Hell Bent on Breaking Glass

On Sunday Janice and I were back at Big Dogs Pottery in Marshall, this time to have a go at fused glass.

We were decorating panes of glass in lanterns, a lantern is always a good thing to have with the frequent power outages we get, and this is something I've long wanted to have a go at. I proved to be pretty useless at glass blowing and din't enjoy the glare or intense temperatures, but fused glass seemed to be a more comfortable craft to pursue.

There wasn't much instruction and it seemed a few of the class were decorating their second or third lanterns, but it seemed easy enough. We just had to be creative with our designs. We were using small pieces of glass that we could cut ourselves, and a substance called 'frit', glass powder or a gravel consistency and even thin glass rods. I managed to drop a container of these and was mortified to see them scatter on the floor, but thankfully, only one piece broke, and the pieces could be still used.

The lady next to me was creating an abstract montage on her 4 panes of glass while Janice set to laying out flowers on stalks, a dove and even a golf course scene. Some were doing the 4 seasons but I was stuck for an idea, eventually coming up with a dandelion theme. I wanted to do dogwood flowers since I have these glorious trees about Meadow House, but didn't have the confidence or knowledge on how to do this. Or the time. Our class was for 2 hours, after which I had to race home, take care of Kota and Rosie Lee, and then charge off to meet Steve and Marc for a concert that evening.

I watched the more experienced ladies for a while and then started on mine. I didn't draw out anything first or plan it, I just steamed ahead, hoping for the best. We used a brush and tweezers to move the frit about on our glass so we didn't leave fingermarks. We'd been supplied with gloves but I struggled with those, then dispensed with them altogether. Others had done the same when I looked around.I enjoyed this craft immensely and look forward to more sessions. It was very satisfying to create a picture using fingertips, especially when errors were easily eradicated by simply brushing away the offending grains of glass. I'm hoping my pieces will improve once they've been in the kiln, as I assumed the hard edges of the glass shards I'd used would soften and blend with the powdered frit I'd sprinkled on top. We'll see.

As we completed each pane, we sprayed the piece with hairspray which would help to keep everything in place when it went to the kiln, that job would be done by Lisa, our instructor, and we'll pick up our completed lanterns in a week's time. I was reasonably pleased with my first attempt at this but would have liked more time to titivate. We were allowed to stay longer than the 2 hours if needed but my time was short so I scurried off after having a quick peek at the other masterpieces that were taking shape around me. I'll definitely be back for more of these glass classes. Lisa does a nightlight class and she's also planning on another where we'd be decorating glass dishes. Next week I'll be spending a evening there painting a pet portrait.
Just a couple of hours later Steve, Marc and I were bombing down to DC for our concert which was at DC's brand new music venue, The Anthem, situated at the newly revamped wharf. The old wharf was unrecognizable as we walked along the boardwalk, brand new restaurants, bars and condos having sprung up by the water. We stopped at Kirwan's, an Irish bar, where we managed to snaffle a table outside. The evening was warm and the sun still shining, huge crowds of people strolling back and forth, many in concert t-shirts or with black leather jackets and denim cut-offs, obviously attending the Judas Priest concert like us. We supped on craft beers and all 3 of us enjoyed the best lamb burger we'd ever had, possibly even the best burger, period. A huge juicy lamb patty sat on a brioche bun, with goats cheese, slices of apple and mustard piled up on top. It was the best thing I'd eaten for a while, and a shame I didn't think of taking a photo until afterwards...But the memory remains, and I'm licking my lips as I recall the wonderful flavors.

The venue was outstanding. Easy to access and impressive inside, the interior decor and ambience reminded me of the 9:30 Club, which is also in DC. It only opened in October last year with a performance from The Foo Fighters and it's been getting great reviews. We were standing in the main auditorium so it was a little difficult to see the stage but I could see most of it if I leaned from side to side.
There was a first band who's name I don't recall, not impressive in the least, but then it was time for Saxon. This is a British band that I loved from my biker days, they've been around since the late 70's. I hadn't heard them since leaving England and they didn't disappoint. The crowd loved them too, jumping up and down, arms waving and I joined in. That was my workout for the day. I could feel the bass throbbing through my internal organs, my insides jostling with the rhythm. Got to love heavy rock!

And then Judas Started their intro. The melodic start of Guardians lulled the crowd into near silence and then as the guitars and drums came in the fans erupted and began yelling the lyrics along with Rob Halford. The air was electric and it was impossible to do anything other than nod or tap some part of your body, or simply leap up and down as some members of the audience felt inclined to do, especially one large guy in front of us, resembling a bouncing baboon, as he jumped and head butted the air each side of him, causing two women behind him to move a good 3 feet back. But it was all good, nobody minded. I couldn't see one person standing still and a fair amount of beer went airborne too, as owners momentarily forgot they held a plastic cup in their hand and then stared mournfully into the empty depths of their containers as they realized their mismanagement.
It was sad that Glenn Tipton wasn't playing but his replacement, Andy Sneap, went down well with the audience.

The next hour and three quarters flew by, it felt like 5 minutes. I had sore feet from jigging and bopping, stretching and jumping, and also from the sheer physical force I'd had to use to separate my boots from the beer soaked floor, so stickily adhesive that it had been like standing in wet tarmac. But it had been a great concert, even though I'd been too short to see Rob ride his Harley on stage for Hell Bent for Leather. The set list and some videos from the concert are here.

On the way out, I looked up and saw cymbals hanging from the ceiling. I later found out that it was a 'sculpture' by Dan Steinhilber called Untitled Polyrhythm using 150 Sabian cymbals. Pretty cool but I could've made that..