Full Plate on a Full Moon

 

Blown glass black cat and bright orange pumpkins created in the Studio.

Last evening as I walked outside with our dogs, I was privy to watch a very full moon rise on the horizon. I was wishing I had something other than my phone to take a clear picture of the bright round lunar mass. It literally lit up the whole sky. And on Halloween eve, it couldn't set the mood any better. I was out late in the evening after a very long day in the Studio, with a full plate of tasks to accomplish for the two of us.

A very full October moon last night on my walk with the dogs.

In between the many holiday orders already piling up, we managed to harvest the last of our garden goodies. The cantaloupes were nice and sweet this year, although on the small side.  We will be carving the pumpkins later today, just for tradition's sake. (And because the garden was so generous with the pumpkin patch this year.)

Last of the harvest from our garden, delicious, succulent canteloupes.

Russ spent many hours planning and working on the wall art project pictured below, trying to get it just right for our son and daughter-in-law. The colors were tough to choose, and many different styles were created before he felt good about the latest creation. It is all hand sculpted, blown glass. He also created the copper "stems" and painted them a matte black to compliment the decor in the bathroom area where it would be placed. It was a long time in the making, and given as a late house warming gift for their beautiful new home.

Up close picture of the latest wall art work. 

Cheery and bright blue floral art.

A nice addition to a beautiful bathroom. 

Now it is on to creating many different ornaments like the mountain goat pictured below, and the holiday rush that always happens in our Studio this time of year. It seems like we are getting many more online orders this year. Probably because more people feel more comfortable shopping in their home because of that dreadful Covid19. It is certainly keeping us hopping, even with months to go.

Mountain Goat Ornament

So I'm keeping the blog short and sweet, so I can get back at it. Many orders to ship, and pumpkins to carve. Happy Halloween! 

Our pumpkin patch gave us many "Great Pumpkins" this year. 

Goodbye to a busy 2019

One of many of our glorious Idaho sunsets.

Last day of the year, and I am finding myself in a state of reflection.  Thankful for so much, including the success we've had this year in our little Studio on the hill. We are both exhausted from the recent months of hard work, and many late night efforts to keep our glass orders shipping out in a timely manner for the holidays.  Time for a well-deserved break. We created so many ornaments this year, too many to count.

Chili ristras created for a customer.

Russ is going to take some time to work on this artistic piece while we have just a bit of down time. Many layers of glass enamels to fuse in the big kiln. I will post pictures when it is complete. 

When completed, this trout will look like it's caught in a net. 

Because of our new furry friends, we also had some home improvement projects to complete this month. Our pantry didn't have a door on it, so we decided in order to keep the kittens out of the food, we needed a door. I am really loving the end result, and of course glass was incorporated in the project. Screen printed enamels were fired in our large kiln, on float glass, to finish this project off. 

We added screen printed float glass to our new pantry door this month. 

We say we need a break from the Studio, but in all reality, there is always something to work on, including another large custom commission of tennis ball snowmen, pictured below. It was requested by a tennis organization in Texas and has to be out the door very soon. 

Tennis Ball Snowmen commissioned by a tennis organization.

We barely got the tree decorated in time for Christmas this year, and now that it's up, it's the kittens favorite "play toy". 😉

Our kittens won't leave the tree alone. 

Our favorite part of the holiday of course, is spending time with our sons and their families. We enjoyed their company even though many of us had some kind of  sick bug, and were a little under the weather. We managed to go to a local ice castle event while they were here. Definitely appropriate in these frigid temperatures. 

At the Labelle Ice Castles

Many great colors accented the ice tunnels.

My favorite! 

Enjoying time with my darling grandson.

Now on the last day of 2019, reflecting on what a year it's been, we are nursing our dear lab/retriever dog, as he was in an accident recently. We are hoping he makes a full recovery, as he is just like a child to us. It pains us to see him in pain. So, while others are making merry tonight, we will snuggle in our jammies with him by our side, and welcome in 2020. Wow, that just sounds so futuristic, can't believe what a time we are living in. Here's hoping the new decade will bring new opportunities for growth and prosperity.  Happy New Year!

Hoping our sweet boy feels better soon. 

The latest Endeavors of November

As the month of November winds down we find ourselves once again, involved in a whirlwind of various projects at our glass Studio. We are wrapping, packaging and shipping Etsy orders as fast as we can. It seems orders are shipped on a daily basis these days. Our third son, who also happens to be our Graphic Designer, also helped us this month with a new YouTube video. It has a festive Holiday theme, along with Russ showing how to make a glass skier ornament. You can view it on our YouTube channel or click on the video below...

We had time to create and donate the grouping of upcycled wine glasses, pictured below, to the Holy Rosary Catholic School Fundraiser and Auction this month. These particular bottles turned out to be a real beast to cut with the saw, and then time was spent fire polishing the top edges. Afterwards I hand engraved the design on each one, and used rub'n buff to fill in the engravings. Hopefully they were auctioned for a good price, because we spent countless hours on this particular project.

Upcycled wine glasses created for a local school fundraiser.

Russ completed the Fused Crested Crane and was also able to create the wrought iron background below, for a stunning Fused and Slumped Wall Art scene. He continues to evolve with each new fused project he creates.

Fused Crested Crane Wall Art

We also set our display up at our local art museum and sold to a variety of patrons at the 

'Beaux Cadeaux" event earlier in the month. Pictured below is our display at "The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho".

Glass set up for the November Art Show

On a somber note, Russel's Mom passed away earlier this year, from complications due to  Alzheimer's. We celebrated her beautiful soul on two different occasions. Russ created a butterfly cremation memorial to her, pictured below. It went along beautifully with the poem she wrote about butterflies. It's been a rough year, losing her. But the memorial is a daily reminder what a loving, creative, and beautiful person she was in this life. Russ believes she spoke to him and guided him along, as he created this artistic piece with some of her ashes encased in the body of the butterfly. We miss her every day, but know she has spread her wings and is free from the bondage of that devastating disease.  Her artistic abilities live on through her son. This piece will be cherished for as long as we live.

And now we are busy as elves, preparing many different ornaments for our annual Open House, this year to be held on December 8th  & 9th. So excuse me if I keep it brief this month. No time to waste as the "elves" must work relentlessly round the clock this time of year. 

Some of our many ornaments we create for the Holidays.

'Tis the Season

Slumped and Fused Art

Lately I've got a bad habit of waiting 'til the last possible moment to write my monthly blog, through no fault of my own. Hectic doesn't begin to accurately describe what this month has been like for us in the Studio. First we had to prepare new art pieces to participate in a local art show, then create custom commissions for clients, then stock and restock all our ornaments that we are shipping through our Etsy storefront. Not to mention create custom blown ball ornaments for clients both local and across the country. I'm getting that stress knot in my stomach that tends to inflame around this time of the year. I suppose I need to focus on the end results, which is, that we are constantly validated these days both in the art world, and our home grown business. Makes it easier to lose sleep over I suppose. 

Our large Ornament rack holds lots of unique ornaments.

Set up for a local art show in November

We created a fun fused coaster set out of different hues and shades of red.

Red glass fused coasters

Bigger and more unique wildlife pieces were sculpted in the lamp working flames, like the pieces shown below.

Blown glass Owl on Manzanita Burlwood

A crystal clear trout making a glass splash out of the water

Blown glass Moose in Cattails

Sandblasted Mountain Goat on a glass rock ledge

While our Wildlife scenes are always popular, Russ went outside his comfort zone with soft glass, and spent hours and hours creating the Aspen scene below. A nice, thick piece was created by added layer after layer of various colors. The real Aspen log set it off perfectly.  Definitely one of the more intense pieces created to date.

Slumped and Fused Aspen Art Work

A real piece of Aspen bark was also used to help create a mold for the unique slumped and fused piece below. A light adds a soft touch to it.

Another unique glass Aspen piece

Russ was really pushed to his creative limits on the piece below. A client wanted a type of Salvidor Dali inspired piece of art work. This piece really moved me, almost to tears, as he described his inspiration behind it. Hours and hours of intense kiln time and flame working time were spent on it. Both ourselves and our client were extremely pleased with the outcome. 

This piece has many interpretations and levels to it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Another couple of unique projects are wrapping up this month, as two different clients wanted us to create their logos on the inside of their custom blown balls. Inserting the logo inside the ornament gives it a kind of floating-in-air impression. Lots of time and effort is being spent to get it to look just right. Hoping they are both happy with the outcome. 

Custom made blown ball ornaments

And of course, what would this time of year be like without our trusty source of income, affordable Christmas ornaments. These happy snowmen are just about to be fired in the kiln.

Slumped and Fused Glass Snowman Ornaments

Now if you will excuse me, I've got to rush to the Post Office to ship yet another car load of glass goodies. I need 4 sets of hands to get it all done!

Many packages waiting to be shipped out all across the country.

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.