Dance of Fire
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ~Jeremiah 18:1-2
I still remember it.
It was at a time when I had accomplished just about every goal I had set in life.
Then the prayer that went like this: "Lord, I always knew this stuff wouldn't make me happy and fulfill me (not that I wasn't happy in my own way), but I now see how it is truly just stuff. Take away all my desires that are not yours and give me yours. Use me as you would and give me your heart's desires."
Before that prayer, just about all I went after I could get. After that prayer, things no longer worked as they used to. It was a very difficult time (how naive we can be when we say these prayers), yet a small price to pay for what awaited me on the other side . . .
Will have to share more some other time, but for now I will share this piece on Bill Slade. It was handed to me shortly after that time of hardship and as I was experiencing the other side of it. I really believe it was God's way of confirming the process for me.
See how He may use it to speak to you.
SILVER-VEILED GLASS
Bill Slade is both an artist and chemist when he creates his exquisitely beautiful paperweights and sculptures. To achieve this degree of total control, he must prepare each batch of formula by hand, carefully measuring and weighing all the dry ingredients. He then loads the formula into the roaring furnace, which is kept at 2400 degrees F. It is slowly melted down overnight, becoming crystal pure by the following morning.
Bill slade then begins what he describes as his “Dance of Fire”. He gathers up the molten glass on the end of a long rod, one layer upon another. After every gathering of molten glass, Bill manipulates it with hand tools to create an ethereal design before encasing it in another layer of Silver-Veiled Glass. Some of his works have up to ten layers of glass (each with its own internal design) before he is ready to create the exterior shape. During this entire process, he must keep the glass molten by repeatedly going back to the furnace, for if it becomes too cool, he can no longer work it and get the designs. At the same time, if the glass is heated too much, it becomes too loose and will run off the pipe onto the floor.
Achieving each unique shape requires total control of the rod, glass, and self. Here is where “The Dance” begins in earnest; reheating the glass, shaping the exterior with wooden paddles as well as using the centrifugal force of gravity. Bill must keep the glass hot enough to shape and yet not so hot as to lose its shape. If allowed to cool too quickly, the glass will crack or shatter. The finished sculpture is removed from the rod and placed in an oven, allowing it to cool overnight very slowly. The final process of this three-day creation is the grinding (and sometimes polishing) of the bottoms of the pieces. Only then will Bill engrave his signature on the side of each of his works of art.
Since first blowing glass nearly thirty years ago, Bill is still fascinated by the fluidity of the glass itself. “Even after a sculpture is finished, it’s still classified as liquid. This is the whole essence of what I’m trying to convey in each work. Perhaps living in Florida for so long has also influenced me. After all, I’m surrounded by the ocean, lakes, and rivers, so it’s only natural for me to see the fluid motion extended to my art.”