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Catching up - demos galore!

After the inspiring, educational, and warm (in more than one way) gathering in Jerusalem, I set out in earnest to demonstrate lampwork, albeit beginning lampwork to residents of the village in which I was staying. Perhaps this made it less intimidating than if an artist like, say, Or was demonstrating.

The big hurdle was obtaining MAPP gas. The village is self-contained and without rental cars; there is very little a visitor needs outside of the village, except to be able to get out. That is, unless a kind soul drives to where you want to go or is willing to loan their car to a foreigner whose driving skills in this hazardous country are unknown. (Little do they realize how much easier Israeli driving is than in Boston...)

So a nice couple did offer the use of their car just in time. My friend, the person who has the often-thankless but value-filled job of youth group coordinator, drove with me to search for MAPP gas. The first store, a kind of mini-Home Depot for non-contractors, was a bust. The second store, though, yielded not only the bright yellow canisters of exactly the brand I use at home, but a wonderful set of needle nose pliers (perfect for pulling stringer) and a great hole punch as well!

All set for doing a lampwork demo. Unfortunately, I got too busy that afternoon to sed out the message about the demo to the children, so attendance at the first demo was small. I tried a couple of new things, though: the dotted Wendy bead and the imploded flower, which turned into a large mush. I also made my first striped stringer! The dotted bead turned out okay, and the fact that the mush didn't crack was a small miracle, given that it's the largest piece of glass I've worked on the hothead. The shape and colors turned out interesting, though, and I donated it to the youth club for a little mobile.

At the second demo, meant to be for adults, there was also a smallish turnout, which was good because of the size of the room. At the first demo, the children (and adults) quickly got bored. At least they appreciated the time and effort it takes to make even a small, simple bead. But the second demo's attendees were mostly far more interested and wanted to try it themselves.

Three people tried to make beads, with decent success. One bead, which had a yellow base with striped stringer on it, turned into a gorgeous pattern that took my breath away. Though small, the bead was beautiful! I hope the maker was as please with it as I was.

I left the village with its people newly inspired to seek other opportunities to learn lampwork....

Next time: Another demo, now back at home.

How to price your crafts

Littly Projects has a nice article about how to begin to price your work. There is more to the story, of course, but this is a good starting point.

Lampwork Gathering in Israel

I don't have a lot of time to write about it now, but we had a super time in a suburb of Jerusalem learning lampwork on Saturday. I posted a page of photos about it here. Since pictures are worth at thousand words each, well, this blog entry is reeeeeallly long!

As a sample, here is a photo of the one bead I got to make that day. It was the first time I ever worked with boro, fuming, and leaf presses. What an opportunity! I only wish I had been able to do some more.



Until later!
Susan

Posting From Israel

There's not much to report on the lampwork front. I've been telling people here about it a lot, but that's all so far. If I can locate a canister of MAPP gas, assuming the top has the same fitting as my torch, I'll be able to demonstrate it here in this village to both adults and young people. There's certainly enough interest!

Next Saturday is a gathering in Jerusalem of lampworkers, and it looks to be a real Gathering, with demos and everything! I'm very excited and hope the logistics work out well to get there. This village is pretty remote, with no public transportation easily accessible, so it'll depend on the willingness and availability of a resident here.