Final tests and failures

Program complete.

So just a few more projects, and this session is a wrap.  Since the last post I've had time to get a few more fusings finished, pack the majority of my work up and ship it home, help clean the campus, fly home, and finally get some sleep in a bed that my feet don't hang over the edge.  As a class we also had the opportunity to get off campus for a day of taking in the glass side of Seattle.

Let's start with the final projects...

One of the things I really enjoyed about my work area was the sunlight that would come in during the morning.  The light refraction on the table is very beautiful, and something I want to keep working with.  Even going so far as to draw on the glass to make stronger marks/shadows on the table to help compose it a little better.

So this started with the bottle molds from before, now it was a matter of making some vessels in the hot shop and cold working them to a point of ease of removal for the finished piece.  This means using a thicker vessel than normal, so it would be more likely to hold it's shape as the mass of glass beads inside heated up.  So I was able to get away with some things I normally don't try to in regards to these vessels.  They were thicker, they weren't puntied, and barely cold worked at all.  The trickiest part by far was slicing them in half, especially for the long neck vase since all it would take is one slight over-caffeniated twitch to bind that long neck in the blade and snap it.

Once the pieces were sliced in half, I then had to remove the glass that was the bottom of the cup and the top of the foot.  This part took a little longer since the drill press was broken, as a result I had to do it by hand with a Dremel and diamond bits.  Once that was finished, then it was sandblast the interior, and notch the outside a few times.  Then coat the halves with an alumina oxide and kaolin clay mixture, once it was dry I could wire the halves together with some stainless steel wire.  After all of that... I could begin filling the interior with glass to fuse.  Since it was a test, nothing too fancy, but I wanted to continue to use some of the black powder I used on the last bottle mold, for some decorative elements.

Once these molds were filled, it was just a matter of getting them in the kiln.  Bring them up to 1275 and hold for about 20 minutes, then cool.  Sorta like baking cookies.  Anyway, I did quite think it all through and did have a minor set back.

I didn't figure on the weight of the top making the cup fall over.  It's fairly obvious now, thanks hindsight!, but at the time I was more worried making sure I could make the last firing schedule on time.  As objects I don't think they're bad... now that being said, it's not what I wanted, but again, they're not bad.  Since these it was a matter of sitting down and thinking about how to correct this mishap, which was easy to figure out... fire the damn thing upside down.  

One word that used to describe these was flaccid, which given the rampant machismo in any given hot shop, I find that statement very amusing.  The form itself is taken from a 16th century venetian goblet design and the whole fact it slumped over but retained its shape seems to be a good statement to a current predicament of studio glass these days.  That glass is being used for a more narrative conversation and the pursuit of perfection in technique is falling to the wayside.  Not that technique will ever completely disappear, but the shift of the paradigm is more noticeable now than it ever was.

So that's two...

Up next was the long neck.  This one I wanted to use for one of my manipulation assignments.  Yes we had assignments, and in a way it was good, it gave us something to focus on during the session so we weren't flailing around trying to figure out what to do.  The system to hold the mold was complicated, and there's always the "what if?" factor when trying something new.

So this was the result of what happened.  Not what I wanted, but not bad on it's own.  This object and the previous two were well liked by some of my classmates and some of the rest of campus overall.  Interestingly enough, this project I deemed a failure.  It did not turn out how I wanted, but that's why we do stuff like this... to figure that out.  Which I believe I have done, now I just need to test it again, and again, and again.  The prep work for the glass "mold" was the same as the previous two.  The housing for it was completely different.  This consisted of placing this vessel halves in a walled off sand pit and bringing the whole thing up to about 1350-1400 F.  The idea was that the alumina mix would be the release and I could pop these out and recombine them.

That did not happen... at all... even in the slightest.  However as objects they do reference the history of glass as a whole and have the potential to be displayed a museological works.  This brings to mind Joshia McHelny's earlier work, but only with a reference to the blown form and not the blown form; or it's fragments; being the final object.

That makes three...

So this is what happens when your embossing plate is too tall to run through the printing press.

The white highlights you see on the paper is actually micro-beads embed into the paper from the pressure of the printing press.

One of the last things I was able to do was a print run of my intaglio plate from earlier in the session.  Before the print run, I had filled some of the sandblasted areas with micro-beads and fuse them to the plate  The idea was that I could augment the embossment further than what plate could have done on it's own.  It did work, mostly.  The additional mass of the micro-beads cracked the plate in the press.  Normally that's the end of the run.  However, I did notice that in the first proof that the micro-beads were pulling off in the plate and into the paper.  At that point there was nothing to do but finish the run.  As the run progressed I started to separate the larger shards more and even remove some pieces of glass to change the print from whole to cracked at the end.  All the prints are impregnated with micro-beads and are "inked" in a way with light.  This was one of my favorite things I made the entire session.

Again, this didn't turn out as expected but the result is no less interesting.  I would even go so far as to say that if it had turned out as expected it wouldn't have been nearly as successful as a finished piece.  I was even able to tack fuse the plate back together in the kiln again as another piece, but it was barely together again.  Too fragile for transport so it didn't  get sent home.  

All together for the session I completed a half tone print (AP), and embossment run (1-6), 2 versions of the same intaglio plate, 2 bottles, 2 slumped goblets, 2 halves of organics(CMC) and glass with 1 vase, 1 piece with organics(flour) and glass, and 1 pulled billet.  For three weeks, I feel that's a good amount of work.  The intaglio plate is the only thing not getting shipped back to Ohio.  

Now to try and get a show arranged ohm the second floor of DSB soon.  A few more refined pieces after i get back might be good to throw in there as well, but that's dependent on how soon I have to present my findings for the faculty colloquium.  I believe that's in spring, but I'll know soon.

So it begins

The view from the Pilchuck Lodge, it's situated on a 15,000 acre tree farm.

So I arrived at Pilchuck yesterday... a day early it seems.  When I had scheduled my travel plans, being able to read a calendar well didn't seem to be part of the equation.  No worries though, I helped out by doing some gathering of supplies from point A to point B, and some minor shop upkeep to earn my dinner.  After that, it was getting settled in and going to bed around 9-9:30.  I know... I'm such a party animal.  Truth is I was so tired from starting my travel plans at 3 am yesterday morning that going to bed early seemed the prudent thing to do knowing that today, when the other students get here, that is when the fun starts.

I will confess, I'm a little anxious, and by a "little" I mean a lot.  Kiln casting is not something I'm particularly versed in.  I know some mold making basics, but that's about it.  So I'm really out of my element, the hot shop.  I do think this will be one of the best things for me, for the reasons stated above.  Going outside what I am familiar with will help push myself both technically and conceptually, broaden my knowledge of glass in its capability as a material and it's history, and give me a strong knowledge base to bring back to my students.  And really that's who this is for, my present and future students.

As far as expectations go for the class, I don't really have any.  I think it's foolish to have expectations in a technique(s) you know next to nothing about.  One thing that I am interested is the notion of incompatibility of different glasses in the same piece.  This can lead to stress and fractures in the piece and can be looked as a different form of mark making, much like making ones own drawing tools or brushes.  Another thing that interests me is video and glass, how I can use one to augment or contradict the other, since I feel my "art" is going more towards video these days anyway.  Given these interests, I am excited and nervous.  As I stated above.  My line of thinking is that the class is more experimental, and in that vein will be something that can help add to the dialogue I'm trying to have with my students about Glass Secessionism(GS).  The GS is the idea using glass a narrative driven medium and pulling away from studio glass(i.e. functionality) as the main form of expression.  Much the same way art photography seceded from it's almost purely documentation aspect.  In fact, GS uses photo secessionism as the main influence of it's framework.  You can find the full document... manifesto?, mission statement?... whatever you want to call it on their Facebook Group page. As well as an interview with Tim Tate by the American Crafts Council here...

http://craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/world-beyond-studio-glass

This is some of the reading material that I have my students go over in Survey.  I think that this thought process combined with the lower skill level needed for entry level casting success as opposed to years of study to be "good" at glassblowing, will allow the students a greater visual vocabulary in what they can produce in glass as a whole.  That is my hope anyway.  We'll see how it goes.  After all, class won't truly begin until tomorrow morning.  Once that happens, I'll have a much better idea of what I can actually accomplish in have time that I have here.  Everything up until that time is wish-listing at best.

Here's to the future!

P.S. I apologize for any formatting issues, but all blog posts from the field are on my iPad.  It's not the most ideal  platform once picture ps are involved, but it works well for getting my thoughts out quickly.

P.P.S. Edited for some clarity.

Just over 3 days and counting...

So, it's all come down rather quickly to actually leaving for Pilchuck.  I will be gone for 18 days, so it's a 3 week session and will feel different than the 2 week session I TA'd for earlier this summer, or the 2 weeks of Poleturners before that.  Like any good class, I did receive an email from my teachers asking me to think of themes to explore while I was there.  I was also asked to experiment, and to expect failure.  Which I'm down for, you can't learn unless you stretch yourself and have some failure in the process.  Learning from your mistakes, it's been the best way for me so far in life, it's only natural that it should apply to my art/education.  

Anyway... here's what Aimee & Anjali want us to be thinking about before we get there...

(a). Keywords. Essentially, a rumination of concepts that you understand our world by, or that fascinate you in the universe. These could be borrowed from any “field” of human comprehension of matter.*  Consider how the keyword you have chosen could figure in the creation of an art object. Could it possibly lead you to an object that creates itself when subject to the forces of this keyword? .... Any information or preliminary research you bring with you in this regard will assist you immensely. And do not worry; you will not be bound or beholden to your “keyword” if you lose interest in them midway.  There will be plenty of other phenomena for you to discover.
(b). Key-images. Textures and composition (i.e. surface and structure) that you loath or are swooned by. We are interested in your intense reaction, or long-standing fascination of something, not the indifferent “nice” response. These will provide as a visual, tactile database for your experiments.

So some of the things that I have been thinking about since reading this have been...

Container (contained)

Catalogued/Classification

Specimen

Reliquary/Alters/Shrines/Sacred spaces

Encapsulation

Multiples

Order/Chaos

Interactivity

Light/Time

Process

As far as images go for influence... I haven't got that far yet.

Out of all of these... the process, light, and time seem to be the ones I'm drawn to the most. I mean all of these are things that interest me, however looking over my slides to take to Pilchuck I noticed that a lot of what I'm bringing are photographs of glass during or after it's been finished.  The objects themselves seem secondary to the situations they're creating.  In that regard, I'm more interested inn capturing those fly by moments that happen during the vessel making process, or the "action of making an artwork" (a la Serra; Pollock; or La Va), or studio upkeep.  For example...

From my thesis show.

These 2 hellish pictures from bailing out the furnace for the summer.

Bailing out the furnace again, but onto ice during winter break.  I would like to do this again this winter but set it up better.

Sometimes, it's all happenstance.  The sun coming through the window just right and I notice this after I hit my head on the lamp above the kitchen sink.

A more personal picture, never mind the gif I'm trying to finish up that deals with this.

So far all of these are residuals of action on glass of some form, wether I directly manipulated it a hot shop or I interacted with it to some extant as a readymade.  Technically the sink is coated in glass since it's a glaze on a ceramic sink.  Ya dig?  Even the opening photo at the top of the post is indicative of this.  I'm more interested in the refraction of light from the tool marks on the table than the actual bottles themselves.

I think using this as a starting point will free up a lot of mental anguish as I screw up my molds, fusings, and slumpings.  Looking for the art in the process and not in the object has been a major point for artists such as Pollock and Serra.  If I keep this in mind as I make mistakes, but take good notes about what worked and what didn't, I can bring this back to CCAD to flood the students with casting knowledge.  Being the interim head of the glass department this upcoming semester, I'm trying to have the kilns all up and running so we can accommodate as many students as possible.  Also taking this class can help me problem solve with them on their projects.  In the process they can make more glass "art" and not so much glass "craft".

PersonalIy, I think where I can go with this is a combination of castings and kiln-manipulated blown work and video.  I love glass blowing.  I will always find a way to do that until I can't hold a pipe anymore.  It's a meditative process for me.  However... it's not my "Art" with a capital A.  That seems to have fallen to more video work, more specifically... mundane actions that have been important to me, or became important, and that I'm trying to loop as seamlessly as possible.  I know everyone has these moments, but I don't want to forget them.  Ever.  So being able to loop them is like re-writing my notes... so I don't forget.

My good friend of 14 years, we had to put him down in February.

It was such a tender moment for both of us.  My dog, Smoke, really couldn't sleep due to an enlarged liver with complications.  Anytime he laid his head down flat on the floor, he had trouble breathing.  At that moment, his head was propped up and he was able to get 20 minutes of sleep.  I was just glad that I was able to get him some rest before his appointment.  I'm tearing as I write this... I still miss him.

I'm in the process of trying to make this as seamless as I can in video.  I'm also realizing that I might have to upgrade my video software, iMovie (I know, I know...), to FinalCut Pro for more control.  I just have a hard time swallowing $300 for a download, but I'm getting closer to getting it.  I think getting more RAM for my computer, and bumping it it 16G, will be the biggest help. 

I have some video of leaving for Pilchuck earlier this summer with some great 6 minute vids of the plane taxiing and taking off out of, and then landing in fog.  I want to combine those vids for an endless loop of taking off and landing.  I suppose I "could" farm the video editing out, but I want to have a direct hand in the final version.  Call it a hold over from being a craftsman, but that whole idea of me making the final piece is important.  I just can't see any other way of doing it to be honest.

So after two paragraphs of rambling, I guess my work is heading to a more ephemeral stance with the beauty in the mundane.  I guess that's a good a start as any for an artist statement.

Right, so mostly yearly posts then...

Well, this is a little embarrassing then isn't it.  It seems that I REALLY need to update more here.  Of course it's the choice of social media that I'm kinda of writing about today.  See if you do read this... and there are probably at least 2 kind folks that do... then you will notice a strong absence. That's because a lot of the time I'm posting quips up on Twitter, Vine, and/or Instagram.  You can look for HarmanGlass if you feel inclined, to follow along there.

Why?

Well, mostly because it's easier, faster, spontaneous, and (can be) a more visceral experience.  Now I know that this type of communication is not a replacement for the these types of good old fashioned conversations we have here.  To be honest, it never will be.  It is like shouting at your friends as opposed to talking to them... "Look, over there!"  There is a residual of the thought process that goes on here as a whole as well.  My life has gotten to this point of small, easily digestible chunks of time, that are spread out across different apps.  Which are in turn linked to several devices so connectivity is a constant.  Now this isn't a debate, or even a discussion, about the virtues/sins of such connectivity.  This is mostly an observation of how it's impacted my life lately and some of the ways it's changing my studio practice.

So.  With the thesis work, it was about this high degree of craftsmanship being put up for judgement by the viewer.  The video that spawned from it was mostly archival and I wasn't necessarily thinking that I was turning into some type of performance artist.  I was just tired of having this debate of Art VS. Craft, and why it always seemed that one was held at lower regard than the other.  I was angry, and frustrated.  The "debate" is the same, it seems to never change.

Anyway.

After the show I noticed that I was taking more pictures with my phone.  At the time it was a iPhone4 with a decent camera and an ease of use that most cameras lack.  For a then 38 year old, ease of use is important, and this is precisely why I'm put off by most modern cameras... they're too damn fancy with a lot of buttons I don't need.  Like CS6, a lot of buttons I don't need.  So a very portable camera, both stills and video, that's easy to use and syncs to my devices over wifi for instant editing if need be.  Good lord, I have become Apple's target audience.

But...

I did notice a trend of these videos that kept clogging up my Photostream.  Now after a relatively short time.  I have just over 80 of these very short films.  So now what do I do with them?  Do I edit them together?  Keep them as the snippets of life they are?  Oh, oh!  Edit them to loop as seamless as I can manage?  Yes!  So I have this stable of images that I will be working on to expand what I do as an artist.  Images like worms crawling along the freshly rained on sidewalk to escape the water saturated soil, mating spiders, crows cawing in the Czech Republic, swirling paint water, the last time my dog rested his head on my leg to sleep before we had to put him down, these things of life that capture our interests, our sorrows, our vulnerability... which by being vulnerable makes us human.  To take the risk, to go for the bigger pay off even though the failure comes with higher stakes.  Will this work?  I have no idea to be honest, but it has become this pressing need to try.  So that's one thing.

Another thing.

I have continued to work on my glass.  That won't ever stop as I simply enjoy the process of it too much, however I haven't felt inspired to make any "art" with it.  At the very least trying to make art with glass lately has been down right bothersome.  So, Im going to make some pieces to have some fun.  I try to instill this ideal into my students.  "Have fun."  "If your not having fun then why are you doing it?"  Seems I need to relax a bit and take my own advice.  So I shall.  Will these works be great?  Probably not, but they will at least let me breath enough to maybe allow me to wander off to something that will be great.  You know, living the dream... instead of just dreaming it.

The other thing I've been thinking about was killing the website and moving that content here.  To be honest, I do like this type of format better... this conversational tone, even if no one answers any questions or interacts in anyway.  It's also easier for me to upkeep everything I am into and be able to write on the road as well because, well, I DO use Blogger and haven't had any problems with posting across platforms.  Again, ease of use without all the bells and whistles.