This is the last AGI

[Mr. Wonka]

Hello friends.

It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce that this is the end of AGI, and this year will be the final “farewell gathering” to the Glass Center / Wonka World. There are many factors involved in this decision, including my ongoing health problems.

Following this final AGI, we will be dismantling the interiors of some buildings and restructuring them in an effort to create an educational facility to accommodate smaller glass classes as well as other types of educational art forms

If you have ever planned to be a part of The Art Glass Invitational, this will be your last chance… We’re calling this one, “The 15th and last”

Elaine and I are so proud that over the past 15 years we’ve had the opportunity to bring glass blowers together from across the country… as well as around the globe… and help change their lives, careers, perspectives on glass, and open up new opportunities for all involved. We’ve had the pleasure of hosting some of the most wonderful and talented people at a place that we built in our back yard… sharing our own home and our lives with you. We would like to thank everyone for making AGI what it has become.

Thank you in advance for those of you who choose to attend our final AGI gathering, and we look forward to seeing you one last time in August. BTW… there are still tickets available.

This would not be complete without giving a HUGE thanks to Glass Alchemy who have been with us from the beginning;…we started our endeavors together 15 years ago, and both of us have been through major changes this past year. We love you GA, and thank you for your support over the years. Unlike other events, you have always been our one and only sponsor.

In closing, I feel that we owe you all an apology, as many of you have looked forward to this every year as your vacation, as well as a networking and learning experience in a truly unique environment. Many of you have referred to it lovingly as “Glass Camp” and we know that it will be missed by many… including myself and Elaine.

Much love, and much respect,
Tom & Elaine Doner / a.k.a. Mr. & Mrs. Wonka

**P.S. – If you are a teacher in glass and / or other art forms, and need a venue to teach your medium, we have the space to accommodate you and your students. Please contact us if you are interested in hosting your class here.


The Glass Blowing Center
114 Leonard Rd.
Hilliards, PA 16040
(724) 791-2100
www.glass123.com

[PyroChixRock]

Oh Tom, I'm so very sad to hear this. I hope there is a way to keep AGI going that just hasn't been found yet, but I understand the situation. I know you tried for years to find a way to keep this from happening. I know your dream was to pass it on to someone who would keep it going. I'm sorry none of these solutions worked out. I wish talkglass.com could have done more to help somehow.

I really wish I could be there this year. It's too short of notice for me I'm afraid. I'm so thankful I was able to go in 2013.

Send my love to Elaine. Sending big hugs to you. :heart:

[KLAW]

Damn this is really sad to hear, next year was supposed my and our friends first year attending since we can't make this year. Guess this means I will have never got to experience AGI :(

Most importantly of all I hope your health improves though Tom. I'm really glad to hear that some of your buildings will remain around/be modified to be used as glass & art educational facilities. I hope this will keep at least a little piece of AGI up and running in all the hearts of all those who had the pleasure of attending & give a little bit of the experience/knowledge to some new minds in the glass/art world. Maybe depending on what all ends up continuing on educational wise, we will have to try and get out and experience a bit of that.

Well yeah...:(...sad to hear no more AGIs, but keep your health up & know a lot of us hear on TMP and elsewhere appreciate your additiions to the glass community you have made. Good Luck Good Sir!!

[Jimi The Don]

fuck my balls. i was planning for next year as well. gonna have to make it work this year i reckon. very sorry to hear this, hope everything works out.

[monte]

Wow. Sad to read this, this morning. I'm new to glass (7 months) , but have heard such great things about your event. I feel very fortunate that i purchased a ticket for this year and look forward to meeting everyone and getting to experience it.

[Aymie]

This hurts my heart. I love y'all.

[istandalone24/7]

Noooooo!
i so wanted to go at some point in the future :(

[live free]

=( what days this year? As a person who throws a small glass gathering in our back yard we would like to invite you in the future to come visit Tom and elaine. =) and anyone else interested in glass. I will surely try to make it to agi this year. I've heard amazing things about you guys and your event and beautiful land. If you ever want to come to live free we would treat yas like royalty ;-) I know how hard this decision must be. 15 years! That's incredible!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

[live free]

And I'd love to teach there. Maybe a boro furnace class? How to make large vessels out of the furnace

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

[Ray]

Very Sad to hear this.
I did sign up and put a deposit down for my ticket for this year a couple of weeks ago.
At least I'll get to experience this one.

[Firekist]

13 years of "i'll try to go next year" was at least .. math.. one too many years, but more like 12 too many years. or 13..

thank you for having so many of us out there, even 2nd or 3rd or 4th hand, i've learned and enjoyed AGI. thank you tom and elaine!
--seth

[itssteve]

Everyone's already said it but.. Very sad to hear, I'd heard so much good about AGI it was the event I was really hoping to attend. It's too bad it won't be passed on to someone capable of keeping it going as it always has.

Health comes first and I hope you and your wife can get and stay healthy and enjoy your time together.

No matter how unfortunate, all things must come to an end. Just have to be grateful it was able to exist to begin with.

[Mr. Wonka]

Thank you so much everybody, I appreciate your words of kindness and healing. It is a sad occasion on many levels for us, but in a way it’s a bit of relief on my part. I’ve had some major health issues and I can’t deal with the stress of running a show of this magnitude anymore.

For new members of this forum, I would like to give you a quick history lesson: Kristian Turley (KT) started this board and I was one of the first members. In the early days, KT was basically talking to himself on a brand new chat board.

As things grew into a small community, I thought it would be cool to bring people together so we could put some faces to the names and forum monikers. That event was called, “Pipestock” since the forum was mainly for pipe makers. The first event had 20 or less people, but damn… we had such a great time together.

Years later, Kristian had other things going on in his life, and he asked me if I would like to be the administrator of the forum. There was no way that I could say no, so I accepted it as an honor. I ran it the best I could for (I don’t know how long).

Since I’m not a computer genius, I thought that it was in the best interest of the community to hand it over to someone else. There was one choice and one choice only… Misha. Between her love of glass, love for this community, outstanding computer and networking skills, I turned the forum over to her. She has taken it to a level that I would never be able to achieve in my wildest dreams.

Now, look at this place today. It is a wealth of information from glass workers of all skill levels, areas of expertise, as well as extensive geographical locations.

I would like to thank Kristian Turley for starting this community, as well as Misha for keeping it going. Misha and I had an incredible mutual friend that we could always lean on in times of trouble and turmoil… our dear departed friend and an essential member of this forum; Michael a.k.a. Mer. He was not only there for both of us, but for all of you… any time, all the time… PERIOD. I miss him dearly as so many others of you do *tears*.

So, AGI was born with this forum and although the event is ending, I’m glad to see the forum going strong. I’m so proud to have been a part of it, even if it was just enough time to find the right person to bring it to the next level.

I love you KT, I love you Misha, and I love and miss you Mer.

Hey, if you want to attend the final AGI, we still have tickets available… just give Elaine a call at 724-791-2100.

Much love and respect to you all, and keep that glass hot and spinning : )

Tom Doner
A.k.a. Mr. Wonka





BTW- If you’re not faint of heart, below is a link to a video of the last operation that I had in April, and I have about a 1 year recovery period (possibly more). The video depicts stage 2 of the infection, whereas I had stage 3. Again… don’t watch it if you’re squeamish… really!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FseH2_Xn6o

[PyroChixRock]

Tom, like I said I totally understand, but this is heartbreaking and I can't help but hold onto a little hope that agi will continue. But if it really does indeed end, please don't disappear. Our world wouldn't be the same without you. :heart:

Thanks for the kind words.

[Jason Lindquist]

Owie. I've been part of The Best Damn Recycling Crew Period at Northwest String Summit for the last 14 years. Almost as long as AGI has been going on. The folks on that crew are family to me now.

That commitment has used all of my vacation time for all those years. I had resigned myself to giving it up next year so that I could go to AGI, and agonizing over how I was going to break the news to my String Summit family. If you want make the universe laugh, tell it your plans.

Be well, Tom. Thank you for all of your contributions to this community that I have only too recently discovered. I hope to have the honor of meeting you someday.

[loydb]

Damn, I'm sorry to hear this. The three AGIs I made it to were each responsible for major leaps in my skill level, not to mention the number of really cool people I met. Thanks for all the great years of work that you and Elaine and all the volunteers put in!

[STROKER]

Damn I hate to hear this so much.
I am very glad I will be attending the last sending and I will be sad when the reality sets in that this is it.
Tom you just get your health in line buddy. You and Elaine will be sorely missed as a yearly destination for a bunch of us but you being healthy is exponentially more important.
Come one ,come all and let's make the last one, the best one.

[JDNACEglass]

wow. sad to hear this. heard about agi, and kept putting it off for four years, so very grateful i will be attending this year, ive heard from too many that it is the one event every glass blower should attend once in thier career.

[Orion Glass Works]

I'm so sorry to hear about this, however I'm happy to hear that you're putting your health first. AGI was amazing for myself and everyone else who attended at one point or another. I feel lucky to have been there, it opened my eyes to the open, positive, embracing community of flame workers. AGI will be missed and someday, somewhere, will live on.

Hope that little orange kitten I found behind the wood pile is still keeping you good company! Best wishes Tom! Thank you for creating such a powerful experience for so many of us.

[jr23]

Well I have never been. Although I have watched plenty of Videos of classes. Also enjoyed the pictures posted here most every year.

I understand your health concerns my fiancé has been battling one thing after another.

I am changing my whole life and career based on wanting life to slow down a bit.

Truly I am sad that I will never be going to agi. Although it's not the same I feel like the sharing and posting of classes held there has gotten me close to the vibe your event has given our movement.

I totally loved the Michigan vs Texas banter and many funny story's that have originated at agi.

Much love and I will still eventually make it to a class at your facility.

I think someone should start a glass tour and hit several places then end up renting your facility for a series of classes at the end. Throw in a visit to Corning museum . Start the tour at a flame off.

[krisdaka]

Tom, I'm sorry to read about this being the last agi. I do understand your health concerns and I'm sorry to hear they aren't getting any better. I do love your facility and hope and hope it is still used as the greatest glass teaching place in the world. I hope to make it back there one day as a student again. Peace and love to you, Mr. and Mrs. Wonka.:heart::heart::heart::heart:

aka Karen Sinkowski

[Mr. Wonka]

Orion- we’ve enjoyed many good years with “Stewie”, the cat that you found by the Bandhu building. Unfortunately he kept getting in trouble and came home injured too many times. The last time was pretty bad and we could not afford to fix his problems so we had to have him put down. It was heartbreaking for us since he was our little buddy. Since then we have adopted 2 stray cats (or should I say that they adopted us). Thanks for finding him and bringing some joy to our lives while he was here : )

Tom

[Mr. Wonka]

So many of you are thanking me for helping you in your glass careers, and I really appreciate that. For some reason, I accept criticism so much easier than accolades… I’m always trying to improve my life and see how I can do things better.

It really sucks that this is our last event; It was always about love and not money… as a matter of fact, everything we have ever made from AGI was spent to expand the facility. We’re actually ending this in debt, as my health and well-being is much more important than any dollar amount.

I’m so happy that I have been a catalyst to bring so many of you together. I’d like to think that I’ve made some kind mark in my chosen field, even if it’s not being some big name / famous glass blower.

I happened to catch the last half of the movie, “Field of Dreams” this afternoon. The theme was, “If you build it, they will come”. Applying that to what has been done here... we built it, and people came… by the hundreds over the years. I really appreciate you guys being here. As I have said each year during every orientation, we only provide the space… You provide the energy and the magic.

Let’s do this one more time and capture the imagination and magic for the 15th and last time… Please spread the word. We have reduced the price to make it affordable to everyone, and it is the best investment that you will ever make in your glass career… I promise you that.

Much love, Tom

P.S. - If you’re on Facebook, please check our page daily. Scott Hallam is updating it every day or so, and I hope that as many of you as possible will be here.

https://www.facebook.com/ArtGlassInvitational2015?fref=ts

[Jason Lindquist]

Who has two thumbs and is going to AGI?


:party::party::party::party::party::party::party:: party::party::party::party:

This guy!!!

:party::party::party::party::party::party::party:: party::party::party::party:

Managed to pull some strings last night at work to get the time off, and I just got off the phone with Elaine. I'm in!!

I am beside myself over here! I've never even watched anybody else torch before, outside of youtube vids. Now I'm gonna spend an entire week immersed in it? Seriously don't know how I'm going to contain myself! SRSLY!

[Ray]

Who has two thumbs and is going to AGI?


:party::party::party::party::party::party::party:: party::party::party::party:

This guy!!!

:party::party::party::party::party::party::party:: party::party::party::party:

Managed to pull some strings last night at work to get the time off, and I just got off the phone with Elaine. I'm in!!

I am beside myself over here! I've never even watched anybody else torch before, outside of youtube vids. Now I'm gonna spend an entire week immersed in it? Seriously don't know how I'm going to contain myself! SRSLY!


Awesome!!!!!!!!!! :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::r ofl:
I'm looking forward to meeting you!
I have watched on instructor doing for a weekend...doing beads. (I hate beads for some reason).
So I'm looking forward to watching others as well.
I have an 'A' ticket, if you have a 'B' ticket...look me up..Im sure I will have a bunch of down time where I will be
watching others...I can only do so many hours in a day.

[PyroChixRock]

You guys are going to have a blast! :D

[STROKER]

Agi is a game changer.
Look forward to meeting yall.

[Ray]

Agi is a game changer.
Look forward to meeting yall.
Can't wait to meet everyone.

[monte]

excellent. very excited to meet everyone and experience this as well!

[Mr. Wonka]

I'm so happy to see such excitement for our last event. We've had a couple of guests that had to cancel, so we still have tickets available. It's coming up real soon, so don't miss out on it!

Call us at 724-791-2100, or visit www.glass123.com/agi.html. It's a little late for the monthly payment plan, but if you really want to be here we will be happy to work with you : )

Tom

[torchgirl]

I'm sad that this will be the last one but am so glad I have been able to attend. I'm very grateful to Tom and Elaine and everyone who supported AGI over the years. It is a very special event because everyone is so friendly and helpful.


If you are attending this year, please check out the facebook group AGI 2015 Art Glass Invitational, there is a post where you can post a picture of your work and let folks know you're coming. It's fun to see the diversity of work.