[PA-NJ Glassblowers] BCCC teacher Karl Carter creates a community of glassblowers
Tony Patti
gaffer at glassblower.info
Fri Nov 15 21:05:18 EST 2013
http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/local/bccc-teacher-creates-a-com
munity-of-glassblowers/article_c3a9c779-6d7e-5504-b9a1-edbc08714263.html
BCCC Glass blowing
BCCC teacher creates a community of glassblowers
Posted: Friday, November 15, 2013 4:00 pm | Updated: 5:39 pm, Fri Nov 15,
2013.
By Elizabeth Fisher Correspondent
A visitor could easily bypass Karl Carter's studio because it looks like a
mini version of a steelmaking plant, with its tool boxes, white-hot burners
and fierce looking tools -- many resembling oversize barbecue utensils.
But this room in Bucks County Community College's 3-D Arts Building is one
where the tools are heavy duty, but the touch needs to be delicate. Carter
teaches glassblowing.
Vases, plates and delicate animals line the shelves, but Carter stresses to
his students that creating "things" is secondary to artistic excellence in
glassblowing.
"I teach them to let go of the idea that they're making something. I just
want to see them create beauty," Carter said, as he showed off his own
cranberry-tinged, handmade, fluted bowl -- or vase or lamp -- or "whatever
you want it to be."
Years of experience and a combination of grace and Carter's strong hands
turned a lump of molten glass into a vase formed like a calla lily during a
recent evening class for advanced glassblowing students.
Students always work in teams, with one using the long metal blowpipe while
the other heats and shapes the object. It is an intense process that
requires absolute concentration, and just the right temperature to prevent
shattering. Protective gear is a must because the molten glass is about
2,000 degrees when removed from the burner.
"I tell my students not to fall in love with anything, because they'll lose
a lot of their work. It's just the nature of glassblowing," Carter said.
There is some evidence the Egyptian pharaohs used glass, but it wasn't until
the first century that glassmaking became known in the West, when wealthy
Romans began using glass windows in their homes. Carter said glassblowing is
an ancient art whose methods have changed with the introduction of more
modern tools.
"It is one type of art that you can't touch while you make it," he said,
adding a finished product can come out of a burner at a blistering 900
degrees and has to slowly cool to prevent shattering.
His class of 15 is made up of people from various backgrounds. Many are
taking the course as an elective. Others are professionals in other fields.
There's a physician's assistant, a computer expert, and a retired teacher,
among them.
"I came here 10 years ago and stayed. We're allowed to do that, as long as
there's an opening in the class," said Pat Korp of Fairless Hills, a retired
teacher. "No matter what level we work on, Karl encourages us. He listens.
He motivates us."
Korp used to watch the glassblowers on the Steel Pier in Atlantic City when
she was a kid, and always wanted to learn the craft.
Paul Ahearn, a student and Carter's assistant in the photo above, said
blowing into a pipe is a delicate procedure because you have to following
the direction of whomever is doing the shaping. But, he added, "it's easier
that blowing up a balloon."
John Matthews, BCCC's assistant academic dean for the arts, said it's
unusual for a community college to offer glassblowing because it's expensive
to keep the gas burners going. Bucks offers the class because Carter is a
certified instructor and the college has an accredited arts program.
Carter received his bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from University
of the Arts in Philadelphia, and his Master's degree in Learning
Technologies from Drexel University. Aside from his glassblowing course,
he's the Director of Learning Technologies Services at Bucks.
Holland resident Tony Patti, like Korp, is another longtime student of the
art. He credits Carter with setting the tone for the students to constantly
strive for perfection.
"Karl has created a community of glassblowers," said Patti. "This is an
addictive hobby."
Tony Patti
<http://www.glassblower.info> www.glassblower.info
<mailto:gaffer at glassblower.info> gaffer at glassblower.info
<http://www.glassblower.info/qr-code.html> QR Code for Tony Patti -
www.glassblower.info
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://glassblower.info/pipermail/pa-nj/attachments/20131115/c3cf4941/attachment.html
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 47581 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://glassblower.info/pipermail/pa-nj/attachments/20131115/c3cf4941/attachment.jpe
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 18744 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://glassblower.info/pipermail/pa-nj/attachments/20131115/c3cf4941/attachment-0001.jpe
More information about the PA-NJ
mailing list