Trading Places at The Sonoran Glass School

November 21, 2014 — art, glass, heat, Sonoran Glass School

Last week I attended a very special event at The Sonoran Glass School in Tucson.  The auction and live art in the making was designed as a fundraiser for the non-profit school.  By inviting artists and others to design a piece of glass art to be executed by the students and faculty of the school they added an extra layer of creativity to the pieces.  Lupin Murillo, a local broadcaster, designed a high heeled shoe with fancy trimmings.  The fun really heats up when they auction the piece off before it is finished.  The shoe was well received and fetched a nice price in the auction.  The next live creation was done by a well-known photographer in Tucson, Bill Lesch.  I had an excellent seat to see the forming of Bill’s globe.  It was blown and shaped by the glass artists, with manipulations and creative decisions made by Bill.  The collaboration had 4 people involved full-time in the making of the piece.  Non-stop action and careful choreography was a real thrill to watch.  I was sitting so close that I had to remove a layer of my outfit because I was right in the hot seat near the fire.  It was exciting and unlike any event I have attended in the past.  I will go again if they hold it next year.  The food was catered by Blu, and was out of this world good. The items for auction were diverse examples of the breadth of glass art.  I enjoyed seeing all of the work and meeting some of the artists.  I am now interested in joining and taking some classes.  The school is a great asset to our community.  Our next flaming glass art event will be the Flame Off at the Fox Theater, the high point of Gem Show.  If you have not seen a live glass event, I urge you to try one.