Feeling Thankful

An early Thanksgiving feast shared last weekend

November is the month that brings us the season of giving and thanks, and boy do we have a lot to be thankful for. We got to celebrate the feast a little early this year, enjoying a brine turkey with our oldest son and his wife this past weekend. There is nothing like conversing with your grown children and realizing what amazing adults they have grown into. We are really looking forward to another round of "thanks" as we enjoy my niece's company for Thanksgiving and the rest of the week. Family from far and near are always close to our hearts. Only one month until this household is full of happy kids and grand kids celebrating with us during the holidays. Much to look forward to.

Meanwhile, lots of focus is required in the Studio as of late. We have been cranking out many new pieces for local art shows and our Annual Open House, always held the first weekend in December. Below are the latest pieces added to our collection of glass art.

Slumped and fused glass Mallard, Cattails, Moon

Grizzly confronts Bobcat

Blown glass trout are very popular with our customers

Mountain Goat with a weathered tree

Blown glass Bighorn Sheep Butting Heads

Another large blown glass Trout Scene

Another reason we've kept the torch fires burning is Internet orders coming from all over the country. We think we are catching up, only to receive yet another order. A good problem to have. Below is a large quantity of candy cane ornaments waiting to be wrapped up and shipped to the east coast.

A large order of Candy Cane ornaments

We've unpacked all the glass from the last art show and are getting our Studio ready for our Open House next weekend. If you are local, stop on by and have some refreshment while you watch us blow glass. 

Various items for sale in our Studio

Wall Art in our Studio

Adding many ornaments as we prepare for our Open House

Blown glass ball cluster with peacock feathers

Preparing fused jewelry pendants to sell in the Studio

It pays to have a thankful heart, even when there are outside forces that can drag you down. What you give, you receive back. And lately, we are receiving so much to be thankful for, amongst which are our valued customers. We are so thankful for those of you who continue to inspire us to do better in our craft. We hope you too, can find reasons to give thanks and have a happy Thanksgiving.

A Mom's Inspirations

Today just happens to be the birthday of someone we hold near and dear to our hearts, Mom Lewis. I think it's time she got a little shout out from us.  She is the thread that holds our family's fabric together. What a sweet, humble, beautiful lady she is. We have always appreciated her words of wisdom and encouragement all through the years. She exudes sunshine from her pores, and has been there for all her children in good times and bad. She continues to inspire us with her loving ways and kind thoughts.

Mom and Dad Lewis with some of the family celebrating their birthdays a few years ago

We believe Russ got his artistic abilities from her.  She has always had a talent with painting for as long as we can remember. Something you can't teach, it's just in her. We lovingly recall her many days of experimenting with oils and acrylics, and still proudly display her beautiful works of art throughout our home. 

One of Mom's inspirational paintings

The piece below was made just for her a while back. She loves butterflies and anything to do with Nature. She is the Matriarch of the family and I think it is safe to say all of us, young and old, children and in-laws, look up to her in so many ways. Happy birthday Mom, you continue to inspire us every day. May you continue to have days full of butterflies and flowers, and peace and contentment. 

Fused Glass flower with butterflies

March Madness

The howling winds of March are here. This is what we Idahoans call "March Madness". They are relentless this time of year, wears a person out just listening to them. Even inside the studio I can't escape the high pressure waves of endless and excessive wind gusts. Spring is rarely pretty up here, and slow to produce any blooming bulbs like daffodils or tulips. Jealously I'm aware they are already popping up in lower, less hostile environments, unlike our high mountain desert. 

So we have no choice but to improvise from our desire for a lovely windless Spring day full of flowers blooming and birds chirping. We create our own "Spring" lamp working glass scenes like the one below. Of course you can get a lot done in the Studio when the winds keep you from tooling around in the garden and yard. We have been working on a number of projects this month to keep our minds off the howling winds outside.

Daffodils and butterflies created for a customer

Below are two donations we made for the Snake River Animal Shelter's Fundraiser to be held at the end of the month. They are raising funds to build a brand new shelter for our town, and we are happy to help donate to their cause.

Scalloped and Engraved Float Glass Incorporated with Blown Glass

Last month we showcased the Papa Murphy's heart shaped glass pizza award. Lucky for us, they enjoyed the finished piece so much, that they place another order for more. We should have this large order complete some time in April. This takes a huge amount of kiln time, as there are so many layers and lots of cutting, crushing, and sawing parts to complete the pizzas. 

Many pieces of glass are needed to create a life size version of a pepperoni pizza

Every piece has to fit exactly right and fire in the kiln correctly or it could spell a recipe for disaster, and the process starts all over again.

Fitting on Pepperonis  before firing in the kiln

Thank goodness we invested in this Cutter's Mate, it has helped ease the process of cutting so many pieces of glass to a precise dimension.

Cutting out parts with our Cutter's Mate

Hopefully by the time we complete the above project, the winds will have died down and we can get to the business of planting bulbs, listening to birds chirping, and enjoy the rebirth of Spring in our gardens. Meanwhile, we'll just stay out of the volatile weather and create our own Spring renditions inside our warm Studio.

Blown glass hummingbirds and flowers created at the torch

A New View

The January view from our glass studio signals a time of new and promising beginnings. (No photoshop here, just the real deal of one of many spectacular Idaho sunsets.) January has turned out to be quite a roller coaster of  new projects and events happening in our professional and personal lives. As we come to the end of the first month of 2014, we are ready to face the challenges. Priority will be given to a new web presence. Stay tuned next month as we display the latest  artistic glass pieces on our  updated website. Currently it's unavailable as it's under construction. Bear with us, we're working on it.

In the meantime, take a look at some of the projects we have either already created, or are in the process of making. The first slumped and fused piece was created as a birthday gift for a VIP person in our family. It represents a moment in time that we treasured, on a weekend getaway with family members last summer. For us, the piece takes on a whole new meaning,  as our sons continue to leave the Rocky Mountains and head for greener pastures. It is a mixture of emotions as we are happy yet sad saying farewell to them. Happy for their job promotions and new beginnings. Sad to see them move to a far away State. Needless to say it has been a whirlwind start to the year, with news of another move once again. This time it's our youngest son. This mother of four is learning to embrace the change, and looks forward to seeing many new parts of the country, while visiting my grown children and their families. Trying to stay positive and look on the bright side of things.

Slumped and fused glass gift titled "Swan Valley Pond"

The other pieces below are either commissions or requests for non profit organizations and local businesses and customers, all to be completed in the first month of  this year. Looking ahead, don't forget that Valentine's day is coming up. Keep in mind that our glass rosebuds are a nice alternative to fresh flowers, and you still have time to place an order by phone even though our website is under construction.

We're creating 500 teardrops for a Non-profit Organization

Glass rocks sculpted for a company called "Etched in Stone"

Colorful Glass Chili Peppers created for a customer

Finished Blown glass Chili Ristra

Commissioned Slumped and fused glass vase

Don't forget to sweep your Valentine off their feet this February with some of our Hand sculpted glass roses.

Blown glass Rosebuds in a variety of vivid colors

A Joyful and Triumphant Year

Well, it's the end of the year and I'm finding the time for one last entry in 2013.  As I gaze outside my window I observe with delight, at how our tree branches have transformed into shiny ice crystals. Jack Frost spread his magic across our town the night before. Makes me glad we are nestled in and cozy next to the hearth fires. But still, outside the crystallized flakes are a beautiful and mesmerizing treat for my eyes to behold. Our piece of  property on the hill, along with the presence of Nature's beauty, has continued to help bring out the creative juices while working with our chosen art medium, glass. Another year of  unique and gratifying projects have drawn to a close in our glass studio. Probably the highlight of the last quarter was being selected to create the official Idaho State Capitol Ornament. Below are some visuals on the process used to create a blown glass ornament with pine bough inserts for the Idaho State Capitol. We finished it off with a bright red ribbon draped around the blown ball. We were honored to be the chosen artists this year for a custom glass ornament project.

Our glassblower at work creating blown glass balls

Hundreds of balls waiting for  ribbons and pine boughs for completion.

Inserting pine boughs into Idaho State Capitol ornaments

Adding decorative ribbons

Finished ornament

Of course, we were also busy creating some of our tried and true ornaments for the season, like our slumped and fused crosses adorned with blown glass flowers.

Slumped and fused glass crosses

And once again, our hand sculpted poinsettias and other colorful blown balls were in high demand.

Colorful blown glass ornaments

 We collaborated on this fun chimney candle holder with a cheery Santa looking on. It was fused and sandblasted to create a fun candle centerpiece.

Santa's Sandblasted Chimney Candle holder

We also came up with some new slumped and fused ornaments that almost looked good enough to eat!

Glass gingerbread ornaments

And some more slumped and fused ornaments that were well received by our customers.

Slumped and fused snowman ornament

Fused red stocking ornament

Fused glass presents

 And we always seem to have music enthusiasts who love to purchase our treble clef and other musical ornaments.

Blown glass treble clef

We experimented with vibrant colors on our slumped and fused plates and vases.

Slumped and fused artistic glass plate

We also shipped off various customized glass chess sets across the country this year.

Custom blown glass chess set

And of course, the "upcylced"  slumped wine bottles are always a hit for a holiday get together.

Upcycled wine bottle art

 We'd like to thank our many loyal and returning customers for supporting us once again, this past year. It has been another banner year for A Touch of Glass Studio, and we have you to thank for that. If you are just stumbling across our website and haven't gotten to know us yet, keep us bookmarked for many new and interesting works of glass art that will be custom made in the new year, 2014. Maybe something will catch your eye and lift your spirit. We strive to instill a sense of beauty and thoughtfulness in our glass works, and hope you get as much enjoyment out of the finished project as we get from creating the pieces. Our sincere gratitude to all of you who have given us your patronage. Season's Greetings from our Idaho Glass studio, and may you have a very happy and prosperous new year.

View of an Idaho sunset through one of our blown glass balls

Summer in Yellowstone

A large scale version of Sculpted Glass Trout, a Yellowstone inspiration.

It's the height of Summer and we just finished doing one of our outdoor artisan shows in Idaho. We were ecstatic when our largest piece of artwork sold to a very enthusiastic customer on the first day. She will be traveling with the above piece all the way to Minnesota to surprise her husband with this unique work of art. He is an avid Fly fisherman, so it will be a perfect fit for him. It really brings us great joy as artists to know our inspirations connect with others in an artistic sense, and become permanent installations to an appreciative home.

We are so fortunate to live just a short drive away from Yellowstone Park, where much of our artistic inspirations come from. Our glass creations capture much of the wildlife that inhabit Yellowstone. Every year tourists from all over the world flock to this magnificent natural wonder that is Yellowstone. They travel there hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the beautiful creatures, along with natural wonders that are in and around this vast park, and also one of our Nation's greatest assets.

Below are some smaller models of Yellowstone wildlife we create in our studio. We can create a smaller animal, or do commissioned pieces on a much larger scale. The above school of trout is an example of that. Scroll through the pictures and see if something captures your eye. Or contact us to commission a piece of  the Yellowstone ecosystem just for you.

Etched Mountain Goat

Sculpted Fox

Deer with White Antlers

Big Horn Sheep

Bull Moose

Bugling Glass Elk

Colored Glass Trout

Glass Buffalo

We can do a wide variety of glass sculptures. Contact us for your own unique piece.