Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Applefest 2014 Photographs!

My goodness! Working with all of that glass, and those danged photos, that was a lot bigger of a task than I thought it would be (I'm defintiely going to get help next time).

You're here for the photos, so I hope you really enjoy them! I have hosted them all on a web album (link below). I apologize profusely for the poor photo quality. I honest to goodness spent ten hours today on photography and editing, only to have the files go corrupt. I'll redo them at some point though.

https://plus.google.com/photos/101621177558837701779/albums/6065381751077573617



If you have any questions or queries about these gorgeous pieces, please feel free to drop me an e-mail ( nicole.nasvytis@hotmail.com ). I'm absolutely stunned by the varying results, and by how many children and parents participated.

Ciao for now!

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Burlington Applefest 2014, Glass at Ireland House

Hello and thank you to those who participated in this year's Applefest! I was completely unprepared for how amazing all the kids and their parents would be. I ran out of glass, for one. And by my calculations, you guys made a new glass keepsake every 3 minutes! That's crazy.

As such, there was literally not enough time left in the day to melt every wonderful keepsake (in fact, I'd have to run that little microwave for 57 hours straight to finish each piece individually). So, I really hate to break hearts, but there won't be any finished pieces posted on Monday. Sorry!

There's only one way to finish all your art pieces: I am going to take all 90 keepsakes, and put them into a big oven (called a kiln), where they'll all melt at the same time.

At (I'm guessing) 5 minutes each, it will take me 7.5 hours to arrange each glass keepsake, and the big oven could take 24 hours to heat up to 850C, and then to cool back down to 30C. I promise I will post the minute they're done.

If you'd like to have me alert you when your glass art is done, send an email to nicole.nasvytis@hotmail.com - I'd be more than happy to let you know.

Once again, I am sorry for the delay, but I am absolutely ecstatically happy to be delayed because of the wonderfully productive and creative day we had.

-Nicole

Sunday, February 2, 2014

How I Brought in 2014

I was lucky enough to be invited up to visit some friends for New Years Eve, ones who happen to have graduated with.

We've talked the night away about absolutely everything, like their business prospects and issues, collaborations and co-ops, etc. There's a couple moments that I think are important to note though....

Art vs Craft vs Design

This is a conversation we had every single week in school, and I assure you we were all quite sick of it, "Why can't people just call themselves what they want? Who cares?" we'd eventually say in frustration. Somehow, after graduating into the business-art world, we've come to understand the importance behind these endless discussions. Our teachers would be proud of us now.

Right now I say to myself: If there is someone who hasn't once thought through the possible importance of defining these terms, they must be lacking something as a 'serious art person'.

"The Studio Movement"

Again, our teacher Koen would be seriously proud of us for having conversations that we later realized relate to this idea. We discuss lots of dreamy ideas for how to run studios and sell glass. Why not flamework and fuse glass out of the back of a truck? Travel around tourist destinations all summer and set up in parks and on the beach. Or get a house in a tourist area and work/sell glass from there for the season. Can we reap the benefits of having a studio and traveling? Can we go to the people? What can we do differently from the previous generation of artists, to set ourselves apart?

I think there's a pretty straight line for most people in terms of what it means to be a successful glass artist (and maybe ceramics too). Setting up your own studio, shop and/or gallery is the ultimate dream of most everyone I've talked to. That means you've made it if you can afford to have these brick and mortar buildings. So, I have hope that there's a special spark between Paul, Amy and I, since we're all wanting to build an alternative route.

Quick history lesson:
Glass is quite young in North America, and the idea of entrepreneur glass artists is even younger. "The Studio Movement" represents this idea, and it is only 50 years old! Koen would often say he hopes everyone will announce that the movement is dead though, because he believes it's time for people to set out and figure out what the next direction for glass is.

Creative Flow of Ideas

I can't tell you how absolutely amazing it is to be able to spend time with like-minded artistic individuals. School is an environment that's completely saturated with this sort of thing .... and you don't realize it until you're gone. I've been desperately missing this benefit of school ever since graduation. Whenever you have a chance to freely exchange ideas and dreams, try to enjoy it to it's fullest. It will inspire and motivate you like nothing else in this world.

I think the pinnacle of this creative collaboration was New Years Eve. Amy brought back lots of knick knacks, findings and ideas back from China and she challenged us all to figure out how we could use them to create something new. There were a flurry of new ideas to keep us busy in 2014, including an entire series of serious flameworked pieces with an environmental message. The ideas came so easily. It was as if someone had handed us a sketchbook that was already filled with designs for work that someone out there would love.

So, when you get the chance, talk with your artsy friends and artsy strangers. Talk with your teachers, and talk with me if you'd like. I promise you there's plenty of easy benefits to reap.






Monday, January 27, 2014

How to Write a Curriculum Vitae



I've met a lot of wonderful artists and crafters at shows since graduating Sheridan College. I don't know why, but somewhere along the way I started asking if the better established folks had Curriculum Vitaes (CVs), and astoundingly, none of them did. In fact, no one had a clue to what a CV might be - I guess a benefit to a traditional education is 'insiders information'.

WHY do you want it?
-Some exhibitions, residencies, awards and projects require you to submit a one (1) page CV with your application.
-Artists don't usually fit into a traditional resume. There's not often a, "Two years at McDonalds, FT."
-Furthermore, artists can run their lives very differently. A CV allows you to curate a list of the individual experiences you have.
-After a long, wonderful career as an artist (especially if you start off thinking you'll just be a hobbyist), a long-form CV is wonderful to look back on.

My Curriculum Vitae


HOW do you write it?
It's pretty easy. Just figure out what categories your art experience fall under, and then list them in the way you find most appropriate. I rearrange my layout depending on what will be most important to the people I'm sending the CV to.

You can include information such as (but not limited to);
-Self-employment
-Art shows
-Collaborations
-Exhibitions
-Residencies
-Teaching Experience, and
-Guild Memberships

You also list more obvious things like;
-Education
-Awards, and
-Volunteer Experience

By the way, you want two versions:
First CV: A one (1) page CV suitable for sending out with applications.
-This is a trimmed down version that includes only your best and/or most relevant experience.

Second CV: A long CV that includes everything you've ever done.
-As you gain more experience you may find yourself deleting certain entries, and that's okay too.

So that's it! I suggest you Google some examples (perhaps of your favourite artists!) if you're still feeling a little bit stuck. (: