We just got back from close to a week in Cincinnati at Brazee Studios where we had the great good fortune to take 3 classes with the talented South African flamework artist Astrid Riedel. What a fantastic experience. Because she lives so far away, it was an opportunity that doesn't come along every day. We are still marveling over everything we learned and anxious to put a lot of new techniques into practice.
All of Astrid's work is amazing and her large off-mandrel hollows are my favorite. The necklaces and lentil beads on the black sheet of glass were her class samples and a selection she keeps to wear.
Bill did really well in the off-mandrel hollows class. He was blowing rounds and large flattened discs much better than me! The goal is to get to the quality of Astrid's hollow disc bead in my hand in the third photo. It was my souvenir purchase. I'll keep it at my torch as inspiration!
Brazee studios is a roomy, friendly place. Josh Bass (center) was our contact, coordinator and guy Friday. A prince of a man. So organized and helpful. We received our supply list way in advance of the class, which we really appreciated. They supplied all but a very few things, like the XL lentil press and your own basic flameworking tools. The studio also carried the best selection of Bullseye lampwork rods I've seen outside of Bullseye Portland itself. They also had a nice selection of thin sheet glass too. So we stocked up on a few things. The studio is located in a fun neighborhood, with some great restaurants and coffee shops all a block or two away.
Cincinnati has a nice skyline. It reminded me a little of Pittsburgh with the stadiums on the riverfront and the bridges. Bill took this panoramic photo from the Kentucky side of the Ohio river. We didn't have a lot of time to look around, but the folks are really friendly and they love their craft beer. On the way out of town we stopped at Thompson Enamel and got a little tour of the plant. I will do another post about that in a day or two. There is an enamel museum that I think is a little known secret. More about that soon.
In closing I would encourage anyone to take classes with live teachers when you can. Not only did Astrid teach us new techniques, she also corrected some of my bad habits that will only help me in working more efficiently moving forward. We just loved her. Thank you Astrid!
In closing I would encourage anyone to take classes with live teachers when you can. Not only did Astrid teach us new techniques, she also corrected some of my bad habits that will only help me in working more efficiently moving forward. We just loved her. Thank you Astrid!
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