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HQ TRADE MAGAZINE APRIL 2016 98 For the CHAMPS Glass Games Masters Final, Hurley took inspiration from the theme of “The Elements” and created working steam still in the form of a three-and-a-half foot tall modular water pipe in which all the elements of fire, air and water worked in unison. “The steam still has been used for 5,000 years in different capacities. I studied how to make it the best and then applied my art to it – the trick was squeezing it into the 14 hours slotted for the competition,” Hurley says. “Each piece is critical, and I had to finish each piece of the build in order to have it function properly. I practiced each section (prior) to make sure that I could make it by hand because it's something that's usually done on a lathe. I also had to find the right balance between color, form and function, so that it could be displayed as an art piece.” When the piece was finished, Hurley showed off its functionality by extracting lavender oil with the system. Along with being a still, the piece had the capacity to be used as a water pipe, and included attachments to make it into a rig, and even had a detachable sherlock. Winning both the main judging and the people's choice, Hurley says, was the ultimate yin and yang. “One is for the technical aspect of the piece, and the other was how the art interacted with the individual people,” he says. “I pride myself on creating things that come from inside me, it really made my heart sing. I'm usually an introvert, and I love spending time in the studio. . . it was a real honor to be recognized after twenty years of blowing glass.” v Chris Hurley www.facebook.com/chris.hurley.7505 www.instagram.com/hurleyglass Glass Blowingcontinued M any years ago, when I decided to pursue the American dream and start my own business, Ultra Klean, I knew I would need to find a busi- ness partner who was trustworthy, intel- ligent, hardworking, reliable, had a good sense of humor, and whom I would be able to get along with working very long hours. The search for me was simple, since there was really only one person that fit that description, my brother John Kehoe. John had a great sense of humor and loved to make people laugh, which made it especially easy for him to make friends. His favorite band was Lynyrd Skynyrd, and he loved watching sports, especially the San Francisco 49ers and Giants, enjoyed going to sports bars for happy hour each day and joking around with the bartenders and food servers, playing golf, and he especially loved taking time off to travel to his favorite destination, the Big Island of Hawaii. For the last two years of his life John battled cancer, and I played the role of caretaker and I tried to make him comfortable as best I could. The last month of his life he was unable to speak, and had to communicate via writing. The last time I saw him alive, shortly before his death, as I was leaving his hospital room, he had a look of sadness on his face I had never seen before, a look that will be forever etched in my mind. I looked down on the writing pad he had in his hand and I read what he had written: “I’m going to miss you Brian.” I am going to miss you too John. More than you know. Rest in peace. John Kehoe • Founder/President • Ultra Klean Inc