So... now that Blogger has finally been released and updated for iPad there is no reason for me to use Blogsy anymore. For me Blogsy was too many buttons and functions, it's probably just right for a "serious" blogger, but I am a hobbyist blogger at best. So I am perfectly content using Blogger to post with.
The only thing I don't like is not being able to see the pictures in the post... can't have it all right? So a picture that is in this post of me holding my grandmother's hand is a precursor to some posting and thoughts about a project I would like to start soonish. Or at least run in the background from the next major glass project, which will be discussed soon.
So this is a test post using an app called Blogsy, it's in the AppStore and it looks promising so far. Like any new piece of technology there is a learning curve, however the upside is being able to use my iPad efficiently for blogging. The interface is clean, and the app as whole looks promising. It also has the option of setting up the publishing time and day, so a post could be worked on throughout the week and posted later.
A photo from my library
And another photo...
Test video...
So not too bad and not too painful either, the real test will be tomorrow at 9am when this post is supposed to publish. Is it worth the $5 price tag? Maybe. This will definitely need more testing to see if it's worth it, but the only thing I wish this could do now is directly import pictures and videos from your local library instead of having to upload them to an online version such as Picasa or Flickr. I think this will be a good stop gap until Blogger decides to make an official iPad app like Facebook did(which for some reason... that took forever). They (Blogger) have an app for the phone, but I haven't been able to find the same app for the iPad and I have looked.
Breaking glass is fun. There is no denying it. In fact it can be quite addicting, I did breaking experiments earlier in the week and recorded the process. It was... exciting, dangerous, nerve wracking, and only with the barest hint of trauma.<--- This is what I'm after for the viewer, while trying to make them be very deliberate about what they are doing. Can they shake off their societal programming and complete the piece? I already want to try and make this piece again, away from an academic setting and see how more "normal" people deal with it.
So this helped to prove a few things... that I'm moving in the right direction for the overall wall thickness of the vessels. The teardrop shape in the last video will be the hardest to break due to it's egg like structure. An egg is really good at distributing any force that could potentially break it. Aiming for the lip of the piece is an, almost, guaranteed break. That it is addicting, after breaking about 6 pieces that morning I was looking around to see if I had any left to smash, so some type of limit will need to be in place. That everything is heightened, from the fight or flight response, when your that close to flying glass.
It has been suggested to throw the objects into a corner or a box. Meh. To me by making it so you have to pick up the piece, place it inside, and then break it makes the entire situation more intimate. There seems to be some kind of detachment going on throwing the piece away from yourself, your still safe, and far away from anything "bad" that might happen... that is something I don't want for this piece.
Now, a few things have come up...
Is there anyway to prolong the breaking? No, not in this project, 10 seconds is an average time to line up the shot and take it... that is not saying it can't be done and I am looking into the opposite of this piece... larger, thicker vessels that would be very difficult to break at all. Other ways of breaking are being entertained as well, but so far nothing seems to be as satisfying as straight up smashing.
Do I have to be so responsible?Yes. There is no way around this one, watch this video...
There is no way I can willingly let this be in a public setting and not take the safety precautions I think I need to take. It's not going to happen... I don't want the institution (CCAD) to get into trouble for allowing one of their artists to make a dangerous piece and not take the steps necessary to make it as safe as possible. I am used to pieces of glass popping off and hitting me in the arms, neck, face, legs, etc., and other glass blowers are used to it... the general public is not.
Well... maybe I can loosen up a bit. Looking over the design of the breaking box, I think I can strip away a lot of the over the top safe guards and have something that is still works while making the situation as exciting(dangerous) as possible. The possibility of waivers is something I'm seriously considering. Right now, this project is in the same editing phase as my project from the first semester... stripping away everything else to get to the essence.
I have been considering what is the most important thing for this particular project. Things that cannot change are picking the piece, taking it to it's destination, and breaking it... but even then, the most important thing is to break it. The glass has to be handmade, not just off the clearance rack at Pier 1 or World Market. Why? The aspect of these objects being handmade helps to drive home this aspect of preciousness associated with them. There is the notion that handmade glass is a precious material. It's a collected medium, it's used for awards, it's something that is passed down in the family as an heirloom. All of these are very precious attachments that only really came about from machines taking over the more mundane aspects of glass blowing (i.e. making bottles) allowing glass blowing studios to concentrate on other things. So messing with that is important to me, and I think once this is in the gallery some people will have a very hard time doing what is asked of them. Once the viewer becomes part of the display, and is put on display... some will revel in that and others will shy away from it.
The result of the breaking was no less beautiful than the vessels before the breaking began. On a nice table with some good light, I think these remnants of vessels will look particularly good. With how things are shaping up now, I'm thinking pedestals are a must. To really cement these fragments as an art work, their presentation is very important.
Considering the activity, and that this is all that happened with open air breaking, it was a good day.
So here are a few pictures of glass installed in the lobby of the Crane Center. I was asked, along with two other artists... Dion Utt and Lilandra Holmes, if we could show work for Startup Weekend that was being held in the top floor of Crane last weekend.
Now I did have a slight problem, I forget to get business cards and my resumé out with my work. Bad self promotion on my part. However, I did remember a great thing from last year that seemed to be a perfect solution... QR codes.
The QR codes are linked to my blog to show process, and to my website for portfolios, resumé, and contact information. Since Startup Weekend was primarily a tech development venue... teams would work on developing the ideas they had voted for on the previous day, after that they had a chance to pitch the ideas to investors... just about everyone there had a smart phone and a lap top. This made the entire presentation super sleek, very clean, and paperless.
So when I started thinking about this project, I had this grandiose plan of using goblets to help blur that preconception of beauty. Someone picking up a goblet, looking at it lovingly before reluctantly putting into the box to be broken. Then I realized I suck at making goblets. I make them way to big, crooked, and the proportions are all off. In short, they are ugly goblets. Maybe if I had a solid year of making nothing but goblets, I could use them as my breakable wares for this project. But that is not going to happen, at least not for this run.
Once I figured out that goblets are not my forté, I relaxed a little bit and started to produce some work that is still technically challenging to me, but cleanly designed. I am much happier where this is going now. This will be the trick to this project... by using clean design coupled with a strong technical slant to make glass that can be broken easily. Nothing would be more embarrassing than someone hammering a piece of glass that won't break when that's the whole point of the project in the first place.
This grouping is much closer to what I am after. Body wraps, small handles, torch work bits, and blown feet all add up to a great foundation for making even more complex (gaudy?) work, and harken back to 1950s Dutch glass I that absolutely love. As it stands now, these take approximately 15-25 minutes to make and require an assistant to bring bits. Usually not a problem, but I am training my assistants as I work with them so production has been a little slow, but it has been getting faster as my assistants retain more knowledge through repetition of movements.
The size is better, and the proportions are getting better as well. One thing that I have noticed is how much variety is possible within a golfball sized blob of glass. Once I start adding optic molds for texture, the bling factor will go up exponentially, as there will be tons of little ridges to catch the light. Now just imagine a couple of long tables with about ~300 pieces of glass between them, with some nice lighting they'll be spectacular. That's the plan anyway.
