Butterfly Memories

Mom's Butterfly

Today is a day of reflection....it would have been our Mother's (in-law's) 82nd birthday. We said goodbye to this beautiful soul not quite 2 years ago. At the time of loss, Russ was moved to create a special blown glass butterfly especially to remember her by, pictured above. This month he just happened to be creating more butterflies for others in the Studio....coincidence? Or was she there helping him create? Whatever the case, butterflies will always remind us of our dear Mom and her graceful ways. Russ inherited his love of creating from his Mom, and it shows in so many of his works. 

Some other ideas and creations were also completed this month. We were able to hang the Chickadee Art work in the Studio, along with a new piece of kiln work, depicting a school of fish swimming in the Ocean current. Russ really enjoys creating new works in between working on the orders that need to be filled for clients. One of our customers requested glass bobbins for bobbin lace making, an interesting commission that was created, and pictured below. 

Glass Bobbins

One more fused piece was just completed last week. Multiple colors were cut, then fused in the kiln. The final step was to slump on a mold, and smooth down the edges of the bowl. Blown balls compliment the finished fused glass bowl. I really am fond of the earth tones. That is the latest coming out of the Studio for the month of April. We hope the coming month of May allows you to spend a day or two with your own Mom, or reflect on happy memories of her.

Finished Fused Glass Bowl

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!

May Flowers

Flower pots for the backyard patio

A floral arrangement by the pond

 I've been outside quite a bit this month, planting all the May flowers around the yard. The punches of color were just what the yard needed to come alive again, after a long windy Spring. Gardening has become a passion of ours since moving here, and we really enjoy digging in the dirt every Spring. This year we are taking extra special care to plant, as the final Lewis wedding will take place in our own back yard in August. We hope the added colors will give a nice touch to this special occasion.

Hanging  Blown Glass Hummingbird and flower

We like to create a variety of glass flowers in the Studio too, along with hummingbirds, butterflies, and dragonflies. I took a few quick snapshots of some of the items already on display in the shop. Maybe they will spark some interest in a unique piece of your very own. We have made a wide variety of glass floral arrangements, and would be happy to create something that fits your own individual taste. Keep us in mind for a special gift of  glass floral art. They work great for any occasion. Now I'd better get back to gardening, there is still much to be planted. Until next time...

Slumped vase with blown glass flowers and dragonflies wall art

Fused Vase, Blown Glass Calla lilies, Hummingbirds Wall Art

Recycled bottles cut into glasses, engraved floral pattern added

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