#8 The Story of Two Trips
10/17/23
The final few months of the 1968-69 academic year came to an end and I found myself with a girlfriend who I loved to death, a newly minted Mexican divorce, and a job as an assistant professor at a university I had never heard of. Doesn’t get much better than that. But before I go and tell the stories of my life teaching clay and glass at Kent State University I should tell a couple of stories of my travels with Mike.
Introduction
Harvey’s show was going to open at the Nordness Gallery in NYC and my show was also opening at the same time. My show consisted of my clay work and a few pieces of my glass. Yes I had learned enough glass blowing technique that Nordness wanted some of my glass pieces as well as my clay. I still have a couple of those glass pieces from that show and looking at them with today’s eye’s find, although crude by today’s standards or any standards I guess, have a vitality that still draws me to them. As a matter of fact one of those pieces is in the collection of the Imagine Museum in Florida.
The following stories are about the two trips Mike Kraatz and I took to NY. One for Harvey’s show and I believe the other was for Mike to visit his parents in New England, although I’m not sure about that. It actually does not make a difference because the stories are not about where we were going but what happened when we were there and when we returned.
On the first trip Mike and I drove my station wagon to NY and we were to stay at my mom’s apartment on 88th St. My mom was very happy to see me and after a bit of conversation and some food that my mom had prepared Mike and I freshened up and got ready for the opening at the gallery.
That evening we arrived at the gallery and met Harvey. Harvey had flown in for his big opening. I believe it was Harvey’s first big gallery show. My show was in a back room at the gallery and was not much of an opening. I had some really nice clay pieces as well as my glass pieces. I think I sold a couple of my clay pieces and none of my glass. Harvey’s opening went off without a hitch and after the opening Nordness invited Harvey and myself to his apartment for dinner but did not invite Mike. Mike was very disappointed. Harvey and I went to the dinner and Mike drove off somewhere around mid-town Manhattan all evening waiting for me and I guess trying to figure out where he would pick me up after dinner. We never really figured out how we would meet up after dinner as I did not have Nordness’ address. The opening ended and Harvey and I were taken to Lee’s apartment for dinner. I must admit it was rather exciting to be having dinner with Lee Nordness as he was a well known gallery director and was the curator of the 1969 crafts exhibition “Objects: USA” held at the National Collection of Fine Arts, now the Smithsonian American Art Museum https://rb.gy/k6amn. Nordness’ apartment was rather dark and painted this dark color. Actually I wasn’t sure what the color was but it was dark.
The Dinner
The dining room, if you could call it that was very small and I guess one could call it intimate. There was no dining room table. There were pillows on the floor and we were required to sit cross legged on these pillows and eat our dinner. It was a new experience and sitting cross legged on a pillow is not a position I’m used to eating dinner in. As I recall I just sort of sat there trying to get comfortable. Would love to know what Harvey thought of the dinner set up. After some small talk the food arrived served by I guess the cook. My dinner was placed in front of me and there on my plate was a warm moist paper like package I assumed containing what we would be eating. I kept an eye on Mr. Nordness in order to figure out what I was to do with this warm moist paper package. I don’t suppose Harvey knew what this surprise package was either. After unwrapping my surprise meal I was met by a food product I had never seen before and obviously never eaten. Now I'm not squeamish when it comes to food but what I was looking at and about to eat was a real test. To my eye it was neither fish nor fowl, nor meat. I assume Nordness saw the consternation on my face and so he proceeded to tell me and probably Harvey as well what it was. It was Tripe. A delicacy I guess. It was now a “when in Rome” situation and I did my duty and ate it. In case you’re interested, I have no memory of what it tasted like. I don't believe Harvey had ever eaten Tripe before either. If you don’t know what Tripe is I suggest you Google it.
Of course there was wine served with the meal and the wine was served in very exotic Swedish goblets. The goblets had long and I mean long thin, very thin, stems. One had to be very careful when drinking from them as the stems were very delicate and fragile. I assume they were very expensive and probably only used for special guests. Harvey picked up his thin stemmed Swedish wine goblet and after taking a sip snapped the stem in half. Nordness was horrified. Harvey Littleton had just destroyed his very expensive Swedish goblet. There was this long pause and you could hear a pin drop. Nordness immediately had his server go around the dinner floor settings and removed all the wine glasses. I don’t think he wanted any more of those Swedish thin stemmed goblets broken. I was sort of embarrassed for Harvey at having broken that goblet and we never spoke of it. The dinner ended and I was very glad for that as I could now stand up and relieve the pain in my legs. Sitting cross-legged for the better part of an hour was not very comfortable. We left Nordness’ apartment and went down to the street. Harvey hailed a cab and went to his hotel. I was now wondering how would I meet up with Mike who, as I said, was driving around mid-town Manhattan waiting for the dinner to end and pick me up. Mike did not have an address and I had no way to contact him. Was I going to take the subway and go back to my moms apartment on 88th St. and Mike would just drive to her place? I do know that is not how it happened. It is now October, 2023, 54 years later as I write this. I decided to call Mike up and see if he remembers that evening. I had Mike’s number and called him up. Mike answered the phone and after some chit chat I asked him if he remembered that evening in NY. He emphatically said, "I sure do, how could I forget". So according to Mike, and I quote, “I was just driving around Manhattan in the rain trying to figure out what to do and made a right hand turn on one of the streets and there you were standing on the street corner, I couldn’t believe it. I pulled over and you got in like that's how we planned it". Mike continued, “How could I have forgotten that?” Now that is serendipity. Once in the car and out of the rain and on our way back to my mom's apartment I assume I told Mike about my dinner with Nordness, Harvey and the goblet. After a good night's sleep we left early for our drive back to Madison. My mom was sorry to see us go.
RISD and Canada
Mike and I were back in Madison and sitting around one day late in the school year Mike asked if I would like to take a trip to New England and visit his parents. I was always up for a road trip and agreed. We decided to take Mike’s van and load up some glass tools and possibly, on the way back, stop at RISD where Dale Chihuly had just started the glass program. The drive to New England was a long one but we were young and enjoyed the ride. I don’t remember where in N.E. we were but after our visit we drove down to Providence and went to find Dale. I had graduated from RISD in 1960 so I knew my way around Providence. It was exciting to be back and revisit some of my old haunts. We eventually found the glass department and went looking for Dale. Neither of us actually knew him but we found a couple of students and they told us that Dale was not there and wouldn’t be back for a few days. Disappointed we went into the hot shop and found the furnace was hot, filled with glass and the annealer was on. Not missing a beat we went to the van and got our pipes, jacks, and shears. There were no students around and so we spent an hour or two blowing glass and leaving what we made in the annealer. We never found out if Dale ever knew we were there. And I wonder what ever happened to the pieces we made.
Back in the van and on the road Mike said that we would take the short cut back to Madison and that short cut would take us through Canada. Going through Canada was more of a straight line to Madison and we all know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Let me remind you that this is 1969 and the Vietnam war is raging and many of the young boys of draft age, which we fit into, were fleeing the draft by going to Canada. What were we thinking? We innocently continued our journey and arrived at the Canadian border in a white van. We both had long hair and I had a mustache. We pulled up to the U.S. border waiting to go from the American side to the Canadian side. It was a short wait and eventually the American border guard came up to our van and without missing a beat asked us to move the van to a side area and to step out of the van. That got our attention as no one else was asked to pull over. I should mention that I had already been in the Army and was still in the reserves. Mike had not been in the army. We were questioned at length and asked where we were coming from, where were we going and why were we going to Canada. We gave our spiel about being students at the U. of Wisconsin and we were returning there via the Canadian route. After a bit of questioning the border guard told us he would now search the van. It was pretty nerve racking as we had no idea what was going on or what might happen to us. After a bit of searching he found our glass blowing tools. The tools really piqued his curiosity and the guard called a few other guards over to look at our blow pipes and tools. I guess it was the glass tools that cinched the deal that we were not a couple of hippies fleeing the draft. We were sent on our way and made the trip through Canada and had no trouble leaving Canada and getting back into the states and on to Madison.
One last story
Well #1 - 8 covers my time at the U. working for Harvey as his assistant and learning a craft that would last me the rest of my life. Oh yeah maybe I should tell you this quick story about the time Audrey was giving a tour to a famous painter that had come to Madison to give a lecture. Audrey showed up at the glass lab, artist in tow and asked him if he would like to blow glass, he of course said yes. While he was standing there Audrey gathered some glass and handed him the pipe and told him to blow as hard as he could, which he did. Nothing happened, no bubble, nothing, Audrey said blow harder which he did, again nothing. I and a few other students were standing there watching this little tableau unfold. After he huffed and puffed he suddenly dropped the pipe and fell over backwards, having passed out, he hit his head on the cement floor which resulted in him being taken to the hospital with a concussion. So much for the tour. It turned out the pipe Audrey had given him was actually a punty rod. A fun time was had by all.
Next up will be 1969, starting the glass program at Kent State University
. 
. 
. 
.
Harvey Littleton, Lee Nordness, Catalog, Valiant Station Wagon
Introduction
Harvey’s show was going to open at the Nordness Gallery in NYC and my show was also opening at the same time. My show consisted of my clay work and a few pieces of my glass. Yes I had learned enough glass blowing technique that Nordness wanted some of my glass pieces as well as my clay. I still have a couple of those glass pieces from that show and looking at them with today’s eye’s find, although crude by today’s standards or any standards I guess, have a vitality that still draws me to them. As a matter of fact one of those pieces is in the collection of the Imagine Museum in Florida.
The following stories are about the two trips Mike Kraatz and I took to NY. One for Harvey’s show and I believe the other was for Mike to visit his parents in New England, although I’m not sure about that. It actually does not make a difference because the stories are not about where we were going but what happened when we were there and when we returned.
On the first trip Mike and I drove my station wagon to NY and we were to stay at my mom’s apartment on 88th St. My mom was very happy to see me and after a bit of conversation and some food that my mom had prepared Mike and I freshened up and got ready for the opening at the gallery.
That evening we arrived at the gallery and met Harvey. Harvey had flown in for his big opening. I believe it was Harvey’s first big gallery show. My show was in a back room at the gallery and was not much of an opening. I had some really nice clay pieces as well as my glass pieces. I think I sold a couple of my clay pieces and none of my glass. Harvey’s opening went off without a hitch and after the opening Nordness invited Harvey and myself to his apartment for dinner but did not invite Mike. Mike was very disappointed. Harvey and I went to the dinner and Mike drove off somewhere around mid-town Manhattan all evening waiting for me and I guess trying to figure out where he would pick me up after dinner. We never really figured out how we would meet up after dinner as I did not have Nordness’ address. The opening ended and Harvey and I were taken to Lee’s apartment for dinner. I must admit it was rather exciting to be having dinner with Lee Nordness as he was a well known gallery director and was the curator of the 1969 crafts exhibition “Objects: USA” held at the National Collection of Fine Arts, now the Smithsonian American Art Museum https://rb.gy/k6amn. Nordness’ apartment was rather dark and painted this dark color. Actually I wasn’t sure what the color was but it was dark.
The Dinner
The dining room, if you could call it that was very small and I guess one could call it intimate. There was no dining room table. There were pillows on the floor and we were required to sit cross legged on these pillows and eat our dinner. It was a new experience and sitting cross legged on a pillow is not a position I’m used to eating dinner in. As I recall I just sort of sat there trying to get comfortable. Would love to know what Harvey thought of the dinner set up. After some small talk the food arrived served by I guess the cook. My dinner was placed in front of me and there on my plate was a warm moist paper like package I assumed containing what we would be eating. I kept an eye on Mr. Nordness in order to figure out what I was to do with this warm moist paper package. I don’t suppose Harvey knew what this surprise package was either. After unwrapping my surprise meal I was met by a food product I had never seen before and obviously never eaten. Now I'm not squeamish when it comes to food but what I was looking at and about to eat was a real test. To my eye it was neither fish nor fowl, nor meat. I assume Nordness saw the consternation on my face and so he proceeded to tell me and probably Harvey as well what it was. It was Tripe. A delicacy I guess. It was now a “when in Rome” situation and I did my duty and ate it. In case you’re interested, I have no memory of what it tasted like. I don't believe Harvey had ever eaten Tripe before either. If you don’t know what Tripe is I suggest you Google it.
Of course there was wine served with the meal and the wine was served in very exotic Swedish goblets. The goblets had long and I mean long thin, very thin, stems. One had to be very careful when drinking from them as the stems were very delicate and fragile. I assume they were very expensive and probably only used for special guests. Harvey picked up his thin stemmed Swedish wine goblet and after taking a sip snapped the stem in half. Nordness was horrified. Harvey Littleton had just destroyed his very expensive Swedish goblet. There was this long pause and you could hear a pin drop. Nordness immediately had his server go around the dinner floor settings and removed all the wine glasses. I don’t think he wanted any more of those Swedish thin stemmed goblets broken. I was sort of embarrassed for Harvey at having broken that goblet and we never spoke of it. The dinner ended and I was very glad for that as I could now stand up and relieve the pain in my legs. Sitting cross-legged for the better part of an hour was not very comfortable. We left Nordness’ apartment and went down to the street. Harvey hailed a cab and went to his hotel. I was now wondering how would I meet up with Mike who, as I said, was driving around mid-town Manhattan waiting for the dinner to end and pick me up. Mike did not have an address and I had no way to contact him. Was I going to take the subway and go back to my moms apartment on 88th St. and Mike would just drive to her place? I do know that is not how it happened. It is now October, 2023, 54 years later as I write this. I decided to call Mike up and see if he remembers that evening. I had Mike’s number and called him up. Mike answered the phone and after some chit chat I asked him if he remembered that evening in NY. He emphatically said, "I sure do, how could I forget". So according to Mike, and I quote, “I was just driving around Manhattan in the rain trying to figure out what to do and made a right hand turn on one of the streets and there you were standing on the street corner, I couldn’t believe it. I pulled over and you got in like that's how we planned it". Mike continued, “How could I have forgotten that?” Now that is serendipity. Once in the car and out of the rain and on our way back to my mom's apartment I assume I told Mike about my dinner with Nordness, Harvey and the goblet. After a good night's sleep we left early for our drive back to Madison. My mom was sorry to see us go.
RISD and Canada
Mike and I were back in Madison and sitting around one day late in the school year Mike asked if I would like to take a trip to New England and visit his parents. I was always up for a road trip and agreed. We decided to take Mike’s van and load up some glass tools and possibly, on the way back, stop at RISD where Dale Chihuly had just started the glass program. The drive to New England was a long one but we were young and enjoyed the ride. I don’t remember where in N.E. we were but after our visit we drove down to Providence and went to find Dale. I had graduated from RISD in 1960 so I knew my way around Providence. It was exciting to be back and revisit some of my old haunts. We eventually found the glass department and went looking for Dale. Neither of us actually knew him but we found a couple of students and they told us that Dale was not there and wouldn’t be back for a few days. Disappointed we went into the hot shop and found the furnace was hot, filled with glass and the annealer was on. Not missing a beat we went to the van and got our pipes, jacks, and shears. There were no students around and so we spent an hour or two blowing glass and leaving what we made in the annealer. We never found out if Dale ever knew we were there. And I wonder what ever happened to the pieces we made.
Back in the van and on the road Mike said that we would take the short cut back to Madison and that short cut would take us through Canada. Going through Canada was more of a straight line to Madison and we all know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Let me remind you that this is 1969 and the Vietnam war is raging and many of the young boys of draft age, which we fit into, were fleeing the draft by going to Canada. What were we thinking? We innocently continued our journey and arrived at the Canadian border in a white van. We both had long hair and I had a mustache. We pulled up to the U.S. border waiting to go from the American side to the Canadian side. It was a short wait and eventually the American border guard came up to our van and without missing a beat asked us to move the van to a side area and to step out of the van. That got our attention as no one else was asked to pull over. I should mention that I had already been in the Army and was still in the reserves. Mike had not been in the army. We were questioned at length and asked where we were coming from, where were we going and why were we going to Canada. We gave our spiel about being students at the U. of Wisconsin and we were returning there via the Canadian route. After a bit of questioning the border guard told us he would now search the van. It was pretty nerve racking as we had no idea what was going on or what might happen to us. After a bit of searching he found our glass blowing tools. The tools really piqued his curiosity and the guard called a few other guards over to look at our blow pipes and tools. I guess it was the glass tools that cinched the deal that we were not a couple of hippies fleeing the draft. We were sent on our way and made the trip through Canada and had no trouble leaving Canada and getting back into the states and on to Madison.
One last story
Well #1 - 8 covers my time at the U. working for Harvey as his assistant and learning a craft that would last me the rest of my life. Oh yeah maybe I should tell you this quick story about the time Audrey was giving a tour to a famous painter that had come to Madison to give a lecture. Audrey showed up at the glass lab, artist in tow and asked him if he would like to blow glass, he of course said yes. While he was standing there Audrey gathered some glass and handed him the pipe and told him to blow as hard as he could, which he did. Nothing happened, no bubble, nothing, Audrey said blow harder which he did, again nothing. I and a few other students were standing there watching this little tableau unfold. After he huffed and puffed he suddenly dropped the pipe and fell over backwards, having passed out, he hit his head on the cement floor which resulted in him being taken to the hospital with a concussion. So much for the tour. It turned out the pipe Audrey had given him was actually a punty rod. A fun time was had by all.
Next up will be 1969, starting the glass program at Kent State University
. . . . Harvey Littleton, Lee Nordness, Catalog, Valiant Station Wagon