Who: Bill and Jane Siebler, LBCC alums
What: Talk: “A Passion for Glass - Glassmaking Artwork and Techniques”
When: Thursday, March 4, 2010, 2 to 3 p.m.
Where: Mt. Vineyard Room-Calapooia Center
How: PowerPoint presentation of the collection and the glassmaking processes
Contact Information: bisiebler@yahoo.com/541-745-7184
Silica plus heat equals glass. Simple. Take your bucket and shovel to the beach, pick up a bucket of sand, heat it and voila! Glass.
It would be wonderful if it were that simple!
It isn't, and Bill and Jane Siebler will tell you so. They both have a true passion for glass work that shows in the number of pieces displayed in their Corvallis home, which they have shared with LBCC over the last several weeks.
As a result of their collecting, both Sieblers have tried their hand at glass making; however, Bill has a love for the art of glass making at the experiential level. He has mastered flameworking, producing marbles and small sculptures.
Jane says glass working "is more difficult than you expect it would be," and prefers to just enjoy the collection.
In their presentation, he explained that while it is technically true that sand plus heat equals glass, glass making is quite a science.
"Temperatures over 3000 degrees will melt sand," he said. However, glassmaking today includes "additives that lower the melting point to 2000 degrees, and one or two additives to stabilize it."
The items in the collection shared by the Sieblers, however, are more than just melted sand, as Analee Fuentes' Art Design class, members of the faculty, staff and other students learned.
They all watched and listened in rapt silence as Bill showed examples of several techniques used in creating items which included vases, plates, bowls, masks, paperweights and even marbles.
He showed furnace work, which we know as "glass blowing." It is the most general type in which "molten glass is taken directly from the furnace and manipulated by blowing through a tube or being worked with a variety of hand tools," Bill says.
He also shared information about flameworking, casting, fusing, and cold assembly.
The Sieblers have made plans part of their collection (which includes the work of artists such as Dale Chihuly, Ruth Brockman, Lino Tagliapietra and Rudi Gritsch) to have a permanent home at LBCC.
Librarian Brian Miyagashima made a surprise presentation in honor of these former LBCC faculty and staff members (Jane was also an LBCC student), announcing that the library has purchased two books to add to its collection in honor of their contributions.
The Siebler collection will remain on display in North Santiam Hall and the library until March 19. If you haven't taken the time to stop and enjoy it, you should.
And think about the beauty of the converted product the next time you are at the beach with your bucket and shovel.
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