Not too long ago, I took another glassblowing workshop at the studio.
I had not taken a gather, since the previous year, when I took the in-depth
class, and I guessed I would be wobbly at best. I was surprised at how much my
body remembered what to do. I have to admit, though, that having a more advanced
partner helped, too. I was especially happy to finally be able to nail taking a
larger gather. I spent the entire in-depth class making shot-glasses; I just
could not grasp the quick rotations and scooping movement required to keep the
glass on the pipe. This time, however, I could and actually managed to make a
couple of decent cups.
When I started the studio in 2011, one of the main objectives and
motivations was to provide a glassblowing programme for youths. Modelled
directly after two famous American programmes – Hilltop Artists in Tacoma and
Glassroots in New Jersey respectively – Kids Blow Glas was launched in the
summer of 2012, six months after we went hot. Glassblowing requires a lot of
communication between you and the others you are working with, and trusting
that they will listen and help you make your piece in glass. These youth
programmes aim to help kids open up and connect with each other, and if you
have ever watched a workshop, you will notice right away how quickly the kids
transform, and become more confident.
So that´s the thing about glassblowing... without that
communication, you will get nowhere.
As an adult, we – or at least I – have become conditioned to “keep
quiet and sort it out later”. But standing in front of the furnace door, which
is open just a little too wide, and 1160 C. bellowing and burning your arms, it
is nearly impossible to take a proper gather. Turn, turn, turn and then scoop.
No. I grit my teeth and pull the pipe right out of there, as fast as possible;
and only after a moment, when being to feel some sense of my skin, my body, my
brain again, do I realize that the glass slid off the end of the pipe, and I
am, in fact, destined to make shot-glasses.
Or I can say something.
Option 1) Yo! The door is open obviously far too wide!
Option 2) Didn´t you pay attention to how I opened the door for
you??
And finally, option 3 settles in and is said out loud: Hey next
time, keep the door open only about 10cm. I´ll tell you when to stop.
I guess for me, communication is the most challenging part of
learning to blow glass. I never realized how often I ignore particular experiences,
for the sake of keeping the status quo, for the sake of not wanting to offend
someone.
And whether or not recounting this story is
redundant, I find it fascinating that the personal mission and motivation I set
forth behind opening the studio, is the one part I find to be the most
challenging for me, personally! Or perhaps we pursue things unconsciously, in
order to
