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.

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

Ornamental by Design

Fused glass snowman

I absolutely love this time of year - cheerful greetings, yuletide gatherings, pretty packaging, bells ringing, assortments of baked goodies, secret Santa's, children's choirs singing, and the list goes on and on. More than any other time of the year, we feel a sense of  "Peace on Earth" and an optimism of "Good Will towards Men," looking forward to what the coming new year will bring. Of course, it may have to do with the area we live in, being as we are so connected with Nature and don't have to deal with the hustle and bustle of a large Metropolis. That in itself brings on a sense of peace. But I have to admit, a green lawn with no snow seems a little off kilter for my personal taste. I'd feel slightly more cheerful with at least a bit of the white flakes falling from the Idaho skies. Yes, a blanket of snow would make for a heavenly night, just like the good old days of past Idaho winters.

But when the cold grey skies of December come calling, snow or not, it's time to cozy up to our warm torch fires and start making our own little cheerful creations out of shimmering glass rod and tubing. Seems to add to the already festive spirit in our small city. It's almost as if we were happy little elves working for the big guy up North!

We seem to come up with a new design every year for our glass ornaments. This year we created happy little snowmen using fusing techniques. We also made an assortment of fused Christmas trees. I'd have to say they really stand out nestled in the tree we put up in our studio, and compliment the blown glass ornaments nicely.

We also just wrapped up our Christmas Open House, which by the way, is a sure bet to become a yearly tradition the first weekend in December. Our choice of profession is certainly validated as patrons frequent the studio all weekend long, usually leaving with several of our own pretty glass creations for gift giving. Many of them choose a new ornament every year to keep up their tradition of ornament gifting. Our assortment makes it easy to keep this type of tradition up.

Glass Ornaments

Yes, I believe there is just the right amount of magic in the air for old and young alike this time of year. And just because the world seems to be spinning faster and faster in this age of technology, doesn't mean we can't take the time to slow down and enjoy the season of giving. Now I'm going to take my own advice and slow down and enjoy. Well, that is after I've made a few more ornaments with my guy, shopped, baked, wrapped, mailed packages, sang some carols alongside some old time crooners, decorated with tinsel, helped out a few less fortunate souls, and watched our first grandson enjoy the magic of Christmas with wonder in his eyes. This year I'm feeling blessed indeed! Personally, this year has been a good one to a couple of old school glassblowers and we are full of thanks. I hope that you, dear reader, will also take time to feel the magic and enjoy your friends and family. Let's all hope for Peace on Earth. Blessings to all and to all a good night.

Glowing basket of Blown glass balls

Blown Christmas Ball Ornament