Transparency-COA-Glass Exhibit

Final Project Review

At the end of the introduction to glass blowing class taught in our studio through the College of the Atlantic, the final sculpture projects were due. The creative process had run it's course and the assignments to incorporate a large orb, or what is termed a glass blank into an expressive glass sculpture were handed in. During the term I emphasized glass art history, glassblowing technique (through rigorous glassblowing exercises making basic shapes) and individual expression. For the final sculptures, we explored the skills the students already had and tried to incorporate and combine them with new glass working techniques, both cold and hot, into the pieces you will see below. Emphasizing the importance of documenting one's art work we took "professional" photos of the work in the class room as the pieces were being introduced by the students and critiqued by their peers. AND finally the fulfillment of the creative process was an exhibit of the work at the Great Hall of Turrets on commencement day at the end of the spring term. Please enjoy the following as you would a catalogue from any fine art exhibit as the work of the students of AD4391, COA's Introduction to Glassblowing with Linda Perrin is truly of the highest caliber.

Cosmic Broccoli
Jacob Weisberg

Sol
Andrew Curtis

Fiber Glass
Rebecah Wartell

Lotus Lines
Kelly Enberg

Catch of the Day
Alex Carpenter

Clava Thessara Infinitas
William Eckley

Fountain
Stephen Byrne

These artists made their parents, the college and me very proud.
colleges in maine, glass blowing art

Glass Exhibit, Maine, College of the Atlantic

(a sneak peek at Kelly Enberg's sculptural glass)

The new glass makers of College of the Atlantic will be showing their work at the Great Hall in Turrets building June 6th from 10am to 6pm. A reception of coffee and light deserts at 4:30 will include an opportunity to meet the sculptors and the beginning glassblowing instructor, Linda Perrin. Ken Perrin who has been a technical adviser on many of the final projects will also be on hand. Prince Rupert's drops an ancient party favor of glass blowers, illuminations and artistic ruminations are promised features of the reception as well.
"Transparency" a glass sculpture exhibit at Turrets, June 6th 10am-6pm
Ten brave students have been expanding their minds and gathers of molten glass in the Introduction to Glassblowing class new to the course line up this term. . Don't miss the opportunity to see the sparkles in person on June 6th from 10 am to 6pm in the Great Hall of Turrets. A reception at 4:30 will allow the new glass makers of AD4391 to illuminate your understanding of the mystifying process of shaping molten glass. Really don't blow it and miss this unique opportunity to see some evocative glass sculpture made by people just like you.

Glass Flowers

Everyone I know is in the garden these days. Sweet heat wafting through still springy breezes, lawn mowers roaring constantly, and color popping out of the recently thawed ground. In my yard grass grows tall and I ponder the untamed look to the grounds. If only I knew how to make blooms happen. My garden remains a wild child. The above blooms are made of glass, they are the impressionistic flowers of my imagination. I play with color, and love the bold brush stroke like shapes.

Outside the Bubble

In the glass world the near endless pursuit of the mastery of technique can entrance one in the challenging meditation on the nature of a molten glass bubble. For over 5000 years glass has been flowing through the history of mankind, from the earliest beads made in early Egypt to the opulent sculptures bedecking alters of leisure. What will happen next?

In the introduction to glass blowing we have begun the meditation on the bubble.
Om...It rests molten hot in the 2100 degree furnace, begins to flow as we gather it up, we repeatedly heat it and bend it to our whims, it expands as the breath of life is blown into it through long steel pipes constantly spinning in fumbling, yet competent hands, it is caught up in wooden blocks and squeezed with the birdlike beak of the jacks, relying on partnership for support, we break it free of it's origins, and we discard the pipe complete with moil cracking off like firecrackers that we no longer even notice, the bubble is brought to a fire polish through another extended exposure to the heat, and we diligently open the rim into the defining shape of the vessel. Do we recognize that we are a vessel? The vessel of creativity? Do we witness a harmony of self and purpose in this process? Do we have something to say with this unique opportunity and material? These are the next questions that the students of "AD4391" are facing.
At the beginning of the course each student was presented with a large bubble shaped blank, the assignment; to include it in a larger sculptural expression. Here are a few photos and a movie of the new makers de-constructing, exploring, recreating and embellishing their bubble as they reach outside the meditation of glassblowing, and begin to see their own reflection as creative individuals. Andy blasts through (with a sand blaster), Becky cuts (with a wet band saw), and Kelly reflects on her progress.
Stay tuned for info on when and where these final sculptural pieces will be shown on campus!

We're Open and we got The Blues

But in a good way. In the spirit of COA-eco awareness, we have been recycling glass and creating a delightful blue color to work with. It has been super fun, and the students seem to like it as well.
Most important in this posting I want to thank everyone who helped make our season opening such a huge success!! It was a sell out day, a day to connect with our community and spread the word about Ellsworth Arts, and the great energy we have percolating here at Atlantic Art Glass.
Thank you to the mandolin and guitar players, the cookie maker, Julie Greenberg, and the cookie eaters who managed to devour dozens of chocolate, white chocolate chunk, hazelnut yummers, thank you to our glass divas, Jodie Perry and Katie Dube, who packed tons of glass into recycled bags for the multitude of customers who made off with some real treasures. Thank you to the parents of our students who came to encourage the creativity and daring of their glass blowing children in my charge during this beginning glassblowing class, and thank you to the glass gods who shine down upon us as we share what we love with those who are interested. I am sorry to say we have no pictures of the sunny event since we were having too much darn fun to stop and think about it, guess you just needed to be there, maybe next time....

Season Opening-Annual Seconds Sale-May 9th

May 9th-Seconds Sale-Blown Glass
25 Pine street, Ellsworth
10am-5pm

To benefit Ellsworth Arts, public arts projects/
Ellsworth Under the Stars, a summer film program, info all day.

We have a sea of sparkles that have been accumulating here in our studio. Lot's of new designs being worked out, teaching, demonstrations, and left over abandoned (student) orphan glass that needs to be cleared out before we clean ourselves up for the season. So come on by to visit, and perchance find a piece of glass that only a mother could love, (just in time for Mother's Day), or a pick me up for yourself.

You deserve it after this harsh winter!

This is an annual event, the spring seconds sale so if you know the drill come on down for the usual fun, refreshments, glass blowing demonstrations and deals and if your a new comer, come on down to meet your local glass blowers cuz, like we say,

"Don't blow it"
Big Sale
This is a rare opportunity to get your hands on some of the good stuff.

A Blast

Sandblasted designs by Jo(left) and Alex (right)
This Saturday's class was a real blast, sand blast that is. While some of us were blowing glass, some of us were blasting glass. Check out the latest skills introduced to the College of the Atlantic, Intro to Glassblowing class taught by Linda Perrin.

Sand blasted bottles by Stephen (left) and Andy (right)

Whirly Glass and Whirly Bugs

Teaching the students this term at COA is drumming up all sorts of fond memories of what it was like when I first discovered hot glass. Alex said this weekend after making a chubby, light bending, little glass vessel, "This is so much fun". And well you can't put it any better than that. But you can ask why? Why is it so much fun? Is it all the primitive basic forces we wrangle with, fire, gravity, and fluidity that fill a modern void? Or is it the place that our brain goes to, or leaves behind, when we are totally focused on the harmonious movements required from our body as we glide through the hot shop balancing a hot sparkling blob out on the end of a blow pipe. In any case I truly believe that we did have great fun this week-end.
Because the fabulous Earth Day celebration at the College took place on Saturday, we had to change the glassblowing lab to Sunday. This shift changed the vibe in the studio and a lazy late starting Sunday feeling permeated the shop. Folks played the guitar in the corner as they waited patiently for their turn to try the first puntied off bubble. And as the day unfolded each person attacked the exercise with their own style.
Willy deserves a prize for being the "sacrificial first person" in line to blow it. But he came back strong with a great save on a bubble that took an adventurous tour of the cullet tray. Andy wowed the crowd with dexterity to burn , Kelly made a glass dough-nut for breakfast and picked up pizza for lunch. Emily and Linda came to class and fell ahead instead of behind.
Becky used precise heat to make two very good little cups, Jake a master of the wind blew the glass with cool aplomb, and Steven "the natural" surprised no-one if not himself for being a creative person, and Jo (aside from blowing glass) found a whirly bug lying high and dry on the pavement in the parking lot, and my heart was once again warmed by the incredibly kind nature of this pack of HE's, as she gave him a long drink and in true nature lovin' style explained his swimming and diving techniques.My most favorite thing ever is to check the annealer the morning after blowing glass. Here are our very first baby bubbles from the introduction to glassblowing at the College of the Atlantic AD4391...wooohooo!

Spring Flingin floppin and rollin...

Here's something just for fun. Even glass blowers need to take a little time off to relax. Here's us on a cold spring day on the crest of a small hill absorbing some solar gain. (Now that we have the video feed worked out look for some hot new scenes of molten goo in the near future.)

We Got Glass

Right, so today the COA students got their hands on some glass, well not hands exactly, but we gathered and gathered and gathered and made some.....well what were those things? raisin shaped scribbles,... yeah sculptural little single gather forms.
But more important than the glass we ended up with, it's the experience we gathered into the student body. The moves and the views. One of the hardest things in the beginning of working with glass is recognizing anything, everything is so foreign, the heat, the optics, the new tools and all those sparkles!!!... it can be a bit confusing. But for the most part everyone kept their cool and made small glass, but big gains.
What Fun!!
Today each student got four chances to gather
up the glass, form it with gravity, blocks, our jacks

and finally the tweezers. Each trip to the furnace and the rate of evolution was astounding. It was a blast to introduce everyone to the hot gooey glass, to watch the red skin and wide eyes fade with repetition, and hear the enthusiasm through out the day.

The Human Ecologists Cometh

Today ten lovely young people arrived at the studio. They are an intelligent bunch of college students from the national jewel of contemporary education, The College of the Atlantic. I have been invited to be a visiting instructor this term and I have the distinct honor to share our studio with these wisdom seekers for the next ten weeks. I look forward to sharing what I know about the magical experience of wrangling hot glass, cold glass, and our creative spirits.
Today we focused on an orientation to the the hot shop, the place where we blow glass. Inside it is filled with equipment that Ken has built and rebuilt over the years. We make lots of pretty sparkly glass but in my heart of hearts I often marvel at the wondrous equipment that make it all possible. Well today we gave it it's props and discussed how the equipment functions and how to use it all safely.

Thought for the day, courtesy of
Emile Zola:
"There are two men inside the artist, the poet and the craftsman. One is born a poet. One becomes a craftsman."

Turrets at COA

Isn't this a fantastic building! Imagine my feeling as I approached it for the first gathering of the students at the College of the Atlantic who are courageous enough to try their hand at molten glass. Our introduction to glass blowing course has begun and this week-end the students will see our studio. I hope they approach it with the same level of wonder I had when I saw the gorgeous old magical building above. I am so happy to foster the alliance between the College of the Atlantic and our studio, Atlantic Art Glass as I teach this course. The philosophy and culture of the college perfectly matches the ideals Ken and I have tried to employ in our humble lives as local artisans. "Think Globally and Act Locally" has been a mantra for a long time around these parts. Enjoy the upcoming posts documenting our progress over the next ten weeks.

OMG

Omg, we have so much going on here at Atlantic Art Glass!
MORE INFO ON EACH OF THE ITEMS BELOW COMING SOON...

1, We are offering a course in glassblowing at the College of the Atlantic for the upcoming spring session. VERY COOL!
2. We started an online shop where our work is available for sale with a secure pay pal service.
3. A new 5 week beginning glass blowing class will begin April 19th sign up now!
4. We are starting a Glass Club for all our past students! This is going to be Fun.
5. We are gettin ready for the The Maine Arts Commission--LINC program show and Kelly, (picture above) is psyched to show her master piece, (only we got our first glass burn yesterday, which put a wrench in the days production. Oh well at least she can call herself a real glass blower now!)

FRESHGLASS

We have launched a new site to feature our latest blown glass. Ken Perrin and Linda Perrin blow glass in series. We do bodies of work that change and evolve, much of our work is one of a kind. In an attempt to give you a "blow by blow" of what is going into and coming out of the annealers, we invite you to visit this site for the uncut view. Go to FreshGlass to see what's just come out of the oven! ....and let us know if you get hungry for some of our tasty sparkles.

Great Class

Well the first five weeks of the winter glass blowing session has whooshed by. This group has been fantastic! So much fun! The skills came easy to most, we spent Valentine's day together, and we rocked and (cinnamon) rolled each week. Above is a collage that Ken made of our dear beginning glassies. And they are not beginners anymore! Check out a few more photos below of the SKILLS!
NEXT CLASS TO BEGIN APRIL!! CALL OR E-MAIL FOR MORE INFO.

Maine art glass-BEGINNERS

Well we've really started something here. The ice is inches deep outside and the temperature just keeps plummeting, but in the hot shop at 25 Pine we are toasty warm. In this "bohemian vacation" we focus on all the information one needs to override the primitive response that happens when we get hit by 2000 degrees of hot glass (namely running away--willy-nilly). The 2009 winter glass blowing class has begun and it is off to a good start. Ken and I taught the dance steps one needs to gather glass effectively out of the said, 2150 degree furnace, get it to the work bench, and begin to use the ancient tools (some that have'nt changed since 50 BC) to fashion this gooey dangerous stuff into the sparkles we desire. Congratulations to our very full class!!! No one got hurt, and we have laid a good foundation on which to begin our glass journey. A point I always like to make, is how lucky we are to be able to dive right into the glass here in this class. For centuries in so many places, like Venice and the Czech Republic, places with long glass blowing histories, a glass worker would have to sweep the floors and assist a master for years and years before actually getting to make anything themselves. Yeah American Art Glass Movement!! We are free! and Yes we can>
ooops that's from something else...

Glass blowing classes, winter 2011

The 2011 winter glass blowing classes will begin January 8th!
Classes for beginners and advanced students.
Enrollment is limited so sign up now before we fill up!
A portion of the brochure is listed below, and in full at our website.

Beginning Glass Blowing
This course is designed for beginners. Emphasis is placed on learning the basic skills necessary to complete simple blown vessels. Class time is divided between demonstrations and supervised work time, with individual attention for each student. No glass working experience is required. Tuition: $375.00
This is a five-week course meeting once each week for four hours. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, as class sizes are limited. Full payment must be made by first class


Continued Glass Blowing
This class will build upon the skills acquired in previous glass blowing classes. It is also a prerequisite to studio rental. The class will explore the use of color and bit applications. The course structure will include demonstrations to suit the individual interests of participants. Schedule is determined by the instructor and the students. Class size is limited to four students. Tuition: $375.00 Dates: Send us an email for current dates -20 hour course. Registration is first- come, first-served, as class sizes are limited. Full payment must be made by first class.

Happy Endings Ornaments-Glass Blowing Demonstration

To see how Ken and Linda Perrin blow cheerful ornaments click on the video clip below!!! Thank you for showing and selling our work!

Shop for Atlantic Art Glass Nov. 29 & 30

We're Old Fashioned around here, even if we are cool glass blowers. In keeping with this, we will begin our Christmas shows/exhibits after Thanksgiving...
After the big feast, come on out and find our sparkley, charming glass gift creations. We'll be at TWO craft fairs on Saturday. Ken Perrin will be going solo Saturday in Cambridge, MA at the Harvard Square Holiday Craft Fair. Saturday,November 29, 10am -7pm and Sunday, November 30, 12-6pm. And I, Linda Perrin, will be in Portsmouth, NH at the Designing Women Show Saturday the 29th, 9am-4pm. We are looking forward to both shows, just like the song make new friends and keep the old, I hope that one is silver and the other gold....PLUS We have been making some truly heart felt work for you to find and give to whom ever needs a pick me up this winter. We have traditional Christmas ornaments made only the way we do, ...oil lamps to warm and lighten your heart/home, tumblers you can fill to the brim with holiday cheer...
and some special vases I made this week while musing about Florence Italy, Ah, Firenze a place where I first indulged my artistic tendencies, the aesthetics of which ring so purely in my heart that all aspirations, I think, when made Florentine can even enhance things like.... eggs. so imagine what I can do with GLASS. here's a sneak peek at what I'm talkin' about....."bella", no?

Exciting Ellsworth Arts Scene / Glass Etc.

Spirits Lifting! What a wonderful Holiday Season we can have this year. Values are shifting and priorities are coming into focus. As this cultural shift begins to take shape in this extraordinary new era, I am finding that the artisan is regaining importance in our lives. The local glass blower, fiber artist, bread baker, farmer, woodworker etc... are beginning to be the "go to" person for our special needs. as in people who have special occasions and loved ones in their life.
When you have a big birthday for a best friend, or the wedding of folks for whom you are hoping the best, or an anniversary of your own beloved but sometimes hard fought union. What special heirloom quality gift do you want to present? I am finding that people are beginning to feel embarrassed about buying something made in china or elsewhere for these occasions or for their own home and needs. And this all spells out a time of appreciation for the local artisan, and American made products. So as spirits begin to lift out of the overconsumption of crap made cheaply, remember to look for the perseverant artist and artisan who has been a beacon of belief in the higher order of things and has been asking for change long before it became fashionable...
OPPORTUNITIES TO FIND SUCH WORK ABOUND
•Atlantic Art Glass, 25 Pine St., Ellsworth: Glassblowing Demonstrations, Open Studio + refreshments, Saturdays , 10am to 2pm•
SevenArts Gallery,
"Responses to Maine" November, 2008
Beth Lambert / Landscape Paintings
& Jan Whalen / Handknits
Harlow Gallery, Maine Grind Building 192 Main Street, Ellsworth
Grand Opening, November

HUZZAH!!