Going with the Flow

Ahh, Summertime. Nothing like waking up in the morning to a day of sunshine and bird songs by the flowing water cascading at our back yard pond. Gets the cobwebs cleared from the mind and helps reinvigorate the soul.

As I enjoyed the subtle sounds of our waterfall on this beautiful summer solstice morning, I reflected on how Nature seems to just go with the flow. Maybe we could all learn a thing or two from our Mother Earth. Take time from our busy schedules and just "Go with the Flow".

So, let's see if that works in the the glass shop this summer. Now that we have pushed past our deadline with the King Tut project, there are endless possibilities to be explored. It's how we explore them that counts.

King Tut Project

As an Artist you have to set goals on what you would like to accomplish with your medium, so we started using a vision board for the endless ideas that seem to roam around in our brains. They seem to sprout from many encounters we have in our daily lives. For instance, walking the greenbelt in our lovely city inspired this one-of-a-kind ornament of the waterfalls in downtown I.F.

Fused Ornament of the "Falls" in Idaho Falls

Russ and I feed off of each other's creative thoughts and combine our ideas. When we work together, our minds seem to meld into one (They say that happens when you have a partner of longevity, you start thinking each other's thoughts, and it definitely happens with us quite often.) We discuss and formulate new ways to express the beauty we encounter through our glass works. So, when we slow down and ponder and put our thoughts together, that seems to be where the best inspiration comes from.

Of course, sometimes other individuals jostle our creativity. Our sons were the source of inspiration of the piece below. They asked if we could come up with an unusual award for the owner of the company they work for, Papa Murphy's Pizza. At first, we didn't slow down and think about this, didn't "Go with the Flow". But once we did, it all seemed to fall into place, the way it should have. It taught us patience is indeed a virtue.  

Glass Pizza Slice Award

When we stop and listen to our artistic instincts, they are usually right. It got us thinking how fun it would be to create unusual glass awards for various companies and larger corporations in the future. Why stick with the ordinary when you can have extraordinary glass awards? I can tell we're going to use that vision board a lot this summer. When we stop and just go with the flow, that's when the best ideas hit the surface. Next blog will highlight some of those ideas and what we've got planned for some local art shows this summer. Until next time, just go with the flow. Works for us.