Fantastic Faculty in the News Recently, two members of our faculty have been in the news, reflecting the amazingly talented people in our community and their passion for making and sharing art.
Norman Moore, neon and light instructor, recently completed a public art project for the Alameda County Arts Commission in collaboration with Nancy Mizuno Elliot, a student in one of his classes. They created a series of windows for the new Castro Valley Library, which just opened to the public.
Jay Bridgland, head of our Flameworking department, was recently profiled in Alameda Magazine, where he has recently set up a new studio and is a driving force in the 2nd Friday Estuary Art Attack open studios.
Two of our woodworking instructors have teamed up to teach a unique design-build workshop that challenges entry-level students to make something out of one sheet of plywood. Together, Kevin and Matt share their extensive design and fabrication expertise while encouraging self expression and exploration.
Kevin Hoelscher
Kevin completed his master’s of architecture degree in 2005 and joined the teaching faculty at the Crucible in 2007. Rather than practicing architecture, he prefers working on a smaller scale and has spent the last four years creating intricate sculpture and furniture in a variety of media, including steel, solid wood, laminated wood, and cast plastic resin. Inspired by sources ranging from graphic design to the standardized parts of the early industrial revolution, his aesthetic is further influenced by travels to Japan and throughout Scandinavia.
Matt Wolpe
Matt graduated from The Evergreen State College in 2005 with an emphasis in Urban Studies. Upon graduation he moved to New York City to work for an architecture firm that specialized in housing for refugees made out of recycled shipping pallets. From there, Matt went on to work with a variety of nonprofits whose goal was to link design, community and education. These included The Center for Urban Pedagogy, The Riverside Park Fund, as well as participating in a Post-Katrina Design/Build trip with Designcorps that provided experimental relief structures to refugees from the Hurricane. In the summer of '08 Matt interned at Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont where he studied woodworking, natural building, sustainable design and carpentry. Currently, Matt is a studio manager at The Crucible in Oakland as well as a teaching resident with San Francisco Public Schools teaching architecture to 5th graders. Matt is interested in engaging design on a variety of scales including urban planning, living structures and furniture.
Patricia Chavez, a transplant from Tijuana, Mexico, moved to Bay Area to study psychology. After completing her BA, she realized that her true passion did not lie there but in the arts. Initially gravitating to the world of music, she satisfied her growing fascination with metal work by taking welding classes at The Crucible. Although you can still catch her dj-ing in San Francisco at John Colins’s Happy Hour every first Friday, Patricia can usually be found at The Crucible – either teaching a class, in MIG welding or square fabrication, while fabricating her custom fire eating torches in the smithy, or practicing her fiery arts.
While working at The Crucible as an Assistant Studio Manager, Patricia’s curious nature soon had her learning fire eating, fire breathing, and rope dart. Now proficient at fire performance, Patricia not only teaches, but performs regularly at many events, and recently was featured in the indie film “Daily Grind” and is preparing to shoot a performance for a death metal video for the Drummer from Hell.
The overall aesthetic of Patricia’s personal artwork tends to be minimal in nature; she pays close attention to the execution of her work while enjoying the challenges and revelations of the fabrication process. She has collaborated in the fabrication of a number of large scale art installations, and is currently helping on the Raygun Gothic Rocket project.
May 2009
Jonathan Hyman
TIG Welding
Jonathan Hyman studied fine art at the College of Marin and has been an industrial artist since 1971. Known as “The Tigster” Jonathan is certified in titanium, nickel, and stainless steel, MIG and TIG welding and is classified as a welder/fabricator. His sculptures are featured in private collections throughout the U.S. Jonathan recently collaborated in the production of the West Berkeley Gateway over I-80, providing specialized welding fabrication for the stainless steel elements in the monumental sculptures that symbolize the city, its people and its activities.
Jonathan can be found at The Crucible on Wednesday evenings, teaching his popular class, Sculpting with TIG, where those with previous experience with TIG welding learn the finer details and special techniques of TIG welding.
April 2009
Cynthia Handel
Foundry
The artwork of Oakland based sculptor Cynthia Handel explores the relationship between organic and inorganic forms. Handel derives inspiration from everyday objects such as tables, vessels, seedpods and other organic and man made structures. Handel notes, “Examining my work, I realize I work intuitively, creating elements, collecting parts that reflect what and how I see and respond to my surroundings.”
Cynthia Handel is a sculptor who has been teaching cast metal for the last ten years. After receiving her MFA from San Jose State University, Cynthia was assistant professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA, developing its comprehensive casting program including iron casting. She has taught at Sonoma State University, San Jose State University and other Colleges in the Bay Area, and teaches foundry and moldmaking here at the Crucible.
Cynthia’s work combines cast elements with steel, wood and other materials such as silk and beeswax. Process and materials are as significant to Handel as form; through casting, welding, carving, and building - each piece is the result of multiple layers of decision-making. Elements are added, subtracted, and re-worked to create rich surfaces. Handel chooses materials that exist on opposite polarities - the permanence of steel and bronze contrast with the fragile delicacy of beeswax, silk and salt.
See some of Cynthia's work January 15 - April 30, 2009 at:
Gallery 555 - Oakland Museum 555 12th Street, Oakland, CA Open and free to the public. BART, AC Transit and Wheelchair accessible.
March 2009
Tachina Rudman-Young
Ceramics Finding Happiness through Creative Self-Expression
Whether she's teaching a Figurative Sculpture class with a model, a recycled art workshop, or a parent-child clay class, Tachinia is committed to supporting people on their journey towards personal fulfillment and love, encouraging them to be the most wild, daring, and outrageous version of themselves possible. Tachina teaches ceramics and creative process classes at The Crucible, and offers art/movement workshops throughout the Bay Area. Learn more about Tachina’s work at www.openyourheartart.com.
photos courtesy of Tachina Rudman-Young
January 2009
Aimee Golant
Jewelry
Aimee Golant's unique metal work is sold by over 300 retailers across the United States. The Jewish Museum of New York acquired one of her evocative mezuzahs for its permanent collection. Her Barbed Wire Mezuzah traveled into outer space on the Columbia Space Shuttle. She has won the esteemed NICHE award for her Bars and Windows Menorah and the Golden Hammer Award for outstanding community service within the realm of metal arts. Most recently she has appeared on HGTV's "That's Clever." Check out Aimee on the below video, and check out her website to see more of her beautiful work.
December 2008
Crucible glass artist Tara Murray wins 2nd place in Female Flame-Off competition
The 3rd Annual Female Flame-Off was recently held in Berkeley, where competitors from throughout the U.S. participated in the three-day event, competing in three different categories: Functional, Wearables, and Mystery Box. Tara selected Mystery Box, in which a random theme was chosen out of a box. The theme was punk rock, and her winning entry was a set of four small sculptures: an anarchy symbol behind three hands giving a universally understood gesture. An auction was held to sell the pieces, with proceeds going to the New Afghanistan Women Association (NAWA).
Tara teaches adult and youth classes in glass flameworking, and also donates her time to our youth and community outreach programs, giving demonstrations and leading workshops. Much of Tara’s work is focused on creating sculpture and jewelry with a sense of narration and realism, reflecting and re-imagining the natural world within the glass.
To see examples and learn more about Tara’s work, visit taramurray.com
November 2008
Warren
Glass Cold Working
Warren has been cold working and kiln casting glass for more than 20 years. His education includes four years of study with the Glass Department at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now called California College of the Arts), one semester of study in the Czech Republic, Kiln Casting at Pilchuck Glass School with David Reekie in 1989, and Glass Engraving, also at Pilchuck, with Jiri Harcuba in 1999. Warren also acquired lots of cold working experience by having worked as Clifford Rainey’s cold working assistant for nearly four years. Upon leaving CCAC Warren promptly opened his own cold working studio, where for eight years he has offered cold working services to dozens of San Francisco Bay Area glass artists.
Today Warren teaches glass engraving and other cold working techniques at The Crucible, as well as maintains his studio where he works full time creating his own kiln cast and engraved art work. Warren has shown his work in many Bay Area galleries and has successfully completed dozens of commissioned works, both architectural and private. You can visit his website at rabbitdenstudios.com.
October 2008
Evan Wilcox
Hot Wheels Department
Evan Wilcox is sought after by motorcycle and racing enthusiasts the world over for his meticulous and artistic fabrications for tanks and fenders. Regarding Evan’s work, one of his race bike clients states: “The craftsmanship is staggering and when I have shown the bike it draws attention like Elvis in Vegas. Evan is the best I have seen.”
Three times a year Evan teaches a Sheet Metal Forming workshop for experienced metal workers, where they can learn the finer details of shaping metal using specialized welding techniques, the English wheel, planishing hammer and hand forming tools.
Rick Turner co-founded Alembic in 1970 and was involved in the design and construction of Alembic instruments. He founded Rick Turner Guitars in 1979 and joined Gibson in 1988 where he served as president of Gibson Labs West Coast R&D Division.
Turner left Gibson in 1992 and ran a guitar repair shop at Westwood Music in Los Angeles where he developed piezo pickup designs, working with Jackson Browne, David Crosby and others. He later co-founded Highlander Musical Audio, manufacturer of piezo pickups for acoustic guitars. He continues to design and build guitars for many professional players such as Lindsey Buckingham, Ry Cooder, David Lindley, David Crosby and Andy Summers. He is a regular columnist for Acoustic Guitar and a former columnist for Bass Player, Frets and Guitar Player magazines. His present company is Renaissance Guitars.
Turner's designs are considered significant and innovative, and include at least the following:
• invented and patented the graphite neck in 1976, with Geoff Gould who then started Modulus Graphite.
• the use of curved plates on the front and back of his Model 1 electric guitars in order to reduce standing wave hysteresis loss.
• the use of 18v preamps in an attempt to tame the 'quack' sound commonly associated with piezoelectric acoustic guitar pickups.
Want to take a class from Jay? You can find him teaching Core Vessel Forming, Continuing Techniques in Glass Flameworking, and Advanced Techniques in Flameworking.
Jay Bridgland
Department Head – Glass Flameworking
Originally from London, Jay heads The Crucible’s Glass Flameworking Department; he also owns Bridgland Studios, an Oakland-based glass art studio. The art of glass flameworking is an intimate relationship of shaping and blowing molten glass in a torch with a 50,000 F flame, fueled by oxygen and propane, using traditional tools and techniques. Jay continually seeks to redefine the concept of glass artwear and to explore the limitless possibilities of expressing fashion through glass. He brings this passion to his students at The Crucible; his drive for perfection of technique and development of style takes him on an annual trek to Murano, Italy, the mecca of Italian art glass, to work with classical Italian glass maestros.
Halstead Bead, Inc recently awarded Jay a business development grant, which will allow him to continue developing his art and his business. Jay credits The Crucible as an important influence in his career. “Teaching at The Crucible over the past five years has given me the opportunity to grow my work and ideas into a unique vision and a solid direction.” says Bridgland, “ It’s enabled me to give back to the community, sharing my vision of artistic purpose and the rewarding challenges of working with molten glass with people of all ages.”
July 2008
Barry Baldwin
Stone Working Instructor
After graduating from prestigious design schools in his native England, Baldwin spent a long apprenticeship learning stone carving and casting techniques. His work is often integrated into architecture, and can be seen in major cities in the UK and Europe.
Check out Barry's Website for more information on him and his work.
"Located in the very heart of London, Grand Buildings stands in the south-east corner of Trafalgar Square. I was commissioned to carve a doorway, standing over 6 meters (20ft) in height, on the Northumberland Avenue elevation, and a total of 27 over life size portrait heads on the Strand elevation." - Barry Baldwin
Non-discrimination policy: The Crucible is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, gender, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or physical disability.
Winter 2010 Class Schedule (3817)
