Got the sweetest email the other day, right on the heels of my, er, terms & conditions for the use of this blog. Don’t know if one had anything to do with the other, but it sure tickled me to read this:

Hi Cynthia
I just wanted to send you a quick thanks for imparting your wonderful
knowledge on the use of super glue with fusing. I had been working on a
design in my head for a while and just couldn’t work out how to translate it
into actual glass. I was able to take your tips and twist them a bit to suit
my needs. I have taken the liberty of attaching a couple of photos of the
end result. I submitted it to the “Ranamok” glass competition in Australia
and was selected. And while I don’t expect to win anything, there is
certainly no other glass quite like mine. The piece entitled “destruct ;
construct” was made using blown shards, that were lampworked, introducing a
secondary colour to them, and then kiln fused (using the super glue to
construct and hold in place before going into the kiln). While I’m not
completely happy with it –  I think the piece is a good starting point for
further development of the idea.

(some stuff deleted for brevity’s sake)

Once again thank you so much for your generous advice and please keep up the
great work with your blog – it’s one of the highlights of my day.
Cheers & regards
keryn

Cool, eh? And yup, she’s definitely a 2011 Ranamok finalist–go see who she’s competing against. Here’s what she submitted:

So how cool is that? (and yes, I did ask Keryn for permission to publish this and she said yes) Here’s a detail:

Complicated process; I can see how the superglue would help. And her idea (correction: her BRILLIANT idea) has now given me more ideas. I’m thinking about how to use superglue to solve a float glass casting problem I’m muddling through in my head. I’ll test it this weekend, and then we’ll see.

But isn’t that what artists sharing is really all about? IOW:

  • You pass a technique to me, through a class, lecture, demonstration, exhibit, etc. I’m inspired all to heck.
  • I play with your technique, put my own twists on it, and come up with something different. Then I blog about it, demonstrate it, write about it online somewhere.
  • Somebody else sees it, adds THEIR brainview and sooner or later shows me the result…
  • …and I get all inspired to heck. Again.

The sharing/brainstorming/collaborating/stealing with pride/whatever has just enabled me to do something better than I’d probably make on my own. Or as Keryn says:

I figure any “glassie” worth their salt will work out how I did it anyway – perhaps not the superglue trick (unless you’re a “fuser”) but what the hay – that’s how we all learn, when one person has an idea and they freely pass it into other people.

Anyway, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for Keryn with the Ranamok. And thanks, Keryn!