BECon 2003 - Post Conference
Portland, OR - Over 150 educators and artists involved in the art and craft of kiln-glass attended Bullseye Glass Company's first conference from August 1 - 4. 2003. Representatives from 22 states and 8 foreign countries took part in lectures, panel discussions and demonstrations on topics ranging from technical methods to health and safety to studio equipment to name but a few.
Education was the conference theme and many presenters addressed and debated teaching methods and teaching tools.
Keynote speaker, Richard Whiteley, head of the glass program at Australia's renowned Canberra School of Art, set the tone by calling for "a more holistic approach to all levels of teaching – one where the integration of thinking and making conjoin."
CSA's Richard Whiteley delivers keynote.
Whiteley's address was capped by a video message from Klaus Moje, who, unable to attend the conference due to a recent car accident, again emphasized the importance of education in our field and welcomed the conference attendees.
Klaus Moje addressed the audience by video.
The presentations and panel discussions that followed provided much lively
debate both during and after the formal sessions.
Lunchtime presentations in the spacious Queen Marie Ballroom of the Embassy Suites Hotel, headquarters
for the conference, added to the entertainment as well as the educational
value of the offerings with stories of itinerant teaching and exercises in
writing Haiku poetry that captured the essence of teaching on the road.
Ye Olde Glass Doc Henry Halem and Portland's Linda Ethier. Photo: S. Immerman |
Three more Glass Docs in a row: Ted Sawyer, Rudi Gritsch and Dan Schwoerer. |
A series of special evening events augmented the daytime lecture and panel presentations, as attendees enjoyed a gala reception for Legacy, an exhibition of works by artist-educators and their heirs at the Bullseye Gallery, and an evening at the Bullseye glass factory with demonstrations and a dinner of barbecued chicken and ribs prepared on the glass factory's 100-foot long continuous belt annealing oven. Coffee and dessert on the construction site of the new Resource Cener capped the Lehr-B-Q evening.
Opening night. The Immerman family at LEGACY. Photo: S. Immerman |
Ted Sawyer, demo during Saturday night factory extravaganza. Photo: S. Immerman |
The crowd rolled into the factory for a Roll-Up demo by Steve Klein and Johnathon Schmuck. Photo: S. Immerman |
A dinner of chicken and ribs hot off the lehr. |
New RC construction site. |
Over 140 spaces in pre- and post-conference workshops were filled with kilnworkers eager to learn about both doing and teaching in topics from pate de verre to box-casting to introductory teaching, among others.
Introduction to Kiln Glass: teachers study teaching.
|
Plans are already in the works for the next BECon, tentatively scheduled for
Summer 2005.
A journal documenting the proceedings of the 2003 conference is expected to
be ready for release by early 2004.
Watch this site for updates.
Or email: conference@bullseye-glass.com if you'd like to contribute ideas for BECon2005 or comment on BECon2003.
Thanks to all who made our first event so spectacular!
Team Bullseye
Caught in the Glow of the Glass. Photo: S. Immerman
In spite of a few misplaced tools, BECon was a Killer Time. Photo: S. Immerman |