Loving and Loss, Learning and Leaping

We had a busy Valentine season, selling many different roses.

 The month of February was one of loving, learning, loss, and last but not least, "Leap day". We started out the first part of the month by creating many glass roses of different styles and varieties for our Etsy customers. Then we worked throughout Valentine's weekend on our "Hot Date Night" glassblowing lessons. This has been a tradition holding steady for quite a few years now. It is a unique Valentine that couples really seem to enjoy. Some are a bit nervous to start out, but Russ is a great teacher and seems to be able to calm most people's fear of the hot torch flames. Others are eager to work in the Lamp Work flames and seem quite natural for beginners.
I also wanted to share the picture below, made in the past, regarding a unique memorial created for a beloved family pet. 

An idea to incorporate a beloved pet's ashes into glass.

This month projects were also completed that represented some great loss of beloved pets. My sister and her family lost their canine companion last summer. Her name was Rozy and she was part of their family for close to 16 years. Russ finally had the time to create some unique pieces for her. He cut and slumped the white glass first to create a puzzle effect. (She is the missing puzzle piece to their family.) Then he painted on and fired in the kiln, layer after layer after layer of glass enamel paints, until he got the replica of Rozy as accurate as possible. It took about a month to complete. 

Glass Enamels were used to paint these portraits onto glass puzzle pieces.

And finally, we are dealing with heartbreak at the end of the month, as our first grand puppy Bear, has passed away from cancer. It has been really hard to process. We have been through the loss of  our own pets before, but this is the first "grand"dog to pass on. He belongs to our second born son and his family. He was a Shelter dog and had a heart of gold. It never gets any easier, and the grief is still in the raw stage. My heart hurts when I think of all the good times we shared with this great dog. It has been very hard on my son and his wife and kids too. But I take solace in the fact that he has passed on to "Rainbow Bridge" without any more pain from cancer. He was yet another dog that loved unconditionally, like so many that passed before him. And this being a rare leap year, I like to envision him leaping into his new life with joy and memories of the good times with his human family. Until next time, make sure to tell the ones you love, how much they mean to you.....both human and furry companions. 💕💗💕

Grieving the passing of our first grand puppy this past month.