"Take pART" a mobile glass class and fundraising opportunity. Wants to come to YOUR school.

"Take pART"  

 

“Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible.” Richard Feynman

Fusionglass Co's traveling glass class wants to come to YOUR school!

"Take pART" students work

Our "Take pART" program was developed in direct response to many conversations with teachers when they visit the Fusionglass Co. gallery. They often mention how much the kids love to create and how much they would enjoy our classes, and lament the fact that there is little or no money for field trips and not enough parents free during the day to carpool the kids. At Fusionglass Co.we really feel a need to share the joy of creativity with anyone who expresses an interest.  We know through experience that to allow yourself to become immersed in a creative endeavor can free your mind from the day to day worries and obstacles that life invariably throws up. To rejuvenate your soul through creativity brings joy to the creator and the viewer alike.






It's a communication with imagery, It's like saying the words you cannot say.



We wanted to share our art with the kids and decided to look for a way that would allow us to bring the experience of glass working right into the classrooms. After some research and playing around with different ways of transporting the projects, we have found something that works beautifully.



While we do charge a reduced price, we also wanted to help perpetuate such programs by helping the kids recoup the money spent.

We think we came up with a rather brilliant idea: 
We have the kids make two pieces of glass, one for themselves and one for a group project.


We can make the group project into many different items including platters,  bowls, wall pieces, or a hanging mobile.

The group project is then returned to the school as an auction item for their school fundraiser.




 


 


In the photos at right we show the projects before and after firing. Each square is approximately 2"x2 "















The kids can choose to have their square made into a pendant or a key ring.

The pendant/keyring class is the most popular project we do with the schools, tho' they do have the opportunity to choose from about 9 different projects which can be viewed here :
 "Take pART" projects





 

 We are so very grateful for the grant received from the wonderful people at
 Friends of East County Arts, Inc.  With which we were able to purchase supplies and tools for the mobile classes.
 
The purpose of this organization is to provide funds for the growth and development of audiences for the live performing arts; to present world class artists, and to support the fine arts and artists in the Greater East San Diego County area.
  
We are eternally grateful also for the encouragement,enthusiasm & friendship from individual members of this dedicated group.





We had 25 squares from this group and decided they were perfect for a platter.

I set them on a background of clear class and used some glass stringers in shades of blue to tie it all together.

The glass is fired twice, The first time fuses all of the pieces together, and the second lower temperature firing shapes the piece.

It's important to check the size of the piece against the mold, Here I've laid the platter on  the mold into which it will be fired, if it overlaps in any way there is a risk of fusing the mold into the glass.












Here's a look at how the piece finished. We think it's a beautiful way to capture a moment in time.

 "Take pART" Fundraiser

 Donate ART & CRAFTS supplies and tools you are not using or have outgrown & you'll be helping us get our "Take pART" program into local schools.

Bring your items to fusionglass Co. any time before October 30th 2014.

Looking for a reason to go through the closets?
Need to move those old  art supplies or tools?

We'll have a big sale of all the items received in November 2014 
We'll be keeping most items to just $1.00!
With a $2.00 charge at the door. Unless you've donated something.

 The funds raised will go towards supplies for the "Take pART" program.


Looking for a way to make YOUR Fundraiser fun?  Email us for ideas on how to make your fundraiser a huge success! info@fusionglassco.com

 

"Take pART" sharing a love of glass working with local kids

"Take pART"  

 

"Creativity is Contagious, pass it on" Albert Einstein

Fusionglass Co's traveling glass class is ready to launch.

Donate ART & CRAFTS supplies and tools you are not using or have outgrown & you'll be helping us get our "Take pART" program into local schools.

The program was developed in direct response to the many conversations we've had with teachers when they visit the Fusionglass Co. gallery. They often mention how much the kids love our classes, and lament the fact that there is little or no money for field trips to allow more kids to experience the joy of creating with this wonderful medium.

We decided to look for a way that would allow us to bring the experience of glassworking right into the classrooms. After some research and playing around with different ways of transporting the projects, we have found something that works beautifully.

We'll be offering reduced price classes to local schools,
Girl and Boy Scouts and Chruch groups,
and bringing everything they need right into the classroom.


Our event on September 14th 2013, from noon to 6pm.
Will give people the opportunity to go through their closets
and move those old supplies they keep meaning to use or just don't need anymore. ,
and bring home treasures instead! & We'll be keeping most items to just $1.00!
With a $2.00 charge at the door. Unless you've donated something.
 

If you'd like to donate something:

Please Drop off donations before Sept 13^th

at the Fusionglass Co. Gallery & Studio

in La Mesa, any Monday to Saturday

between the hours of 10am and 6pm 

or at Bernardo Winery

on Friday September 13^th 

at the Fusionglass Co booth. 

Paul will be there between the hours of 1pm and 8pm. 

And he’ll have a special discount for anyone donating an item.

Or call the gallery at 619-461-4440 to make special arrangements.
We can even arrange to have something picked up.

Drawing, Painting, Clay, Pottery, Knitting, weaving, collage items, sewing, photography, mosaics, jewelry making, beading, fabric arts, stain glass, and any other hobby you can think of

SATURDAY September 14th 

we will open our doors from noon to 6pm for the special sale.

So come early & bring friends! 

We love seeing the result of working directly with kids, their huge smiles when they see a completed project is enough to make your heart sing! They are developing a love and appreciation of art and the art of creating and experience the artistic process. We are constantly amazed by their resourcefulness and ability to understand concepts.

Here are a couple of letter we received from kids after taking a FGC class.
please notice the "your best friend" sign off!... 

and this one absolutely broke my heart... you can be sure we made a special date for this little guy.
He did indeed get to come and make his piece of the project!

I want to thank Mary Moreau and Tamara Fogg of http://www.friendsofecarts.org/  for their excitement and encouragement for this project.

It's easy when you're not the one battling traffic

It's easy when you're not the one
battling traffic.
 Marjorie and I on our way
 to the TV station.

I set up this blog in August 2011
and never got around to actually, well.... blogging. 
So what better time to start than on the heels of my first television interview. 

It wasn't something I had on my "Bucket List", but being thrown an opportunity to promote an event I was involved with, how could I say no. 

So with team member/bestie/fellow artist Marjorie Pezzoli, along for the adventure, we set off for Channel 6, San Diego. We were to appear as guests on San Diego Living, with Marc Bailey.  To promote a fundraising project called Palette to Palate. The show airs live, oh yes! Just in case we weren't nervous enough already.
The whole experience was great fun from the moment we walked in the studio door. We were greeted by a lovely young man and escorted to the "Green Room". 





While we waited for our segment we chatted with a couple of beautiful young ladies, Jennifer and Nicole. Identical twins, and co-founders of  Old New Borrowed Redo.  They'll make a keepsake from  your wedding/prom or any other special dress or piece of clothing. you should check them out.

They loved my "redo" of a wedding dress into a faerie costume, which I just happened to have brought along for the show on the advice of my sister.

Before we knew it Tiffany Frowiss was
 there to get us ready for our "Bit"

According to Tiffany we had about 45 minutes before

 our segment when she brought us to set-up.

It was a chilly day in San Diego... really, it was.

 Our segment would air from the outside patio. 

So Marjorie and I went about setting up our tables and prepping ourselves, twenty minutes later, I was just about to clip my hair back, when standing in front of me was Marc Bailey.

I thought he was just saying hello before the segment, but no chance, next thing I know the camera is on Marc and he's doing his intro! and I couldn't find my hair clip.

"Sunny San Diego" Dichroic glass pendants by Debb Solan

You can See our segment here and if you happen to notice the whereabouts of the errant hair clip (which also made it's TV debut) tell us where it appears in the video by emailing me, &  you might just be the lucky winner of a very lovely Dichroic Glass Pendant from my Fusionglass series called "Sunny San Diego". I'll choose a random winner from the entries. Winner will be announced on May 31st.


If you like to find out more about Palette to Palate
Check out photos from our Event here: 

and when all was said and done

we were allowed to ham it up in the studio! 

Thanks Tiffany Frowiss and

Channel 6 for making our TV debut so much fun!

In future blogs I'll show you how we created
some of the projects for the event.
 Including the "SteamPunk" style silk seen in the background.
We used the silk layered with two others to create the sculpture incorporated in the centerpiece Tree at the top of the page.

We had much help from many to complete this project check out:

 http://feedingamericasd.org/ 
 www.sdvan.net 
 http://www.synergyart.org/                       
 www.radiantlifebyjulia.weebly.com 
www.gypsytreasures.com 
www.quiglyfinewines.com 
www.pezzoliart.com www.fusionglassco.com   
www.komephotos.com 
www.etsy.com/shop/leahbmetalworks  
www.murphyscreativity.com