Jackie Ballard - Glass Blowing

"I began working with glass in the fall of 1980. The day I walked into my first glass shop was magical -- and it still is. Glass is a medium that encompasses the elements of air, fire, earth and water. Hot glass is like working with 2000° honey. One can never master glass; it always remains a challenge.

"Glassblowing is an art that continues to excite and inspire me. I take pride in knowing that my work is enjoyed by people around the world for its design and beauty.

"You asked for earth; I give you frozen music composed with deep feeling and flowing movements to create my earth, my reality, to sit gently in your hands, to be a part of your environment.

"Touch, feel, see how the illuminating rays of light vividly play with your mind, knowing you can hold air, fire, earth and water."

Jackie is an award winning and highly distinguished master glass blower. She received her degree from New York State in a four-year apprenticeship through William Glasser. She has more than 22 years experience blowing glass and has provided instruction to novices and intermediate glass blowers of all ages.

Class Information

Brad Bedillion
Glass Blowing Teaching Assistant

Brad took Jackie Ballard's Fun With Hot Glass class in early 2009 and has been a regular fixture at the Industrial Arts Center ever since. He continued to study with Jackie and before long he accepted the position of apprentice / teaching assistant.

Brad has been an inspiration for many beginning students and it shows in his current glass art. His eye for color and form is exceptional in his art. He has started his own Bedillion Series of unique vases, bowls and drinking vessels that are all available through the IAC.

Eric Folsom
Metalsmithing

Eric Folsom, a Gulfport native, has been actively working as a metalsmith since 1977. Eric learned his craft through an apprenticeship from 1977- 1984 with George Anderson in Sperryville, VA.

His main tool is an oxygen / acetylene torch and he uses various pliers and shaping devices to forge and shape the metal. He works primarily with Bronze and Copper and has made a variety of objects including jewelry, flatware, kitchen and cabinet hardware, flatware and sculpture.

Since 1984, Eric has exhibited his work in juried art and crafts events from Florida to Massachusetts. He is currently exhibiting at The Florida Craftsmen Gallery in St Petersburg.

“The metals, Bronze and copper have been worked by humans for thousands of years and their reputation for durability and beauty has not diminished over the millennia. I get such a sense of joy and accomplishment when I am able to take raw materials and turn them into something beautiful and useful.”

CLASSES

Ronna Rogers - Glass Fusion

I have this need to create art. It's me. It's what I love.

In 2004 I signed up for a glass fusion workshop and I've been fusing glass ever since. The incredible sheets of glass available today are like a large box of crayons just waiting for the artisan in all of us to emerge.

To study glass is to study movement.

The layering together of pieces of glass while visioning its' outcome is the fun part for me. The magical part for me is when I open the kiln and look inside. That first glance. That first touch. So smooth. So beautiful. "

Ronna's glass studio is at her home in Indian Shores. Ronna takes pleasure in helping others interpret their ideas in glass. A photographer at heart, she enjoys adding the touch of photography within her fused projects.

Class Information

James Oleson, Jr.
Found Metal Sculpture
Kids Art Experience

To make an inanimate object touch, feel and speak is a gift that has been given to me. This gift has turned me into a pioneer of sorts, who dredges through industries' pollution on a quest for steel. I find myself climing amongst the rubble of a recently demolished high rise and digging in the garbage for fragments of a recent fabrication, or in a junyard dragging off parts of an old dinosaur that time has forgotten.

I believe the seeds of infinite possibilities lie in things discarded. My mind is constantly studying and categorizing all the objects that I am collecting. I visualize the objects floating in the air waiting for their chance to twist and dive into the sculptures not yet born, that constantly swim in my mind.

As I clean the Earth, all the objects I collect will be recycled and no longer destined to be trapped for eternity in a landfill, forever labeled as garbage. I also firmly believe it is my duty as an artist to create art with archival longevity and superior quality as I sculpt the future of the 21st century.

Class Information

Danielle Shockley - Clay Sculpture

As an artist, Danielle Shockley consistently tries to push the boundaries of her own imagination, utilizing themes such as "cute yet creepy" within many of her pieces. Be it a painting or sculpture, this interaction is integral to her work; to attract yet repulse, to incorporate characteristics such as charming, sinister, cartoonish, even goofy, all within one piece. Childhood favorites, such as horror movies and endless cartoons influence her greatly as an adult. Art has been a constant part of her life from a very young age, so it seemed only natural to go to school for it. Danielle is a graduate of the University of South Florida, having earned a BFA in Sculpture and Ceramics.

CLASSES

Sean Alton
Copper Enameling & Lost Wax Casting

Award winning sculptor Sean Alton has an extensive background in lost wax design and manufacturing. Working for his father in the latter 1970's, Sean made gold perfume bottles and finished out his father's work while learning the restoration business. Although his focus now is on large scale copper enameling, Sean still keeps a few clients and has a full manufacturing facility in my studio.

Sean's awards include: Lake Mary Heathrow Festival of the Arts, Award of Merit (2009), St. Augustine Art and Craft show,Best 3D (2008), Lake Mary Heathrow Festival of the Arts, 2nd place (2008), Port Orange Artfest, 2nd place (2007), St. Augustine Art and Craft Show, Best in Glass (2006), Palm Bay Art Fest, 2nd place (2005), Life's Finer Things Festival, 1st place (2005), Palm Bay Art Fest, Best in Show (2004) and Artworks, 2nd place 3-D (2004).

CLASSES