Here is my friend
Pinar Hakim on the Right,
she is responsible for me knowing about this wonderful
school, with Yılmaz Yalçınkaya in the middle, he is the nice man who
established the Glass Furnace which is a non profit
organization & his lovely wife on the left...very nice
people all the way around...
Here is the entire class, from
the top right to left, we have Enis (secret agent), Tufan
(Mr. Money Bags) & Omar (also know as Omar Kabab) 2nd row
from right to left, Gunay (Speedy Gunay), Mari-liis (Mari-liis Mashers),
Ilknur (Hojam
2, the best teachers assistant ever),
Burcu (Pastry Burcu) me, Jelveh (Hojam or teacher,
also known as Amonra & pop psychologist), Fulya (Lady Fulya
Classic), Sule (Sule Joon Siesta),Ayse (The Best
Student), & Marlies (The Photographer),...and the cute girl in
the middle standing in front of me is Beyza
(the Life Saver, our Social Assistant) without her, I am not
sure we would have had as much fun as we did...due to family
illness my Student Debbie (not pictured), was not able to
finish the course, she will come back next year...
This is my friend
Ilknur
of
www.bosphorusglass.com,
I also met her through
Pinar Hakim, she was
nice enough to except my invitation to be my class
assistant, which is great, she is both Turkish & a great
bead maker...without her, I would have not been able to
teach my class, 4 of my Turkish students, did not speak
much English...and did I mention she is a lawyer in real
life....thanks again for all the help girl...
here are some of Ilknur's
lovely beads...
Master
Vladimir Kline, the
Cold working hojam (teacher) from the Czech Republic...my
new friend & fellow teacher...
Funamori by Vladimir Kline
Beyza the life saver, this
girl, worked so hard to make sure we were all taken care of,
she was an intern of sorts working for credits towards
another degree, already an engineer...her title was the
Social Assistant, this meant everything from translating,
scheduling our events, making sure we got places safe & had
all we needed in class to all kinds of other needs like
fixing computers and such...just love her...
Speedy Gunay at the torch, no
doubt making something wonderful, like her swan bead
below...this young lady was so nice and kind, she brought us
food and goodies from the city too...she drove like a mad
women, hence her name...she also has the notes about 2 of my
brand new designs, that I made at the torch, she needs to
send them to me, so I can make more of these beads and she
needs to teach all of us how to make her lovely Swan
bead...oh and her fish, well what can I say, the girl is an
artist...
some of Gunay's beads, I will
get better photos to replace these, my camera cable is
missing...
This is
Burcu, she had taken
classes before, like a couple of the other students, she is
so sweet, & so much fun to hang out with, a great artist
& friend, she is also known as Pastry Burcu, every morning
she brought to class from Istanbul some kind of awesome
tasting Turkish pastry...you name it we ate it...& hey I had
to, it was Turkish specialty...I have these bad patches of
psoriasis on my elbows, had them for years, it does not help
that I torch with my elbows on the table, so they are
painful, one day, Burcu brings with her not only goodies to
eat, but also 2 different kinds of medicines for my elbows,
she asked her sister a pharmacist, what was a good idea, she
herself is an executive in a pharmaceutical company, I
started using the medicines and don't you know, after years
of being on American drugs for this issue, my elbows are
clearing, I never complained in class about the pain, but
sweet Burcu, saw it and knew it and helped...thanks again
Here is a link to her website, she makes awesome beads,
check out her bead photos below...www.burcutansug.com
some of the yummy beads Burcu
made, the middle one is hollow...you go girl...
Mr. Money Bags Tufan, which by
the way his last name means money in Persian I just
realized...so there you go, Tufan has the biggest heart &
was always asking me: Hojam, how much this design or that
design cost, Hojam, how long does it take to make this
design? Hojam does this effect the cost making of the bead?
Hojam this is too expensive for me to make...& so it went,
we had lots of fun with him in class... by the way Tufan,
you still owe me a bead that you made in class...don't
forget...I understand on his way home to Spain, he sold some
beads to the person sitting next to him on the plane, hope
it was not my bead...
Fulya Joon, better know as Lady
Fulya Classic, she came to class always dressed very nice,
we were all hot & going nuts, but she was sweat free, a
lady, besides her large heart & great disposition towards
everyone in class, from the great food she brought to class,
to help with everything, she also has her very own glass
color pallet & style, just look at her totem bead display
she made for graduation, truly an artist...
Fulya also has her own studio
fully set up for both bead making and fusing in town...it is
very cool, I wanted to live there...
here are some of Fulya's lovely
beads, I will get better photos soon, my camera cable is
missing...these are from the on line albums...
This is Mari-lies, she is from
Estonia...I called her Estonia or Mari-lies mashers for
short, she mashed most of her beads in to these wonderful
lovely beads, she is a tiffany stained glass artist in her
own right, but now she is addicted to melting glass & making
beads, I love love her...& we are friends forever...the
Bacardi was great...the candy she gave me from her home,
which was just for me, and no other person is very yummy, I
am still having some...thanks for all the fun girl, see you
in England soon I hope...
Here are some of the yummy
beads Mari-lies made & sold on her way home...
This is Ayse, also known as the
best student in class, she is the sweetest person you want
to know, mother to a couple of great kids, nice hubby too,
she was always on time, kept taking all kinds of notes &
made all beads I made & so much more...I mean the girl
is good, this was not her first class, this is not the last
you will hear of her and her art, her & her family are
moving to Canada this year, where she will set up shop...oh
yeah did I mention she was also a chemist...love this
girl...
here are some of Ayse's
beads...
More of Ayse's beads, a Dolphin
& a frosty landscape...
Marlies our German student from
Australia, she is been there for 30 years...she was known as
the photographer & I would say pain in a neck every so
often, we had tons of fun teasing one another about the
merits of thinking you can not do something & therefore you
are not able to do it verses her view that such a think is
not true, some people just can not make a round beads she
believed...she made the most amazing drawer knob & a ton of
other cool beads...
I will add a photo of her beads
later...when I get them off my camera...
This is our secret agent Enis,
not sure if that is his real name, one day we had a camera
crew from an European TV station visiting our class, doing
interviews about the school and such...Enis came to me and
said I do now wish to be on TV, pretty sure he is an agent
of some kind, at the time of this newsletter, he had yet to
tell me not to put his photo on line...we shall see if I get
in trouble with my Turkish friend Enis from Belgium,
between, his French, broken English & Turkish we had a ton
of fun communicating, at the end of the class he was blowing
vessels with a hollow tube...is that cool or what...? yes I
teach that in my classes...
some of the beads Enis make in
class...
The lovely young lady sitting
next to me, watching is Sule Joon, (joon mean dear in
Turkish) she is better known as sule joon Siesta in our
circle, she came to class if & when she wanted...often we
had to go wake her up if we knew she wanted to see a special
demo, hence her nick name...the girl is in the process of
getting her second PHD, so this was a relaxing trip for her,
I love her style, her heart & her great smile...she will be
visiting me in England in August...
here are Sule's beads, will
have better photos later...
This is Omar, he was one of the
best students in class, made some great beads, & came up
with some cool colors, I learned a lot in this class, mostly
from Omar...he was there everyday & ready to learn, not sure
how this was possible, since him and Enis, drank and smoked
cigarettes for hours every night...he also makes the most
yummy kebabs you have tasted...hence his nick name Omar
Kebab...see you next year...
Hector from Mexico City & Moise from India, 2
of the students in Vladimir's cold working class...at
Santral Museum in Istanbul
fun at Santral Museum in Istanbul....
Fun at Santral Museum in Istanbul....
Turkish Art at the Santral Museum...Don't you
think some architecture can be all about the Phallic
Symbol...? a closer look at this photo was not surprising to
say the least...
The hot shop Glass Blowing studio at the
Glass Furnace
Playing pool at the Glass Furnace Rec Room...
Dorm room at the Glass Furnace...comfy
rooms...
Dorms at the Glass Furnace...
One of the many bazaars in Istanbul
Taxim, one of the best places to shop and
visit in Istanbul....
Pinar & Fulya, I took this photo from them on
a boat in the middle of Asia & Europe on the Bosphorous
sea...love my new friends...& this wonderful country called
Turkey, which is both in Asia & in Europe...
Omar makes us the best food...
Driving in to Istanbul, at a rare moment of
no traffic, with 20 million people plus, Istanbul is one of
the busiest non capital cities in the world...
My favorite Kofte restaurant in Sultanemet
which I did not get to go to this time, but other did....
the grounds at the Glass Furnace...full of
Glass Art...
the grounds at the Glass Furnace...full of
Glass Art...
Fulya, me & Debbie, the other student who
could not finish class, she was there for only one day out
of the two weeks...she will come back next time I am
teaching in Turkey...
Class hard at work...
Always time for a photo with my new
friends...
fun in the pool...
Grounds at the Glass Furnace...
In & about Istanbul...
This is the atrium area of the school, the
most common and lovely place we all hung out together, on
this day, Burcu brought yet another yummy Turkish specialty
for us to feast on at break time...she is in stripes with
her back to the camera...
Another view of Istanbul...this is the most
gorgeous area ever...
we work hard in class...
we eat and drink in front of the Santral
Museum...
at Santral Museum...
Omar makes sure the BBQ is well underway...we
are too lucky...the food is awesome...
some more of the people who make the yummy
BBQ happen...
Vladimir picks glass/material for his
class...the glass just sits around the school, to be chosen
by masters such as Vladimir, it is very cool...
Vladimir & his students from the right, the
master himself, Tulin who brought all the meat for the big
BBQ, Hector from Mexico City, Sinem who is on her way to
study in Italy...Altan who is a master already & Moize from
India...
Hector brings the best tequila from Mexico
for us to taste, & boy do we ever taste it...the lovely lady
sitting next to me is Nursen, she makes sure we are all
taken care of at the school, I love her...& her smile...she
is everyone's mom...
A Red Velvet Necklace & Earring set I made
for the shop at the school...
young love...
more of my beads...
we make fish...a sea of fish...
the kiln is always so full goodies, they
brought us more kilns to use...
Ahmet, master glass bead and flame working
artist that works at the Glass Furnace...thanks for the
great demos...
Bilgin, Master bead maker, Flame worker, who also works at
the Glass Furnace, thanks for the demo & the gift of the
lovely pendant...
More of my beads I made in class...
Sunset on the Bosphorous Sea...
