2008 spring

2008.03.06: Golden gate [X]press article: Flames of inspiration blaze in glass classThe SFSU student newspaper published an article about the class by Justin Hughes, with a picture by Sarah Pingol. (Issue 7, Vol LXXXIV, Thursday 6th March 2008, page 8; local copy)

"I like to use what students bring to the class to mold the class itself. I want to involve them and deal with more than what I know personally" -- Nate Watson.

2008.02.11: production

Generating objects for the Valentine's-day sale.

2008.02.14 Valentine's day glass sale

We raised about $300.

assignments

2008.03.17 (Monday): assignment: three materials

Compose a sculpture consisting of three conceptually relevant materials one of which will be glass. You may use any materials that make sense within the context of your idea. Please be prepared to explain how the materials relate to one another and how they combine to create a single focused work. Please try to stay away from vessels or making pedestals as one of your three components. If you must make a stand or armature of some sort, it will not count as part of the piece.

2008.02.27: assignment: three examples + patterns

1. Bring in the last three things you've made in the hot shop.

2. Bring in at least two examples of some type of pattern from out in the world. I would like you to bring as much as you can to represent this pattern. The object or objects, a picture/copy of the pattern, or a drawing are all acceptable, but be sure that you have some type of reference for the pattern. When searching for objects and designs of interest please don't consider whether or not it will translate in glass. We'll deal with that later. Just find something that you find appealing. I've included a definition that might help you stay on target.

A pattern, from the French patron, is a theme of reoccurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set. These elements repeat in a predictable manner. It can be a template or model which can be used to generate things or parts of a thing, especially if the things that are created have enough in common for the underlying pattern to be inferred, in which case the things are said to exhibit the pattern. Pattern matching is the act of checking for the presence of the constituents of a pattern, whereas the detecting for underlying patterns is referred to as pattern recognition. The question of how a pattern emerges is accomplished through the work of the scientific field of pattern formation. Patterns are also related to repeated shapes or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of the series. Some patterns (for example, many visual patterns) may be directly observable, such as simple decorative patterns (stripes, zigzags, and polka-dots). Others can be more complicated, such as the regular tiling of a plane, echoes, and balanced binary branching.

The most basic patterns are based on repetition and periodicity. A single template, or cell, is combined with duplicates without change or modification. For example, in aviation, a "holding pattern" is a flight path which can be repeated until the aircraft has been granted clearance for landing.

Pattern recognition is more complex when templates are used to generate variants. For example, in English, sentences often follow the "N-VP" (noun - verb phrase) pattern, but some knowledge of the English language is required to detect the pattern. Computer science, ethnology, and psychology are fields which study patterns.

In addition to static patterns, Simple Harmonic Oscillators produce repeated patterns of movement.

3. Remember to keep up with your sketchbooks.

2008.02.13: assignment: three shapes

Produce a cylinder, a sphere and a cone, all with the same height & width.

2008.02.04: assignment: sketchbook + drawings

Everyone should come to class with a sketchbook containing:

1. A written statement expressing what you would like to accomplish this semester in relation to your most recent experiments in glass, art, or your typical day. Please indicate in detail what you you've done in the past and how you plan to expand on those things.
2. Please include a sketch (not a perfect drawing) of a project that you would consider ambitious for yourself. Include notes that may help express any ideas not reflected by the sketch.
3. Please be prepared to discuss your thoughts.

The assignments this semester will build upon one another so please come prepared so that we can move on together!