SomaCow 200: Refired
SomaCow 200: Refired
SomaCow Media is proud to present SomaCow, brought to you in this hour by Keila’s Glassworks, located here in sunny Orlando. Check out their awesome demo video, and get to blowin’!
In this, our 200th episode, we wrapped up our Trivia competition with show more...
I am still flabbergasted at the results of our Trivia fest. I do not doubt the answers given by Curtis, as I know he is steadfast and earnest. But I am a little distraught as to the fact that he was sitting NEXT to the person that won. Shenanigans? Certainly not Bennigan’s, they done closed up shop. Perhaps just Goings On. I am content to say that there may have been some fierce Goings On.
We bid a fond adieu (for now) to Mr. Earth, who gave us good radio and had to be at some massive party or sales meeting or anything more important than us, and Mickey and I filled J in (ew) on our Friday afternoon field trip. I may start making these a regular thing here on SomaCow, as they help widen my family’s view of the world, provide a nice escape after a week of slogging in the cubicle mines, and, well, they sure do help for show topics! If you have a weird, neat, cool, scary, or just plain interesting place I can visit on a Friday, drop me a line, won’t you please? Thanks.
So, this week was Keila’s Glassworks, a relatively new institution here in Orlando. Leasing space from the City Arts Factory here in The City Beautiful, Charles Keila and his family and staff have carved out a niche in our city quick-like. The purpose of the studio is blowing glass, for sale, for instructional purposes, and for entertainment. It gets a 10 out of 10 for all three in my opinion.
I first heard about Kelia’s while watching The Travel Channel. How’s that for lazy? Place is here in MY CITY, and I have to wait for Samantha Brown to come yapping across the screen before I am aware. No, I was not WATCHING Samantha Brown… I was, um, waiting for Anthony Bordain to come on and stuff. Yeah. We’ll get to her, just you wait.
We called up the place and set an appointment, and inquired as to prices. Depending on what you want, the prices vary as to how much time you will spend in studio, and what you will be making. I wanted the full hog, training, tumbler making, vase blowing, adding on extrys, so I opted for “The Experience“. I am glad I did, because when we emerged, three hours later, soaking with perspiration and creative juices (ew), we had a whole damn shelf-worth of beautiful works of art to show for it. Suffice it to say, it costs less than Disney, but then, so does everything.
We met Front Madame Meg, Journeyman Justin, and Shadow the Apprentice, as the owner was out during our visit, and I could not have been more impressed by their friendliness, competency, and hospitality. Meg got us set up in no time, explaining some of what we would be doing, and Justin and Shadow gave us a complete demo, pausing to explain the process in great detail, and no matter how many questions I shot off, they each responded with enthusiasm and intelligence.
It’s tough to remember all that we did, as its a blur of molten honey-lava, pole cracking, tong squeezing, and laughter, but I do remember these salient points from the whole experience:
1. You really, really have no idea how toasty 2400 degrees is. From the dual fired propane furnace, to the “Glory Hole” (ew), I know exactly where I am heading next time there is a cold snap here in Florida. Justin and I compared shirts afterwards, and, yeah… It’s hot in there. Bring anti-perspirant, and you’ll be fine.
2. You can screw up your creation. From over pressing with the caliper like squeezy things to over or under heating the glass, all the way to picking out a daft color arrangement, you CAN make the beautiful turn ugly, or, at the very least, wobbly. The difference here is that Justin and Shadow were there at all times to swoop in and fix it for you, if fixing is what you need. So nice to have a safety net, especially after 40 minutes toiling and turning a vase.
3. You are not going to create that incredible filigreed super awesome THING in the corner, but you will be amazed at the beauty and realness of what you have crafted. Given time, and opportunity, you will get better. I am thrilled to be learning the basics, and cannot wait to try some more.
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