slipstreamsurfr (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
slipstreamsurfr) wrote2008-12-07 04:36 pm
slipstreamsurfr) wrote2008-12-07 04:36 pm
Entry tags:
looking for studio space
So I started looking for studio space for glassblowing, putting out some feelers and I got a recommendation.
So this morning I called Brad to see if he was up at the studio yet. He said sure, come on out!
It's a 30 minute drive from the house. VERY doable.
I swear, I have met this man before. Somewhere. Somehow. He is very familiar.
Maybe he was at the open house at K&R years and years ago when they had a bunch of local glassblowers out.. I dunno...
But anyway, Brad is a neat guy, he's a bit older than me, but not probably more than 5 or 10 years.
He has this huge open sided metal shed/roof on his property..
There are tarps that hang down on the sides to block the wind
He's got an 80 pound gas glass furnace running right now, a bigger one tucked back in the back just sitting...
3 blow stations functional, I think there's a 4th over on the back side that I didn't see today.
lots of kilns and annealers...
he's a glassblower, glass caster, fuser type of guy...
it's a dirty, dusty, but oh so very, very fun play-land for blowers...
He rents the studio time VERY cheap.
I could pay for the 'formal' 5 day class, but he really thinks I should just come out and practice..
let him know and he'll be there when I am and will offer advice, show me what I'm doing wrong
he said, "as you know from before, it's just practice... you just need someone to show you the right way to do it"
He sent me off today practicing putting in jack lines, learning to gather from his furnace
I spent about an hour realizing that being 5+ years out of practice means my hands have forgotten what to do...
I sucked, to put it mildly..
When can I blow?
whenever I want. the gate is always unlocked.
I don't have to call before come out, but he would like me to schedule a set time that I will usually be there if I don't call beforehand...
I can even blow at night if I want..
(this could be nice in the summer in Texas!)
So... I'll call him later this week, set up to blow on sudays I think. I may pick up a few nights in the next couple of weeks, and probably try to go out when I'm on vacation for a few hours each day. He said he thinks a few sessions with gathering from the furnace and working on basic glass handling skills I'll be ready to start learning how to really blow.
we'll stick with clear glass to start, he said that once I learn to make basic tumblers and ornaments in clear, then everything else is just an outgrowth.
focus on the basics.
That's what I lack, the basics, so that's exactly what I need.
It's pretty neat, the glass he melts is all recycled plate glass he gets for free from local window makers...
that's part of how he keeps the costs down... it seemed to work just fine when I was goofing with it from the furnace on the end of a punty
(shrug) I've melted worse in the past..
Met one of his other renters. DeAnne? (I think was her name, gonna take a while to remember, she said I could always call her D!). Nice girl, around my age if I had to guess. She's been coming out on Sunday's for the last 6 years. I watched her make a couple of spun out bowls before I had to leave. She was friendly, happy to hear that someone else may be around on Sundays when she's there. One of the things that Brad said we could do is hang out if we want, off our clock and offer to assist one another. So that's pretty neat.
I talked with Brad a bit, tried to explain where I was coming from, what I was looking for. I think he understands what I want. Seems to at least. And he certainly has a playground for me to run around in. It's a real, honest to goodness, functional, hotshop. With someone who's willing, happy to show you the ropes.
I could see me being happy there for a long time while I learned my chops.
it's a good find. I've got a place to blow glass now *nods* my future unfolds
Now, we'll try some pics. Sorry for the quality, cheap cell phone camera
his 80 pound gas glass furnace
Pipe warmer and pipe bucket to the right of the furnace
Pair of glorys to the right of the pipe warmer. There's a blow bench behind where I'm standing
Sit down blow bench on the left of the furnace. There's a shared marver in front of it with a stand up blow bench behind that.
Stand up blow bench on the left, shared marver with color on it in front of it, the furnace is just ahead of the table and to the right. That station uses that glory that is hot right now. I think I may like that stand up bench...
a shot back to the annealers and kilns he has. The annealers are on digitry controllers.
Now I'm going to have to come up with a glassblowing avatar ;)
So this morning I called Brad to see if he was up at the studio yet. He said sure, come on out!
It's a 30 minute drive from the house. VERY doable.
I swear, I have met this man before. Somewhere. Somehow. He is very familiar.
Maybe he was at the open house at K&R years and years ago when they had a bunch of local glassblowers out.. I dunno...
But anyway, Brad is a neat guy, he's a bit older than me, but not probably more than 5 or 10 years.
He has this huge open sided metal shed/roof on his property..
There are tarps that hang down on the sides to block the wind
He's got an 80 pound gas glass furnace running right now, a bigger one tucked back in the back just sitting...
3 blow stations functional, I think there's a 4th over on the back side that I didn't see today.
lots of kilns and annealers...
he's a glassblower, glass caster, fuser type of guy...
it's a dirty, dusty, but oh so very, very fun play-land for blowers...
He rents the studio time VERY cheap.
I could pay for the 'formal' 5 day class, but he really thinks I should just come out and practice..
let him know and he'll be there when I am and will offer advice, show me what I'm doing wrong
he said, "as you know from before, it's just practice... you just need someone to show you the right way to do it"
He sent me off today practicing putting in jack lines, learning to gather from his furnace
I spent about an hour realizing that being 5+ years out of practice means my hands have forgotten what to do...
I sucked, to put it mildly..
When can I blow?
whenever I want. the gate is always unlocked.
I don't have to call before come out, but he would like me to schedule a set time that I will usually be there if I don't call beforehand...
I can even blow at night if I want..
(this could be nice in the summer in Texas!)
So... I'll call him later this week, set up to blow on sudays I think. I may pick up a few nights in the next couple of weeks, and probably try to go out when I'm on vacation for a few hours each day. He said he thinks a few sessions with gathering from the furnace and working on basic glass handling skills I'll be ready to start learning how to really blow.
we'll stick with clear glass to start, he said that once I learn to make basic tumblers and ornaments in clear, then everything else is just an outgrowth.
focus on the basics.
That's what I lack, the basics, so that's exactly what I need.
It's pretty neat, the glass he melts is all recycled plate glass he gets for free from local window makers...
that's part of how he keeps the costs down... it seemed to work just fine when I was goofing with it from the furnace on the end of a punty
(shrug) I've melted worse in the past..
Met one of his other renters. DeAnne? (I think was her name, gonna take a while to remember, she said I could always call her D!). Nice girl, around my age if I had to guess. She's been coming out on Sunday's for the last 6 years. I watched her make a couple of spun out bowls before I had to leave. She was friendly, happy to hear that someone else may be around on Sundays when she's there. One of the things that Brad said we could do is hang out if we want, off our clock and offer to assist one another. So that's pretty neat.
I talked with Brad a bit, tried to explain where I was coming from, what I was looking for. I think he understands what I want. Seems to at least. And he certainly has a playground for me to run around in. It's a real, honest to goodness, functional, hotshop. With someone who's willing, happy to show you the ropes.
I could see me being happy there for a long time while I learned my chops.
it's a good find. I've got a place to blow glass now *nods* my future unfolds
Now, we'll try some pics. Sorry for the quality, cheap cell phone camera
his 80 pound gas glass furnace
Pipe warmer and pipe bucket to the right of the furnace
Pair of glorys to the right of the pipe warmer. There's a blow bench behind where I'm standing
Sit down blow bench on the left of the furnace. There's a shared marver in front of it with a stand up blow bench behind that.
Stand up blow bench on the left, shared marver with color on it in front of it, the furnace is just ahead of the table and to the right. That station uses that glory that is hot right now. I think I may like that stand up bench...
a shot back to the annealers and kilns he has. The annealers are on digitry controllers.
Now I'm going to have to come up with a glassblowing avatar ;)
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