Christmas in July

Colorful Hand Blown Ornaments

In our line of work, it's never too early to think about the Holidays.  I guess there's a reason someone coined the phrase, "Christmas in July."  We are currently doing lots of kiln work to create hundreds of glass wreaths for a client in Michigan. And so while it's on our minds,  we thought we'd pass on a friendly little reminder and a link to look at our Etsy shop.   https://www.etsy.com/shop/ATouchofGlassIdaho?ref=ss_profile A good reference to keep us in mind for a unique Christmas ornament in the future. The earlier your order is placed, the better. Because once September comes around, our "to-do" list gets longer and longer. Below are some pictures of some sample ornaments.

Colored Icicle Ornaments

Glass Cardinal Ornament

A fun glass Painter's Palette 

Lots of prep. goes into making and packaging our glass ornaments

Meanwhile, here's hoping you still find the time to catch "Big Wanda" out at your favorite fishing hole, with what's left of July. Enjoy it!

Glass Trout making a Splash

Gone to the Fishing Hole

One of our Custom Blown and Sculpted Glass Trout Scenes

 What better time to get away to the local fishing hole than the month of the Summer Solstice? While the month of June was filled with honoring Dads on Father's Day, celebrating our anniversary, and spending time with our kids and one of our grandsons, there was lots of hard work in the Studio, projects in the yard, and keeping up with the gardening. So the last weekend in June we decided to stop working long enough to have a relaxing and fun "gone fishing" weekend too. We were able to make a trip up into the mountains nearby, in our new camper for the first time. We have been tent camping all our adult lives until this year, and I have to say, someone should have knocked some sense into us a long time ago. The camper allowed us to enjoy the great outdoors like it was meant to be enjoyed. I guess we aren't into the "inconvenience" that comes with tent camping anymore. It comes when you reach a certain age of sensibility, I suppose. We were much more comfortable and relaxed this time around, and look forward to many more weekends of convenient camping.

Enjoying our new camping experience.

 The past weekend was spent with our oldest son, his wife, and all our dogs. It was a beautiful couple of days with perfect temperatures, and the fish were biting consistently. It has been a long time since we could just relax and enjoy Nature's beauty. All the dogs were in heaven too, as they splashed in the water and chased sticks and birds.

A beautiful day at Palisades

The stringer was full of trout

 Well, the fun had to end. Now it's back to the grind for a while. I'm waiting in anticipation for the next getaway. It does a body good, to forget the worries of the day and just fish. Retirement is less than 10 years away and I have a feeling it will become the norm, to head into the hills at that time. Until then, we need to make a living. So off to complete more orders like the one below. Of course, when you love what you do for a living, it really doesn't seem too much like work. I hope you can find the time to balance work and play in your lives too.

A custom order for a client

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

Last Rites of Summertime

Every summer I find myself wondering how, in the blink of an eye, the season of sunshine can fly by so swiftly. I suppose there is truth to the saying "Time flies when you're having fun". Now the days are starting to wane, and the night temps. tell me Autumn will soon be upon us. Labor Day is looming on the horizon, and  we find ourselves preparing to spend the days harvesting and canning the bounty from our garden.

I'd say this summer was a summer of opportunity and special occasions that I will look back on and cherish for many years to come.  Among them were some extra special events that stood out. We enjoyed a milestone in our marriage as we celebrated 30 years together, renewing our vows in the mountains with some of our children witnessing. The time spent in the Tetons will always be treasured memories for me. 

Jenny Lake in the Teton Range

A great day of horseback riding in the Tetons

Next, we witnessed our youngest son say his vows to his bride in a beautiful outdoor June wedding. Another memorable and special event for the family.

Our youngest son and his beautiful bride

We also managed to get away and enjoy a few camping trips, having fun times alongside Nature's crystal clear waters, both at reunions and the old stomping ground of my partner's childhood, Meadow Lake. 

Campground at Meadow Lake

Pups playing Fetch at Meadow Lake

Crystal clear water at Meadow Lake

Just last weekend, we topped off the summer experience at Bear Lake (nicknamed the Caribbean of the Rockies), also one of my favorite getaways.

Beautiful day at Bear Lake

We  had some very successful outdoor art shows where we sold 2 of our biggest pieces of art work made in the studio to date, both of them hand sculpted trout scenes. Below is one that we affectionately nicknamed "Walter" (from the movie 'On Golden Pond'). 

Hand Sculpted  Glass Trout nicknamed "Walter"

Yes, summers are short here, so we try our best to take full advantage of them. Everyone should have an opportunity to enjoy a camping trip, or get away with the family on a fun Summer vacation. It's rejuvenating and so enjoyable, especially spent with the ones you love. Because before you know it, the season of preparedness and hard work will be upon us: Fall, which just so happens to be my most favorite time of the year! I will expound on that in the next blog.

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.