The Art of the Glass Pipe

Degenerate Art: The Art and Culture of Glass Pipe' boldly showcases the work of 16 glass artists from throughout the United States, exhibiting pieces that fall outside the boundaries of conventional art. This exhibition provides a snapshot into the history of glass pipes and shows the direct influence the pipe movement has had on the evolution of lampworking.

I attended this show at the Mark Woolley Gallery in Portland Oregon. I was very impressed with the skill level of all of the artists involved. It was great that someone had the forethought to schedule this show during the world glass conference. This made for a broad spectrum of viewer that attended the show. There were many artists of all levels as well as a number of different collectors. The approach to the pipe was different from artist to artist but there was one common denominator, all pieces were inspired by marijuana. Lets remember that this was a show that highlighted the modern flameworker. To be exact the show was actually detailing a certain "breed" of modern flameworker. I like to call it a switchback revolution. Dont get me wrong, I very much respect the modern flame workers. They have developed the industry of lampwork or flameworking and taken it far past where it was only fifteen years ago. There was a lack of the actual facts on the evolution of the glass pipes particularly the modern "color changing glass".
The show at the gallery was full of great works of art and I was also impressed with the real fuck authority attitude that prevailed. I asked the woman who was selling the work if she knew that she was breaking the law. She smiled awkwardly and said that she had no idea. I told her that I had been arrested here in the same state for selling some pipes and bongs that were very similar to the ones that were here in the gallery. Mark Woolley and his sponsors really went out on a limb here. I can only imagine who would be subpoenaed as the witnesses in this trial ? This really opens the doors for the industry. If there were more professionals who accepted the pipe or bong not only as an item, but as art, the industry could thrive. Not only does this power the paraphernalia industry but it moves the evolution of the technique forward.
http://www.markwoolley.com/Artist-Detail.cfm?ArtistsID=454&ThePage=1

Super Heated

I was able to catch up with the guys from Northwest Iron Works http://www.nwiron.com – Vince Thomas and crew are doing things with glass that you would not believe! – They have developed a brand new glory hole that runs on propane and melts borosilicate glass to a workable viscosity – They told me that they are working closely with David Winship from winship glass supplies and Henry Grimmett from Glass Alchemy to further develop their systems – Vince was also working closely with Matty White who was actually using the glory hole during the Friday Night Demonstration at Uroboros Glass Studios in Portland Oregon – The Northwest Iron crew from Veneta Oregon rocked the house ! – They had a huge glass tubing of borosilicate on a blowpipe and made a crazy cup! –Could this be our future? – SUPERHOTSHOP - check back for the video! –

Maui Big Waves Jaws

Our big wave demo was done during what turned out to be the largest swell in 2008 – the waves were huge and the surf break “ Jaws “ was going off – Jaws is right down the street from the studio and we often go there when the waves are breaking just to watch the action and be a part of the excitement – There are loads of helicopters and jet skis buzzing around the waves – Laird Hamilton lives in our little village of Haiku he is one of the alpha male surfers on the island along with the infamous Ian Walsh and many others – They are often found surfing the 60 to 80 foot waves that break here during the winter ! – During this demo we decided to pay respect to the winter energy by creating one of these monster waves! – We had an incredible time making this piece – the video really explains the age old process of making a glass wave! – Enjoy and e mail me if you want a glass wave for your house – I can make you one! – mauiglassblowing@gmail.com

Billy Kreutzmann of The Grateful Dead blows glass ?

Did you know that Billy Kreutzmann, http://www.billkreutzmann.net/ the drummer from the famous rock band The Grateful Dead was here in our glassblowing studio to visit us? – Wow what an incredible time! – We had the David Nelson Band and Billy in our studio and they actually rocked out a set while we made a beautiful sculpture in glass – We had the guys from the University of Hawaii come over – AL P Ness and Mark Nowicki came over with their giant gathering balls and ladles – Charles Lowrie and team made an incredible sculpted skull with a lightning bolt in it – after the sculpting was complete the casting team stepped in and began to ladle about 100 lbs of glass into a rectangular form on the hot plate – while the pouring was happening the skull was carefully plucked into the glass – all the while the band was rocking out behind the glass action ! – what a production – what a performance !- In the end the piece was in the annealer for over two weeks – during that time we had a power outage so the piece was tragically cracked – Keep checking back for the next attempt at this incredible SteaL Your Face !

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 –

1st Annual International Hot Glass Invitational

1st Annual International Hot Glass Invitational
April 3rd-4th, 2009
South Point Casino
Las Vegas, NV

This is going to be the big one folks – Will Menzies from the Flow Magazine http://www.theflowmagazine.com/ is putting together an event that will surely be the largest glassblowing extravaganza the studio glassblowing movement has ever known ! We are calling out the troops for this one – This will be an incredible gathering of artists and collectors that will prove to be THE EVENT TO BE AT! This will be a demonstration/ competition of huge proportions – Surely covering a broad spectrum of glass working techniques - glassblowing / showmanship / and skill ! – The Event will be next door to and in association with the Glass Craft Expo www.glasscraftexpo.com– an show that has been going on for Fifteen Years - Wow and check this out it is going to be at the arena – right next door to the casino – We hew! This arena is The Equestrian Facility of the South Point Casino. This 30,000 sq foot, 4400 seat arena is fully climate controlled and ventilated. The arena is well prearranged with 4 - 72" Flat Screen Monitors that face all side of the arena, as well as a full theatrical lighting set. The control room for the monitors and lighting sits atop a 2 story private "VIP" bar, which has seating for 250 and a full bar with kitchen access. This is going to be the ultimate voice for the art of glass. This is an event that brings the excitement of glass to a captive audience that, when engaged, will become inspired somehow in their own realities! Heavy Man! So anyway there are going to be a few categories. There will be a flame working exhibition that will highlight the extreme technical difficulty of the hand worked glass. Artists and their respective teams will have designated times to do whatever they can dream up. There will also be three full offhand benches on the center stage for hot glassblowing. The goal is to provide the audience with the largest, most dramatic glass sculptures and vessels that the session will allow. There will be glassblowing teams from Mexico Australia Japan Seattle and New York. This will be the ultimate learning experience as well as an incredible networking opportunity for anyone interested in the glass arts. Some of the best artists from around the world will be in attendance. The event will be held from 4 pm til 10 pm Friday and Saturday, the 3rd and 4th of April, 2009. Their will be 3-4 flame working and furnace platforms. The contestant will have 2 1/2 hours to produce their works, providing 2 rotations per night. Flame working contestants will be scheduled both Friday and Saturday night. Furnace working will be Friday night and Saturday night. These team demos will be wildly interactive, educational and incredibly fun for the entire family. I recommend that you fly in early and check out some of the Glass Craft Expo – don’t forget that you can get a booth there as well – lets not forget that times are tough and this is a great opportunity for artists to show off their most recent works – This highly successful event hosted over 200 instructors, 2000 students and 9000 attendees at their 2008 show in April. Rooted in the flat glass world of stained, fused and slumped glass, the show has grown to include hot glass artisans, manufacturers and distributors that account for 1/3 of exhibitors, teachers and students. The show currently appeals to everyone from the hobbyist to the full time artist. The International Hot Glass Invitational will help the show put more emphasis on "High Art & Craft".

E mail me for more info - mauiglassblowing@gmail.com