The End of the Line is coming to Cedar Creek Gallery!

No it's not what you think, Cedar Creek is alive, well and thriving. June 26th, in conjunction with Alan and Rosemary Bennett's show Beneath the Surface, we are screening the documentary The End of the Line narrated by Ted Danson. It's about the current state of our oceans and how we are harvesting fish at a rate that isn't sustainable. It's not all gloom and doom and don't eat fish - I wouldn't bring that to Cedar Creek. What it does impress though, is that we need to be selective, to question where and how fish are harvested before we eat them, and to eat fish that aren't about to be fished out of existence.

Alan will be sculpting fish and doing raku demos the day of the screening as well. I've set my sights to make it an even bigger affair by having a sustainable fish fry too. Is there anybody out there who knows how to pull that off? I could use some help!

It's exciting to put together a show that isn't just about art. This show is much more. And if we can raise awareness about the plight of our oceans, then we have made our own small step in helping change the course of our world in a positive way.

Throw and Blow

Collaboration with another artist is always exciting - mixing two medium even more so. The past two weekends Alan Bennett and I joined forces to further an exploration of glass and clay. For the past year we have periodically worked on this idea, but this weekend I started to get really excited about it. Here's how it works... Alan throws a pot with really thick walls and exaggerated throw rings. While it's still wet I blow glass into it, using the clay as a blow mold. Alan holds the sides of the clay giving it another dimension and also keeping it from blowing out the mold. An episiotomy is performed on the clay and the glass comes out with the markings and texture from the inside of the pot.

It's like someone writing half a story and handing it off to you to finish. You have to take what they have written and make it all sum up and make sense. I really got into how to make the foot and lip relate to the body, adding extra glass bits and capturing the liquidity of the glass. I never knew what was I was going to have to work with until it came out of the clay. The real fun then was thinking fast about how to finish the design. There's no time to sketch and plan - it's all very heat of the moment (please forgive the pun).

Not every piece came out. A couple landed on the floor (as usually happens when trying to figure out a new technique) and some weren't exactly what I wanted. But now I've gotten Alan's bug and can't wait for him to come back this way so we can do some more.

A couple are still in the annealer, too hot when I left the studio today to even sneak a peek. The one I liked the best from the whole weekend is in there. As soon as I open the annealer I will take some pictures and post them.

Cedar Creek Gallery 42nd Annual Spring Pottery and Glass Festival - April 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 10th and 11th

Come see me blowing glass! My studio will be open the first two weekends of April for glass blowing demonstrations in conjunction with the Cedar Creek Gallery 42nd Annual Spring Pottery and Glass Festival. From 11am to 1pm and 3pm to 5pm each Saturday and Sunday, Harrison Harper and I will alternate between making furnace pulled glass beads, vases and bowls. I will make the beads I pull during demonstrations the first weekend into jewelry which will be available in the gallery the second weekend.

For all the great pottery, wood and glass demonstrations that will be happening check out the complete schedule of events at: http://www.cedarcreekgallery.com/events/festival/spring10/Schedule.html

And for the kid in all of us - be sure to join us for the Adult Egg Scramble. It's an egg hunt for adults where instead of eggs you may take home one of over 35 great pieces of pottery, glass or more. That's at 2pm Easter Sunday.

Dale Chihuly Visits Cedar Creek

In early November, Dale Chihuly came to visit Cedar Creek and check out our glass blowing studios. A friend of his called ahead to let us know they were coming, but I didn't really believe it was true until they called to say they were leaving Durham in fifteen minutes. Somehow I thought it might be somebody playing a good prank.

I was blowing a bowl when they arrived. Chihuly and his friend Bob came in, said hello and found comfortable seats from which to watch. I kept on working, hoping all hopes that this piece wasn't the one to fall on the floor. The punty held well (a little too well actually) and the piece was successful. Chihuly actually clapped and said "Bravo!" when I was done. We had a chance to talk for a while. Then they visited the Four Winds Glass Studio and looked around the gallery.

Amazingly I wasn't too nervous about working in front of perhaps the most famous glass blower in the world. I was proud to have him visit my studio. I am the lucky person who had a moment of his time to tell him how his path in glass has inspired me and made my journey in glass easier. Without Dale Chihuly much of what is being done in American studio glass would not be happening. He has simply inspired the world. I can't count the times that people have asked me if I knew his work, perhaps they had seen a video or book about him or one of his numerous installations. There is always a sparkle in their eye when they talk about his work. And then they have a new appreciation for glass as a medium and they look harder to see and appreciate what is around them. Last Tuesday Dale Chihuly had a sparkle in his eye as he watched the glass. After all these years and access to the best studios and most talented artists, it seems the glass itself is his real passion. Rock on Dale!

Carolina Designer Craftsmen Fine Craft + Design Show - Thanksgiving Weekend

If you are in the Triangle this Thanksgiving weekend, plan to visit the Carolina Designer Craftsmen Fine Craft + Design Show - the area's highest quality, longest running, juried fine craft show. You can find me in booth J-6. I will be exhibiting my latest work - both blown vases and bowls as well as jewelry.

The show is open at the Exposition Center, North Carolina State Fairgrounds

Friday, November 27th 6 - 9pm

Saturday, November 28th 10am - 6pm

Sunday, November 29th 11am - 5pm

For more information about the guild, the show location and times visit www.carolinadesignercraftsmen.com

I have been a member of the guild for ten years and also sit on the board of directors. It is an amazing group of talented artists.

Glass blowing on a cruise ship?!

Matt Decker, who has been working with me for almost seven years is about to embark on an exciting new journey. He interviewed with the Corning Museum of Glass to blow glass on a cruise ship and leaves later this month for an intensive three weeks of training. He will be living and working in Corning, New York while he trains with some of the most talented glass blowers in the country. At this time we don't know the exact schedule, but expect him to return to Cedar Creek after the training for a few months until the ship departs (I'm hoping he goes while it is hot here so I can take a break from the heat). His tour of duty on the ship will last at least three months. Although I will really miss Matt's assistance and companionship, I'm really excited about this once in a lifetime opportunity for him. Before I had kids I would have been right there in line to board the ship myself!

I can't wait to open the annealer

Today was an awesome day of blowing glass! I hope I still feel that way when I open the annealers on Monday. A big part of me wants to find a reason to go to the studio over the weekend so I can get a look earlier, but our weekend is packed with kids activities and one last long training walk before the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer next weekend. The first piece set the tone for the day and reminded me how much I love to blow glass. Maybe I'll take a picture and post it when I open the annealer. I'm not even really sure what they look like because I layered a lot of colors and used combinations I haven't put together before. I'm crossing my fingers that they look as good as I am imagining them!