We all left with visions of welding enormous metal sculptures, blowing glass bubbles and hammering out swords. Here are a few photos from this amazing, non-profit, educational facility. Once you've learned a trade, you can buy studio hours, go in and make to your heart's content.
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| He rolled the hot glass in the blue powder on the table for color. |
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| I think the hot glass is so pretty! |
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| (Eventually, he made a pitcher.) |
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| Demonstration on bending glass tubes for neon signs. |
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| He blows air through the tube during the bend so the passage stays open. |
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| This guy was so cool. He gave me two linked heart-shaped tubes "to give to your sweetheart". |
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| Everyone loved the blacksmith. |
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| Twisting metal to make a very strong & handy hook. |
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| You need a hood, protective clothing & eyewear to guard against the sparks & UV rays. |
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| But then you can meld metal together into statues. |
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| Yeah, I'm fired up! :D |
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| Another way to bend steel. |
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| This method feels a little spectacular. :) |
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| Not trash ~ supply bins! |
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| Melted aluminum being poured into ingots. |
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| Hot stuff. |
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| Art everywhere. |
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| Right next to a BART exit so anyone can get there! |
12 comments:
What a neat experience for you and your kids! You didn't mention going with the family in this article, but I think you did on Twitter. Looks like a blast (a little punny).
I did go with "my" kids ~ the ones at school ~ four classes, in fact! It was quite exciting with 48 children in the 1st and 2nd grade. I do want to bring my own kids there ~ perhaps for an afternoon workshop or something. Every station was so impressive and yes, quite a "blast"! heehee :)
So good! Was this field trip?
Yes ~ such a nice one. There were two other schools scheduled to be there that day but they both canceled so we had the whole place just for us. I hope to take many more children there as it really shouldn't be missed when we're so lucky to have it just an hour away (by school bus).
cool! and glass and fire are beautiful.
by the way, i awarded you for Liebster Blog!
i hop you don't mind.
http://juriko-w.blogspot.com/2012/02/liebster-award.html
An interesting report and wonderful pictures;))
Just wondering how much are they selling those objets like the glass statue?
Thank you, Juri! What a nice honor you have given me. I'm very touched by what you wrote on your blog. :) I'm thinking about who I want to nominate now!
Thank you! It was a very inspiring trip. :)
I'm not sure they were for sale. They were just displayed in a window of one of the studios. If I find out they're having a sale I'll let you know!
Making glass looks so satisfying, but I would stress under having to work so quickly. But by heck these people are great at what they do.
It looked like the art became almost meditative, as the artisans became expert at the technique and could just flow with the glass and let the magic happen. With practice, I'm sure it would become less stressful, but yes - they were probably so expert that they were making something hard look easy. :)
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