I made glass art today from molten glass and pigments. I think I may be addicted to working with hot glass.
Hi, my name is Tim and I'm a glass addict.
(Group responds, "Hi Tim.")
For months, I have been meaning to sign up for one of the hot glass workshops held at
Akron Glass Works, in our Northside arts district. Last week, Sandy Holata, who works at the studio (and is a fabulous artist in her own right -- I have attended several of her photographic mixed media shows here and in Chicago) tracked me down through her mom, Marge, who is one of my dearest friends at work. I had expressed my interested to Marge last fall, but never followed up. This time, I made the call, put down my deposit and drove to Northside.
It bears mentioning that the weather today has been God-awful. We had a good bit of snowfall last night (including an eerie thundersnow storm) and today the frozen precipitation is being driven by blizzard-force winds.
So, I bundled up and drove to the studio. The glass artwork on display was
gorgeous. Marge was also taking this workshop, where our project was to make a glass heart-shaped paperweight. Our instructor, co-owner John Boyett, explained the process thoroughly and used Sandy to make a demonstration heart. We got to select our own colors and work the hot glass under John's watchful supervision.
I selected a light green for my first layer, which is pressed into a fluted mold and then carefully rolled. I went with a darker green for my second gathering, which is rolled and heated in a furnace called a "glory hole." (I kid you not.) then, John adds the final gathering of molten glass and we shape it with a number of instruments to form the heart.
Our paperweights have to be cooled incrementally in a process called annealing, so I can't pick it up until Tuesday. As soon as I have it, I'll add a photo to this posting.
I can't wait to do this again! In the fall, there is a workshop to make glass pumpkins, a project that involves both shaping and blowing. There is another workship that makes "friendship balls" which are round, blown ornaments. Sandy said they are looking into doing pink ribbon paperweights as a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraiser. I want to do them all!
Ah... I just realized I didn't post anything about the terrific time I had on the 31st, working again as an Extra on "Zack and Miri." Unlike the previous trip, this time I knew I'd be able to hang with friends, so I made a hotel reservation and decided to drive down the day before shooting and leave the morning after the shoot. Thanks to
priceline, I got a $38/night rate at the
Springhill Suites by Marriott, just minutes away from the Monroeville Mall, where we would be filming. I ended up sharing my room with a couple of "Boardies," Bill (Hoagie) and Karla, both Michigan natives.
Wednesday night, a group of Boardies drove into Pittsburgh to have dinner and drinks at the
Carson City Saloon. They have a couple of HUGE drinks that seemed to garner favor among the alcohol-imbibing. I sampled each, but being a driver, couldn't afford to get sloshed. The jumbo "Call a Cab" wasn't bad, but not my favorite. However, the gigantic, sweet, blue "Papa Smurf" seemed to be everyone's favorite. Ben and Gavin had something of a drinking contest with these, which did not end well for Gavin. I had the ponderous fish sandwhich plate for dinner. And I got to chat with and generally socialize with folks from the Board who I never get to see often enough.
Our casting call was at 7:30 a.m. There was less paperwork to fill out as the Extras for this shoot were all volunteer. We each got a crisp, new $10 bill to buy lunch.
The experience was much like the previous one, although this time our holding area was the food court at the mall. And, many of my favorite Boardies were on hand to chat with and fill the downtime. I was surprised how many Extras from Mosser Casting came back for the volunteer call. Heather Beschizza, one of the "theatre folk" I befriended during the first shoot came back, and once again she was a delight to get to know. Throw in the zaniness of Adam, the quiet sweetness of Paige, the genuine wit of Mark (Chivas on the board), the rugged appeal of Dan (FantomaS) and the warm familiarity of Karla and Bill and you have the making of a really pleasant day.
After shooting, Bill and I grabbed showers, then dinner at Olive Garden before joining the crazies at the Raddison bar, where we finished out the night.
It was an amazing experience.
