Fun Parts

Fun parts, originally uploaded by carolsLittleWorld.

Jerry Garcia, guitar player for the band Grateful Dead, once commented, “I don’t know what the appeal of a Grateful Dead show is, I’ve never watched one.” He’s right about that, of course, having never gotten to watch one because he was always part of the act.

One of the problems with the big, wonderful East Austin Studio Tour is that, as an artist, I want to go and checkout all of the neat artwork. I want to go and see everything, at least as much as I can, but I have the strange problem of having to sit next to my own work. It’s not always really possible to leave your “booth duty” at EAST to, well, to go and check out EAST (oddly enough.) This year, I did manage to break away a little bit, here and there, to go and check out some work on display. At one point, I made it over to the glass blowing studio, which I was very happy to see, since I had not seen it before.

One of the things you might not know about me (or maybe you do) is that I’m oddly fascinated with glass blowing. I love the entire concept of glass blowing, of making art glass, and such. The idea that somebody turns molten fire into beautiful glass is just astounding to me. I love it. I would imagine it’s close to the feeling we get doing encaustics-turning a molten hot lava into paint and then making art with it. That’s amazing really, if you think about it. So, I was very happy I got to go and check out some of the glass studios, as I love this form of artwork.

I had already decided I was not going to photograph the glass studios (no, this would be a photo shoot best left for another day.) If I had stopped to take pictures, why, I’d probably still be there. So, instead, I resolved myself to just walk through and take it all in.

It was just as amazing as I thought it would be. Bits of colored glass all over the place. Finished pieces strewn about next to works-in-progress. It was fun to wander around the ovens and see some of the places where they can actually blow, heat, or otherwise work with the glass, not to mention they had a great studio area with glass “leaves” hanging on the wall. They were amazing really. I’ve love to get lost in that place, especially if I had a camera in hand.

As we were leaving the glass place, I noticed this rack of shelving. It was very clearly labeled (gosh, I wish my studio were so labeled) with items to be used in glass blowing. Stuff like ball baring bits and other assorted “mix ins.” That’s when I saw this label and I knew, instantly I knew, I had to break my “no photos rule” just for this. I mean, who in their right mind could pass up a sign that reads: “FUN PARTS” right?

This is FUN PARTS on the hipsta.

In case you’re wondering, I think there were some marbles in there. Yes, yes, it’s true, somebody actually lost their marbles. Actually, come to think of it, somebody put their marbles in a bin and neatly labeled them as “FUN PARTS” but that doesn’t change the fact that, somewhere out there, in the wild blue yonder, is somebody missing some marbles.

At this point, I have to ask, I mean I really just have to beg of you. If you’ve seen my marbles, please, oh please, won’t you put them in the FUN PARTS bin? I think they’d belong in there with, you know, with the other odd assorted FUN PARTS, don’t you? So, if you find any, please leave them in there, in this bin, so that I might know where to look. I mean, you wouldn’t want me to lose my marbles now, would you? (Of course, I say this like I have marbles to begin with. HA! Even so, if you find them please, you know, politely and quietly into the bin with them, ok?)

We thank you in advance for your cooperation.

–The Management