To be perfectly honest, I have lost faith in formal crafts education. 1st year students learn in one semester at University what takes two years at Further education colleges, possibly more. I know. I've seen both and been in both environments. I will however add that the practical aspect of glass education at college prepares students well for advancement at University, but at the colleges the creative nature of craft and applied arts is stifled in order to achieve the practical outcomes that are perceived as necessary to achieve in the craft once qualified.
University Arts education provides for a much wider creative space for growth and when in the context of applied arts we still see new ideas and concepts developing.
I regularly receive enquiries about short courses, particulalry from people who have had some sort of exposure but need to develop a new area, because they are devloping their creative ideas further. I personally think that the idea of modular qualifications in certain areas of education is ideal and by allowing the student to pick and choose modules, some essential for further development and others for perfecting a particular skill will open doors for mature students and enable them to gain qualifications at a speed that is comfortable and affordable to them. I believe in tasting whats out there, so a lot of what I teach falls in line with what I was taught, and tweaked here and there with what I found made the experience easier.
So here goes - I shall be offering very small modules in glass craft education that will enable crafters to move in new directions or even possibly develop a current skill or indeed overcome problems or shortcomings in the skills they have already developed.
If youre looking for a short course, evenings, weekends or day courses, please let me know or visit our main website and craft blog here
Sunday 24 April 2011
Saturday 23 April 2011
Buckfast in time...and a sneaky peek through the glory hole.
At last, our Buckfast bottles have been put to good use ! We are now proud to be the Saltmarket's only purveyors of unique hand-crafted Buckfast timepieces..
The Buckfast Clocks are now on sale.
The bottles are lovingly collected from the more salubrious parts of Glasgow's fair city and delivered to our workshop by many of the local 'characters' who inhabit these environs.
They are stored in our drinks cabinet (you can see the picture to the left ) where the glass is aged and allowed to stand. the bottles are then ready to go through the arduous and time-consuming journey to clockhood...
Washed thoroughly, with their labels carefully removed, the bottles are then placed in one of our kilns on the specially prepared and balanced kiln shelves, and heated to only the highest temperatures. Indeed, the programme takes the heat up to over 800 degrees ! The bottles slowly collapse, or 'slump' as the process is known in the trade, and cool down. A sneeky peek through the glory hole during this process reveals an incredibly shiny bright orange knob of glass. the bottles are then removed from the kiln, cleaned again, drilled and the clock face fitted. After the labels have been reglued, the clock is then ready for sale....and you can find them in our showroom or on the website for mail order
Saturday 16 April 2011
Saying what you really want to say.......
Have you ever itched to say something but haven't because it might be considered inappropriate or you may feel embarrassed or judged by the listeners.
As I get older this itch seems to get more the better of me and I have found that my core beliefs take more of a controlling effect that my upbringing. I was raised not to make a fuss in public, keep the stiff upper lip or to walk away with dignity.
Well I have news for you. You can have your say AND still keep your dignity. My other half makes that perfectly clear too.I'll probably blog about this more over the next few months but the first issue I'm going to raise is Double Standards and saying it like it is.
Double Standards are rife everywhere, very much with the "well if they can do it, so can we" approach, local authorities, and central government being particularly to blame. This culture of passing it on has truly filtered down to the man on the street.
As I get older this itch seems to get more the better of me and I have found that my core beliefs take more of a controlling effect that my upbringing. I was raised not to make a fuss in public, keep the stiff upper lip or to walk away with dignity.
Well I have news for you. You can have your say AND still keep your dignity. My other half makes that perfectly clear too.I'll probably blog about this more over the next few months but the first issue I'm going to raise is Double Standards and saying it like it is.
Double Standards are rife everywhere, very much with the "well if they can do it, so can we" approach, local authorities, and central government being particularly to blame. This culture of passing it on has truly filtered down to the man on the street.
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Scottish Autism
We had a lovely chat with the ladies from Scottish Autism ( used to be the Scottish Autistic Society, I think) yesterday afternoon in the showroom :-) They talked about their plans for the future and the services they provide to people on the Autistic spectrum and their families and friends, and the tough times ahead for all charity service providers and agencies, as well as the struggle to raise awareness and fundraise for what is sometimes a really hidden condition.
Now its easy to understand the devastation this lifelong condition can have on people and families. Those affected often look no different from anybody else on the streets of our towns and cities, but when you know a little more about Autistic Spectrum Disorders and Aspergers Syndrome, you start to realise just how it impacts on everybody connected to the person affected. Most often, care is provided by these families with little or no outside help and little or no funding ! Indeed, the families save the government millions of pounds annually by providing this care with little respite from the daily struggle it can sometimes become.
Imagine not being able to leave books, magazines, or paperwork anywhere because your child rips it up, removes the pages, and rearranges them in reverse order. Or insist a on straightening up all the DVD's and CD's inside their cases before leaving home everyday...
Now its easy to understand the devastation this lifelong condition can have on people and families. Those affected often look no different from anybody else on the streets of our towns and cities, but when you know a little more about Autistic Spectrum Disorders and Aspergers Syndrome, you start to realise just how it impacts on everybody connected to the person affected. Most often, care is provided by these families with little or no outside help and little or no funding ! Indeed, the families save the government millions of pounds annually by providing this care with little respite from the daily struggle it can sometimes become.
Imagine not being able to leave books, magazines, or paperwork anywhere because your child rips it up, removes the pages, and rearranges them in reverse order. Or insist a on straightening up all the DVD's and CD's inside their cases before leaving home everyday...
Monday 4 April 2011
Sunday 3 April 2011
Brand new at Ballito Bay
We'll be setting up a range of tutorials in pdf. and video format, both with supporting notes. These are mainly structured for those of you that are unable to travel to our classes and to help complete beginners. All material is copyrighted and there is a notional fee (between £1.99 and £5.99) to watch them, and use the notes however they are are downloadable and come with unique passwords.
There'll now be a weekly project tutorial, including how to's and of course discount codes if you would like to follow on to buy a DVD with all the video content and print copies of the tutorial.
There'll now be a weekly project tutorial, including how to's and of course discount codes if you would like to follow on to buy a DVD with all the video content and print copies of the tutorial.