HOT , HOT, HOT!

Last Saturday Marty did a demo at the glass studio for Berkeley Open Studios.  He made a piece that is just gorgeous. I took 53 pictures of the hour plus demo. I cut it down to 14 for your viewing pleasure.  Below you will see Marty creating this piece of art.  Remember to click on the pictures for a larger image.

 Marty is heating the glass in the glory hole.  The  glass is at 2000 degrees in the glory hole.  The glass at that temperature is the consistency of warm honey.  The glass artist must keep the puntee moving at all times or the hot glass will just fall off. 

 Here he is letting the glass cool down a little.  He can tell from the color how hot the glass is.

 Here Marty is picking up pieces of dichro glass.  They are in a small oven that heats them so they will work with the glass he has on the puntee.

 Here Marty is using the marver (steel table) to shape the glass.

 Flo is opening the furnace doors so Marty can gather some more clear glass.  After several gatherings the glass can weigh 5 to 10 pounds.  Then you do the physics thing of weight on the end of a 6 foot pipe, and he is hauling around 40 or 50 pounds.  Some of the large pieces they make factor out to close to a 100 pounds on the pipe. Not an art form for wimps.

 Marty is starting to cut the piece in half.  Part he will pull into a Fleur de lis.

 Here he is putting the top he is cutting off in the little oven to stay hot.

Brendan is reattaching the part Marty cut off  now that he has shaped the Fleur de lis.

 Marty is hand shaping the piece with only wet newspaper between his hand and 2000 degrees glass.  Flo is shielding his arm with a wooden paddle.

 Can you say white hot???

 Marty is pulling the tip of the piece and shaping it for the finished look.

 He is twirling the puntee like a baton.  That will stretch out the glass.

 More twirling. He sure looks like he is having fun here.

Marty is knocking the piece off the pipe.  Brendan is catching it and will place it in the annealing oven. The piece stays in the oven for close to 24 hours.  It must gradually cool down.  If it cools too fast it will shatter.

As you can see, glass art is hard work and just a little dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. 

OPEN STUDIOS

It is that time again, Open Studios in Berkley.  From November 27 until December 19, every Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 -5:00 you can watch artists at work.(the web site says until 6:00, but when it starts getting dark, most studios shut down ) Marty will be doing demos on Sundays at R.Strong Glass    1235 4th Street at Gilman in Berkley.  The last demo of the day starts around 4:00.  This is a great chance so see how hot glass art is made and a chance to do some Christmas shopping.

Below are pictures taken at different times during the last year or so.  Lots of fire, lots of smoke, lots of beauty.  I also have a link to the Open Studios web site below also.  That way you have to read my blog first.   :)

 Marty using the torch to smooth out the bottom of a piece before it goes into the annealing oven.

 Marty heating the glass.

 Marty using the marver (special table used in glass blowing) to begin shaping the glass.

 Wood blocks are also used to shape the hot glass.  Smoke and flames, excitement!

Marty assisting Randy Strong, master glass artist.

To get info about Open Studios, a map, a list of artists go here.  R. Strong Glass is #1 on the list and on the map.

BUSY, BUSY, OPEN STUDIOS

Last weekend was the last weekend of Open Studios. We have had steady crowds and a lot of people are buying this year. They are not buying the huge expensive pieces. But those many small sales add up to a nice hunk of change.

It is interesting watching and listening to people while they are there. We are part of their Christmas tradition. They come, they watch demos, they bring friends and family, they talk to all of us, they eat our cookies and candy, and maybe they will buy some small item. They think they have been to a party. We want them to enjoy the visit to the shop. When the economy is better maybe they will come back and buy.

Lots feel they are "closer" to us than our other customers. These folks come an hour or more before we open. They are just sure it is fine with us to have to stop cleaning the glass ( which takes me about an hour each morning), to stop opening the register for the day,to stop setting out new glass pieces and doing our pricing, to stop eating our breakfast on the run. We are to visit with them, to help them decide what to buy. They usually do buy, we treat them well, but it puts us behind on starting the business day. I will end up cleaning glass after we are really open, which is a no no. At that time I am supposed to be the sales clerk, the greeter, the information lady.

I enjoy Open Studios, I also dread it every year. It gives us a 7 day working week. Long hours on hard concrete. And I have to make nice to rude people. Those that know me well, know just how hard that is for me. I could never work retail much more that this one month of the Holidays. I would lose it one day and tell people to get their dirty sticky fingers off the glass I just cleaned.

I KNOW, I HAVEN'T POSTED . . .

Sorry, sorry, sorry. I have been busy and just didn't get around to posting. I have been nudged to post. And this time it wasn't by Noemi. So . . .

Saturday and Sunday we worked Open Studios. Marty did the demos and I sold lovely pieces of art. Those of you who have come by, thanks for the support. And the rest of you, where are YOU??? Two days of standing on concrete for 8 hours does in this senior citizen's legs and feet. We do enjoy OP, lots of fun, exciting demos with fire and smoke. Last week we had one piece that shattered in the annealing oven right after Marty closed the doors. It became more exciting because they had to get the piece out before flying parts hit other pieces.

Monday only one wedding. Two 18 year olds, who mugged and posed for pictures through out the ceremony. They didn't get how serious a decision they made. After they were pronounced married, they said we should have brought a broom and jumped the broomstick. I got our decorated broom and redid the ceremony for them.

Tuesday I worked with the first graders. Some are just really having a hard time reading. One little boy keeps telling me."I can't read, so I can't do this. I can't read." I keep telling him that is why I am there, to help him read. I explained I couldn't read when I was his age, that everyone has to learn how. When I work with him he won't make eye contact, he chews on his clothes and arms, he cries, and he will just shut down and refuse to try. Very difficult to work with him and not yell in frustration ( both of us need to yell). Yesterday the first time I worked with him, it was the same, crying and chewing. The next time he came back to me, picked up the little book and read it perfectly! ( we have worked over and over on this little book) He tried, he read smoothly, he had expression, he SMILED, and he got hugs from Ms. H and from me. And Ms. H took off one of his check marks. (they have check marks by their names when they get in trouble) This was such a feel good moment. A child had success and was recognized by the adults as successful to the class. And that is why I love working with first graders.

SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SHARE

I have lots to share and it's way too much for one blog. Plus this is a really busy weekend. I did 9 weddings yesterday afternoon, today lots of cooking going on. Tomorrow we put up the tree and decorate the house for Christmas. Saturday and Sunday we begin Open Studios, we are number one on the list and the map.

I will write about the weddings sometime soon. And I am taking pictures today of the great meal.

Open studios, maybe pictures of the demos.

Stayed tuned.

The next few weeks. . .

The Christmas season officially begins for us on Friday after Thanksgiving. We love the season, and we decorate every room in the house and the outside as well. It is a busy time and we have lots of fun.

Today the tree is done. I hung ornaments most of the day. We put more ornaments on than most people. We hang about 10 dozen glass icicles and have several hundred other ornaments. This is a major project. I hate it and love it at the same time. Every ornament is a memory. There are three I love the most. Marty and I bought them shortly after we married: a crown, a treasure chest, and a silver elf. They cost us a fortune, in 1967 we paid close to $20 for the three. And I love them. I have a bell made of aluminum foil and a paper cup that Erik made for us in Kindergarten. We have some we bought on trips, some from past students, and some we bought every year as a family. It takes a full day to finish the tree. I now have the rest of the house to decorate. That will be done over the next week.

Saturday we begin Open Studios http://www.berkeleyartisans.com/ The artists in Berkeley and Oakland do demonstrations and have their art for sale. Marty is a hot glass artist and will work every Saturday and Sunday through December 21. I work in the gallery. We are number one on the list/map: R. Strong Glass at Fourth and Gilman. I hope you will drop by. Marty will assist on Saturdays and will do demos on Sundays.

Of course our normal life will continue, I will marry couples and work at school and Marty will do his day job. So we are a little busy doing all the above and the Christmas gatherings also. But we seem to get it all done.

I trust everything is spelled correctly in this post. For some reason the spell check isn't working. I have used the dictionary to check some things. But sometimes you can't proof read your own work.