cynthia, Author at Morganica

12 08, 2010

Sisyphussy

cynthia +2020-05-05T14:25:54-07:00

I'm beginning to suspect that, to a glassist, only one sound is more terrifying than the -ting-ting-ting- of thermal shock: The rumble of an approaching moving van. I'm seriously contemplating a move, either of my studio or my whole house (yeah, I know, I've been going on about this for at least a year). And so today I grabbed a shovel, headed down to the studio and took a real inventory. For the first time, the implications of moving a casting studio whacked me upside the head. I'm still in shock.

Sisyphussycynthia +2020-05-05T14:25:54-07:00

30 07, 2010

Pondicherrypie

cynthia +2016-05-16T00:09:36-07:00

So I'm sitting in my office, quietly coding some Flash Actionscript, headphones on, music blasting...when I hear a distant rumble. Or maybe I feel it, in the soles of my shoes. I look up, and there it is again. This time I take the headphones off...but I don't hear anything, just feel a little rumbling. Earthquake, I figure. Or maybe I need to tell Greg the gardener not to mow quite so close to the house. Then the doorbell rings, and it's my neighbor Erin, from across the way. "Sorry to bother you," she smiles, "but is your water turned on?"

Pondicherrypiecynthia +2016-05-16T00:09:36-07:00

15 07, 2010

Moods and studios and berries

cynthia +2016-05-16T00:09:15-07:00

There are moods in which you write, and moods in which you're glad you wrote yesterday. I'm in the latter, not because I can think of nothing to write about, but rather because there's so much it's hard to know where to begin. First, the art. Haven't so much as touched the studio (aside from helpless shoves to see if it's still there under all the mess) in nearly two months. Apparently I left out a key element of studio design, i.e., where you put the stuff for AFTER you shut off the kiln: Packing and transport materials. Brochures. Booth furniture and setup kits. Signage. Display stands and hangers. Etc.

Moods and studios and berriescynthia +2016-05-16T00:09:15-07:00

7 07, 2010

Artful dodgers

cynthia +2017-10-07T17:58:13-07:00

"Would you like to buy some paintings?" the little girl asked, and her companions looked at me with big, serious eyes. The three girls held a few wrinkled papers, clutched tightly in rather grubby paws. I blinked, a bit surprised. The girls and I had gotten to know each other last summer; Stephen, father of two of them, brings them over whenever I have the garage doors up in my studio. The girls watch as I make my molds, or sculpt a clay face, or coldwork a sculpture, and ask probing questions...for about five minutes.

Artful dodgerscynthia +2017-10-07T17:58:13-07:00

27 06, 2010

Shoeguy

cynthia +2016-05-16T00:08:21-07:00

"My GOD," he gasped, "You're a knock-kneed pronator!" "Beg pardon?" I asked politely. The way he was looking at my feet kinda reminded me of cat in a tuna store. Or in heat. "Knock-kneed pronator! In my entire career I've only met one other knock-kneed pronator. Wow!"

Shoeguycynthia +2016-05-16T00:08:21-07:00

12 06, 2010

The heck with it. Let’s play! (Part 2: Zen gardens)

cynthia +2020-02-10T16:36:45-08:00

Most of us get into the art business because we love it...but it's possible to love it to death. You can get so serious and self-critical about your art that you maybe forget why you're doing it: Because it's so much fun. I realized last weekend that I was headed that way, fast. And so for the next 48 hours I stopped worrying about being a grownup, serious artist trying to find my voice and instead had fun. I made a couple of glass samplers, an old project I used to love doing. It used up a bunch of glass scrap, reintroduced me to my inner child and did some battery recharging.

The heck with it. Let’s play! (Part 2: Zen gardens)cynthia +2020-02-10T16:36:45-08:00

8 06, 2010

The heck with it! Let’s play! (Part 1: “Glass quilt” samplers)

cynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:27-07:00

Ever had one of those days where there's all kindsa work you OUGHTA be doing, but your inner child says "The heck with it. Let's play?" That was me last weekend. I finally carved out a whole glorious 48 hours to make art. Excellent time to shovel out the studio, fire a bunch of pate de verre test tiles, mix up a couple of custom billets, redefine some investment facecoats, repair the broken head of the gigantic nude on my sculpture stand so I can get her silicone finished... The heck with it. Let's PLAY!

The heck with it! Let’s play! (Part 1: “Glass quilt” samplers)cynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:27-07:00

4 06, 2010

Will Vinton and a whole bunch of glass

cynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:19-07:00

Those of you who know me well also know that I'm obsessed with animation. I've loved Disney and Looney and Hanna Barbera since babyhood. Yet what turned me on to computers and graphics and 3D and animation and all that stuff was a guy named Will Vinton. The idea that you can build your own world, your own stories, your own rules, well...that's a heaven that Mr. Vinton introduced me to, long ago. So it was kinda jaw-dropping to meet him today, judging OGG's Fusathon glass creations. Nice guy.

Will Vinton and a whole bunch of glasscynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:19-07:00

30 05, 2010

Memorial Day

cynthia +2016-05-18T00:27:41-07:00

The old soldier came ramrod-straight to attention, one hand steadying the rifle he carried on his shoulder. He stared ahead through silver spectacles, mouth grim and every hair in place. He wasn’t in dress blues, but his good suit was blue and he’d festooned its lapels with an intricate wealth of ribbon and brass from the War. His cap read [...]

Memorial Daycynthia +2016-05-18T00:27:41-07:00

29 05, 2010

Never puzzle a juror

cynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:10-07:00

"Uneven. VERY uneven," said the man sitting next to me, "I can't decide if she's brilliant or a D student." "Yes," concurred the lady on the other side, "She's still looking for her voice." We were paging through a computer slideshow, evaluating artists' work for a competition. Applicants had been asked to submit a body of work, not just one [...]

Never puzzle a jurorcynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:10-07:00

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