Glasscaster: Hot Glass Talk In A High-tech World

Paul Stankard's contributions in glass span more than four decades. You'll enjoy this candid and revealing interview with one of the world's foremost and well-loved paperweight makers. Find out about his thoughtful and provocative book, "No Green Berries or Leaves", and see what's happening at his alma mater, Salem Community College. Their new Glass Center now fuels it's furnaces using methane from a nearby landfill while turning extra gas into electricity. An ambitious undertaking! (Recorded at the 9th annual International Flameworking Conference.)  We'd like to thank Glasscraft Inc. for sponsoring this podcast. Learn more about them at: www.glasscraftinc.com. Want to sponsor a podcast? Go to www.fireladyproductions.com and find out how. To see more of Paul Stankard's work, go to www.paulstankard.com. Check out the International Flameworking Conference and the glass program at Salem Community College at: www.salem.cc.edu.

Our first podcast tutorial! For a very long time I've considered the podcast potential for creating "enhanced tutorials." So here we go....Watch! Look! And Listen! Suzie Fitzwater shares how she constructs her S'elf. It's just the CUTEST little flameworked Elf on a mandrel. We've created this tutorial to feature the flesh tones of Lauscha's CARAMELLO. If you want to try making this elf but you're out of CARAMELLO, head on over to www.firelady.com and you can find it under Lauscha Glass rods.  Meanwhile, enjoy the tutorial. Suzie rocks!

Shane shares his personal history, cultural influences, & artistic evolution as one of the foremost American flamework artists. Follow his path from its early beginnings at Santa's Workshop & Cypress Gardens, through his trailblazing career as one of the visionaries that redefined the hot glass world. Find out how Shane’s insightful and progressive ideas are being implemented within the Glass Art Society, where his reign as President has resulted in many new benefits for members and the glass community. Look for the printed version of this podcast in the SPRING, 2010 issue of Profitable Glass Quarterly

Join us as we explore the personal cosmos of Julie Riggs. Her glass sculptures blend spirit, sensuality and nature with passion, conviction and skill. It's a successful mix! We discuss fairies, figures and flamework, as well as technical subjects such as amber purple, surface mixed torches, and her recent collaborative work in Las Vegas. This interview was conducted as we stole extra time before checkout at the end of a GAS Conference in Corning. Excerpts of this interview were printed in the Winter, 2009 issue of The Flow Magazine. PODCAST PERKS: Get 10% OFF your next order at www.firelady.com. COUPON CODE: PODCAST

Join us as we explore the Japanese flameworking scene. Roger Parramore shares with us how the Japanese aesthetic has influenced his work. Try as he might, efforts to resist the artistic flavor of the Far East proved futile! Enjoy this cultural immersion, and his articulate & candid observations on the joys & dangers of absorbing and adapting the artistic imagery of a foreign land. Find out about the Osaka University of Art, and it's world class flameworking program....the first program of it's kind, anywhere! Look for excerpts of this podcast in the Fall, 2009 issue of Profitable Glass Quarterly, as well as a downloadable PDF version soon to be available at www.profitableglass.com.

So you think you know a little about borosilicate color, do you? Join Suellen Fowler & I as we take a walk down memory lane and explore the history and chemistry of colored borosilicate glass. Boro is notoriously difficult to color, because traditional coloring agents burn out at the temperatures required for boro. Starting with her early experimentation under the tutelage of John Burton and Margaret Youd, Suellen began creating her own color recipes while still in her teens. Her formulas became the basis of some of Northstar's original formulas back in the '80's. Her hand mixing techniques and incredible attention to detail produced some of boro's best beloved colors, including the rubies & the precurser to the amber purples. Find out how it all happened in this intriguing interview. Excerpts of this interview can be found in print in the Spring 2009 issue of The Flow Magazine. See Suellen in action! Her DVD, “Flamework: An Intimate Art” will show you her famed hand mixing technique, as well as th

Listen to Lisa as she enthuses about the all new Workhouse at Lorton. This historic center has the infamous distinction of being the holding tank where protesting suffragettes were held after marching on Washington! Currently open to the public, this newly revamped center will become the largest arts community on the east coast. Lisa also discusses details of the upcoming ISGB Gathering in Miami, and additionally gives us a step-by-step discussion on the best ways of fuming with gold.

Wayne Strattman is a pioneer in the world of illuminated glass.Taking neon to new levels, his installations are architectural in scale, and internationally acclaimed. A PhD with an engineering background, his inner mad-scientist escapes on occasion. His book, "Neon Techniques" is the industry standard. His own work , however, leaves ordinary neon behind, and expands into product lines such as lightning and crackle tubes, plasma spheres, and his famed Luminglas. Created through a patented process, Wayne and his company, Strattman Design, have managed to sandwich lightning-like effects between two pieces of flat glass, using phosphor-sensitive beads. Luminglas has enthralled people in museums and night clubs across the globe. This interview was recorded at the Glass Art Society Conference in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Strattman helps promote an annual neon show at GAS, and does much to nurture the evolution of illuminated glass as an art form. Listen to this engaging interview! You can find out more about his w

Carmen Lozar tackles ideas and ideals and translates them into glass. Her narrative scenes become commentaries on human behavior and modern life. She insists that we look upon the dark and the light within our society and within our own human nature. Her work can be startling, shocking, whimsical and humorous. Join us in this brief slideshow, narrated by the artist.

I love fire! So I find this insiders' look into the history of torches to be tons of fun and rather fascinating. In this very informal telephone interview, we find our heroes, Fred Birkhill & Bruce Lawrence, discussing the intricacies of flame and combustion starting at the very beginning. Fred has some torches dating from ancient Rome! Have you ever seen a gasoline powered crossfire with glass tips? You will here! This animated discussion was initially conducted as a research-gathering conversation contributing to Fred's Glass Art Society lecture on the history of the glass burner. It was so intriguing I decided to release it as a podcast!

Join Marcie Davis and Jared DeLong in a thought provoking interview about art, glass and inspiration. Jared shares his experiences with illustrating, hot glass, coldworking, and the creation of his glass knives. Together they explore their shared ideals on the personal enrichment gained by travel, and remind us all that life is about the journey, not the destination

Find out how she does it! Join us as lampworking legend Leah Fairbanks shares some great tips on creating her floral flameworked beads. Her organic backgrounds are often composed of metallics and dichroics. In this easygoing interview you can learn how to apply some of these techniques to your own work, as well as find out more about the artist, how her style evolved, and where you can study with her.

Learn the truth about COE and it's limitations in calculating compatability between glasses! Henry Halem is one of the industry's leading experts on this and other technical subject matter. He's recently released an updated edition of his legendary "Glass Notes," the glass studio bible since 1996. From it you can learn how to build a glory hole, an annealer, batch your own glass, master sand casting, kiln casting, and find out how to calculate annealing temperatures. He's a wealth of knowledge, and we have an exciting conversation about viscosity, chemistry and compatability. Succinct and to the point, this episode will explode outworn myths and lead you down a new path!

Sally Prasch is one industrial-strength glass artist! One of a handful of female scientific glassblowers, her story, struggle and subsequent success in this field makes great listening. Her adventures are both humorous and intriguing. What's the largest piece of apparatus she's ever made? Just a wee bit of quartz 12 inches in diameter and 11 feet long!!! Her talents range from the industrial to the artistic, including lathe work, neon, casting, and sculpture. She teaches all over the world. Look for excerpts of this podcast in The Flow magazine, Winter, 2007, coming this December.

One of the grand artists and philosophers of our time! Gianni Toso participated in the early Studio Glass movement, flourished in the US and abroad with his narrative flameworking scenes, and has added his creative and spiritual spin to everything he touches. An inspiring interview! Find out about his controversial chess sets and his homemade wine! You’ll love listening to this entertaining and uplifting journey through his life. Enjoy!

Join Marcie Davis and Steve Sizelove as they explore various marketing philosophies and the joys of a life in glass. Thoughtful and entertaining. Recorded at this year's International Flameworking Conference. You can read excerpts of this interview in The Flow Magazine, Summer, 2007.

Travel to Murano and Burano with Marcie Davis and Pat Frantz. You don't have to get on a plane....let Glasscaster take you there FREE! Pat is one of the world's foremost experts as well as collectors of fine murrine, and she is more than willing to share! So buckle your seat belt, relax, and listen.

There's a little mad scientist in us all! Find out how Bandhu Scott-Dunham expresses his by combining inner vision with engineering skills to create marvelous kinetic glass sculptures. He shares the inspiration and history behind his glass steam engines and marble machines. And you thought it couldn't be done!

An effervescent and exciting interview with Kate Drew-Wilkinson, describing her dream-come-true exhibit featuring American beadmaking, in Europe. See how she spreads glass joy around the world by leaving random beads on many continents! Listen now...

In an impromptu interview in a rented car in Tucson, Loren Stump shares his views on glass, globalization, inspiration and content creation. An enjoyable insight into the artist and the man. His contributions to flamework are profound. Find out what makes him tick!