rod
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
As I flew back to my workshop in Mendocino, good memories of the GM Weekend were fresh in my mind.
I want to express my thanks to all at Glendo, who contributed to making the weekend yet another success both socially and technically.
How shall I count the ways?
With benches rolled back and stashed neatly, part of the plant area was transformed into a Friday night welcome barbecue, and I was ready to enjoy it to the full, having just driven in from Oklahoma City ( ... I wanted to visit the museum there), the route north gave me a chance to see more of the Prairie and Flint Hills. Coming from the cold 50 F summer of fog bound Mendocino, Northern California, into 100 F plus temperatures worked okay, with good AC throughout.
Candlewood Suites Motel is the traditional main choice for many who attend, and as I checked in, Liz and Ron Smith tapped me on the shoulder. This was a pleasant surprise. Their circumstances had shifted a bit, allowing them to attend, on their way through from Fort Worth to Colorado. Many of the other 'usual suspects' I knew to expect, and it was fun to greet them all, and meet some new interesting colleagues.
Of course, the Italian Creative Arts Masters from Northern Italy and their class members were already at the midpoint of the two week long Master Class, so those of us coming only for the weekend more or less parachuted into an already ongoing team of hard working artists. Friday was about socializing and that's what we did.
It takes a lot of organizing by GRS to prepare, but for us attendees, we arrived to see the tables set, a mountain of good barbecue choices, and plenty of 'beverage' to 'slake oor drouth' ( scots for 'quench your thirst' ! ).
I will let attendees speak for themselves, and no doubt the forums will have postings on how the Creative Arts Masters conducted their two-week-long class.
For those of us attending the social weekend, Friday was a success, and the fun continued after many went back to the motel to chat over a beer or two. As is the habit, a few of us pickers and strummers had brought a guitar or four, and Dale Bass had his mouth harps. Ron Smith professed he was out of practice, yet once he tuned up his guitar, the energy seemed to flow, and he was still singing at 1.30 am! Bill had brought his acoustic guitar, and his wonderful rich voice. He is a great songwriter, and treated us to some of his own. Ron had many a song in E major, favorite key of a blues harp player, so Dale made the most of it. The Italians all seem to like American songs, and newcomers, Hora, goldsmith, from Rotterdam, and Simone, engraver, from near Munchen did not take long to fit right in, and swell the ranks of the party.
Saturday was a great day for us 'Weekenders'. The bulino class generously allowed free access for us to wander round the individual benches, and take a look at progress. I must say that I was very impressed. All the plates were looking very good, and way above my pay grade. Just like four years ago, the Italians came with their full tool-kit in their shirt pocket .... hand sharpened and ruby stoned push burrin with almost needle like point, having approximately 45 degree front face and about 80 degree vee ( no heel, but about 20 degree 'lift' ). They worked with flat light, and a Zeiss lupe, of large objective lens diameter, and both x6 and x9 magnification.
The class could choose whatever tooling and magnification they were comfortable with. If you are used to the high mag of a 'scope, there is an understandable impulse to think that might be the ideal choice for the fine detail of bulino, and indeed we have many examples of excellent work done in this manner, yet watching the Italians work very fast, with the simple tools, demonstrated that the loupe allows the essential freedom to glance up at the full scale drawing nearby, then rapidly back to the work area. Bulino works very well when the artist is frequently doing a reality check, looking up at the large drawing for accuracy. A microscope can slow this back-and-forth down considerably. I just said, the masters carried and used very simple tools, yet with consummate skill, and they were truly art masters, steeped in what Italy is renowned for ... a huge experience in fine art. Let me re-emphasize, we see great bulino results using 110 degree heeled burins, as well as the above, so stay open in your views on tooling and optics.
By the way, the chosen plate scene was in the 'fantasy' category, and had a cougar, some foliage, and a rather gorgeous woman with rolls and folds of angel hair. Brian P has graciously taken a moment to post. He is taking the class, and gave us this link to see photos of plates in progress and socializing. Amanda, at GRS, was busy with the camera, and has documented things very well:
http://www.grandmastersprogram.com/
Dale brought some fine Western Bright Cut goodies for show and tell. He sat me down and demonstrated some useful tips for me to take on board. Bob Finlay had a variety of great items, including a part finished sculpted mini ballvice. Rick brought knives, and Tim had a brass engraved rifle to admire. Lots more stuff was being passed around, and plenty of photos and stories.
On Saturday night, I got an invite from Aaron to join with others to go to nearby Cottonwood Falls, a historic town, for a delicious steak. Later we joined in with an audience of locals to listen to a local old-time band play on the roped-off main street, with its cobble stones, floodlit court house, and a big tom cat prowling the roof tops just above the band. Locals all brought chairs out of the house and sat quietly, enjoying the cowboy songs, and watching the cat hunting on the roof tops. You could have heard a pin drop ... polite country manners, just the way I like it. The evening was warm, the band were all cowboys and gals working locally. Beef was the ground of being in this small town. I was unconsciously fidgeting with my baseball hat in my hand, as I listened to the songs, then suddenly noticed the label on my hat, which read, "Eat fruits and vegetables, stay active!" I quickly stuck the hat in my pocket before anyone saw it and threw me out of town!
More singing back at the motel that night, and again on Sunday.
Kim Pember announced the GM teachers for next year, fielded questions and moderated question/ suggestion time. More informal time in the spare class room, where Rex gave some nice tutorials on cutting border patterns and other designs.
Tira was there with her daughter, Stephanie, and with her mother, who drove them all the way! She was a live wire, and fit right in. Stephanie was a delight to talk to, and plans to go into mechanical engineering, and also engraving. I had brought a couple of old style wood flutes, so Tira and I got to play a party piece duet by Divienne ... fun!
Yes, these weekends, and others, like the Engrave-In, Reno, etc., are a great one-stop-shopping opportunity to see a lot of colleagues in one place at one time. They reinforce what most of us know, there is a lot of good heart out there, experienced or beginner, all are treated on a level playing field. There is also an increasing number of women, and younger engravers balancing the social group and that will continue, as it should.
Well done GRS and all its staff!
Let's see now, what's next .... Reno ... Scott's Engrave-in. I will have to see if I can shift my travel plans to be in Scotland, so I can maybe see the Blade Show and attend the Engrave In.
best wishes!
Rod
I want to express my thanks to all at Glendo, who contributed to making the weekend yet another success both socially and technically.
How shall I count the ways?
With benches rolled back and stashed neatly, part of the plant area was transformed into a Friday night welcome barbecue, and I was ready to enjoy it to the full, having just driven in from Oklahoma City ( ... I wanted to visit the museum there), the route north gave me a chance to see more of the Prairie and Flint Hills. Coming from the cold 50 F summer of fog bound Mendocino, Northern California, into 100 F plus temperatures worked okay, with good AC throughout.
Candlewood Suites Motel is the traditional main choice for many who attend, and as I checked in, Liz and Ron Smith tapped me on the shoulder. This was a pleasant surprise. Their circumstances had shifted a bit, allowing them to attend, on their way through from Fort Worth to Colorado. Many of the other 'usual suspects' I knew to expect, and it was fun to greet them all, and meet some new interesting colleagues.
Of course, the Italian Creative Arts Masters from Northern Italy and their class members were already at the midpoint of the two week long Master Class, so those of us coming only for the weekend more or less parachuted into an already ongoing team of hard working artists. Friday was about socializing and that's what we did.
It takes a lot of organizing by GRS to prepare, but for us attendees, we arrived to see the tables set, a mountain of good barbecue choices, and plenty of 'beverage' to 'slake oor drouth' ( scots for 'quench your thirst' ! ).
I will let attendees speak for themselves, and no doubt the forums will have postings on how the Creative Arts Masters conducted their two-week-long class.
For those of us attending the social weekend, Friday was a success, and the fun continued after many went back to the motel to chat over a beer or two. As is the habit, a few of us pickers and strummers had brought a guitar or four, and Dale Bass had his mouth harps. Ron Smith professed he was out of practice, yet once he tuned up his guitar, the energy seemed to flow, and he was still singing at 1.30 am! Bill had brought his acoustic guitar, and his wonderful rich voice. He is a great songwriter, and treated us to some of his own. Ron had many a song in E major, favorite key of a blues harp player, so Dale made the most of it. The Italians all seem to like American songs, and newcomers, Hora, goldsmith, from Rotterdam, and Simone, engraver, from near Munchen did not take long to fit right in, and swell the ranks of the party.
Saturday was a great day for us 'Weekenders'. The bulino class generously allowed free access for us to wander round the individual benches, and take a look at progress. I must say that I was very impressed. All the plates were looking very good, and way above my pay grade. Just like four years ago, the Italians came with their full tool-kit in their shirt pocket .... hand sharpened and ruby stoned push burrin with almost needle like point, having approximately 45 degree front face and about 80 degree vee ( no heel, but about 20 degree 'lift' ). They worked with flat light, and a Zeiss lupe, of large objective lens diameter, and both x6 and x9 magnification.
The class could choose whatever tooling and magnification they were comfortable with. If you are used to the high mag of a 'scope, there is an understandable impulse to think that might be the ideal choice for the fine detail of bulino, and indeed we have many examples of excellent work done in this manner, yet watching the Italians work very fast, with the simple tools, demonstrated that the loupe allows the essential freedom to glance up at the full scale drawing nearby, then rapidly back to the work area. Bulino works very well when the artist is frequently doing a reality check, looking up at the large drawing for accuracy. A microscope can slow this back-and-forth down considerably. I just said, the masters carried and used very simple tools, yet with consummate skill, and they were truly art masters, steeped in what Italy is renowned for ... a huge experience in fine art. Let me re-emphasize, we see great bulino results using 110 degree heeled burins, as well as the above, so stay open in your views on tooling and optics.
By the way, the chosen plate scene was in the 'fantasy' category, and had a cougar, some foliage, and a rather gorgeous woman with rolls and folds of angel hair. Brian P has graciously taken a moment to post. He is taking the class, and gave us this link to see photos of plates in progress and socializing. Amanda, at GRS, was busy with the camera, and has documented things very well:
http://www.grandmastersprogram.com/
Dale brought some fine Western Bright Cut goodies for show and tell. He sat me down and demonstrated some useful tips for me to take on board. Bob Finlay had a variety of great items, including a part finished sculpted mini ballvice. Rick brought knives, and Tim had a brass engraved rifle to admire. Lots more stuff was being passed around, and plenty of photos and stories.
On Saturday night, I got an invite from Aaron to join with others to go to nearby Cottonwood Falls, a historic town, for a delicious steak. Later we joined in with an audience of locals to listen to a local old-time band play on the roped-off main street, with its cobble stones, floodlit court house, and a big tom cat prowling the roof tops just above the band. Locals all brought chairs out of the house and sat quietly, enjoying the cowboy songs, and watching the cat hunting on the roof tops. You could have heard a pin drop ... polite country manners, just the way I like it. The evening was warm, the band were all cowboys and gals working locally. Beef was the ground of being in this small town. I was unconsciously fidgeting with my baseball hat in my hand, as I listened to the songs, then suddenly noticed the label on my hat, which read, "Eat fruits and vegetables, stay active!" I quickly stuck the hat in my pocket before anyone saw it and threw me out of town!
More singing back at the motel that night, and again on Sunday.
Kim Pember announced the GM teachers for next year, fielded questions and moderated question/ suggestion time. More informal time in the spare class room, where Rex gave some nice tutorials on cutting border patterns and other designs.
Tira was there with her daughter, Stephanie, and with her mother, who drove them all the way! She was a live wire, and fit right in. Stephanie was a delight to talk to, and plans to go into mechanical engineering, and also engraving. I had brought a couple of old style wood flutes, so Tira and I got to play a party piece duet by Divienne ... fun!
Yes, these weekends, and others, like the Engrave-In, Reno, etc., are a great one-stop-shopping opportunity to see a lot of colleagues in one place at one time. They reinforce what most of us know, there is a lot of good heart out there, experienced or beginner, all are treated on a level playing field. There is also an increasing number of women, and younger engravers balancing the social group and that will continue, as it should.
Well done GRS and all its staff!
Let's see now, what's next .... Reno ... Scott's Engrave-in. I will have to see if I can shift my travel plans to be in Scotland, so I can maybe see the Blade Show and attend the Engrave In.
best wishes!
Rod
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