OCR Text |
Show Wednesday, July 91, 1974 Counum Home Grown Glass INSPECTION STICKER stained glass work gradually accumulates until suddenly you realize that there's a lot of really 7 EXPIRES THIS MONTH o Park City's newest heated pool. 45 deluxe condo apartments open now at low summer day or week rentals. Bring the family or in CALL EDELWEISS As you walk in and around Park City, one of the subtler features of the town becomes more evident. The quantity of HAUS TODAY fine glasswork in town; anything from leaded glass terrarium houses to windows, signs, and lamps. The creative hands, heads, and eyes responsible for this fine work belong to Clifford Funk and Todd Wagner. Clifford's first introduction to stained glass work was in Humboldt County, California, about four years ago. Some friends who were involved with glass turned him on to it, and since that time, glass has been a source of both work and personal satisfaction to him. He arrived in Park City via Crested Butte about three years ago with only three or four small pieces of glass. From there he taught himself by trial and error, with a little starvation thrown in on the side. His first year was spent learning and trying to gather as much information about glasswork he could find. Previously, he had never before ventured into any fine art or crafts form; he was just waiting for something to happen. Cliff moved into the shack that is his present .workshop and used a generator for electricity. The following year he persuaded the power company to run a line to the shack. the His first big job was windows in the former Sourdough Bakery. Bob Potter gave Clifford a down payment on the windows which enabled Clifford to buy the glass and lead, and subsequently make the windows. Since that time he has made approximately 42 more windows, and 27 lamps, along with assorted signs. Lately, he has had trouble getting glass. Its more expensive and theres more demand for it. One of the problems is that glass is made once a year. For example, the manufacturers will make only amber glass for a week or so, and then not again until the following year. So once its gone, all you can do is wait. The glass comes not only from Virginia and Europe, but also from Saigon, so you can understand the difficulty in getting it. Most of Cliffs orders come from in town, although a lot are also from People will to to Park City come ski; see a window or a lamp; hunt Clifford up, and order one. One of the most rewarding things for him is to have people search him out id find him wherever he hap-n- s to be; this indicates to him out-of-stat- e. that they are truly interested in having him make whatever it is they want. A lot of orders go out to California, but he has also sent some to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The thing that Cliff feels is most unfortunate is that people in Utah don't know about or ap- preciate stained glass work. Many windows in Salt Lake City that have stained glass in them are just boarded up. In spite of this, his biggest reward from any one piece is the satisfaction he gets from knowing that his customers really enjoy what theyve bought. Todd also came to Park City via Humboldt County, which seems only natural since he and Clifford went there together. He lived there for three years, during which time he became interested in glasswork through the enthusiasm of friends who were involved in it. Todd made a few odd pieces here and there but didnt really concentrate on it. Instead, he helped put together The New Earth Gallery" in Eureka. Housed in the gallery were a glass shop, leather shop, silversmith, photography studio, and shop that specialized in handmade guitars. While involved with the gallery, he got into a lot of leather work and some silver work. Now , however, Todd has returned to glass. When first starting out, he got bogged down because he tried to jump in too fast. So he stepped outside of it and figured what direction to take to flow into it easier. Hes now starting with terrarium houses, but plans to go on to windows and lamps. When he feels ready, hed like to go study more and learn to blow his own glass. One of the most important aspects of glass that Todd is continually struck by is the pure beauty of the glass, and the fact that its a functional art form. Not only does it look nice, but it also performs a service. It allows the light to come in, but, at the same time, it keeps the rain and snow out. What Clifford and Todd would really enjoy doing is turning people on to stained glass its function and beauty. What is important to them, not only with respect to their work but other local artists as well, is that the work is produced here in town, not flown up from Mexico. The artists and artisans in Park City are here by choice, and many are very good at what they do. So they invite any and all who are truly interested in their work to contact them. Todd Wagner --- Clifford Funk SMITHS Rest Haven , M Motel - Cabins - Cafe - T railer Camp On Upper Provo River at Woodland Smith scc OWNER Open Daily at 11:00 a.n. serving DynamiteSandwiches on Homemade Bread Beer & Setups, Cabins $7 Motel $7.50 jvcicria Sxrm temple AND MAIM KIMBAU-- For Reservations Phone: 3 SPECIALIZING IN Imported & American Delicacies up q KAMA'S S JUNCfoN 268-270- & DELICATESSEN and LIQUOR STORE SLC 783-478- 4 I Smite - WOODLAND R est toien HOURS 12:00 am to 10:00pm 7 days a week PHONE 436 MAIN STREET 649-895- 7 PARK CITY, UTAH |