Richard Aerni on wed 31 aug 11
Reading this discussion about programs getting out of clay and into =3D
glass makes me wonder...
If economy is one of the issues, certainly clay is much cheaper than =3D
glass. I know of at least one major craft program that added glass a =3D
handful of years ago and was out of business several years later. The =3D
glass studio was just too expensive and sunk the enterprise, which had =3D
existed for well over 100 years. Now it has been taken over by the =3D
state and resuscitated...don't know if the glass program is back and =3D
running or not.
Many of the glass blowers that I have known over the years on the major =3D
craft show circuit are hurting big time. It is unbelievably expensive =3D
to keep those furnaces running 24/7, and I know more than a few that are =
=3D
out of the business now. Some are renting space from places like =3D
Steuben Glass in Corning...others have gone to lampworked jewelry and =3D
beads (the up and coming glass niche) which is much cheaper to operate =3D
and doesn't have the huge learning curve of glass blowing...others have =3D
joined up with other glass blowers and work in shifts round the clock so =
=3D
that the furnaces are never unused. But, the days when glass was king =3D
are over, I think. =3D20
It seems to me that the discussion resembles nothing more than the grass =
=3D
being greener on the other side. I may be wrong, but the programs at =3D
colleges that I am most familiar with see the 3D hands-on programs being =
=3D
squeezed by cheaper, trendier things like computer art and design. =3D20
We full-time craftspeople have always been dinosaurs (got the =3D
holographic sticker from 25 years ago to back that up), but are even =3D
more so these days. Potters are just barely getting by, as always. We =3D
know how to pinch a penny...
Best,
Richard Aerni
Rochester, NY
Lee on thu 1 sep 11
On Wed, Aug 31, 2011 at 7:39 PM, Richard Aerni wr=
=3D
ote:
> It seems to me that the discussion resembles nothing more than the >grass=
=3D
being greener on the other side.
I think you hit the mark. Also, as you mention the
incredible cost of a glass studio, it is much more difficult to be
ecologically Green with glass blowing.
--
=3DA0Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
=3DA0"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D9=
7that is, =3D
"The
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
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