Black Friday

The bombardment of commercialism is here once again as Black Friday has arrived. And while we are also in the business of selling our art work to the Public, we choose to go about this "black" day differently. We settle in the Studio and light up the torches and kilns, while avoiding the crowds and madness that ensues with this hyped up event at the big box stores. You know, it just doesn't do it for us, fighting the crowds to save a buck or two. Never understood the hype, and never want to. Instead, we prefer intimate settings for the holidays. Such as the annual tradition we have of opening our Studio to the Public the first weekend in December. Customers can come and browse around, while watching us at work behind the torches, and enjoy some holiday treats and hot cider and cocoa. It just seems to go with the flow and the Spirit of the Season, and we like to keep it that way.

We wanted to give an update of our latest pieces we've created, and continue to create, as sort of a preview of what you'll find in our Studio next weekend. Below are some samples for your viewing pleasure.

This glass floral wall art has a lot of movement to it

We came up with the above piece for our third son's home, as a show of appreciation for helping us with our website and graphic design work. The matching decorative plate below was fused and slumped to match this unique glass wall art.

A matching fused decorative plate to match the wall art

Below are a couple of new colorful slumped and fused plates we've been working on. We're excited about these new colors. 

A colorful gradient slumped and fused creation

A flowing plate has lots of layers to it

And we still have a lot to get done in time for the Open House next weekend, but we enjoy the thought of thinking of our studio as kind of a Santa's workshop. Busy little elves are working hard at this moment, to make sure someone on your Christmas list has a unique gift or piece of art work that will make their holiday all the more special. Come by and see us next weekend if you have the time.

Working on another piece of original wall art

Blown glass preparations or our Open House

Fused, engraved and sandblasted bottles need some finishing touches before our Open House

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.