I’ve been observing a strange phenomenon while tending our display of glass art at the Marriott on Mondays. It seems that each week some one piece on our table draws just about all the attention and praise from visitors. What’s interesting is that it isn’t a case where peoples’ interests are feeding off each other. People totally separated in time and relationship seem to gravitate to the same piece that day. It’s not that the other pieces get totally ignored, but they don’t get the same attention.
I’ve been trying to understand it and have fantasized a “Toy Story” kind of scenario. The piece must have an “inert spirit”. I know that’s an oxymoron, but they must have an energy of their own. My fantasy is that the larger pieces are an entertainment “ensemble”, and are like the Board of Directors of the glass art. I believe they get together and have a meeting of the “minds” as to who of their group will literally shine that day to attract the humans walking by.
During the first few weeks of August, the ensemble BOD clearly selected my coral baskets to be the eye catcher. What’s unusual about this is that the attention went on for several weeks. Usually the pieces choose a different member to shine week to week. Delving into this further, I believe I figured it all out. It turns out that at the beginning of August, someone at the Banyan Tree Gallery in Lahaina mishandled a red coral basket on display there and broke it. I’m sure that the Marriott ensemble heard about it (eaves dropping), feeling sorry for baskets, agreed to elect baskets to shine in August. Yes… I’m sure that explains the energy flow.
As a result of this, on 4 August, two coral baskets were purchased… a Turquoise blue one by Janet of Studio City and a Red one by Linda of Santa Clara. Besides Linda and Janet, several other people expressed interest in the baskets. Seeing that our only two coral baskets were purchased, we made two more (another Turquoise blue, and the second in Emerald green) to have them for our 11 August Monday at the Marriott. Three photos below show their development. Each basket is made from a little under 200 pieces of hand cut glass arranged on a kiln shelf and fused together at 1500 degrees F. The resultant piece is then put on a mold, reheated to 1200 degrees F to cause it to slump into the bowl shape.
Sure enough, people on the 11th were still gravitating to the baskets. Lennie from Texas saw our baskets on the 4th and came back on the 11th. She liked the new ones, but noticed a carousel basket (shown in the fourth photo) that Bob had just made. It is made similarly, but uses Pattern Bars and less total pieces. Anyway, she liked the varied colors better than the monochromatic coral baskets, and that it looked less fragile… (she was concerned about her cats)…so that’s what she purchased!
Interest in baskets continued in August, but at a slower pace. I think the glass art ensemble BOD has designated a new member to shine….and I think it is Sandy’s Drop Pots. One of her beauties caught someone’s fancy in Lahaina. It is clear that the glass art pieces most definitely have power, and conspire on where to focus the energy!
Aloha………Bob