Back Home from Corning

I just returned from The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass where I participated in the workshop on glass casting led by Richard Whiteley.  What a great experience!!!!  I've now been privileged to attend 10 workshops at The Studio and I think this one ranks up there as #1.  There are too many things to go into - suffice it to say that if you ever get a chance to work with Richard - take the plunge.  It will be rewarding.

First off, workshops at Corning have a "teaching assistant" whose main job is to herd the cats (workshop participants), fire the kilns, and generally keep people from doing silly stupid things.  We had much more than a TA though.  Heike Brachlow was our TA for the session.  She should have been considered as co-instructor.  She did so much more than the typical BA.  She is a world class glass caster in her own right.  Check out her work here.  One of her movement pieces was featured on the cover of the Bullseye catalog #7.

Check out Richard's work here.  Richard treated the workshop more as a very abbreviated class he would teach at the Australian National University.  This is very different from what I've experienced in past workshops.  There was an equal amount of thinking/planning as there was actual hands-on work.  At first, I questioned this approach but I think it was much more effective.

Richard and Heike were sticklers for safety and health practices - requiring dust masks, eye and hearing protection.  Here is a picture showing how we usually saw him during the day.

And here is a picture of me working on a mold.

I'll post some additional topics about the actual pieces I made during the workshop in the near future, along with photos.