Beginning of SuperPrep Week #1

As of today, I have exactly one month left to stock up and prepare for my next craft show, Mayday Underground. While waiting for a fresh tank of oxygen to arrive, I've been doing a lot of office work and organizing, and a little Instagramming....

Some of the things I have been working on this week, before my oxygen ran out, include small vessels, and easter eggs with feathers inside at the request of my aunt. I thought they turned out kinda cool!

IFC 2013

Glass birds by Vittorio Costantini

This past weekend I attended the International Flameworking Conference in Salem, New Jersey. I stayed with one of my Alfred friends, a former classmate and glassblowing partner. Some of the highlights were watching Vittorio Costantini, Eunseuh Choi, and Micah Evans demo their techniques, seeing a couple familiar faces, and watching two bald eagles fly overhead.

And! Paul Stankard complemented my implosion flower pendant that I was wearing and I totally geeked out. He asked if it was soft glass, I told him it was boro, and he thought it showed a level of delicacy not often seen in borosilicate implosion work. Thanks Paul!! I'm flattered! :)

Steve working in his studio

A bald eagle's nest! We saw three nests and two bald eagles.

Artist Eunseuh Choi's demo

A sampling of my goodies from the conference vendors.

Flame On

Another photo update of the things coming out of my kiln...

Beads! I had a soft glass day the other day. I like to do that every now and then, change things up a bit. It's a completely different animal, much more, shall we say, "responsive" than borosilicate. Perhaps one of these days I'll get into the habit of donating to Beads Of Courage.

Made some more of the ever-popular mustache pendants.

And also a tiny amphora vase, in keeping with my spontaneous tiny vessel fixation. This guy is just over an inch tall.

Pick Your Poison

A preview of the vials in varying degrees of tininess I've been making that will soon be coming to a Fine Specimen shop near you...