And here is a guest post from Johnathan Schmuck!

Some Thoughts on the (unofficial) BAGI Fusing Mentorship Program

Nowadays we are often being reminded to simplify and let go of stuff, that less is best and that it’s time to conserve. Actually that’s not such bad guidance overall. MORE does not always equal better (More ≠ Better).  In this time of drought it seems like less lawn, rather than more lawn, in the yard is the best call. With the local freeways full of cars more often than not, more ≠ better. If one cup of coffee is good, would five cups be better? My own empirical evidence suggests….NO, one cup is just fine.

Yet with Fused glass, More = Better.

How can that be possible? What with the high cost per pound of compatible fusing glass these days? And with all the equipment, energy, and time needed to do all this fused glass work? More is better – how?

The answer is very simple – BAGI. I’ve been the senior instructor in Fusing at BAGI since 2008, and I offer courses in various aspects of glass Fusing – from a two hour Discover glass  “Party of 2” Fusing class to a 16 hour Fusing 1A class, and even more advanced Fusing 1B, Higher Fire (high temp kilnforming), Fused glass jewelry, Strips, and Imagery classes -- with even some crossover kilnforming and hot classes such as Murrinis and the Roll Up, both of which use Fused glass components. And for all of my students I am available for mentorship to those who have an interest in coming in to work on their own stuff – just ask.

Some folks take one of our Fusing classes and immediately say “I want More”. And that’s music to my ears – since I am also one of those people who got bit by the glass bug a long time ago and wanted MORE before I even knew what I was asking for. And totally I get that – I have tons of empathy there.

The great thing about the Fused glass is that More is Easy. Sure, one must first learn how to do it all, then go get the glass (which can put a hole in one’s wallet quickly) and then get their own tools. Yet once those things are all in place, BAGI offers our workspace to those who want to come in to rent a kiln, or even part of a kiln since we can work out a prorated deal. The whole point is to get people back in the studio.

Renting a whole kiln at BAGI is a pretty good deal since our ovens can hold A LOT of glass – you’ll work yourself into the ground trying to fill a kiln here. And we also supply prepped kiln shelves – and if you ask me who’s prepping all those kiln shelves, I will be glad to tell you.

The best part of the deal is that if you coordinate with me, I’ll be glad to mentor you while I am at BAGI working or teaching. You’ll mostly be doing your work on your own since I’ll be with my class or my own glass, yet I’ll be glad to answer questions and provide some guidance about what you are doing. I’ll be glad to tell you what you might need and to show you some inspirations if I can.

One of the more significant aspects of the mentorship is that we ALWAYS work on getting you the best results possible. It’s not like in class, where I encourage you to make mistakes. Class time is a teaching environment, and mistakes are necessary for learning. I’d rather have my students discover something than just tell them about it since finding out on your own has much more impact. Yet, when it’s the glass that you bought and you’re coming in on your time, we only focus on how to get your piece exactly right, the first time.

Over the years I’ve had many students come in to be mentored. Some come to make a project they wanted to complete. Others are more interested in exploring their glasswork in their own way. I’ll see some for a week, and others will come and go over the course of years. The main thing is – if you come seeking support and information, I’ll be there for you. Who knows, I might even learn something myself.

So, yes more = better in the BAGI fusing area. Now go get your projects and supplies together and come in to make something today!

A guest post from Laura Lazzarini!

I've been volunteering with the Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI) for about two years now. Several years ago I was facing some difficulty in my life with an ailing family member, and I was looking for ways to move myself out of my comfort zone and re-prioritize my life, and start ticking items off my bucket list.

I've had a fascination with glass since I was a kid, and was raised by a mechanical engineer. He was always tinkering in the garage with tools I really couldn't fathom how or why to use. I started attending events at BAGI as a way to find out more about glass, and then took my first “Shape-a-bowl” class. That was all it took, the magic and more importantly the process, of creating a permanent piece that was my own was intoxicating.



Over a year ago I was volunteering to assist a class/demonstration at BAGI, held for a group of at-risk youth one step away from incarceration called Encouraging Diversity Growth Education (EDGE). The EDGE, ran by the Santa Clara County probation office with the office of education, brought a group of participants that where under their care – to learn about glass blowing and get hands-on experience in BAGI’s hot shop and glass fusing studio. 

Some of these young adults were mandated to participate in this program because of gang-related and/or criminal involvement – tagging, car jacking, or other infractions of the law. To watch several of the participants have unlimited access to a creative process, often denied to them in their regular educational experiences and life, was humbling to watch and inspiring. 

One participant made a gift for his girlfriend; a slumped piece that had a heart, their names on it and their anniversary date, April 21, 2013. It was important to him to express his pride at acknowledging the love in his life, as well as a permanent record of this date. This wasn't tagging an overpass to set his mark on the world, but a quiet way of expressing himself in a very visible and permanent way. This particular participant was definitely embracing the process of creating glass artwork, as he “mentored” his fellow EDGE mates. 

Understanding the process of a once mysterious process making it familiar serves so many areas of ones life, work or personal. Dancing with and embracing the process of blowing glass offers lifelong permanence and expression.

I'll need to get this post written before Thanksgiving. That's such a busy week. Although, now that I think about it, Thanksgiving makes for a perfect Glog topic. I can write about being thankful that BAGI is here as an outlet for artists, as an educational facility...as an outlet for my own insanity...

I could even finish with a call to take a class with your family. Or maybe that's too much. Commercializing Thanksgiving.

But I need to get it done this weekend.

...

So...this works out better anyway. I'll do a post about the holiday season. That totally works. I can still hit on the thankful theme, and there's still the family aspect, plus nobody can complain that I'm commercializing the most commercial season of the year!

I can easily end with a call to take a class with your family. In fact, lots of students were introduced to glass because somebody who loves them got them a class as a gift. Perfect!

And I have almost a month to write it.

...

I forgot that Renee's birthday is this month. I really need to get this done next week.

...

So...um...how about a post about the new year!? I'll act like I planned this all along. Exactly. A new year, BAGI on new footing, new hopes, new plans. That sounds great!

I could work in something about resolving to take a class, or expand your glass-blowing skills. We all know I could use it. Though I really should get it done at the beginning of the month, as my son's birthday is on the 26th...

...

Wow...that was a great birthday party. Hmm. What's the next holiday? I even missed MLK day. Hey...

Why not take a class with your sweetie!? Yeah, um, that's what this post is about. Go do that.

%8-)

And now a guest post from board member John Peters:

I have always been drawn to glass art, be it stained glass windows or sculptures or even functional glass pieces. I always planned to work with stained glass once work and family responsibilities would allow. Then came BAGI Discovery classes.

This time last year I took a floppy bowl course purchased through a Groupon Deal. I had no idea that BAGI even existed until I stumbled upon it. I thought glass art was only created in Seattle. I never dreamed it would be in my own back yard! I then went to a Snowman Discovery class with my two daughters. From that point on I have been bitten by the hot glass bug. Glass Blowing 1A, Australian Roll-Up, Color, and many Practice Sessions later I am actually renting bench time on my own and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.

Then came the news that BAGI, this gem of an institution I had just found was closing. I thought to myself that this can’t happen. If BAGI closes it will be almost impossible to restart. So I started to come up with a plan to help out BAGI. This has led to me to joining the board as well as heading the Volunteer Committee.

I can’t express how important volunteers are to BAGI. We could raise fees for rentals and/or classes to help cover expenses, but I think that will cause individuals to be unable financially to get involved in glass art. And raising fees will not guarantee that BAGI will break even. The bottom line is that BAGI needs the community to volunteer when and however they can. Everyone can help and no effort is too small!

Look at the huge success we just had at the Great Glass Pumpkin Patch! This event would have never been possible without our strong volunteer community.

In the meantime events and  opportunities will come up to help put BAGI in front of the community to raise public awareness of the organization, and raise money. I look forward to the BAGI community helping to make BAGI a success.

The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch was a fabulous success! Many gorgeous glass pumpkins found new homes...very many!

The Patch is such a wonderful event. Lots of great people come to see the art on display, and they come from far and wide. I am always surprised by the distances some folks travel to this event, but if you've ever been you'll completely understand. Thousands of glass pumpkins (I am not exaggerating) arrayed in the sunshine among the trees and bushes at the park.

Over two dozen artists, each bringing a different style, a different vision. Sometimes it's just a little unexpected, and sometimes you wonder what the heck they could have been thinking!

(Yes, I'm talking about myself at the end there.)

And suddenly, all of the work, all of the planning, all of the coordination and set-up, and all of the sweat, all of it is validated. People are smiling, happy, impressed, appreciative, and much more.

Then, just as suddenly, it's time to clean up. Put everything away, pack up what's left, go home, and rest.

Sigh.

The Patch is past.



Till next year.

This week we have a guest glog inspired by the Great Glass Pumpkin Patch! Check it out:

The air is crisp, leaves are falling and the time is surely near
Colorful pumpkins everywhere, the GGPP is here
Small ones and large ones and some with bows
Bright ones and striped ones and those that glow

Snowmen and teapots and ones with webs
Some look like rocks and others like lead
They sit on the grass, in baskets, crates and bales
Some have bugs, worms and seeds and some with snails that trail

Leaves, fruits and vegetables, gorgeous gourds galore
Acorns and mushrooms even toadstools and more
Some look like candy good enough to eat
Spotted ones and dotted ones and candy cane treats

Rainbows in clear with matching color stems
Minis and teenies, such sweet little gems
Mirror ones too that sparkle and shine
Ones with scales, they look so divine

Some will scare and some are quite haunting
Huge ones and larger which is quite daunting
Lacy ones, collages and even patchwork quilts
Also a large sunflower that will never ever wilt

They come in different colors, vibrant and bold it's true
Shades, tones and hues and ombre effects too
Each one is unique, each a special find
A treasure trove of jewels, each a one-of-a-kind

Kathleen U'ilani Campana

(You can see Kathleen's work at http://www.theuicollection.com/)

I'm back!

Actually, I didn't leave. I just convinced Damon and Steven to write glog posts in my stead. But I'm back to writing my own post.

And holy camole there are a lot of pumpkins around this place! Every time I'm in the studio, there are more pumpkins on the shelves.

Pumpkins everywhere.

And every time I'm in the studio there's somebody making more pumpkins.

In fact, every time I'm in the studio I'm making more pumpkins myself! That, or picking up the pumpkins I made the previous time I was in the studio. Here's the latest batch:

We've been in pumpkin production mode at BAGI for many months now.

Personally, I started serious pumpkin production back in May. I know that seems like a long time ago, but it was a late start. Some nights I get bunches (as you can see in the pic), but sometimes the designs require more set-up time, so I get fewer pieces. Sometimes I have extra hands around the shop. Sometimes I don't.

Everybody at BAGI is in the same mode. Making pumpkins, photographing pumpkins, pricing pumpkins, tagging pumpkins, packing pumpkins.

And that's just the pumpkins! There's the whole show to set up (http://www.greatglasspumpkinpatch.com/). Postcards and t-shirts and emails and volunteers and catering and and and ...

...and everything else. While still keeping BAGI running. It's insane.

I love it!

A guest glog by Steven Aldrich

BAGI has a rich, almost twenty-year history as an arts non-profit in the Bay Area, and that history informs the direction we will travel over the next several decades. Twenty years is a long time for a start-up arts organization when measured against the backdrop that over 60% of new small businesses fail within four years.

BAGI history, a condensed version: Four artists who needed a place to continue learning and make a living founded BAGI in 1996 in the backyard of Bobby Bowes, a SJSU graduate. In 2001, local patrons banded together to raise the money to move BAGI into our current facility in San Jose near Japantown. It was then that BAGI morphed from being a small hot shop in which a few artists could work into its current form as a public access studio and school that includes blowing, flameworking, fusing, and cold working facilities teaching thousands of people a year.

One lesson I take away from the more than 10 years of my involvement is that BAGI is a survivor. We weathered two economic crashes in 2001 and 2008 by experimentation and reinvention. The organization has been adventurous in serving the community and generating the income needed to fuel programming.  Here a short list: Co-op. Producing the Great Glass Pumpkin Patch® with the Palo Alto Art Center. Hosting “practice sessions” for budding glass artists.  Running an auction. Renting time in the studio. Teaching classes. Distributing online coupons. Doing demos and staffing a pop-up booth at Christmas in the Park. Sponsoring visiting artists from Afro Celotto to Vladimira Klumparova. Hosting corporate events and team building.

All the while, BAGI balanced the needs of artists, students, and the local community… oh, and we generated enough cash to keep going. This resilience is a trait we share with many of the local technology companies that innovate and reinvent themselves to stay current and make an impact.

And now we are at the next chapter. I am very excited about our new ED, Damon Gustafson, the addition of multiple board members, and an increase in our community’s involvement. The engagement and success of the past three months have shown that the community wants a place to get hands-on with glass art to learn and make.

There will be more challenges. There are commercial entities competing with BAGI to provide similar events and services. The facility we rent will be turned into condos in the next few years and BAGI will need to relocate. Patrons have many worthy causes and activities to draw their attention and donations.

I have confidence in the organization’s will to thrive and fill a need. Drawing on our nearly 20 years of experience and looking ahead through the lens of the current environment, we clarified our mission:

The Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI) provides accessible, hands-on glass experiences that educate and inspire current and future generations of patrons, students and artists.

Please contact Damon or me if you want to help make this vision a reality.

Thanks,

Steven

by Damon Gustafson, Executive Director, BAGI

I blew glass after work today. I blew glass after work today.

I know, I'm repeating myself. But, it occurred to me today how lucky I am to have a public access glass studio in the south bay. For me, glass has become a welcome respite from the stresses of the week. Family, work, social commitments, all take their toll on my inner balance. Glass has a way of putting that back in place.

I haven't been blowing glass that long. I started in February. But, it is something I have always wanted to learn. Maybe it’s because I’m crossing over that line between my 30’s and 40’s this year, but I’ve been trying harder of late to do the things I’ve always told myself I was going to do. One of those was to learn how to blow glass.

I became fascinated with glass in my early 20’s after walking into Orient & Flume glass studio in Chico. For those who have never been there, they have an impressive little gallery in the front with what I thought at the time were some of the most beautiful pieces of art I had ever seen. At that moment, I knew that learning to work with glass was something I had to do.

So, after talking about it for 20 years, it was my wife that finally made it happen. She bought me a gift certificate to BAGI’s Glassblowing 1A class for Christmas. Next to the orange bike I got on my 6th Christmas, I think it was the best gift I have ever received. (It was a really awesome bike.) Treg was my instructor and after the first night I knew I had found something I would never put down.

After the class I spent as much time in the shop as my wife and bank account would allow. I was hooked. Then, one night, I opened my email to find a message from BAGI. OH. NO! BAGI cannot close. This cannot be! This cannot be! I know, I’m repeating myself again. To make a long story short, I walked into the studio the next day and found Treg sitting there with a look on his face that just spelled frustration. I asked how I could help.

As chance would have it, I had been working for a small startup in Mountain View that began to experience serious financial challenges. I was laid off in February with about five of my colleagues. So, I was fortunate to have a good deal of free time on my hands and a burning desire (pun intended) to continue to have a place to practice my new obsession. I started spending the entirety of my days at BAGI trying to figure out a way to turn things around.

I won’t bore you with the details now, you’ll get plenty of that in our upcoming community meetings and various other ways we plan to continue to engage and inform the BAGI community. But, needless to say, we do seem to have turned things around.

BAGI’s Treasurer, Robert Knopf, reported in our board meeting this week that for the first time in a while we are in the black again. BAGI has more money than debt, and that is a welcome feeling. There is a great deal of work yet to be done and many more uncertainties ahead. But, I am confident that as a community we can overcome them. As BAGI’s new Executive Director, I am working very hard to not only make sure we stay in the black, but to make sure we all have a place to blow glass after work.