Detail of enameled vessel by Judy Stone.

Judy Stone, Head of the Enameling Department, oozes patience, dedication, and wisdom. Having taught at The Crucible since the organization’s inception, she’s spent those years building core curriculum, creating innovative pieces, and establishing her reputation internationally. Now, she’s proving that slow and steady wins the race: in addition to showing her works at exhibitions worldwide, she’s also created a cutting-edge course for those lucky enough to enroll.

In this interview, she sits down with Sarah Dabby to discuss her newfound enameling fame and the one-of-a-kind enameling opportunities she’s creating at The Crucible and beyond.

Read the transcript below and listen in on more of their conversation on Soundcloud.

Sarah Dabby: Let’s start with the basics of your craft. What is enameling?

Judy Stone: Enameling is the process of fusing glass to metal at high heat.  The metal is determined by the glass, and vice-versa.  In our intimate department at The Crucible, we work mostly with copper and silver.  In the industrial arm of enameling, we work with a very specific type of steel.

SD: What are some of the outcomes of enameling?

JS: The most common thing the public would see is enameled jewelry, and the most common enameling technique is cloisonné.  However, there are many, many enameling techniques.  The whole medium is millennia old – there are examples that date back to 600BC from the island of Cyprus – and the history of enameling parallels the history of glass technology.  Enameling is in every culture and every country, with an aesthetic shaped by those cultures and countries.

SD: You have a very special class coming up. Can you tell us about that?

JS: The Enameling Department, in conjunction with KVO Industries in Santa Rosa, is teaching a class called “Working Large,” which is about adventures in industrial enameling. It’s got a maximum enrollment of 10 students.  It’ll be held at The Crucible, but we’ll be doing field trips to Santa Rosa’s KVO factory to work in the factory, to learn some things from the factory, and fire large pieces in the factory. Industrial enameling a wonderful medium for public artists to produce outdoor dimensional work, or functional work, such as architectural development, tiled backsplashes, tabletops, etc.  The outcome of this particular course is that you can build fairly large pieces (up to four feet), and at the end, you’ve got a sellable product, if you wish!

SD: Whom do you recommend enroll for this class?

JS: EVERYBODY! You need no prior experience for this class. It’s especially appealing to people who already paint and draw.  We’re going to do painting, airbrushing, drawing, silk-screening, photographic transferring, and more. If people are already comfortable working two-dimensionally, this will add to their repertoire. I’m especially interested in public artists looking at this way of working, because it’s an amazingly durable way to produce 2-D work for outdoor installations.

Welded sculpture by Adrian Rodriguez

Adrian Rodriguez has been a lifelong artist, but it was only after discovering The Crucible with the help of his high school teacher, did he start realizing his full potential as an industrial artist. In this interview with writer, Sarah Dabby, Adrian takes us on his artistic journey and offers pithy advice for getting ready for the 8th Annual Fire & Light: Soirée and Art Auction — “Bring some money! And dress nicely.” Well said, Adrian! Though we would also add — expect the spectacular!

Sarah Dabby: Let’s start with the basics.

Adrian Rodriguez: My name is Adrian Rodriguez. I was born in Oakland and raised in Richmond, right outside the iron triangle. I went to Richmond High School.

SD: How’d you discover The Crucible?

AR: My English teacher, Ms. Rooney, thought I had really good artistic potential, so one day she gave me an application to this place called The Crucible.  I signed it and gave it to her the next day, and I thought, “Why would anyone name a place The Crucible?  Was it after a book?”  I didn’t know anything about it, but I gave the application to her, and that summer, I took blacksmithing and ARC Welding.

SD: Why do you think Ms. Rooney gave you an application?

AR: She saw my drawings, and she hadn’t seen my drawings before – so she thought I had good potential to be an artist, and an industrial artist.

SD: How long have you been drawing?

AR: As long as I can remember – on my earliest memories, I was scribbling on my mom’s walls. She was probably mad at me!

SD: What classes did you start with at The Crucible?

AR: My first class was blacksmithing.  I had been growing my hair out long, and it was really hot in there.  The first day it was about 95-100 degrees, so I’d go to the fan every time I put my metal into the heat.  So I was glad I had welding; it was in cold air with cement and metal…I was really happy to work in welding.

SD: What was your first day like?

AR: I was hooked. Both Blacksmithing and ARC Welding paved the way for me to join The Crucible.  Blacksmithing, you use tools to make tools.  The blacksmiths were the ‘cool people’ back in the day, so that’s fun.  I like welding better in a way – I draw, and I’m able to manipulate the metal to make my drawings 3-D.

SD: Tell me about your first sculpture, and how you’ve grown since then.

AR: My first sculpture is a little man.  It was supposed to be 3-D, but it’s 2-D in a way. I keep it in my house.  Since then, I think I’ve made a total of 15-16 sculptures, and the ones I’ve been doing recently – I can’t believe

Dear Community Members, Friends, Family Members, Passers-By, Colleagues, and Artists Everywhere,

We’re excited to announce that The Crucible has been chosen as one of 200 finalists in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist Facebook Challenge! Our “Bikes for West Oakland” initiative is now in the running to receive a $25,000 through a crowd-sourced, voter-based contest on Facebook. YOUR votes determine who wins the grant – which means we need YOUR support to make this happen.

Our bike programs are the heart and soul of our community programs. With Bike Fix-a-Thons, Earn-a-Bike, Art Bike, bike donations, and drop-in repair times, we offer the West Oakland community access to valuable job skills, to goods and services, and healthy, affordable, eco-friendly transportation options. We donate bikes to community members, organizations and toy drives, we use bikes as functional art – and use bike parts to make even more art, and we ride our bikes to work. We love bikes – but more importantly, we love how bikes empower our community, and are hungry to empower many more.

From now until April 22, we’ll educate the community about our bike programs, we’ll explore how $25,000 can impact those bike programs, and we’ll share the stories of people whose lives have been changed by bikes. And as we hope to carry you all on this journey, we’ll count on you to take part in this movement by VOTING for our cause and SHARING this initiative with your community.

At The Crucible, we fuel our fire by giving back to our community. Now, we’ve been presented with a huge opportunity to do so.

Let’s make it happen.

Love,
The Crucible

Orinda Intermediate School students in The Crucible’s smithy.

At The Crucible, educators like Bobby Glasser have a special place in our hearts.  A sixth grade Language Arts and Social Studies (Ancient Civilizations) teacher at Orinda Intermediate School, Bobby joined The Crucible community in 2006, when he attended the Seven Deadly Sins show.  From there, he was hooked, taking classes, volunteering, interning, and becoming a full-fledged member of the community.  

With a desire to make his classroom curriculum more relevant to his students, Bobby designed a field trip to The Crucible – one that has inspired his students, their parents, and Crucible Staff.  Staff writer Sarah Dabby chatted with Bobby to learn more about his creative genius behind an amazing field trip experience, and how it impacts his students and the community.

Sarah Dabby: What inspired you to create a field trip for your students at The Crucible?

Bobby Glasser: As a long-time member of The Crucible, I knew they did field trips for students, and I wanted to create a field trip directly related to the ancient civilizations my students study.  Pretty much everything The Crucible does is rooted in ancient art forms and techniques, so I went through all the state standards of teaching in sixth grade, and then went through our textbook, and created what I thought would be a cool field trip.  I then presented the idea to Carla Hall (Youth Program Director) and Kristy Alfieri (Director of Education), and they jumped on board. Last year, I brought my class for the first time, and it was great.

SD: How is the field trip structured?

BG: Students are broken up into 9-10 person groups, and then visit six stations at The Crucible for thirty minutes each. Once they’re at the stations, students watch demonstrations by Crucible faculty and get a little bit of instruction. I gave Carla and Kristy the Ancient Civilization’s curriculum, so The Crucible instructors could relate school material to the demonstrations taking place (“When the Samarians used this technique to hammer metal,” etc).  It’s great because then the kids understand the context, and they’re able to make connections they otherwise wouldn’t make.

SD: Is there any hands-on activity for the students?

BG: They get to play with clay in pottery; in jewelry, they get to hammer a few things; in blacksmithing, they get to punch the metal; in textiles, they get to try on an animal hide.  My students don’t meet the age requirements for the really intense hands-on stuff – but since the groups of students are so small, the kids are really engaged, even if they’re not interacting directly with the material in front of them.

SD: What sorts of feedback have your received about the field trip?

BG: Students, parents, and teachers have all raved about this field trip.  One parent called me recently saying it’s the best field trip she’d ever accompanied, and that she’s planning to take a class at The Crucible and sign her kid up for camp as

The Crucible is taking steps to define our presence in West Oakland. If you’ve come in for a class or whizzed by on BART in recent weeks, you’ve surely noticed our brand new self-identifying letters at the top of our warehouse. Now for the real question: When, not if, to add fire to the letters?  But that’s not all!

We’ve also updated our front entrance with new landscaping and two installations. The first is “To The Loss,” a nine-foot tall Redwood drift log pulled from the port of Oakland and re-imagined as a Totem pole by welding instructor Colin Harris.  To learn more about the creative process, materials, and story behind “To The Loss,” please visit Colin’s website.

The second installation is a large-scale steel and glass sculpture emblematic of The Crucible’s greatest asset: Community.  The creation was a collaborative effort between The Crucible’s blacksmithing instructor Jeff Pringle and flameworking instructor Tansy Brooks.

These design updates further our efforts to create a safe, welcoming, neighborly environment, not just for our students, but for the West Oakland community at large.

We are grateful to Oakland Office of Neighborhood Investment for sponsoring the landscape project and sign, and to the National Endowment for the Arts for sponsoring the installation art.

What do you think of our new look?  Let us know in the comments below!

Robert Collins, a senior and theater production specialist at the Oakland School for the Arts, embodies everything we love about our Youth Programs at The Crucible. After an impromptu visit to The Crucible’s Open House, Robert stumbled upon a world of welding, crafts, and fire – and has since joined the space as a dedicated member.  In this interview, Robert shares some thoughts about his journey at The Crucible.  In our next interview, we’ll discuss how The Crucible is shaping his plans for the future.

The Crucible: Let’s start with the basics.

Robert Collins: My name is Robert Collins and I’m 18.  I am a 12th grader at Oakland School for the Arts.  I am in the advanced theater production program.

TC: How did you first learn about The Crucible?

RC: I first went to an open house event.  I lived in the neighborhood and when I was walking by, I saw an event and went in.  Welding and grinding and flame working looked exciting and flashy!

TC: What programs have you participated in at The Crucible?

RC: I have participated in ARC Welding, Oxy Welded Sculpture, MIG Welding, Plasma Cutting, Art Bike, Flameworking, Glass Blowing, Neon Glass, Rocket Car, Robots, and Blacksmithing.

TC: What area did you focus on during your summer internship and why?

RC: I focused on Bike & MIG Welding.  I wanted to pursue a goal of theater art and I could apply some industrial practices there.  Bike skills applied to repairing bikes in affordable and accessible ways while raising awareness of welding and arts.  I also focused on repairing bikes and teaching students how to repair their own.

TC: Tell us about your art bike and projects from the summer.

RC: I’ve built three art bikes.  The one I built this year is the double bike.  I started a MIG sign, but it’s a difficult process.  Cutting pieces of metal and forming them into 3-D shapes is challenging because the metal is so thin.

TC: What was a challenge you faced as an intern and how did you overcome it?

RC: Engineering and building was a challenge.  In building a bike with Alberto, we didn’t do precise measurements.  It was also challenging telling kids no and leading them through processing ideas. I had to learn to challenge students to be realistic with their time and projects.

TC: What was your proudest moment as an intern this year?

RC: I was proud when I was able to help a kid with a project without asking Sudhu or Max, the teachers. I was also proud when we finished the Art Bike during class, people complimented the bike at Pedalfest, when I helped a student build a gazelle out of metal in MIG Welding and he was really happy.  He didn’t think he could do it, but once he accomplished it. It felt good!

TC: How did you grow as an artist?

RC: The second time taking Art Bike class, the teachers respected me as a student. I asked a lot of questions and introduced

At The Crucible, we’re never short of inspiration. We have talent: people who create inventive, imaginary, beautiful things on a daily basis – and who help teach us how to find our creative genius along the way. We have community: people who dedicate their time, effort, energy, and whole soul into making The Crucible a special place.

And we have our youths: young folks that come from local schools to learn, discover, grow; youth who come to The Crucible to play with the world around them, to stretch their limits, to grow; people that sometimes come from difficult circumstances and, through their experiences at The Crucible, grow into sophisticated artists and community leaders.

Our youth programs are a core reason The Crucible exists.  Our Fuego summer internship program, our accredited youth internship programs during the school year, our spring and summer camps, our ongoing youth classes – all of these programs are designed to create purpose, meaning, and inspiration for the local youths who walk through our doors.  And as we work with these students every day, our sense of purpose, meaning, and inspiration grows more than we could possibly express.

Over the upcoming months, we plan to feature the youth, educators, faculty, and community members who make these youth programs thrive.  We hope that you, too, draw inspiration from these incredible individuals, and consider becoming a part of the team that makes such programs possible.

Registration for The Crucible’s youth programming is now open.  Learn more about The Crucible’s Spring and Summer Youth Programs, check out class descriptions and sign up your Young Artist today.