Thomas
Friday
April, 23 2010
I have been back from Japan for about two weeks now and things have been crazy busy since I've been home. I have posted a few pictures up on Facebook, but now I can tell you all a little more about the trip. I was in Japan for 12 days and taught 9 full day classes in different cities and towns throughout Japan. Morio Toyoshima from Studio Morio was my host, translator and trusted guide throughout my trip and for my Tokyo classes I was joined by Yoshio Omura.
I had a great time meeting everyone in Japan and it was cool to see the Japanese artists I have met here in the US. Here's a pic of me and Morio with Akihiro and Tak at Aki's studio.
There is so much to talk about - the people, the classes, the art, the food... I have a feeling I will post up a few blogs. A good place to start is with the glass itself. In addition to teaching classes, I stopped by a number of glass shops around the country, including shops that are Glass Alchemy resellers. Here is a picture with Yishai at Lunar Cycle.
All in all, I taught over 125 students the ins and outs of using Glass Alchemy color. It was really cool being halfway around the world, immersed in a different culture and working in a different language (thanks to Morio's translation). Even with my limited Japanese, the students and I were able to find common ground through our love for glass and had successful classes. A big thanks to Morio and Yoshio for all your help and assistance and to everyone else I met along the way. It was a great trip! Hopefully the first of many.
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Thomas
Monday
March 22, 2010
Over the past few months I have been working on a project with JDC Roman (aka Clinton), Drew Burton and Jeff Rogers. The concept for this project was born back in October when I took a week long class from Clinton and we were discussing the future of boro and all the untapped opportunities. Henry and I were working on a new prototype borosilicate glory hole so I was really exciting to hear Clinton describe his vision for large scale work, knowing that Glass Alchemy has furnaces that are capable of melting large quantities of boro and a new glory hole that will help drive the future of borosilicate glass.
A few months later, I was able to call Clinton and let him know Glass Alchemy was ready with some new equipment if he was ready to bring a large scale lighting fixture to life. In early February, Clinton, Drew, Jeff and I began working on a wall sconce that we would soon unveil at the 5th Annual Night With Borosilicate. At the Night With Borosilicate we had the partially completed lighting fixture on display. Using Glass Alchemy's fourth generation furnace that holds three color pots, and new glory hole, we created the remainder of the pieces that will be added to the sconce.
Over the next month, we will put the final touches on the sconce and will post pictures of the completed piece.
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Henry
Tuesday
March 9, 2010
Twice a year I hit the road and head out to Las Vegas for a few days of action packed glass. This year's AGE was one of the best yet and represented so much talent from all over the US. Ellen did a great job pulling together a fantastic lineup of vendors. It is amazing to see how much this industry has grown over the years.
This year I also co-hosted the Functional Glass Industry Awards with my buddy Merc. I knew Merc was a talented guy, but I had no idea he was a comedian and a rapper. After two days of torching in the flame-off, he still pulled out all the stops and delivered a fun filled evening. I have to also give him a special thanks for stepping in to help drive the charity auction. Merc - thanks for helping to raise over $6,000 for FC Cancer.
A big CONGRATS to all the FGIA award winners and special thanks to Don and Emmett at Glass Aficionado for putting on the award show. The passion and dedication of this community is the reason the industry is what it is today.
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Jodi
Thursday
March 4, 2010
Henry and I are back from Las Vegas where we attended AGE and Champs. We had a great trip and I got the chance to meet many of you in person and put a lot of faces to names. A couple of you also very graciously pointed out that we had not posted a blog in a long time. Thanks for the gentle nudge...we are getting back on track.
For those of you who did not make it to Vegas, there was a lot going on - from the demos at AGE, the flame-off at Champs and the second annual Functional Glass Industry Awards (FGIA), which were hosted by Henry and Merc. In order to be up for a FGIA, an artist had to be nominated 5 times, so it is safe to say that there were no losers. 42 Degrees Ann Arbor took home the prize for Glass Gallery of the Year, JP from Toro won for Most Innovative, Brandon Martin won for Breakout Artist and Freeek took home Artist of the Year.
Henry and I spent a lot of time at AGE and we were more than impressed with the talent on display. From the zombie chillums at Rated R, the insane sandblasting at Liberty Glass to the top notch designs at Sheldon Black, AGE definitely set a new standard for American made glass.
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Thomas
Thursday
January 7, 2010
Three years ago today I joined GA full time. I can't believe it has been three years. Thanks to everyone in the industry for your support. I have met some amazing people, have learned a lot and look forward to many more years here at Glass Alchemy.
Happy new decade to everyone!
Now, I gotta get back to work...
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