August 2021 Newsletter
Ongoing projects, classes in the shop, art in the world and more!
Art in the Shop: "Floyd" in Florida
"Floyd" was accepted into the 29th annual Emerald Coast National juried exhibition. This piece will shown at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center Galleries in Niceville, FL from August 27 to October 29.
With the murder of George Floyd, the grief felt for the loss of our neighbor, George Floyd, remains acute . As a way to understand my feelings for this and ongoing tragedies to my brothers and sisters of color, I reproduced a protest poster inked out by Kara van Wyk last May. The poster had begun to fade in the bright sunlight of our shop window.
There was a personal need for a more permanent feature in the shop to sustain the values I hold dear. I wanted to spend consistent, meditative time, that was not focused on the horrific act, but on the person, George Floyd.
This project deepened my grief, but created the hope that the poison of systemic racism will continue to flush from my system.
Artist in the World: Flavie Audi
Flavie Audi is a French multimedia artist whose work contains many glass elements. Though her most recent art pieces center resin, Audi began her career shaping glass. The use of dichroic glass repeats throughout each collection of works. Many of Audi’s pieces includes rainbow or pastel colors. There is a lack of hard edges throughout all works, which combine with other repeating elements to develop a dreamlike feel. Audi’s art explores surreal landscapes and, in her words, the realms between “tangible and digital.”
LCD (Lithic Crystalline Deposit) 4, 2017
Dichroic glass, Aluminum
Fluid Ether 2, 2015
Glass, Fine Gold, Fine Silver
Upcoming Classes at Potekglass
Free Glass Friday
Join us for an open torch session. This includes 4 hours on our equipment with a set of student tools and free glass. The glass provided for this session is Italian soft glass, borosilicate glass and bullseye glass.
Students must bring their own mandrels and bead release. These items are also for sale at Potekglass and online!
Creating Positives
September 15 - November 17
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Advanced Class
Ten week class with eight weeks of instruction and two weeks of workshop time
Cost: $650
Member Price: $585
Join instructors Elizabeth Colemen and Malcom Potek for this unique mold master class. We will cover basic clay skills for creating positive forms, which by the end of the course, you will slump from glass you’ve learned to fuse. On the way, you’ll learn best practices for using plaster in your home studio, how to make a two-part plaster mold of your positive form, how to use clay slip to pour and then fire multiples of that form, and how to prep your slumping mold for the glass kiln. Additionally, this class will teach glass flow principles and reactive glass principles as well as powder painting and pattern making techniques.
Previous glass experience is required to participate.
Kiln Try-iT!
August 28
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Beginner Class
3-hour class
Cost: $95
Member Price: $69
Simple to start yet endless in potential; kiln-forming is to glass what conducting is to instruments. In this course students will learn to cut patterns out of sheet glass, make frit, and work with a variety of glass formats by combing them in the kiln to produce a glass ring dish.
Just Try-iT! These are beginner sessions intended to introduce a glass-working approach. You will learn basic techniques specific to that approach with hands-on practice time to get comfortable working with glass and open your eyes to the creative potential of glass!
Retail in the Shop: Mandrels
Mandrels are one of the most basic bead making tools. Glass is wrapped around these metal rods to create beads! 1/16", 3/32", 1/8", and 1/4" can be found for purchase on our website. Visit our shop for a wider variety of sizes.
