A Festive Weekend

Here's a photo I took while sitting at my worktable outside. You can see my umbrella and beyond it the tables of glass. The glassblowers in the studio across the patio from me put out eight tables of glass this weekend which was the Potters Guild bi-annual sale. I sat at my worktable and put out some jewelry as well, more than usual. I noticed that my more dramatic pieces of jewelry attracted the most attention, especially the necklace in which I combined citrine and amethyst. People also liked the ones made from resistors, friction reduction devices, split rings, and cellphone parts. Those are worth bringing out again for people to look at. I'm not sure most people would want to wear them, but they're fun to look at.

Right out in front of my studio is a glass-blowing setup, including a furnace, an annealer, and a heated container of liquid glass that stays on all the time, 24/7. The woman who has the studio opposite mine blows glass herself and has a number of students who take lessons. Many of them are members of Spanish Village. A number of years ago, they determined that putting out tables of glass was worthwhile when the Potters Guild has their sale. Some people who come are looking just for pottery and sometimes very specific items. But some people like the glass pieces as well, I suppose because they are vessels, like the pottery.

The students spent the weekend in the Village in shifts, taking the responsibility for selling each other's glass. It was fun to have them all there together. They're a nice group of people. And I always find it interesting to talk to other artists about aspects of their work and to get ideas. Even artists who work in the same medium each have their own style. My jewelry is completely different from everyone else's jewelry, not because I specifically try to make it different but because I'm a different person.

One of the things I need practice with is talking to the people who come to the Village. Although I'm frequently comfortable with people as I get to know them, sometimes I'm shy in the beginning. So I practiced just saying hello to people and admiring something they had on. When I saw jewelry they were wearing that I liked, I admired it and had some interesting conversations as a result. That's what I want to practice, especially on the weekends when there are lots of people around. That's a goal for me. And that's a part of the Spanish Village outreach, to instruct the public about art and art techniques. It's a form of education the same way going to the museums is educational.