Glassblowers, Teamwork, and the Lone Ranger
Alex, Eric, and Brenna blow glass on cruise ships that sail the Mediterranean and Caribbean. On behalf of the Corning Museum of Glass, they present 2-hour demonstrations, creating multi-colored containers and sculpture that capture the essence of sea and light in a molten moment.
Their audience is enchanted as lumps of glowing dough transform into luminous containers and figures. Blowing glass well, the artists tell us, requires a bone-deep familiarity with temperature, gravity, and the nature of the material. An object must pass through a range of temperatures on its way to final form. If a handle or the neck of a vase heats or cools more rapidly than the body, stress may shatter the glass.
Each of the three glassblowers is an expert, and they make the magic look easy. Each has a different style. Eric develops “large vessels with detailed components” (imagine a flat-sided gold and terra-cotta amphora with arched handles as striking as a cobra’s hiss). Brenna specializes in playful underwater images reminiscent of Murano (picture an octopus clutching a delicate vase or a zebra-striped fish with big lips that looks like Elvis). Alex creates a kaleidoscope of vases that re-interpret classic Greek form.
None of them works alone. During a two-hour demonstration, each will create one object, act as narrator, or assist the lead artist by adding molten glass and turning, shaping, or reheating various parts of the piece.
Today, Alex is inventing a Greek vase based on one he saw at the New Acropolis Museum. He has sketched a blueprint in chalk on the door of the curing oven. The outline shows a complex piece with bulbous body, flaring neck and handles joined to the main form in three places. Foot, handles, and lip will be black, contrasting with the characteristic deep red body. Among the many challenges: To keep color consistent, the body and neck must be blown together and then cut apart for separate shaping before being rejoined; the handles must remain symmetric as they are attached firmly to body and neck at six points; and the neck must be flared and turned back to strengthen the lip and reveal contrasting color. Every step must take place at the proper temperature, with the object spinning at a rate to keep the form true.
Brenna is assisting Alex, anticipating and responding to his thought as fluidly as the liquid glass he shapes. I am amazed at her intuition and skill; surrendering hand and mind to serve the intent of another requires its own expertise. Eric narrates each step of the process, watching Alex with bemused delight. It is as surprising and enjoyable as hearing great jazz musicians play off of each other’s riffs.
As the piece takes shape, I think of my own work as co-facilitator during team planning events. Much of what we do lies in discovering and voicing the group’s shared purpose to anchor the results the team must produce. When each individual’s heartfelt commitment is firmly linked to that purpose, the whole becomes more than its parts. Assigned responsibilities blend in a spontaneous choreography of shifting leadership roles as team members respond to the surprising needs of their project and the moment. Possibility expands, and that old adage about teams, “Together Each Achieves More” regains its truth.
“So what do you do on your own?” asks a member of the audience. “It takes three of you to do this demonstration, but when you are in your own studios, what do you make by yourself?”
“Three people is a minimum in this work, Eric replies. “It can take up to ten people working together to create a more complex piece.”
His answer echoes in the silence that follows.
Most of the audience is American, raised to admire Lone Ranger leaders. Ten people to produce a single piece of glass! Who will sign the piece? Who do we hold up as a model? Who gets the credit and talks to Oprah?
I leave the demonstration with vibrant images of team art etched in memory. And several lingering questions for the Lone Ranger: Where would you be without Tonto? And how much do you limit your power when you depict leadership as a solo act?
Susan
For more on our team facilitation services, see http://www.aligned4results.com . For more on the Hot Glass Show at Sea, visit http://www.cmog.org/dynamic.aspx?id=148 .