Mt. St. Helen's eruption video

A friend found this video posted that I thought was worth sharing.  It was and remains amazing to view the utter devastation and then the explosion of life that has followed.


http://www.chronlinemedia.com/video/100427_sthelens.php

May 18, 1980: 8:32 am

This is the anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. 

In an indirect way, this event is responsible for my opportunity to work with glass. 

My personal experience with the eruption was as a fifth grade student at R.E. Bennett Elementary School in Chehalis, WA.  I had at the time, the emotional paradox of being concerned for the human and environmental toll that was acting out in my close vicinity, juxtaposed with the utmost thrill of getting summer vacation four weeks early.  The ratio of excitement versus "oh god what a pain in the ass" was soon unbalanced as it became clear that for some undetermined period, we would all be forced to stay inside and/or wear dust masks while outside.  Ash was EVERYWHERE.  The world was all GREY.  (More so than normal.... this is of course the Pacific Northwest.)  One could think that nothing good could come of such an obvious disaster.

Except one Man with a vision.

Hank Claycamp.  Hank I'm paying my respect... don't think I  have forgotten.  For this post I will give you the short form in this legend, only in the interest of brevity and the knowledge of "always leave them wanting more...".   Hank was a young man with an interest in what was then a budding industry in the area and the intelligence and the foresight that all the ash blanketing the region was a goldmine waiting to be properly realized.  With some experience at the very early Pilchuck School of Glass under his belt, Hank built a furnace, and embarked on creating glass from the ash that was produced form the volcano, Mt. St. Helens.  The first few batches were pure ash; I remember looking over the few pieces he had remaining from those blowing sessions in the studio on display when I came on board his operation.  Gradually over the years he developed his recipe so he could use glass cullet with a quantity of ash, allowing him to not struggle with the difficulty of mastery that the pure molten ash required, as well as the knowledge that it was better to extend the life span of the material, given that the ash that had fallen was of a limited release, so to speak.

I was hired at his studio in 1991, and after a year of real grunt work I was apprenticed as a glassblower in his operation, thus beginning my obsession. 

Periodically in this blog I should revisit some of the stories and memories I have of this time.  The people I met (Patrick, Lloyd, Butch, all the rest of the crew, I know you are out there)  are all worthy of mention and we sure as hell worked to keep the operation going. 

Thank you all for letting me give attention to this interesting anniversary in my journey!

Happy Mother's Day and Glass Oops of the week

Hello all,

The work is going well these days, I am keeping up on current designs that are selling, I am developing new promising designs, and I am teaching more bead lessons as the word spreads.


One of the new designs that I am getting a good response from is single color hoop earrings.  As I develop this piece, I have tried several ways to finish them with a fire polish in the kiln.  This has proven tricky; how much heat do I need to do the fire polish without losing the shape I have already created.

That question being asked, this is what I was greeted by when I opened the kiln after my last test.

        

Of course what this has done is make me wonder if I can't maybe control this effect more and add a kind of tear drop hoop earring as ANOTHER piece for me to keep up on.  Hmm...cool.

Practical Bead Making tips or Why I am now very grumpy

I want to recommend very strongly that when anyone is doing any producing of glass beads, make certain the lid on the bead release is firmly ON before shaking.

To communicate the most accurate image of the results of NOT having the lid on properly, imagine being on whatever Nickelodeon TV show that randomly dumps goo over some hapless adult.  That would be how I appear right now.


Meh.

merry christmas!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Two moments of pause

     In the ensuing weeks that have gone by, I am struck by the variety of needs my little project of making a living with my work has required.  I long for the days when, by the nature of my job description, I was paid to MAKE AS MANY THINGS AS I COULD.  It was someone else's job to prepare quarterly sales tax.  It was someone else's job to draft a bio or mission statement.  It was someone else's job to call a manufacturer to ask why a backordered color is taking three weeks longer than was originally promised.   I do find that I get a feeling of satisfaction in doing anything well, and I appreciate the broader scope of tying everything I do into an expression of my self and creativity, but I have to say... I am really really happy with really hot glass in my hands.  Call me crazy.  Many have.

I have had two quizzical moments of pause of late that I knew I would end up posting about. 

     In preparation for the opening of this year's Sign of the Dove holiday store ( Opening November 6, 2009 in the Mall at Chestnut Hill; this feels like an amazing opportunity.) I was searching for some appropriate shelves for my display.  Having found what I wanted on-line, I waited perhaps a little too long to pick up said shelves when I made my decision. (At the time I thought I would save money on the shipping by purchasing directly from a local outlet , but save my hunting time to that I spent on-line.)  I found the shelves I wanted... but not in the clear glass of my dreams, only in a darker walnut.  Being particularly picky about the display I then began a physical hunt for something else in and around the Nashua, NH area with the scattershot approach of a shotgun.  In proximity, I spied a Sears and thought, you never know, can't hurt to look.  No interesting display possibilities but I walked past what I thought was a noteworthy scene.  In the men's department, trying on winter jackets were a group of Buddhist Monks in full robe.  One monk in particular I noticed was drinking out of what was obviously a Starbucks Coffee cup.  I am still pondering the implications of this.

     During a period where I can only describe as transportationly challenged (oh how one takes a car for granted when it is working properly)  I found myself at Boston's North Station to catch the Lowell commuter train.  Having been forcibly made to sit down for a period of time, I glanced up.

Look close.  Here's a better view, one that I also am still pondering the implications of.

Really?

     

My nephews Teagan and Quinlan

Had the chance to see my nephews over the weekend. The kids are doing great, just needs a crazy uncle to swoop in every now and then to get em all wound up and crazy. Seems to take remarkably little to achieve this; but then, they are my nephews....