May Project for the Garden

Is it the last day of May already? I'm beginning to wonder how time keeps slipping away from me, the older I get. Time has had a way of eluding me lately, and I'm not sure how it slips out of my grasp so easily. Well, one last day to get the monthly Blog in. I'll make it short and sweet. 

Our garden sign from a couple years ago looked new, but needed a face lift this year.

This month has been so busy around the yard, sprucing up the trees, bushes and lawns, and planting the seasonal flowers and garden. After Old Man Winter has had his way with our landscape, it takes a lot of determination and effort to stay on top of such a large piece of property and the work that comes with it. Russ was busy with his own projects this month, so I managed to create a glass project of my own to spruce up the garden blocks. I was tired of repainting the garden sign every year, because of sun damage, so I decided to go with glass this year to see if it would last a little longer. 

Sanding old paint off the wood block.

First I had to sand down the old paint on the wood blocks. Then I re-stained the wood blocks. Next, I used our glass cutters and cut letters out of pieces of glass scrap left over from previous projects. I fused the lettering in the kiln overnight.

Cutting lettering from glass scraps.

Then I coated the glass molds with MR 97, a mold release spray used to help the glass frit come out of the molds, once they are fused and slumped in the kiln.

Glass molds need to be sprayed before use.

Next, I used a variety of crushed glass frit to fill the molds. I used butterflies, dragonflies, ladybug and flower molds for this project. 

A selection of crushed glass frit was used to fill the molds.

 And the picture below is the final project. Kind of whimsical by design, and hopefully will stand up to the harsh high desert climate for more than a year this time. 

Completed whimsical Garden blocks made with glass.

Well, that's about it for this month's blog. Now I'm headed out the door to ship more orders we processed off the website this busy month of  May. Until next time, happy gardening!

Taking Earth Day to Heart

A beautiful tree blossoms this Spring in one of our local parks.

This past weekend "Earth Day" was celebrated in our community. While the weather wasn't very cooperative for an outdoor celebration, just the act of celebrating the Earth causes one to pause and reflect how each of us as individuals can do our part in being good stewards of the land. I am reminded by events like these how important it is that we each do what we can to conserve and take care of our planet. And since moving out to the country a few years ago... I have seen in our own lives, the gratification that comes from working the soil. Also planting trees, flowers, gardens, and recycling has given us a sense of purpose and responsibility for our own patch of land, minuscule as it may seem for our planet's overall health. 

A double rainbow delights us after a thunderstorm.

Spring has a way of  reminding us everything old and washed out can become new again. Mother Nature displays awe-inspiring rainbows after a sporadic thunderstorm. We are busy planting new seeds in the greenhouse and taking care of our young "ugly" chickens so they can give us fresh organic eggs later in the year.

New chickens in their awkward, "teenage" phase. 

Just beginning to see plants coming up in our greenhouse.

We use the blue barrels below to water the greenhouse and chicken trough. When a fresh rain falls, it is collected in our rain gutter and stored in the containers for future use. 

Our water barrels help us recycle rainwater.

We also try to reuse as much as possible in our Studio to prevent waste. Below are two pictures that show how we take old scrap glass laying around, and cut it and rearrange it in various patterns. Next, it is slowly heated in the kiln. The end result has taken the scrap glass and turned it into a functional glass vase.

Kiln heating up scrap glass

The end result is a pretty decorative vase.

 Probably the best way our Studio helps recycle unwanted waste, is to "upcycle" used bottles. Below are a few samples of the many 100's of wine bottles we have flattened or slumped in our kilns. I hand engrave a design on them, and accessorize with bead work and copper wire to dress them up. Now they have gone from trash to treasure, as they are functional kitchen art that can hang on the wall or be used as trivets. 

Wine bottle art 

We have many designs and sayings to choose from.

Dragonflies are popular.

An affordable gift to give.

A great accessory to the kitchen.

These two are slumped together, and make a great trivet.

We have plenty of options of the bottle art to choose from in our Studio, as an affordable gift to give. We also have many other uses for the bottles, such as drinking glasses, tiki torches, wind chimes, or hummingbird feeders like the one pictured below.

Many functional uses for old bottles are available, including hummingbird feeders.

Finally, to go with a recycled theme, the vase and platter pictured below were created from old float glass, or window glass, that would have been discarded and taken up more space in some land fill. This process gives it a whole new life. We really enjoy taking the time and effort it takes to turn trash into treasure. Hopefully we will continue to think of new ways to be good stewards of the Earth and recycle. 

Turning scrap window glass into functional art work.

Happy Holidays

An old fashioned Christmas Tree

Another year has whizzed by and it's time once again for retrospecting as 2014 comes to a close. And you know, we can't help but realize that this year we've been happy all the way around. We exceeded our goals and expectations for the glass studio, and had some wonderful family moments as well. 2014 was indeed a good (and busy) year, both in professional and personal fields. Doing what one loves, along with a strong work ethic, help to create the perfect balance of "reaping what you sow". We'd like to thank our loyal customers, along with many new clients for supporting our artistic efforts. We couldn't be in this business without the support of so many who appreciate the "Art of Glass". As the year winds down, we reflect on our good tidings and are thankful for the ability to work at something that gives us joy. Below are some of our latest endeavors both with ornaments and larger glass installations. We hope you have the time to view our latest creations. And of course, stay tuned, as the gears are already grinding for future projects in 2015.  

Baby's first Ornament

Rocking Horse Ornament

Hot air Balloon Ornament

Large Firefighter Ornaments

Surfer Ornament

Fused Aspen Scene

Sandblasted Float Glass Tree Ornament

Santa's Down the Chimney Fused Ornament

Blown Glass Reindeer Ornament

Unique Blown and Sculpted Glass Trout Scene

Blown Glass Grizzly Bear

Upcycled Bottle Art

The Four Seasons

Another Baby Ornament

Slumped/Fused Float Glass mixed with Blown Glass-Cattail Scene

Baby's First Ornament

Various Glass Bird Ornaments

Blown Glass Moose Ornament

Blown Glass Under the Sea Scene

Blown Glass Trout Fly Ornament

Blown Glass Cardinal Ornament

Fused Glass Pizza Slice Ornament

Blown Glass Tractor Ornament

Blown Glass Painter's Pallet Ornament

Large Blown Glass Giraffe in Gold Accents

Blown Glass Bugling Elk Scene

 As this year wanes and the new one fast approaches, we want to wish you all the best that life has to offer. Happy New Year from A Touch of Glass Studio.

Hand Sculpted Glass Poinsettia

Summer Art Shows

Lots to see at our booth this year. We were at the Eagle Rock Art Guild show by the Snake River.

We just got done with one of our summer art shows this past weekend. The weather was delightful (a glass artist's dream) and the crowds were good. Many people stopped by to compliment us on our original works. We are truly appreciative of our patrons. It makes all the long hours spent in the hot shop worth it, when we hear someone remark about the creativity and beauty they are feeling when viewing our works. Below are some of the items we featured at this outdoor show.

Glass chili ristras help highlight our fused glass sun

Dragonfly and Hummingbird bottle feeders were popular

Slumped and fused green glass decorative plate

Glass Buck standing on glass deer antler

Pastel slumped and fused plate

Slumped and sandblasted glass bowl

Glass Chili Ristra

Blown glass elephant trio

The three little pigs

This piece was recycled and sandblasted into a moonscape

Blown glass mixed with copper and placed in a shadow box

Abstract slumped and fused glass plate

Yellowstone wildlife made out of blown and sculpted glass

A slumped and recycled wine bottle turned into a cheese tray

Recycled wine bottle make beautiful windchimes

Many hours are spent behind the scenes on these outdoor shows, and we know we are playing weather roulette with the glass being outdoors. The weather has been known to be very fickle around these parts. This show couldn't have been more perfect as far as that aspect goes. We're hoping for another "luck of the draw" when the next one rolls around in a few weeks. We are certainly hoping the weather holds up it's end of the deal, for a perfect day, as we prepare for the event of the year, and our oldest child's wedding coming in August. More on that in our next blog. Thanks for taking the time to read our blogs. We hope you keep us in mind for a special glass gift in the future.

Our booth at the Eagle Rock Art Guild Show