Hello lightning Tamers,
This is episode number 58! in today’s podcast, I’ll be joined by Adam Smo
Adam Smolesnky aka Adam Smo is San Antonio-based glassblower known for working at the torch in borosilicate glass, he creates intricately detailed and colorfully crafted marbles, pendants, drinking glasses, pipes, and sculptures, and as of the recent few years have been diligently sharpening and pushing his skills in neon.
Welcome back to the Podcast Adam!
For our listeners, I met Adam back in 2019 on the 4th of July weekend for Glas Inaugural Plasma Parley featured on this podcast in ep 17, where Nate Shaeffer and Bruce Suba hosted a plasma get together to learn and talk about plasma. Adam was the first co-learner I had interviewed from the parley, amongst many who had the skills to not only manipulate the glass to make amazing vessels for plasma and fabricate their own manifold but most importantly the mindset to put aside previous knowledge and be completely open learning.
I want to say that was so happy to see you strive and thrive in your medium and in glow of neon!
Part of what I want to talk about is what this process looked like for you get to where you are today. And think the first thing we should talk about it your beginnings in glass.
Sponsors
Today’s podcast is sponsored by FMS Sign Products. FMS has been providing quality products for the neon sign industry since 1946 and strives to support tube benders by making it quick and easy to purchase the materials they need. FMS offers a wide variety of readily available and competitively priced products, which can be purchased directly from their easy-to-use website. Don’t need a whole box of tubing for your project? No problem – FMS can ship partial boxes and mix and match colors and sizes as needed. Shipping is secure and easy anywhere in the nation. Check out their website, FMSNEON.com to see their full line of products, and see how easy it is to have all your neon supplies shipped directly to your door!
Use promo code “LIGHTNING” at checkout to save 10% off your order!
SHOW NOTES
- Music credits to the following artists in order of appearance:
- Preview – Retro by ONE
- The opening theme -Taming Lightning by Trav B. Ryan
- Sponsor – Good2Go by ONE
- Credits – Walking by Ras-Hop
I hope you enjoyed the podcast.
Thank you Adam for taking the time to record the podcast, I’m glad to get a chance to share your story in Neon and discuss some key points about committing to a new skill, the Importance of mentorship, and how Books are reusable sources of knowledge, that become more valuable and accessible as you learn more about the skill. I would like to see a comprehensive guide to neon, where it encompasses a modern look at resources and essential knowledge.
When I think about the concern of knowledge being lost for the first time, I think this won’t be the time. I think Neon has been about maintaining practices. To understand the Neon as a whole, would be to find the middle path and see where all the branching of approaches, theories, practices, and equipment originate through evidence, science, and application. Why is it that there are two different ideas of the temp to fill a tube after bombarding, and why can both approaches be true, and effective? This same idea is something that inspires me to collect relative scientific books and resources, such that it could help me understand and explain bake-out temps and times for plasma. There’s a margin of effectiveness and efficiency, each relative to variables of time, resources, and accessibility. When it comes to neon we need to break down that same thing by understanding the process, and affected materials, to bring context to the when, what, where, how, and why of Neon Bombarding. So will there be knowledge loss, yes, I hope so. That the knowledge lost is that which is not useful and incorrect!
Feel free to share, comment, and subscribe, and I’ll see you next time!
