The O-town Scene

A13 August 7, 2014 O-Town Scene 13 When artist Robert "Bobby" Sharp was growing up, he said he had a difficult time following complicated school lesson. He knew he was different — he said he felt colors and could see details in his mind when he created works of art. "When I was in high school, I really didn't get a lot of what was being taught," Sharp said. "The girls would help me out. I guess they felt sorry for me. My uncle was an attorney in Fairfax, Va. I went down there and was diagnosed at George Mason University with a learning disability and that was that. But later I learned that what I have is not a disability at all — it is a gift." Sharp researched learning disabilities online and found a resource in Dr. Temple Grandin's website. Grandin is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and holds a doctorate in animal science. She is a bestselling author, and a professor at Colorado State University, and has been instrumental in bringing another view to the evolving world of understanding autism. Grandin contends that it is the autistic mind that will conceptualize the mecha- nism that will propel mankind into the next level of humanity. She explains that while people on the spectrum have "differently- abled brains," and that the current educa- tional style of rigid academics and social expectations could suppress many pos- sibilities in the advent of mankind. "While it might struggle to conjugate a verb (an autistic brain) could one day take us to distant stars," she writes on her website. Sharp, who began to see himself as an artist in 2000, found comfort in Grandin's teachings. "I found her and she has taught me so much," Sharp said. "Sounds are some- times too loud, and smells and colors, they seem to come at me all the time. It was all very distracting. But when I found Dr. Temple Grandin, I began to understand that autism is a gift. It was then that I real- ized why I go into my mind. I can see it. I know exactly how to put things together — just exactly like I saw it in my mind." Sharp has taken his gift and created many different types of artwork. He is working with Baron Wolman's photograph of Woodstock era rock 'n' roll legends including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Levon Helm and Jerry Garcia. Sharp has recreated the intensity of the musicians on broken glass. He then silkscreens the images onto T-shirts and other canvasses. B. Sharp Studios, created by Sharp, also contains glass-blowing furnaces and kilns. Mountain Glass, a part of B. Sharp Studio, is home to Sharp's partner in glass blow- ing, David "Dave" Morales. Morales is turning out custom-made glassware for wholesale and retail sales. With the recent interest in small-batch distilling, Mountain Glass is offering custom-made beverage glasses and vessels to complement the unique aspect of local distilleries. "The trick is to get them all the same," Morales said. "When you are doing each one by hand, there is a certain difficulty in keeping them consistent. It is a process. Once we find the perfect shape and size, I try to keep each piece basically the same." Morales spins the glass as he blows into the stem of one of the many tools that have been used by glass-blowers for centuries. Morales plunges the molten-hot substance into the furnace, brings it out and shapes the globe of the glass. Timing is key. He must keep the substance in an animated state between completely liquid and completely solid. When the globe is perfect, Morales adds the stem and then he adds the base. When the external temperature of the glass is cool enough to hold the shape, the inside of the glass is still molten hot. The key is to slowly cool the glass so it does not crack. Morales gently places the finished glass into a kiln to slowly cool. "We are working to fill orders for whiskey glasses now, Sharp said. "I have studied these glasses — how people hold them, how they want the weight of glass and the thickness of the rim. I think I have designed the perfect whiskey glass." Sharp wants to expand his glass- blowing facility into a community teaching center where those interested in learning to blow glass may take lessons. In addi- tion, Sharp hopes to expand his studio to bring artists of various genres together to help promote the arts in Oneonta. "I have a vision of all sorts of people get- ting together to create some goodwill and some really good art," Sharp said. Cathy B. Koplen Dave Morales works on a piece of glass at the furnace at Mountain Glass. Benjamin Patton Bobby Sharpe poses next to some of the glassware created at Mountain Glass. Benjamin Patton Dave Morales crafts a blown glass wineglass at Mountain Glass Studio. By Cathy B. Koplen Contributing Writer Cathy B. Koplen

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