Latest / philly has heART / Debra Adelson Jewelry feat. Debra Adelson + Pavel Novak Glass feat. Pavel Novak

Transcript

Debra Adelson Jewelry feat. Debra Adelson + Pavel Novak Glass feat. Pavel Novak · philly has heART

0:15
Hi Lucinda. What a weekend. Yeah. Philip was
0:20
some great stuff. That's true. You even had a
0:23
fun Monday night. Do you get into anything? Friday
0:28
was Halloween, right? So hung out, did some trick
0:31
-or -treating with some kiddos and also ate too
0:35
much candy. And then Saturday I had a house party
0:40
to go to, but even at the house party. Guess
0:44
where people were leaving early for? Ballet X.
0:49
Ballet X. They were going to see Program A. And
0:54
that's where I went Saturday night. Talk to me
0:58
about it. A few things. Laney Jackson is the
1:03
MVP of the 10 excerpts. She was in all, but maybe
1:10
four of them. And as I understand it, she had
1:14
to sub in for two dancers who were out with injuries.
1:21
You saw the red pixie cut. People were picking
1:24
up on it. They're like, Whoa, she's doing another
1:27
one. Like you could just hear the observations.
1:30
Most impressive. Also impressive, as always,
1:35
they had two short films placed in either half
1:41
of the performance. There was one intermission
1:45
and something that they mentioned in one of them
1:50
was that these dancers are getting an employer
1:55
sponsored retirement account with a match. That's
2:01
incredible. Year -long contracts with vacation
2:05
time paid vacation for all 16 you know, they
2:09
really went back and talked about the history
2:13
of Ballet X and how Christine and Matthew Neiman
2:18
wanted to dance on their off time and do something
2:22
creative and keep creating and that's where they
2:26
landed and Robert I think we need to dream bigger.
2:30
Oh Okay It's so inspiring. And then last night,
2:38
Ballet X dancer, Eli and I went to Mazzoni Center
2:42
Honors and it was a very, very last minute decision.
2:45
At first I was like, no, I'm not going to go
2:48
as of 6 .30 AM. And then as of 7 .10, I was like,
2:52
you know what? I'm never going to get a chance
2:54
to see Savion Glover tap. Yeah. It's never going
2:58
to be this accessible. I need to go. And it was
3:03
mind -blowing. Oh, incredible! We walked into
3:08
the Kimmel Center, checked our coats, we get
3:13
in line for a drink, and a gaggle of women of
3:17
a certain age and their husbands came up to Eli
3:20
and said, you know, we don't mean to interrupt
3:24
and... They were fans. This is the second time
3:29
this happened when I've been around him, and
3:32
he is just so gracious. Oh, I love it. We have
3:35
some more things to talk about. A few headlines
3:38
from the past week, and I'm just going to gloss
3:41
over the first three. Number one, blue chip galleries
3:44
drop out of Art Basel, Miami Beach, with two
3:47
months to go. Sacrificing some deposits there.
3:52
Yep, not great. Pepperdine Museum director resigns
3:57
amid censorship controversy. The way I read this
4:01
is that the university hung her up to dry. They
4:05
needed a scapegoat. Not great. Five more suspects
4:09
arrested in connection with Louvre jewel heist.
4:12
Wait, five? Did you see the photo of that guy?
4:15
Woo! Sign me up. Tell them where the family jewels
4:19
are. As of Wednesday when this goes live, this
4:23
broke yesterday. The PMA CEO is out. Suda out.
4:29
Let me tell you, I want to say I saw this come
4:32
in the day before. It's never great when two
4:38
of your trustees break with what has to be a
4:45
very iron clad trustee confidentiality as well
4:50
as trustee censorship. to go to the inquirer
4:56
to get quoted on how they were treated through
5:00
the rebranding process. Were they consulted at
5:06
all? What I have read is they were consulted
5:09
at the beginning of the process, but never received
5:13
the final product to then rubber stamp. There
5:17
was no public insight on how this would happen.
5:22
The Philadelphia Magazine said this morning that
5:27
she was fired for cause and that they told her
5:31
via email. You know what I'm going to say. Philadelphia
5:35
is a union town and that woman has been on my
5:38
list since fall of 2022 when handlers who knows
5:46
who installed priceless Matices and crossed the
5:53
picket line i get that you know change is hard
5:57
right and change is hard to to happen at institutions
6:03
and i also had an inkling when she had canceled
6:09
the antique show the women's committee has put
6:14
the antique show together from like the beginning
6:18
of time, those like 50 members of that trustee
6:23
board were built on the backs of the women's
6:27
committee at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
6:30
I mean, you just, you don't take that away. You
6:35
don't take that away. You find a way to juggle
6:39
the 150th anniversary while making sure that
6:43
you're continuing to... honor your advocates.
6:48
Yeah. I wish her the best, but I know that the
6:54
trustees have the best for the city and the museum
7:00
in mind when they continue to make these decisions.
7:04
Agreed. Shall we get on to the conversation,
7:06
Robert? On to the conversation. Greetings. This
7:20
is Robert Marsh and you're listening to Philly
7:22
Has Heart podcast. In this podcast, we sit down
7:25
with artists, gallerists, educators, curators,
7:28
and other creatives who comprise the Philadelphia
7:30
art world to discuss upcoming performances, exhibits,
7:34
and other events and initiatives that are not
7:37
to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia is
7:40
so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider this
7:43
your weekend cultural recommendation. With me
7:46
always is my producer Lucinda Dyerlund. Hello.
7:51
And today we have with us Deborah Adelson and
7:55
Pavel Novak. Thank you both for joining us today.
7:59
Thank you for having us. Excellent. Yes. So we're
8:02
super excited for the Philadelphia Contemporary
8:07
Craft Show. hosted by the Philadelphia Museum
8:10
of Art. This year will open in November at the
8:16
Convention Center. But going into your artwork
8:20
itself, Deborah, can you take us through your
8:24
journey that brought you to your respective role
8:27
as an artist? Well, I went to Tyler School of
8:32
Art and I... majored in jewelry design and silver
8:36
smithing. I actually started off as a photography
8:39
major and jewelry was across the hall and I took
8:43
it as thinking I was gonna do something like
8:45
make something fun for myself. Yeah, and I ended
8:48
up loving it and I felt natural using hand tools
8:53
and working three -dimensionally and that was
8:58
the beginning of my journey. What brought you
9:00
to Philadelphia? I guess it was coming to Tyler.
9:03
I fell in love with Tyler when I, when it was
9:05
on the Elkins Park campus. I loved that it was
9:09
its own inclusive community. I think when I went
9:13
there to tour it, there were like figure drawing
9:16
and figure modeling classes outside in like among
9:19
the trees and there were wacky kids running around
9:22
in thrift store clothing. And I don't know. It
9:25
was just, I went in the nineties and I just loved
9:28
it. Where are you from originally? North Central
9:31
Jersey. And Pawel, how about yourself? What is
9:34
your artistic journey? So I am originally from
9:37
Czechoslovakia, currently known as Czechia. I
9:42
grew up about 20 minutes south of German border,
9:46
so northern part, a little town called Česká
9:48
Lippa. My parents' house was about five miles
9:51
from the largest glass factory. So as a kid,
9:55
I mixed several tours there with my parents and
9:59
with the school. And I wanted to try to do something
10:01
with my hands because the Czech industry was
10:05
and still is very, very popular. And my parents
10:09
were supportive because they knew I'm gonna be
10:12
going to the school, which is very close. So
10:15
they still gonna... How do they feel now? Yeah,
10:19
well, now I feel it's very, very different now.
10:23
And I grew up during the communism, so there
10:27
was no such things as a professional artist or
10:32
professional athletes. Those were considered
10:34
no -nos. Gotcha. So when I went to the glass
10:39
school, I was trained towards the industrial
10:42
designs. So I grinded a lot of... vases, chandeliers,
10:47
mirrors. And then at the age of 17, the regime
10:50
changed. And for the first time, I was able to
10:53
start experimenting, making my small little designs.
10:59
Wow. I don't know how much more. No, no, please.
11:06
Keep going. Yeah. What brought you to the States?
11:09
After I finished a glass school, there were two
11:14
years of mandatory work in the largest glass
11:18
factory in Novi Bor, which was called Crystal
11:20
X. Luckily for me, after about six months of
11:25
me working there, which was not very enjoyable
11:28
work, I got rescued by the principal of the school
11:31
where I study and he took me back and he offered
11:33
me a teaching job. So I actually went back, I
11:37
got a teacher's degree and... At the age of 20,
11:42
I started teaching, which was very, very young.
11:46
And as a teacher, I had two and a half months
11:50
holidays. And I got invited to Massachusetts
11:55
by the guy named Josh Simpson, who is a glass
11:59
blower. And he asked me to help him. and has
12:03
his work with my cold working skills. Originally
12:08
it was for six months and I turned... six months
12:14
into the four years. And then... And Josh sponsored
12:16
your... Josh sponsored my stay and I basically
12:22
ended up in the United States because what I
12:25
do for a living is considered a specialty. Yes,
12:28
definitely. So I spent four years working for
12:31
him and then I moved to New Jersey after I met
12:35
my wife and I have my own studio now for the
12:39
last 16 years. Incredible. The integration of...
12:42
of glass and jewelry setting is prevalent in
12:45
both of your works. How did each of you discover
12:49
your affinity for this innovative technique?
12:52
When I started doing shows almost 30 years ago,
12:56
my work was a combination of plastics and sterling
13:01
silver. And I actually wasn't making jewelry
13:04
at the time because I had worked in New York
13:08
City for a jewelry manufacturer and I... I just
13:12
needed a break from jewelry. So when I was in
13:15
school, I actually did a lot of I thought I was
13:17
going to go on to graduate school for industrial
13:19
design. And so most of my senior thesis pieces
13:22
were functional objects. And so when I started
13:25
doing shows, I started with a line of functional
13:29
objects like baby cups and baby spoons and wedding
13:32
chalices and things for churches, that kind of
13:36
thing. And the acrylic or plastics were handles.
13:40
They were like it was integrated into it. My
13:43
work is a lot about color, and so the plastic
13:46
was something that was inexpensive. I could access
13:50
it. There used to be, right here on Arch Street,
13:52
there was a plastic store. You can buy some of
13:56
their scrap by the pound. I used to go in every
13:58
week and just throw their scraps in. So anyway,
14:03
fast forward a lot of years. We met and... you
14:07
know, we got married and I have my son, I was
14:09
pregnant with my son who is now just turned 16.
14:13
And the world is a different place than it was
14:15
when I started making my work and I no longer
14:18
wanted to work with plastics. I all of a sudden
14:20
was like having nightmares about every aspect
14:24
of it. Like it's toxic. My footprint on the world,
14:29
you know, like this is what I'm, I was pregnant
14:31
and your brain like explodes in all different
14:35
directions. And so I pretty much stopped working
14:38
with Plastics Cold Turkey. And I had a pretty
14:41
long, at that point, even back then, I was getting
14:46
into really good shows. I had written a book
14:48
for Lark, which is a book publisher for art,
14:51
even though they're no longer in business anymore.
14:54
But I'd written a book about the art of jewelry,
14:56
plastics, resin. But I just was like, you know
14:58
what? I don't want to do this anymore. And I
15:00
stopped. And so then there was a bunch of years
15:02
where I was just experimenting with other materials.
15:05
And Pavel was like, you should work with glass.
15:09
You should work glass. And I was like, I don't
15:11
want to work with glass because you work with
15:13
glass. I don't want to do that. So instead I
15:17
like carved wood and I dyed wood and I played
15:19
with all these other. I started doing more lapidary
15:21
work and I was doing all sorts of stuff. And
15:24
finally I was like, you know. When I had first
15:27
gone to the Czech Republic to meet his parents,
15:31
we went to one of these factories that your friends
15:36
worked at, and they were doing engraving, which
15:38
is cold working. It's a different type of cold
15:41
work than he does. And I thought about it somewhere
15:45
in the back of my mind, and we had talked about
15:48
it, and he had said that there were classes in
15:50
Corning at the museum school. And so I thought,
15:53
you know what? I don't even know if this is something
15:55
that I want to do. It was kind of a thought that
15:58
maybe I could go in that direction, but I really
16:01
resisted Glass because it's kind of a misogynistic
16:03
world, and I didn't want to do what he does because
16:06
we're two artists married together, and I knew
16:09
as soon as I did Glass, people would think that
16:11
he makes my work, which they do, which is frustrating.
16:14
And so I wanted to do something completely different
16:17
than he does. Of course, I ended up falling in
16:19
love with Glass. I went up to Corning, and I
16:21
was there for several weeks, and I loved... I
16:24
immersed myself in the museum, and you can go
16:27
through all of their libraries and kind of go
16:30
in and out of all of the studios, and I just
16:32
fell in love with glass. And so then I had to
16:35
come home the little tiny bit of knowledge that
16:37
I had had from going to Corning and figure out
16:39
a body of work. You know, that's a whole other
16:41
story. So that was years in the experimenting
16:45
where I was still kind of making other random
16:48
things. So there was like maybe... three or four
16:50
years that I was just kind of making random stuff
16:52
before I really figured out the body of work
16:55
with glass to integrate glass into my work. Wow.
16:58
I dated a guy who, he had his degree in studio
17:02
art in glass, maybe it was glass blowing. I dated
17:06
a guy in grad school, but I think he only wanted
17:09
to do it because he wanted to make bongs. Oh,
17:13
yeah. That's like 90 % of the time. That was
17:16
my only experience with glass at Tyler and...
17:19
The glass studio had a very distinct vibe. Which
17:24
was the polar opposite of the jewelry studio,
17:27
which also had a distinct vibe. Polar opposite
17:31
of the glass. We were all really uptight, and
17:33
they were all like... So that was my only like
17:40
my thought about glass, you know. That was the
17:42
one of the reason, not that you ask, one of the
17:44
reason why I stopped teaching because Corning
17:47
is the largest museum in the world when it comes
17:50
on the glass. And I had a privilege to go there
17:52
for 11 years every summer, every winter to teach.
17:55
And when they start accepting these teachers,
17:58
these young kids who were doing smokeware. Not
18:03
pipes, a smoke ware. And all of a sudden, it
18:06
was widely accepted, but that was the only thing
18:10
they could do, basically just pipes. You should
18:12
cut that. No, when you are in it. It was really
18:17
discouraging, and I'm not gonna say like humiliating,
18:20
but all of a sudden, somebody who is 20 - It's
18:23
a big side of glass now. 22 years old is on the
18:27
same stage as people who have 30 years under
18:30
their belt, and this is what I - and it's perfectly
18:33
usable, and they spend half of the day high.
18:37
Yeah, so there are a lot of people who basically
18:40
go for flame -working to learn one thing and
18:42
one thing only, but you know what? More power
18:44
to them because there's a huge market for it,
18:47
especially now when it's legal. Right, yeah,
18:49
yeah, yeah. I know. He has pet peeves. Can you
18:55
tell us more about your art? what I do it's called
18:58
cold working and it's because there is no heat
19:01
used during the process everything what I do
19:04
is done on the mostly I'm using a silicon carbide
19:07
wheels diamond wheels and the lots of lots of
19:10
water it's a very popular technique always was
19:13
in the central Europe not only Czech Republic
19:16
but what used to be called Bohemia, which is
19:19
part of Germany, Austria. And so we were always
19:24
known for cold working, like Italians are more
19:27
known for a glass blowing, but Central Europe,
19:30
it was cutting and grinding glass. When I went
19:33
to the school at Novi Bor, we were taught using
19:39
a bubble free optical material. It was all about
19:42
the reflection. So that's what I consider perfect
19:46
glass. However, I don't want people think that
19:48
if you have a vessel base at home and it has
19:52
a bubble that it's not worth it. It's a completely
19:56
different technique. When glassblower will get
19:59
a new layer of glass, they will always trap the
20:03
air in it. And that's where the bubbles come
20:05
from. And there is nothing they can do about
20:08
it. This has nothing to do with the skills. however,
20:11
start with a block of glass which is perfect.
20:15
And I start on the diamond saw and I will cut
20:17
it into the sections and then I will laminate
20:22
them together using a colored epoxy. So essentially
20:26
I can turn big block of clear optical glass and
20:31
put any color in it and then I shape it and...
20:36
grind it, facet it, polish it. And on average,
20:40
I need at least about two, two and a half weeks
20:43
to finish one single piece. I do have a, I did
20:47
make pieces which took me up to seven, eight
20:51
weeks to finish. So, and when I came to the United
20:55
States, I realized that... the vast majority
20:59
of people wanna do the glass blowing and the
21:01
flame working, because it's visually much more
21:05
intriguing things, you know, when you are a glass
21:08
blower. I don't think that people here even know
21:10
that cold working is a thing. I didn't know cold
21:13
working was a thing. I will give you a number.
21:16
We are in... in teens, probably 14, 15 people
21:20
in the entire United States doing what I do.
21:24
I can be sitting here and tell you that's because
21:26
it's extremely difficult and that's bad. I don't
21:30
think so. I'm not gonna say that it is challenging,
21:37
that's for sure, but I spent many years teaching
21:42
this and I always ask people after they finish
21:45
two weeks with me, would you consider do this
21:48
for a living and i'm gonna say me two percent
21:51
said yes and the 98 percent say i'm sorry i can
21:55
so i obviously ask why and the answer was the
21:58
same it's the time it's the furthest from the
22:02
inside gratification it really takes i always
22:05
when people come to my booth and they looking
22:08
at my stuff, I am telling them that it's 40 %
22:13
talent, 60 % patience. You have to spend them,
22:17
especially when it comes down to polishing, because
22:19
I do have a pieces which if you would come to
22:22
my studio, you would see me on one wheel on Monday.
22:25
And if you would show up four days later, I'm
22:28
doing the identical motion, identical thing.
22:31
So I think that's the biggest turn off. how much
22:36
time it takes. There's so much time involved
22:39
in it, and it's also so fragile, it's so easy
22:41
to screw up. So either one of us at any point
22:45
in the process can destroy the piece that we've
22:48
just spent hours and hours and hours on, and
22:50
it happens. When she was... It happens. I went
22:55
on a tour of the museum when I was at Corning,
22:57
I went on a lot of different tours, but there
22:59
was one, and the tour guide was going through
23:02
different stages of... different types of glass,
23:05
and we were in an ancient room, and he's showing
23:07
us this ancient mold, and he says, and now at
23:09
this point, if the glass blower was to make a
23:13
mistake, he would lose 10 minutes of work. And
23:18
so anytime we destroy anything in our house,
23:21
I'm like, I've just destroyed 10 minutes of work.
23:26
When it's like, I spend 10 minutes under my bench
23:28
looking for a stone I just dropped. I spent 10
23:32
minutes just setting up the machine. I spent
23:35
10 minutes, like 10 minutes is nothing. There's
23:39
literally nothing that either of us can get done
23:42
in 10 minutes. I have implemented my career because
23:43
I do this for 33 years now. I kind of ran out
23:47
all the... simplistic ideas so right now I am
23:52
really getting like to three weeks minimum because
23:55
I try to get you know more colors in it and more
23:58
faster than the scale is changing so yeah when
24:01
somebody say if I make a mistake I will lose
24:04
ten minutes it's like absolutely nothing yeah
24:08
and I'm still kind of shocked that I'm here 25
24:12
plus years and that the market is not Expanding
24:16
it's the glass blowing and the flame working
24:19
world is giant, but the cold working I think
24:22
we have to have a little bit of screw loose When
24:31
I work, when I grind, when I shape my work, it's
24:35
basically just my wheels and hands and I want
24:38
to see it and I want to feel it. When the work
24:41
progresses and I get into the polish and pre
24:43
polish, I am using noise canceling headphones
24:48
and I'm listening music because I need to drift
24:51
away because like Deb said, if I'm going to be
24:54
doing the same thing and thinking about that.
24:57
What I'm doing and then I'm gonna do the same
24:59
thing tomorrow and day after, I would go literally
25:02
nuts. So when I go into the polish, I basically
25:06
get into the roof and listen to music and it
25:09
allows me to think about something else and I'm
25:14
not saying you don't have to be focused but you
25:16
need a little bit of distraction otherwise I
25:20
wouldn't be able. to do what I'm doing for some
25:23
time. One of our listeners is always excited
25:26
to hear what artists listen to when we're making
25:29
their art. It needs to be something with the
25:32
beat, because if I would be listening to classic
25:34
music, something slow... it would reflect in
25:37
my motion, I would be extremely, extremely slow.
25:40
Gotcha. In terms of variety, I am really all
25:44
over the place. I used to be embarrassed. People
25:46
ask me that very, very often. What do you listen?
25:49
Can I answer what you listen to? But, well, I'm
25:52
gonna stick to the English. He listens to Czech
25:54
music, and it's really funny because I go into
25:57
his studio, sometimes he doesn't have the headphones
25:59
on, and it's like, I know the song, and it's...
26:04
Not in English, they're all covers of like 80s,
26:08
but it's funny. It's like a Saturday Night Live
26:12
skit. But in terms of English music, I can start
26:16
my day with Guns N' Roses. Throughout the day,
26:20
I can switch to Bruce Springsteen and end my
26:26
day with Elvis Presley or even Johnny Cash. Nice.
26:29
I mean, Johnny Cash was a huge discovery to me
26:32
when I was here, when I was in the Czech Republic,
26:34
didn't know that even exists. And I don't listen
26:38
any country music. Johnny Cash was just different.
26:43
And when I was able to finally understand the
26:46
lyrics, I mean, he was a storyteller. So I am
26:51
all over the place. What do you listen? I don't
26:54
listen to music while I work because I find that
26:56
I work to the beat. And it's too distracting.
26:59
So I listen to podcasts or audible. Excellent.
27:02
Books on tape. Well, they're not books on tape
27:04
anywhere, but, you know, audio books. Right.
27:06
You know, I go through podcasts like at this
27:09
point, I'm like, OK, what can I listen to? What
27:11
else is out there? Yeah. You could listen to
27:13
Philly has Heart. I actually listen to all of
27:15
them. Oh my God. As soon as she told us, I was
27:19
like, OK, all right. She really did. I all day
27:23
work like 12 hours a day and I need a voice.
27:26
Even when I like. I just need the voice. I like,
27:29
you know, I like to listen to good storytelling.
27:33
That's awesome. I like to hear about people's
27:35
processes. Oh, yeah. I will say that's a lot
27:38
of Robert. Yeah, that is a lot of Robert. Going
27:46
back a little, how difficult is it to find the
27:50
materials you use right now for your work? Very,
27:55
very, yeah. I used to, I was purchasing glass
27:58
in Pennsylvania and Schott Company. Schott is
28:03
a German company who was making this very specific
28:07
type of glass and that source... closed about
28:12
the seven years ago. They were nice enough to
28:16
call me and they literally said, Pavel, we're
28:18
not going to be able to stay in the business.
28:20
We have only six other people who are purchasing
28:24
this type of glass. Wow. Yeah, it is very expensive.
28:28
That's why I call it. It's a perfect glass. It
28:30
is really, really beautiful. But right now I
28:33
am importing glass from a Czech Republic. Gotcha.
28:36
I actually use A mix of the same glass that he
28:40
uses. I use some of the optical glass, but I
28:42
use a mix of all different types of glass because
28:45
I'm not heating it. I can use glass that has
28:49
different coefficients. It doesn't really matter.
28:51
My process is a little different. He uses colored
28:54
epoxy to get his color where I get the color
28:56
from different types of glass that I laminate
28:58
together. You know, we went through the struggle
29:00
of finding a new supplier for the optical glass,
29:03
but I kind of trash pick and find the different
29:08
types of glass that I use all over the place.
29:10
Excellent. A Heineken bottle? I... Actually,
29:15
I could. So the technique what I'm doing, the
29:21
cold working, is I am using, my wheels are 30
29:26
inch diameter. I am using really large, flat
29:31
wheels. What Deb does, she's using engraving
29:34
wheels, which is the polar opposite of what I
29:38
have. Her wheels are like a quarter of an inch
29:41
and smaller. I mean, we're talking about two,
29:43
three millimeters. We both do cold work, but
29:47
we do completely different techniques. We have
29:52
different color sensibilities. It always amuses
29:55
me when people think that it's the same person
29:57
making it. They just assume that he makes the
30:00
glass. Two completely different sensibilities.
30:04
That's why I like doing the show in Philly, because...
30:09
I take it as a I'm just proud of my work, but
30:14
I take the opportunity to explain the process
30:16
and and I'm going to say that maybe. 95 % of
30:21
people will interrupt me and they say, oh, you
30:23
don't have to go through your shtick. I know
30:25
what I'm looking at. But 95 % of people hear
30:29
the word cold working for the very first time,
30:33
which I'm not gonna hold against that. It's new
30:37
and that's why these shows are important for
30:40
us. It's such a great... a place for the audience
30:44
or the purchaser to actually get to speak with
30:48
the artist, learn about your techniques, then
30:51
see how each one of those pieces probably have
30:55
their own story to share as well. I'd like to
30:57
bring one piece, which is a work in progress.
31:02
showing essentially black of glass. This is how
31:05
it looks when it comes. This is how it looks
31:07
after I cut it on the diamond saw. And since
31:10
it's a cube, it has a six different facets and
31:13
I need six different steps to go from very beginning
31:18
to very end. So I go step by step and showing
31:21
to them people want to hold the block. They want
31:24
to touch it. And all of a sudden it makes much
31:27
more sense. you know, what it takes to get from
31:31
point A to the point B. What would you recommend
31:35
guests come to see at this year's PMA craft show?
31:40
What would I? Yes. Oh my God, there's so much
31:43
to see there. You know, I think the best part
31:45
about coming to the show, as he mentioned, is
31:50
that people get to... actually meet the artists
31:53
that made the thing that's in front of them.
31:56
And I think, you know, we come from a culture
31:58
where it's hard to believe, like, you know, meat
32:01
comes in packages. People don't realize that
32:04
everything's handmade, even when it's not, when
32:07
you think, you know, every single thing is made
32:09
by somebody, even if it's in a factory. That
32:11
we make these works of art that are... finished
32:16
products that people can use and their luxury
32:20
items, one of a kind things that people couldn't
32:24
get anywhere else. I think that's the best part
32:26
of the show. It's the best. And it's here in
32:29
Philly. Yes, exactly. Philadelphia Art Museum,
32:34
Philadelphia Contemporary Craft Show is the annual
32:37
event organized by the museum. And it will be
32:40
this year, November 7th through the 9th at the
32:43
Pennsylvania Convention Center. with a preview
32:45
gala on November 6. Check out handcrafted works
32:49
from hundreds of artists across various categories
32:52
like jewelry, ceramics, glass, and fiber art.
32:56
Thank you both so much for being with us today.
32:59
Where can our audience find you online or in
33:03
real life? Well, my website is deboradelsonjewelry
33:07
.com and my Instagram is at debadelsonjewelry.
33:12
and his website is pavelnovaglass .com. And he's
33:18
not on social media because he's stubborn. We'll
33:21
link that in the show notes. Excellent. We're
33:23
going to end with some rapid fire questions for
33:25
you. Here it comes. If you could describe the
33:30
Philly art scene in one word. Alive. Cheesesteaks,
33:34
with, whiz, or without. With. If you could work
33:37
in any other medium. and achieve the same success
33:42
that you have now, what would it be? I'm gonna
33:44
say clay. I think I would do fiber. Your favorite
33:49
art museum outside of Philadelphia? Corning Museum
33:52
of Glass. I've been there many, many times. It's
33:57
not just what's inside, the building itself is
34:00
beautiful. I'm gonna say the St. Louis Museum,
34:04
the art museum there. It's awesome. Excellent.
34:07
Your favorite Philadelphia neighborhood? Chinatown.
34:12
Yeah, because he likes to eat. I love it. You
34:17
know, we just really, we love to go around and
34:21
see the murals around town and the public art.
34:24
And so I don't know that I have necessarily a
34:26
favorite neighborhood, but I love all of the
34:31
public art, all of the murals around town. This
34:34
one usually seems a lot funnier and less likely,
34:38
but if you could heist or steal any piece in
34:42
the world, what would it be? And I was going
34:44
to say something from the art museum, but I'm
34:48
actually going to bring it back to the show because
34:49
there's an artist whose work I think is phenomenal.
34:53
She makes these plique a jour enamel goblets
34:57
that are just fantastic. the skill it takes to
35:02
make them is incredible. Amy Roper Lyons, I would
35:07
say I would... Excellent. I would steal one of
35:09
those pieces. Okay, we'll have to check it out.
35:11
Well, I mean, we are not gonna steal it. Well,
35:14
you'll see it and you'll understand. There's
35:17
some really phenomenal work at the show. But
35:21
if I was gonna pick one thing to just swipe at,
35:25
that's what I would take. I will not swipe it,
35:27
Amy. I would steal Glass Red Pyramid, which is
35:34
at the Corning Museum of Glass. It's artwork
35:36
done by Czech artists Libensky and Bríktová,
35:41
and they were the biggest name in the glass world.
35:46
It was one of the biggest pieces they ever made,
35:50
and I will never ever get even close to that
35:53
size. It's a really, really stunning and famous
35:56
piece. Beautiful. I would take that one. Well,
35:59
thank you both again. And everybody check out
36:03
the Philadelphia Museum of Art Contemporary Craft
36:05
Show. Everybody check out the Philadelphia Art
36:10
Museum Contemporary Craft Show. Thank you guys
36:13
so much for being here. Thanks so much. Yeah,
36:26
you know, I looked up what that pyramid looked
36:29
like and I'm linking a photo of it in the show
36:33
notes. It's pretty interesting, but you don't
36:37
get an idea of the scale, quite honestly. Yeah.
36:41
because it's photographed with a very clean background.
36:46
We have a ton of things leading into this weekend
36:50
and for this weekend, so buckle up, people. Friend
36:55
of the Pod, Carolyn Harper's exhibition, Prison
36:58
Portrait Project, Faces of Despair, Hope, and
37:02
Transformation is opening today and will run
37:04
through the 30th at Muse Gallery. The Philadelphia
37:09
Chamber Music Society presents Modigliani Quartet
37:13
tomorrow at 730 at the Kimmel Center and this
37:17
is one of the highlights our guest from PCMS
37:21
Marquis recommended. Philadelphia Orchestra presents
37:25
Vivaldi's The Four Seasons on November 7th at
37:29
7 p .m. at the Kimmel Center. The 49th Annual
37:34
PMA Contemporary Craft Show is kicking off on
37:38
November 7th and running through the 9th at the
37:42
Philadelphia Convention Center. An exhibition
37:45
by Jake Weinstein Clanker is opening at Works
37:49
on Paper on November 7th. Fernando Pustigo's
37:53
Pustigo Express documenting the boss conflict
37:57
in San Sebastian 1977 to 2003 is opening at UPenn's
38:03
Arthur Ross Gallery on November 7th. Young Friends
38:07
of the Philadelphia Ballet Brunch at the Bar
38:09
is on November 9th from 11 to 1. And finally,
38:13
we have been counting down to this. The traveling
38:17
exhibition Dreamworld Surrealism at 100 opens
38:21
at the PMA on November 8th and runs until February
38:26
16th. The Print Center is celebrating its 110th
38:32
birthday with a champagne reception and main
38:36
event Saturday, December 6th. A benefit auction
38:40
opens on Saturday, November 22nd and closes Sunday,
38:45
December 7th. Pull out your checkbooks! Check
38:48
out the Print Center's websites for more information
38:51
and additional opportunities to get previews
38:55
to the show. And with that, Philly has heart!
38:59
And heart! Thanks for tuning in to Philly has
39:17
Heart, where we get to know the people at the
39:20
heart of Philadelphia culture. Follow us, share
39:24
the love, and tune on in. on Thursdays for your
39:28
weekly cultural update.