Did you know that the Federal Government took Tommy Chongs Videos Away !

Did you know that the government took away Tommy Chong's masterpiece video documentary about his arrest for manufacturing drug paraphernalia ? I was arrested the same day that Tommy was arrested. We were taken into federal custody and our buisnesses were shut down along with 53 others in a bust called " Operation Pipe Dream ." We were all arrested for manufacturing and distributing Drug Paraphanalia and we were all brought to justice in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. All of the arrested parties eventually plead guilty and not one person fought the charges. Can you imagine that? No one fought, does anyone want to comment on this ?

Glass Art Society Trip To Portland

June 2008
I have just returned from the Glass Art Society Conference in Portland Oregon and it was a great time – www.glassart.org I saw lots of old friends and I had a look at where the art glass industry is – I saw a few incredible demos – Lucio Bubbaco did an incredible flameworking demo and Karen Willenbrink did an unbelievable hot glass ( bench flamework ) demo only to mention a few – The demos were at Elements Glass Studio – www.elementsglass.com and boy what a studio – I thought we had a ( supershop ) but oh boyee – that studio is one of the most incredible public rental shops that I have seen – I was truly inspired by the sheer size of the interior – This place is huge and they have these incredible sub studios within the warehouse – check it out sometime when you are in Portland – the owner Ian is a very nice guy and very approachable – I have seen him make some huge work before – He is a master glass blower – no faking here ! –

While in Portland I visited the Mark Wooley Gallery - www.markwoolley.com They had a precarious art glass show going on – it was a sort of illegal utilitarian glass show – I question how they are legally able to have pipes and bongs displayed for sale – you may know that I was arrested in February of 2003 for making glass bongs – The Federal Government locked me up for making what they deem as “ drug Paraphernalia “ – I was part of a large bust called “ Operation Pipe Dream “ aimed at the paraphernalia industry – Today there is a thriving bong and pipe trade show in Las Vegas www.champslv.com – Ill keep you posted with more thoughts and issues about bongs –

I also got to see Saeed Mohtadi from the Eugene Glass School www.eugeneglassschool.org – they seem to be holding strong and running a tight ship – these guys are some of the friendliest in the business – the facility is incredible and they are offering lots of really neat classes so I recommend that you check their site and schedule – I also spent time with Howard Sandberg and team at CBS Dichroic www.cbs-dichroic.com – I made them a new infomercial that you can watch here on their site ! – I have been using their product for ions and highly recommend it – They have some of the greatest coating out there –