Unholy Cathedrals / Holey Uncathedrals
Posted by Sarah at July 2, 2009 2:16 AM 
Categories: Classes,Travel,Beads
Tags: beads classes travel russia
Categories: Classes,Travel,Beads
Tags: beads classes travel russia
A weird title for a post, I know... but I'm gonna keep you curious and talk about something else first. I am getting the feeling that my last post may have been misunderstood by some people, so I just wanted to make one thing clear: it was written in humor. I have a strange sense of humor - and you should know that by now. Sure, the whole thing was quite nerve wracking while it was going on, but surprisingly enough, I did get home safely and it's all good now. Really. I didn't write it to get people to feel sorry for me, and I certainly didn't mean to imply that anyone was to blame for the situation. Shit happens sometimes, and when it happens to me, I am usually thinking "well, at least this is going to make a good blog post". Look back and make it funny, you know. If I only wrote about the good stuff, my blog would be boring and you probably wouldn't be reading it.
That said - I keep promising to write about the good stuff, but it's really hard to know where to even begin. I should probably start out with a special thanks to Julia and Oleg for organizing everything, patiently translating for me, making sure I didn't starve to death (humor, humor, funny, haha) and making my visit to Moscow so wonderful.
Thanks go out to my students as well. These classes were a lot of fun for me to teach, even when I couldn't understand what anyone was saying. We all speak the language of glass, right? Everyone was so enthusiastic and creative and I'm glad I got to meet them all.
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It was really cool to see the results!
What else can I say about Planet Moscow... it is definitely one of the most strikingly beautiful places I've ever been. This is the Kremlin, on a lovely sunny day. I ended up taking a nice, relaxing boat ride down the river.
The parks are so huge, you can go walking and almost forget you're in the middle of a big city.
The sunsets are nice too. Sunsets are always nice.
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But let's face it. Some things are just weird. (And funny. Haha. Humor. Funny. The weirdness is nobody's fault; it just is.)
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There seems to be a lot of romance everywhere.
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Speaking of romance, there's a nice tradition for newlywed couples to write their names on a lock, put it on one of the bridges and throw the key into the river. This bridge - I don't know its name - has special "trees" designed specifically for that purpose.
And of course, cynical Sarah looks at these and has to wonder how many of those couples are already divorced. (Haha, humor, funny?)
On the day before my last, we all went to the All-Russia Exhibition Center. That was a lot of fun. If Stalin and Walt Disney hooked up and had an offspring, and that kid designed a theme park, it would probably look something like this. Fabulously surreal.
There were fountains, and rockets, and ducks and stuff. But I think the best part was just hanging out with everyone.
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Then, we went to Victory Park - another one of Moscow's huge and gorgeous green spots. The city said goodbye with a beautiful sunset.
See? See? I told you I had a lot of good stuff to say. I sincerely hope no one will misinterpret THIS post as me having a horrible time in Moscow, because I seriously cannot take it anymore. I had a great time, I swear. And I do want to go back. Okay?
Khrasho.
Now, as for that cathedral stuff. I would like to live in St. Basil's Cathedral - but since I probably can't do that, unless I change my name to Jesus or something - I told you I was going to make some beads inspired by it.
Let me remind you that this building was designed in the 16th century. It's mind-blowing, really.
Now, don't expect the beads to look anything like the actual cathedral - or like any cathedral you've ever seen - hence the name, 'Unholy Cathedrals'. Or 'Holey Uncathedrals'. I can't decide which one is better. The St. Basil colors aren't really my colors, and if I tried to make a bead that looked like a building it would probably end up looking stupid. So, I decided to try my own interpretation - a very abstract one, in Sarah colors. One of my students told me they were discussing my infatuation with this building, and came to the conclusion that I like it because it's like my beads - a bunch of different pieces that don't really match, but somehow look great when put together.
I decided to take that concept to the extreme, and make beads that are made up of a bunch of different elements, seemingly unrelated, but all in one bead.
Wait a minute, aren't all your beads kind of like that?
Well, yeah, but these are sort of a new direction. They are very challenging, technically - like a juggling act; heat control as an x-treme sport or something - especially since I've been making them with Bullseye glass, which comes in beautiful colors, but has a short working range and tends to be quite shocky. I'm happy with the results, and I think there will be more to come.
Are you ready?
Now, on to the next chapter... these beads will be going to the ISGB Gathering in Miami with me, so if you'll be there too, please stop by my table at the Bead Bazaar! I'm leaving for the States in about a week and a half. There's lots to do before then, so I guess now would be a good time to stop babbling and go get some sleep.
Thanks for reading this far. Good night!
I sure hope I get a chance to pop in briefly and meet you - maybe before one of your classes at the mandrel. I am not in the class as I still don't have a place to work (husband ruptured disc) but just really want to say hi and thank you in person!
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