem, presumably orange and green.  They charge $200 for the 5 hour day.  Besides these two obvious candidates, imagination could extend the exercise back through the year.  Other possibilities include footballs, fruit and corn for autumn, baseballs and watermelon (whole) for summer, and of course, eggs and hearts for Easter.    2006-06-24

URBANGLASS FALL 2006 - The fall schedule of classes has arrived and is available on www.urbanglass.org  In the fall UrbanGlass offers Workshops of 1-3 days, and Weekly Classes meeting one night a week.  The week long classes of summer are absent.  Those people within easy traveling distance will find a stemware class, neon and several kiln classes including one on making bar and murrini in the kiln.  See next note above also.

STEUBEN - Without cable, I don't get to sample the thrills of its programming, but I stumbled across this page http://travel.discovery.com/fansites/jrmia/goods/steuben.html on an internet search and certainly found the summary exciting.  "Hot wood ash", "oxidized lead" and a rough approximation of the process are features. 2006-06-23

I'VE BEEN WORKING on the web site as an alternative to working glass in the current heat and dryness and with my leg problems.  I have created pages focusing on specific topics Doors and Floor Plans, the former consolidating images from various other pages, the latter adding plans drawn recently to images taken earlier.  I have also considerably revised the Glass Techniques page with added images and a different tone to much of the writing.  I added costs to the studio building page.  One way to check on recent changes is to view the Update page which records changes in reverse date order or Upsumm which is a short list.  These two are generated by a separate program that I sometimes neglect to run.  Of course, some of the changes are minor. You can also be notified of changes to this page at the link just above this paragraph.  2006-06-21.

GLASS Quarterly #103 - The Summer 2006 issue of Glass journal has arrived and continues its traditions including glorious ads and moderately interesting text with inclusion of stuff that only remotely touches on glass while ignoring technique.  The cover feature is New Talent "The most important artists working in glass that you've never heard of [yet]" written up by other artists and critics.  Stretching the definition of working, two of the artists are dead.  One of these, Frederick Heidel, lived for 85 years and the given reason for us not knowing him is that he staying in Oregon ... other than classes in Chicago, teaching in California and trips to Europe to learn and teach and to have his glass made. The other, Dalibor Tichy, who died in 1985, is rather more interesting, pulling thin films of glass up from solid bases of glass when molten. Both are labeled as New Talent.  Another, Mark Zirpel, appears to qualify because he puts found glass and an odd sheet in otherwise mechanical installations.  Elsewhere, a feature article on Gregory Grenon's reverse painting on glass has only the flat sheet of glass (no special features noted or shown) to connect with glass - the elaborate painted frames mentioned in the article are not shown in the photos although much is made of the contrast.  Reverse painting is centuries old but "without realizing it" the Detroit artist is credited with reviving the technique, a claim I have seen with several other reverse painting artists.  If only they would actually do something with the glass beyond cleaning and painting on the back.  The old guys painted in vessels and on convex glass feature peices.  "Cool Fire" is an article on Tobias Mohl's dark blown work which almost touches on his techniques in mentioning Venetian murrini, evident in some images, but ignoring the apparent use of very very thin threading laid down closely on top of other elements to produce moiré patterns through the glass and through the piece which are a major feature of many of the pieces shown.
  TWO NEWS ITEMS mentioned in the issue are of interest.  The highly thought of glass program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has stopped accepting students and will shut down in May 2007 with administration charging flagging student interest in "traditional media"(!) as digital stuff takes over.  William Carlson, who built the program left in 2003.
The much anticipated Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art will have its delayed opening in mid-August. www.toledomuseum.org The delay is due to the construction of the outside from very large glass panels each of which is unique in shape from sheet up to 15 feet long made in England, then shipped to and fabricated in China then reshipped to Toledo for installation.  The building is 76,000 square feet and will include exhibits, two hot glass studios, and various other glass working studio spaces. 2006-06-17

MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS JUNE 16 -Meet me in St. Louis! This month St. Louis is host to the Glass Art Society International Glass Conference. In conjunction with all things glass, I'm honored to have an exhibit at the St. Louis Craft Alliance, courtesy of Heller Gallery of NYC and the Craft Alliance. Please join me Friday, June 16th from 6-10 pm during the Gallery Hop. The Craft Alliance is located at 6640 Delmar Blvd. 314-725-1177. Susan Taylor Glasgow [susan@taylorglasgow.com]

DEADLINE 31 JULY - "CALL TO ARTISTS for 7TH ANNUAL ART GLASS AUCTION & BENEFIT DINNER
You are cordially invited to donate your artwork to our 7th Annual Art Glass Auction & Benefit. This is our largest and most prestigious fundraising event of the year, catering to hundreds of local, national, and international glass artists and collectors. With the publication of a full-color auction catalog, your work will be seen by over 2,000 artists and collectors.
Your commitment is needed as soon as possible!  Your work must be delivered to EGS by JULY 31,2006 to be included in our full-color auction catalog. You may download a copy of the artist submission form and instructions online at www.eugeneglassschool.org or simply call us at 54l-342-2959
 FRIDAY OCTOBER 6, 2006 Auction Preview and Meet the Artists, Featured Artist Slide Show and Lecture
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2006  7th Annual Art Glass Auction & Benefit Dinner at the Valley River Inn, Eugene, Oregon - Silent Auction, Live Auction, and Benefit Dinner. Please contact Dena Mohtadi dena@eugeneglassschool.org  if you have any questions or concerns regarding your submission for the Eugene Glass School 7th Annual Art Glass Auction and Benefit.
575 Wilson Street  Eugene, OR 97402  Phone 541-342-2959. Fax 541-342-2924 www.eugeneglassschool.org
You may contact EGS by email at info@eugeneglassschool.org" 2006-06-02

EAST FALLS PHILADELPHIA - Juried Group Show Headlines Art Events at Sherman Mills
June 3rd will be a day of art at Sherman Mills in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Sherman Mills ARTS Council invites you to the opening of the first smARTS Annual Group Show. Our new gallery space will present juried works by the Shermam Mills artists from 3-7 pm. In addition, there will be a studio show and open studios in Building 32. Work includes painting, drawing, fiber arts, glass, ceramics, and sculpture.There will be wine, hors d’oeuvres and music by the Donald Robinson Quartet. Other events at Sherman Mills June 3rd include glass blowing demonstrations at East Falls Glassworks and the Annual Philadelphia Guild of Handweavers show at Crafts for Living Gallery.
East Falls Glassworks continues its glassblowing classes and will host its first masterclass with Elio Quarisa in June.For details, directions, and additional hours visit http://www.shermanmillsARTS.org 2006-05-30

KITTRELL-RIFFKIND DALLAS - "Starting this Saturday we will be showcasing new work by artists Jeau Bishop, Barry Entner, Susan Gott, Ginny Hampton and Debora Wayne. The work that we have received from these talented artists is really outstanding; we think you'll be impressed! We hope that you will join us for the opening reception with artist Ginny Hampton from 12:30 - 5:30 on Saturday, June 3rd. Ginny will be on hand during the afternoon to meet y'all and to discuss her work. So come by, enjoy some munchies and a glass of wine, and check us out! Visit our website at www.kittrellriffkind.com to view a sampling of the pieces being featured during this event. This exhibit will continue through July 2nd. Visit the Exhibition: A Sampling"  2006-05-30

GLOVES ADVICE - A card from A.R.T.Co. aims at  http://www.artcoinc.com/rightglove.php which seems to have some pretty good information on hot gloves for the glass shop. 2006-05-25

TOLEDO MUSEUM GLASS - The Glass Pavilion added to the Toledo Museum of Art will be formally opened in August (22-27). To follow its construction, go to http://toledomuseum.org/GlassCenter_construction.htm which includes construction of the new dual studio operation for classes and rental which are now open. The Toledo Museum has an extensive collection of ancient and just old glass, being in the heart of the glass production area that developed after the Civil War. 2006-05-18

LOWER FEE DEADLINE - Glass Art Society's 36th Annual Conference, Glass Gateways: Meet in the Middle, St. Louis, Missouri, June 15-17, Why wait in the slow line in St. Louis? Register today online with Visa or Master Card: http://www.glassart.org/2006-registration.html
Pre Registration rates: Before May 24th
$270 - Full conference pass
$150 - Student Conference pass
Onsite rates: At the conference
$295 - Full Conference pass
$175 - Student Conference pass
Daily passes:
$110/day individual
$55/day student

SOFA NEW YORK GALA "APRIL 24, 2006. For the ninth consecutive year, the Opening Night Preview Gala for SOFA NEW YORK 2006: The International Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art will benefit the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD) and its exhibitions and public programs. The event takes place from 5 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31, at the Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street, Manhattan.
Those attending the Gala will enjoy an exclusive private viewing of an extraordinary selection of more than 1,000 art objects bridging the fine and decorative arts, presented by fifty-nine of the world’s finest international galleries and dealers. Be among the elite to first view and acquire top quality pieces at SOFA NEW YORK 2006. Download Reservation Form (pdf)

BOUQUETS for MOM - Carlyn Galerie [6137 Luther Lane, Dallas 75225, nr Preston & NW Highway, 214-368-2828 www.carlyngalerie.com carlyng@earthlink.net] has a show from April 27 to May 14th featuring gifts for mother's day that include glass in several forms including shoes from Alex of AlviGlass.  Open 7 days a week. 2006-05-02

GLASS & ORCHIDS are being featured at Kittrell-Riffkind Art Glass Gallery in Dallas beginning with a reception April 29th, 11-5 with arranging demonstrations.  The exhibition runs to May 29th. artglass@kittrellriffkind.com 888-865-2228 http://www.kittrellriffkind.com  Kittrell/Riffkind Art Glass, 5100 Beltline Rd #820, Dallas TX 75254 (just south of Bed, Bath & Beyond on the SE corner with the Tollway.) 2006-04-21

VETRO EVENTS - In Grapevine Texas, north of DFW Airport,  Vetro does odd ball events - Here are two: "I just wanted to send a quick reminder about two of our upcoming events! HAPPY EASTER GLASS EGG TOSS! Saturday, April 15, Win a FREE piece, blown right before your very eyes!! Vetro is hosting its 2nd annual Glass Egg Toss! One lucky winner will be awarded a beautiful art glass piece blown just for him/her right after the game! Registration: 1pm - 2pm,  Games Begin: 2pm, Winner's Demo immediately follows,
Registration begins at 1pm and it's first-come, first-serve. We only have 35 openings available...so be sure to get there on time! Because of game limitations, we ask for just one person per family/household. Good luck!!  Registration and participation are FREE!
Sorry, but you probably won't get to keep your egg because it will most likely be broken by the end of the game!! And no, you will not be throwing your egg at another person!
***** Spring Bash 2006  Saturday, May 13th  10:00am - 10:00pm  (The day before Mother's Day - and what a perfect place to find just the right gift for that special woman in your life!),  "Truth or Consequences" begins at 7:30pm Please arrive at least an hour early!
A portion of proceeds from the entire day of festivities goes to The Grapevine Heritage Foundation. Glass artists will be demonstrating live glassblowing & lampworking throughout the day with festivities swinging into full gear in the evening with complementary hors d'oeurves, wine and live entertainment. Admission is free and the facility is handicap accessible.
 

Ode To "Truth or Consequences"
First is your chance
To win glass art.
If you miss that chance
The bidding will start.
If the highest bid
Meets not the reserve
We'll BASH the glass down!
This game rattles the nerve!

Click here for more details!  Vetro Glassblowing Studio and Gallery, 701 S. Main St., #103, Grapevine, Texas  76051,  817.251.1668
www.VetroArtGlass.com 

BROAD GLASS - I can still be surprised by glass things, but this one is being especially confusing. I was reading a colonial crafts book by Edwin Tunis that referred to Broad Glass, which was a new term, especially in the context which said it followed crown glass with a description that doesn't quite match cylinder glass.  So I went to the internet and got even more confused. The pages  The London Crown Glass Company - Description of the manufacturing process and  The London Crown Glass Company - The History of Glass say that Broad Glass was smaller bottles that were cut open with shears lengthwise and flattened on an iron table, which is what Tunis described, but the London Crown sites say it preceded crown glass and was smaller and poorer quality. But the history page has its own problem with almost 100 years between the stated end of Broad Glass and its use for blown plate.  To further confuse the issue, I find I have had broad mentioned in the Sotheby glossary under cylinder where the description is a mix of broad and cylinder techniques.  2006-04-11

NORTH-LANDS - "Attention all glass artists!  The application deadline for North Lands Creative Glass 10th International Masterclass programme is fast approaching.  [April 30th with waiting list after.]

In its 10th Anniversary year of International Masterclasses and Annual Conference, North Lands Creative Glass is now recognised as one of Europe's principal Centres of Excellence in glass making, situated in Lybster, a small fishing village in the North East of Scotland. This year's programme is entitled 'The Skilful Hand & Eye' and includes Masterclass leaders such as Dante Marioni and Alison Kinnaird MBE. 

2006 Masterclasses

26 July-3 August     Richard Marquis 'Crossing Over'

23-31 August          Tessa Clegg & Carol McNicoll 'Making Connections'

26-31 August          Dante Marioni 'Finding a Feeling' 

5-10 September      Alison Kinnaird MBE 'Form and Surface'

5-13 September      Michael Brennand Wood 'Consequences of Proximities'

 10th Annual International Conference 'The Skilful Hand and Eye'

 Forthcoming Residencies- The Calouste Gulbenkian Residency takes place from 16 October- 8 December 2006

 For further information contact Lorna MacMillan at info@northlandsglass.com or call +0044 (0)1593 721229"   2006-04-11

MOSQUITOES - I was reminded by an e-mail message that anyone in the south needs to be aware of mosquitoes and their larvae growing in block and knock off buckets as well as any other standing water.  My wife suggests adding gold fish or minnows, but a more practical answer is BT mosquito control, now discussed here 2006-04-02

NICE PHOTOS - Here http://immota.com/photos/corningfeb2006people/pages/DSC00459_edited-1.html are some nice photos of people working glass and some of the glass they work.  Picked up from CraftWeb Glass Forum, a good place. 2006-04-01

COMPUTER WOES - My computer has been really bugging me because it has become very, verrrrrrry, verrrrry, slowwwwwww when several programs are loaded, which is the way I work.  The final straw was downloading MS Visual BASIC Express, which is free and which will supposedly run in 128 Meg, which I have, but not with anything else loaded, taking minutes to switch between programs.  So I looked into getting more memory.  Now, several years ago,  I spent several hundred dollars to upgrade a new machine from 1 Meg to 4 so I was gritting my teeth as I called Dell.  An upgrade adding 512 Meg is under $60.  So I got it.   And installed it.
  And the difference is astounding.  My first test was loading VBEx and then getting e-mail.  Not only was there no delay switching programs, but downloading e-mail began instantly instead of the long delay for the first message I had become used to and thought due to Outlook.   If you are running Windows XP on a machine with only 128M, strongly recommend the addition if you find anything happening slowly.  2006-03-31

EAST FALLS OPEN HOUSE - For those few of you that are using the e-mail on update or who look in on Friday and who happen to be near Philadelphia, I have an e-mail from East Falls Glassworks - www.eastfallsglass.com - (215) 908-7924 which is having an open house this Saturday (4/1).  They are also starting classes with beginning level classes in April and a Drinking Vessels class in May thru June for Intermediate to Advanced.  These are one day a week classes. 2006-03-30

GAS - CERF FUND GOBLET GRAB - "Make a difference in a fellow artist's life by donating a Goblet or drinking glass to the Goblet Grab! All proceeds will benefit CERF (Craft Emergency Relief Fund).
The GAS fund at CERF offers support for fellow Glass Art Society members facing career-threatening catastrophes. Due to hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, the GAS fund at CERF is getting very low. In the past year, four GAS members have received funding vital to their artistic survival.
The fast-paced, spontaneous Goblet Grab is an exciting and fun event! When you contribute to Goblet Grab by donating a goblet you will be entered to win one free conference registration for the GAS conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 7-9, 2007.
How to donate:
1. Blow a goblet, mug, tumbler, or some kind of drinking glass
2. Fill out the Goblet Grab donation form available here: http://www.glassart.org/2006_Get_Involved.html#gobletgrab06
and price your goblet at $50, $100, $150 or $200 USD
3. Bring your drinking vessel with you and drop it off at the Goblet Grab receiving area at the Millennium Hotel, Shaw Room, Wed., June 14, 1-5 pm; Thurs, June 15, 9 am - 5 pm; Fri., June 16, 9-11 am. If you want to ship your piece (at your own expense), contact the GAS office for details."  2006-03-29

HOUSTON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT  [www.crafthouston.org 713-529-1288] is holding a mixed bag of events April 8 to July 22, detailed on the web site and centered around an exhibit of Contemporary Kiln-Glass of works of the Bullseye Connection. In the midst of it will be PyroHouston2006 with Simone Little's team with Fritz Driesbach blowing demos April 19-22 from 11-4 plus evening activities Thursday 6-8 and Saturday ($) 7-10.  Little will also be exhibited from April 8-July 2. 2006-03-26

MICHIGAN GLASS MONTH AND WINDSOR BIRTHDAY - join us for our one year birthday celebration!!
Tsunami Glassworks is pleased to invite you to our one year birthday party on April 15, 2006, in conjunction with the State of Michigan’s Glass Month activities. Come and celebrate with Kris Gene and Eva Milinkovic with a big party, glassblowing demonstrations and an exhibition in the gallery.
Studio Open House/Exhibition and Glassblowing Demonstrations:  Saturday April 15th 12:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Sunday April 16th 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm   Reception: Saturday April 15th 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Location: 1167 Mercer St.   Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9A 1N8  519-258-7620
info@tsunamiglassworks.com  www.tsunamiglassworks.com  Want to come but need to stay the night? Please contact Eva Milinkovic at eva@tsunamiglassworks.com for a list of accommodations.
 Tsunami Glassworks is the home Windsor’s first glassblowing studio and gallery. Located minutes from downtown just off cultural Erie Street, the studio is open to the public for glassblowing demonstrations and beginner glassblowing classes. The gallery showcases the work of glass artists Eva Milinkovic and Kris Gene. Tsunami glassworks pushes the boundaries of contemporary art glass by providing innovative glass designs for the contemporary living environment.
Everyone is welcome, please pass this invite to friends, glass lovers and birthday cake aficionados!
Please RSVP by April 10th!   2006-03-26

GLASS MAG - The Spring 2006 issue of Glass, #102, has arrived from UrbanGlass www.urbanglass.org  declaring itself to be The Education Issue with a Fully Updated 2006 Guide to Glass Programs. I notice that at some point they added Art:Design:Culture into the masthead.  As is usual, a major feature is the full color full page gallery ads showing a piece or two of glass from the featured artist in the current or next show (e.g. the first two ads are for Dan Dailey opens at Imago in Palm Desert CA on Friday and Jose Chardiet who closes Saturday at Leo Kaplan Modern.)  The cover picture and lead article are on goblets starting with a focus on Dante Marioni and going on to James Mongrain and Michael Schunke - the cover an illustrations treating the goblet (or "cup" as we are supposed to refer to it) as an element of a multi-cup display. Next is Michael Taylor's glued up ("laminated") glass constructivist sculptures.  North Lands Creative Glass, "Bristish Glass on the Edge" and "Europe's answer to Pilchuck" comes up next with a history report that names all the master class teachers.  Education continues with Susanne Frantz reporting on studio glass in China.  After the usual reviews of shows and listings of UrbanGlass classes and a suppliers directory, "the most comprehensive directory to glass education" has 3 full pages and 4 half pages of tiny print entries that give person, studio name, address, phones, e-mails, websites,  and aspects of the program and nothing else - no idea of the life of the program, size, or frequency of classes.  Listings include mosaics, beadmaking, neon, stained glass, hot glass of various kinds and most of the other glass related skills including glass painting and gilding.   For some reason, Ed Hoy, a wholesale supplier, gets in in the lower right corner of the first page, which has about 50 entries about the size of standard postage stamp. The listing does include operations from around the world.  Listings are by location - state or country. 2006-03-24

ARTS & DESIGN ONLINE http://www.artanddesignonline.com/ is a new operation to me that showed up in an e-mail.  A local operation, Vetro, is listed second courtesy of a dash before and after the name.  If nothing else, it has a nice cycling gallery of artists' work images where you can click on the image to see more.  53 pages of glass stuff 2006-03-22

25 YEARS Of New Glass Review is a book containing 200 images selected by Tina Oldknow from the 2500 published over the last 25 years in New Glass Review from the Corning Museum of Glass http://glassmarket.cmog.org Cost is $29.95 plus $6 shipping in USA payment by all the usual credit cards 800-723-9156.  The book as shown in page samples of the mailing is square format with one illustration per page that spans the page in most cases. 2006-03-21

TEXAS OPEN HOUSES - On March 25th in Austin Texas, Fire Island Hot Glass Studio will celebrate its 25th year in business and participate in a neighborhood open house, the East 4th St. Open House, from 10am to 4pm.  Others involved include White Mountain Foods, Circle-in-a-Square Pottery, and Live Oak Brewing Company, each of which has slightly different hours. Live Music 1pm into evening.  Check on www.fireislandglass.com or call 512-389-1100  2006-03-19
  Meanwhile, in Houston, on March 25 & 26, 10-5, Richard Moiel & Kathy Poeppel at Houston Studio Glass, www.houstonstudioglass.com , will hold an open house with other glass people including Ellen Abbott & Marc Leva, Pate de verre; Gene Hester, Fused Glass; Paul Zeigler, Photography; Tom White, Fused Glass; Jennifer Barnds, Handmade Glass Beads & Jewelry; and Lorinda Driskill & Michael Miles, Lampworked Glass Beads & Jewelry.  See the website for timing and directions. 2006-03-19

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS SHOW - An exhibit of hot glass from Private Collections will be on display at Coastal Bend College's Simon Michael Art Gallery March 23 to April 21 with the works of Alfredo Barbini, Luigi Onesto, Elio Raffaeli, Dino Rosin, Loredono Rosin, Livio Senguso, Robert Willson and Jayne Duryea. See phone numbers and address in next time.  2006-03-14

SOUTH TEXAS GLASS CLASSES - Coastal Bend College is once again holding classes in May and June in Beeville Texas.  Three 5 day sessions in Beginning Glassblowing will be held beginning May 22, May 30, and June 5 at a cost of $250. Meals and lodging are extra in local motels.  Deposit is $65 with a deadline of May 15.  Classes will be taught by Jayne Duryea, Chair of Visual Arts, www.JayneDuryea.com . Registration is simply name, address, phone and e-mail sent to Jayne Duryea, CBC Glass Workshops, 3800 Charco Rd., Beeville TX 78102, 361-354-2322, 1-866-722-2838 x2322 duryeaj@coastalbend.edu  www.coastalbend.edu/acdem/visual/index.html 2006-03-14

GAS COLLECTORS TOUR - The Glass Art Society www.glassart.org has decided to offer more for collectors with "Seattle, WA - The Glass Art Society, an international organization dedicated to the development and appreciation of the glass arts, will hold its inaugural Collector's Seminar in Seattle from July 12 - July 16, 2006. This five-day event is geared towards beginning art collectors who have an interest in glass, and who want a behind-the-scenes look at the nuances of collecting fine glass art. A small group of attendees will have a unique opportunity to visit established private and corporate collections, artist studios and museums; learn how to display artwork properly; and have their questions answered by renowned art professionals, for an insider's view of collecting for private individuals, museums, and corporations."   See the web site.  2003-03-14

SOFA EAST -. "The 9th annual SOFA NEW YORK 2006 [International Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art] returns June 1- 4 to the prestigious Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue, assembling fifty + of the world’s finest galleries and dealers presenting for sale one-of-a-kind masterworks bridging the decorative and fine arts. For the 9th straight year, Opening Night will again benefit the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD), New York, and kick off the Fifth Annual Contemporary Decorative Arts Week: Bringing Art to Life, a week-long, city-wide celebration of New York’s vibrant contemporary arts and design scene. In celebration of its 50th year of leadership in promoting the value of materials and mastery of process in contemporary arts, MAD will present an anniversary Special Exhibit at SOFA NEW YORK". General Information: www.sofaexpo.com; tel: 800.563.7632 or email: info@sofaexpo.com 2006-03-11

URBAN GLASS 2006 SUMMER workshops have been announced their summer 2006 Workshops which start in May and run through July.  There are weekend, intensive and weekly classes with 2, 5 or 4 or 3, and 8 sessions.  The weekly sessions are for people who live close by, obviously, and meet 1 or 2 times a week for 3 hours per time.  The weekend classes are just beginner.  The intensives offer some interesting choices including Honeycomb casting molds not otherwise detailed and Mold Blowing into One-Part Can Molds.  The 5 session intensives are about $800.  Registrations are due by April 7, with a 10% discount until March 3 (next week).  www.urbanglass.org in Brooklyn NY, 718-625-3685 2006-02-24

THE FLOW is a lampworking magazine, but comes from here is Texas and does such a good job of presenting their glass the way I would like to see furnace glass presented that I will add this announcement here:
"the next issue of The Flow will be our second annual Women in Glass. The response to this special issue last year was overwhelming. We were able to feature over 30 artists to make it our biggest issue yet.
This year we are hoping to break our 96 pages record and include even more women of glass than last year. So get out your camera and send those pictures in! We are accepting submissions from any skill level using any type of glass. The deadline for submissions is February 27, 2006. If for some reason you can not meet this deadline, try to get your submission in as soon as you can. We will be working on the issue all of March diligently trying to include as many ladies as possible.
[A long list of needs for submissions snipped here. MF]  We prefer that you send your submission in on disc to: The Flow, PO Box 125, Marietta, TX 75566. You can also email them to editor@theflowmagazine.com . If you have any questions please email me at editor@theflowmagazine.com." 2006-02-23

CHICAGO HOT GLASS - By all accounts, Chicago Hot Glass has done a marathon job supporting evacuated glass workers from New Orleans and seems a good operation over all - my visit - so
"Hello all!,  Chicago Hot Glass, a public-access glassblowing studio, is throwing a benefit party and you are invited!
Here is the information:  Chicago Hot Glass Benefit Party, Saturday, March 4, 2006,  6:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.
-Live bands, DJs after 12:00 p.m.    -Live auction at 9:00 p.m.    -Glassblowing demonstrations
-Your own bottomless, hand-blown pint glass of your drink of choice
This winter, Chicago Hot Glass has struggled to keep its doors open with the skyrocketing cost of utilities.
Your donation of $25 will aid the studio in bringing you a positive studio experience and one amazing benefit party!
Call the studio at 773/394-3252 or visit our website at www.chicagohotglass.com  with any questions.
Thanks! We hope to see you there!   Repost where you see fit.
Chicago Hot Glass,  1250 N. Central Park Ave.,  Chicago, IL 60651"  2006-02-23

2006 GAS Conference - "Register by April 6 for the lowest conference fee! Glass Art Society's 36th Annual Conference, Glass Gateways: Meet in the Middle, St. Louis, Missouri, June 15-17, Register online with Visa or Master Card:, http://www.glassart.org/2006-registration.html"  From the scheduled workshops and announced presenters, I have concluded this conference will be stronger on lampworking, thus making longer travel less valuable. 2006-02-23

SNOW FARM - in western Massachusetts has announced its Spring Intensives and Workshops. The former are two and three day weekend events in late April and through May with introductions to Glassblowing, Glass Beads, and Lampworking.  The Workshops are 7 day events late April, late May and early June.  Only the May 21-27 session includes glassblowing. Located in Williamsburg MA, reach them at 413-268-3101 or www.snowfarm.org 2006-02-23

PENLAND - "We have had a few spaces open up in this upcoming workshop at Penland School of Crafts. Complete information and an application form are available at our website: www.penland.org. If you have questions please contact Simone Travisano, glass coordinator: 828-765-5507 or glass@penland.org.
Glory Hole Workshop with Eddie Bernard Glassblower and proprietor of Wet Dog Glass
February 19-25, 2006  Penland School of Crafts presents a great opportunity to learn how to build your own glory hole from a pro. This one-week workshop will start with design concerns and move through welding the frame, cutting bricks, lining the barrels with bricks and insulation, and installing burners, mixers, and safety systems. When it’s all done, we’ll fire them up and fine tune them. Students will get plenty of hands-on experience while giving the Penland studio a much-needed upgrade.
The cost is $785/student. This includes workshop and dorm housing; meals are not included but kitchen facilities will be made available. Penland School of Crafts 828-765-0433 www.penland.org" 2006-02-07

WES HUNTING SITE - A very nicely set up web site of good glass is http://www.weshuntingstudio.com .  Move a mouse around on the first page and (especially on a slow connection) give the site a few moments to load images, which it does rather quickly, so interaction will work.  Nice colorful glass also. 2006-03-06

TERMINOLOGY - I have noticed that there has been a shift in terminology of glass working in recent years.  When I started being active, I recall 'stained glass' and 'glassblowing' being the terms with refinement to explain torch vs. furnace. 'Coldworking' was used for grinding away at furnace glass.  'Lampworking' crept back into the common vocabulary in the mid-90's and 'warm glass' leaped to attention about the time of the Tucson GAS Conference.  In the last year or so, several of the schools have started using the term 'flat glass' along with lamp working and hot shop to designate stained glass, painting on glass, and abrasive blasting for architectural glass.  Each set of terms has short changed some category, the latest combination leaving old traditional wheel and stone engraving kind of hanging out some place. 2006-02-06

TEXAS TECH @ JUNCTION - The summer session that Texas Tech offers at Junction, where I learned my glassblowing in the early 90's, is listing glassblowing as a non-credit course for 2006. http://www.art.ttu.edu/Junction/mae.html Registration for this course is by e-mail - see link just below half way on the page.  For Texas residents particularly, this is a considerable bargain, getting room, board, and tuition for two weeks is about what one week would cost elsewhere. Figuring the exact cost, because of more fees than on a telephone bill.  The instructors now were classmates of mine back then Dale Battle and Vickie Bunting. This class often fills quickly; both times I went, I got in from a waiting list (see Hot Glass Bits to 7 ) 2006-02-05

PITTSBURGH GLASS CENTER has announced their classes for Summer 2006.  The one and two week long classes are offered in four categories from mid-May to the end of July.  The catalog conveniently groups them as Hot Shop, Flame Shop, Casting Studio, and Cold Shop although there are only two classes in the last one.  Costs until March 15th are $650 for one week and $1200 for two weeks, add $50 a week after 3/15.  Rooms can be had for $350/wk in a suites hotel with cooking appliances and lunch can be brought in for $40 a week.  Hot Shop classes include L'Incalmo, Contagious Forms, Design Concerns and Working Intuitively with mostly young instructors that include Randy Walker, Tom Farbanish, Richard Jolley and Scott Darlington.  A full list can be found at www.pittsburghglasscenter.org  A look at their rather extraordinary facilities including a new 30 inch wide, five foot deep glory hole may worth a look. 2006-02-03

EUGENE GLASS SCHOOL is developing into a considerable operation, offering a variety of classes.  See course descriptions online at www.eugeneglassschool.org  For a sample, here is what is being offered in February.
BEGINNER HOT SHOP, Tim Jarvis $145, Feb 4-5; Sat & Sun, 10 am-4pm, Beginner Level;
FINE GOBLET MAKING, David Willis $300, Feb 4 & 5 Sat & Sun, 10am-5pm, Intermediate Level;
YOUTH HOT SHOP, Rick Ritchey $145, Feb 11 & 12; Sat&Sun, 10 am-4pm, Beg. Level Ages 14-17;
FUSED CABOCHONS, Julie McMahon $125, Feb 11 & 12; Sat&Sun, 10 am-5pm, Beg.-Int. Level;
BEGINNER BEADMAKING, Marge Dillon $125, Feb 11 & 12; Sat&Sun, 10 am-4pm, Beg. Level;
INTERMEDIATE LAMPWORKING: SCULPTURE, Marcel Braun $450, Feb 17 & 19; Fri -Sun, 10 am-5pm, Int. Level;
ART CLAY SILVER PENDANT W/CABOCHON, Wendy Hoffman $55 (+materials), Feb 25; Sat, 10 am-5pm, Beg.-Int.
PLATES, BOWLS & PLATTERS, Michael Hengler $145, Feb 25 & 26; Sat & Sun, 10 am-4pm, Beg.
 Eugene Glass School, 575 Wilson Street, Eugene OR 97402, Phone 541-342-2959  Fax 541-342-2924; 

CORNING 2006 - The classes for The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass for spring/summer 2006 have been announced.  Nine one or two week sessions over the long summer follow spring courses that last 10 weeks (one day a week) or just a weekend.  The ten week courses start the week of March 5th and include three glassblowing sessions and one each of flat glass (warm and cold) and flameworking.  The weekend classes include six beginning, two "Next Steps" and two "Continuing" glassblowing classes with eight flameworking and six flat glass classes.  All of these are generic classes without special features or instructors.  There are also one-day workshops in March and April and Family workshops, the latter not including furnace work.
  The summer sessions start June 5th and end September 9th. One week sessions are $675 tuition plus $445 room & board while two weeks are $1,250 plus $890.  Additional costs are primarily getting there which if flying includes getting to the relatively out of the way area airport ($$) and getting from there to the Studio ($).
  Details of classes can be found on line at www.cmog.org. There is a great variety from Great Venetian Glassblowing through Pate de Verre to That Extra 20 Percent and Photosensitive Glass.  A number of recognizable names are among the instructors and biographies can be found on the site.  The general pattern of each session is one hot shop class, one flameworking class and one other that may be flat glass, kiln work or coldworking.  2006-01-23

GAS 2006 - The Glass Art Society will hold its 36th annual Conference in St. Louis, June 15-17.  There will be workshops before and after those dates at the Third Degree Glass Factory and Craft Alliance and about two dozen exhibitions will span the dates.  Based on demonstrators listed, a lower proportion of blown glass and a greater proportion of Flamework, Flat glass, and Kilnwork compared to some years.  Nominal Conference fee is $270 with reductions for registering by April 6, for working at the conference, and for students. Many details on the web site.  www.glassart.org  2005-12-21