We came, we fused, we laughed. That pretty much sums up this year's Fusathon which, when you think about it, means a pretty good time was had by all. Fusathons, for those of you who don't know, are the Oregon Glass Guild's annual charitable fusing parties.
Those of you who know me well also know that I'm obsessed with animation. I've loved Disney and Looney and Hanna Barbera since babyhood. Yet what turned me on to computers and graphics and 3D and animation and all that stuff was a guy named Will Vinton. The idea that you can build your own world, your own stories, your own rules, well...that's a heaven that Mr. Vinton introduced me to, long ago. So it was kinda jaw-dropping to meet him today, judging OGG's Fusathon glass creations. Nice guy.
Saturday was a total hoot, made better by the fact that it was for a good cause. If you missed it, you really missed a lot of fun. Yesterday the Oregon Glass Guild (OGG) held its annual Fusathon down at Uroboros' glass factory. We talked glass stuff, made glass stuff, watched other people make glass stuff, tried new ideas for stuff, bought stuff, ate stuff and sang stuff. (I took pics of stuff, too). By the end of the day, we were pretty stuffed.
It was the perfect end to a very glassy week. I've been to a few BEcons, and this was the best, IMHO. Of course, it helps that it was about casting, my current obsession, and that BE attracted some of my favorite casting artists as speakers. Gotta give kudos to the BE staff, not only for pulling this off at all, but for keeping 250 cats herded fairly efficiently.
As much as I love the pate de verre processes I'm investigating, they can get kinda intense, tedious and looooong. And they don't exactly happen overnight. It's amazing how nice it feels just to quickly FUSE something for a change. I'm part of the Oregon Glass Guild, and every year we get together with the Oregon Potters Association (huge, well-oiled org that dwarfs little OGG) for the Empty Bowls benefit. Members get together to make bowls from donated materials, and anything goes--whatever you can dream up with what's at hand, you can make.
Beware of wild impulses. Supposedly they lead to great new opportunities, but every so often they also lead to many strangers tramping through your house.
...and ceramics and metal and beads and fiber arts: The gigantic Portland crafts show is this weekend, Oregon Glass Guild is in hall B, and the quality of the work in all media is just outstanding.
The folks at Bullseye Gallery are brave souls, holding their Northlands Glass School benefit--a Glenfiddich whisky tasting--on both floors of the gallery. As far as I could tell nothing was broken, although I did hear a couple of clangs.
Boy, did I have a great time. I'd promised to give two lecture/demos on color and transparency control in casting and pate de verre. Between Dad's accident, economy shifts and the sad, sad state of kilnlessness, I just didn't see how I could keep that promise... BTW, guys: There's an updated casting resources list--just check the link at the top of the page. ...
(given the state of the financial markets), but the Pilchuck auction is later this month. Once again I'm going to miss it due to prior commitments (and a kilnbuilding project that'll either bankrupt me or drive me nuts, maybe both). But at least I can have fun with the online catalog... It's kinda nice to see so many artist-buddies represented [...]