[PA-NJ Glassblowers] East Falls Glassworks March 2008 Update

Jon Goldberg jon at eastfallsglass.com
Wed Mar 5 17:42:48 EST 2008


East Falls Glassworks    
March 2008 Update     

http://www.eastfallsglass.com
3510 Scotts Lane
Philadelphia, Pa. 19129
(215) 908-7924                

March 2008:  As the ancient Chinese
proverb (curse) goes - "May you live in interesting times." 2008
has been interesting at East Falls Glassworks, but only in good
ways. The glass community continues to thrive; we are just
concluding our first Advanced Sculpture class at the studio, and
its been a resounding success. From the first days of the studio
's operation, I had hoped that there would be enough of a
constituency to support advanced classes - and it is happening!

East Falls Glassworks is extremely busy; we can not melt glass
fast enough to keep up with the demand. Anyone who has tried to
book studio time in the past couple months can testify to this.

East Falls Glassworks is Growing In the beginning (in the East
Falls sense, not biblical sense), our focus was on providing a
capable studio to meet the needs of glassblowing students, and
most 'casual' glass artists. Our glass-melting and annealing
capacity was designed with those two groups in mind. As our
reputation and the Philadelphia glass community developed, is
has become clear that there is a need for a facility that can
accomodate the needs of the journeyman glass artist.

In late February, we put a deposit down on a new furnace; this
will increase our glass melting capacity from 350 lbs to almost
900 lbs. We expect the liner for the new furnace to arrive in
early summer, and will rebuild the furnace once it's here. Many
members of the community have expressed interest in helping with
the rebuild process, we appreciate all the help we can get and
will share details of the plan as it develops.

Of course having the additional glass melting capacity does not
help if there is no where to put the work once finished. So, we
are planning to add annealers, most likely two large front
loaders. We're also going to make the third bench fully
operational, adding two glory holes, including one very large
one.

These expansion plans are completely based on requests from the
community. Please let us know if you have any specific
requirements, or any ideas. Any feedback you can provide will
help us with this planning process. Of course these plans are
still tentative, but I wanted to share our current thinking with
everyone.

Class Update:   As mentioned earlier - a critical mass has been
reached in the community and we are now increasing the number
and variety of classes in advanced glassworking techniques. Don
't worry, though, the introductory classes are still important
and we will continue to offer at lease one introductory class
per month. The new class list has been posted on our  classes
page, and you can use the online 'Class Registration' feature to 
sign up for any of the new classes.

I've taught many introductory classes, both Intro I and Intro II.
A magical moment seems to happen around the sixth week of class;
where the teacher can begin to stand back and allow the students
to create work without step-by-step instruction. Our current
class structure puts this sixth week into the Intro II series of
classes; we are changing our offering so that Intro I students
will have the opportunity to reach this level of compentency.
This is a fancy way of saying that our Intro I and II classes
are now going to be six weeks long rather than four.

Saturday Advanced Classes:  The Advanced Sculpture class on
Saturday afternoon has been a huge success; we are going to
build on that success and continue to offer advanced classes on
Saturdays. Starting *this month*, there are going to be two
intermediate/advanced classes offered on Saturday, a morning
session from 9:00 till noon and an afternoon class from 1:00
till 5:00.

Saturday Morning Color Techniques:  Starting this Saturday, an
eight week class covering color techniques will be offered.
There are still opening for the class, so let us know ASAP if
you are interested. We know that 8 weeks is a long time
commitment, so if you are only able to attend some of the
classes, let us know and we might be able to accomodate. The
class runs from 9:00 till noon, and will be taught by Jon
Goldberg, though guest instructors may be brought in if the
class requests specific techniques.

Saturday Afternoon Murrini Making Workshop:  This class will cover
the basics of pulling cane and creating many different varieties
of murrini. Some (but not all) of the styles we will be making
are bullseye, millefiori, jellyroll, multi chamber, spaghetti,
and bundled. Emphasis will be on making murrini and not on
incorporating the murrini into vessels. A follow on 4 week class
will cover making vessels from murrini. The murrini making class
will be taught by Phil Vinson, Penny Rakov & Nik Christensen.

Scheduled Classes:   Check the East Falls Glassworks web site for
information about these and other scheduled classes, including:
* Murrini Pickup Workshop
* Photo-Resist Workshop
* Bits and Additions Workshop

Upcoming Classes:  We are really excited about some of the classes
planned for the future. Here is a sampling of some of the
offerings we are considering; as always we love any feedback you
can provide and 'take requests'.
* Goblet Workshop
* Blow Molds
* Roll-ups
* Flame-working/Furnace-working Back-n-Forth

April 12th Open House:  Join us for our April 12th open house
/community day. There will be *free glassblowing* for the
glassworking community and *free demonstrations* for members of
the glass appreciating community. Seconds Sale: A table will be
set up with lots of East Falls Glassworks glass art from the
first two years at 'bargain basement' prices. These are one-of-a
-kinds and items with small flaw. As the clearance furniture guy
says: "Everything must go, no reasonable offer refused!!!"

Artist Support Services:  In an effort to strengthen the foundation
of the glassblowing community, East Falls Glassworks is
supporting an arts advocacy project, called "LAUNCH", designed
to advance the careers and better the lives of artists and
craftspeople working in glass. The aim of the project to help
members of our community find financial resources, continuing
education opportunities, career advancement, access to
healthcare, and business education. More information   about
LAUNCH is posted on the East Falls Glassworks web site
[http://www.eastfallsglass.com/artist_support.php].

We Need Your Help:  Spread the Word East Falls Glassworks depends
on referrals for most of our business. Tell your friends about
us; link to us from your website. Spread the word!

Thanks to all our renters, class participants, visitors and to
everyone who has helped to make the Philadelphia glass community
as vibrant as it is today! We only exist because of you.

-  The East Falls Glassworks Crew

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