Wedding Bliss

We just experienced another lovely family wedding this past June weekend, celebrating our nephew's marriage to his lovely bride. Weddings are such a beautiful display of love and unity. The union of two people in the first throws of love is a wonderful thing to witness. And we are always honored to take a small part in the wedding ceremonies with our unique glass wedding cake tops. Our nephew and his bride requested the sea turtle cake top below to match their wedding colors, and also  to symbolize their union. 

A unique request from our nephew and his bride for two sea turtles coming together over glass ocean waves.

For many years now, we have made cake tops for a number of brides and grooms.  A wide variety of mammals, animals and birds are very popular, as they display the sentimentality of the happy couples, saying their vows for the first time. Our frosted swans below are simplistic, yet elegant, and get the message of love across to the wedding party.

Frosted blown glass swans, a simplistic yet elegant cake top.

Not only do we make custom cake tops for the wedding day, but we can also make custom glass gifts for the happy couples, such as the pastel vase below. The colors can match the color schemes of the weddings, to add sentimentality years after the wedding has taken place.

A customized slumped and fused vase makes for a unique wedding gift.

Wedding Bliss is achieved when the small details are worked out long before the "I Do's" take place. We'd love to help the future brides and grooms out there check off  one of their little details with a unique, hand crafted and blown glass cake top or glass gift. Contact us if there is a wedding in your future. We can make a glass cake top as unique and detailed, or simplistic and charming as you wish. We are always happy to work on new wedding ideas created out of glass and requested by the happy couples. And we like to think of our glass cake tops as the "icing on the cake".

Our Blown and Sculpted Glass Cake Top accents this lovely cake.

"May" Be a Disaster, "May" Be Not

As with most professions, there are good days and bad days. And no matter how much preparation and thought are put into our glass works, things cannot possibly run smoothly all of the time. We have experienced highs and lows in the Studio, it's just the nature of the beast when working with glass. Well, this week has had it's share of low spots for us. It's pretty frustrating, but all we can do is pick up the pieces "literally", and chalk it up as another learning curve. Nothing like getting woke up at 4:30 am (on a Monday morning, no less) to the sound of one of your favorite pieces (a glass wall clock) crashing down to the floor with a deafening noise. Not only did the clock meet it's demise, but it took out a large amount of our inventory with it. Glass shards were everywhere, and it took quite a bit of effort to clean up every last piece.

We also had our share of breakage when it came to shipping glass roses this month. Beautiful hand crafted and blown flowers were flawless before the shipment. Beforehand, we meticulously and carefully wrapped and double boxed the flowers as we always do, only to hear they arrived across country broken due to rough shipping and handling. It's not often this happens, but when it does, it's disappointing to both us and the customers. And we have no choice but to start from scratch all over again.

Mother's Day glass floral gifts

Rose broken during shipping

That's one of the reasons for this artistic statement below, it's currently hanging on one of the walls in the Studio. It's a hard glass (borosilicate) hammer smashing a soft glass (Float) window. We titled it "Stressed". For us, it portrays how many times we have been frustrated when projects don't end up the way we'd like, or beautiful pieces end up in shatters. It's devastating, especially after meticulously working for hours to create them.

"Stressed"

However, for every disaster, there are many more successes to counter-balance the losses. I suppose that's why we don't stay stressed too long, as the rewards are outweighing the benefits. We have to take the losses with the profits and realize every day will not "come up roses". Learning from and dealing with mistakes and accidents never ends when one is a glass artist. Of course, learning from successes is what we would much rather focus on in the Studio. Below are some of the successes created this month of May.

Glass Dragonfly with Lilies

Glass Fairy on Glass Lilypad

Blown Glass Lizard on Manzanita Wood

A beautiful slumped and fused glass collection

If we can focus on the overall results of our labor, the disappointments won't be so hard to deal with. And this week, we are focusing extra hard. Patience is indeed a virtue, that much we have learned for sure.

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

Back to the Grind

Now that the two big events of the year for the Lewis Bunch have come and gone, (the last Lewis wedding, and the birth of our second grandson) it's time to get "back to the grind".  And to tell you the truth, there is nothing I would rather be doing. To be able to work with our garden harvest and yard work, also while ramping back up in the glass studio, brings a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Running a small business and setting the schedules between home and work is a privilege afforded to very few. I certainly don't take it for granted, and look forward to setting new goals with my partner Russ for continued success in our Studio in the coming months.

Our Fall Garden

September is already coming to an end, and of course it has continued to be one of the busiest months for us in the garden. Harvesting all the crops, cleaning, preparing, and canning take up a large amount of our time. Wouldn't have it any other way though. There isn't much that can compare to the satisfaction of a well stocked pantry full of food put there from our own labor. Everything looks fresh and delectable sitting there in the glass jars. This year I even made homemade soup to enjoy for the coming winter months. Nature gave us a beautiful array of color, both in the garden and around the yard. I thought I'd share some of that in this blog for you to enjoy.

Blooming Sweet Peas

The fish are always hungry in our pond.

Marigolds surround the perimeter of our garden

Oodles and oodles of fresh strawberries this year

We will have lots of sunflower seeds to roast from our giant sunflowers

Our apple tree produced apples for the first time this year. Yum!

Gladiolus bloom

Daisy blooms

Part of our new and improved back yard

Ariel shot of our garden area

Ripening Pumpkins

Holly Hocks have such a beautiful bloom

Our chickens are producing lots of eggs for us

Another Daisy bloom

The Arbor has been a nice addition to our garden this year

As I write this morning, a fresh rain is falling down. Nothing like a cloudy day to get in the mood to head into the studio. I've always believed that's why there are so many artists in the Northwest, as grey skies seem to bring about the creative juices. Below is our latest slumped and fused creation out of the kiln. 

Slumped and fused vase

And of course, the hunting season is upon us. For those who would like to accent their den with something other than what a taxidermist would offer, we have some artistic options to choose from. Or if the hunters out there come up empty handed, we can offer a consolation prize of some glass wildlife art. 

Moose on Manzanita Burlwood

Large bugling Elk

A large selection of playful fox pieces

Sandblasted deer on Manzanita burlwood

Large fighting Elk scene

 Thanks for taking the time to read my monthly blog. I hope there is something in here that speaks to you. Taking the time to sit back and reflect now and then as to where we are going in our Studio, proves to me we are on the right path of creativity. And I enjoy sharing some of those ideas with you through photos. Maybe in the least, it will inspire you to create your own zen, whether it be through art, music, or any other creative outlet you wish to pursue.

Our Backyard Wedding

Just last weekend we had the privilege of holding our oldest son's wedding in our backyard. In spite of inclement weather threatening all week long, when it was time for the official event, the skies parted just enough to have the perfect ceremony. Everything about this wedding turned out to be above and beyond our expectations. The Bride looked stunningly beautiful and the Groom was on cloud 9 as his father performed the wedding ceremony. The food that was prepared by many of us on both sides of the family, tasted like it could have come from a 5 star restaurant. That was thanks to countless hours spent by our Bride and Groom who went to great lengths to plan every little detail, both in the food, drink and decor. There were many moments of Wedding bliss and musical entertainment for all to enjoy.

Our son and Daughter-in-law's "Save the Date" announcement

 We don't have official pictures of this beautiful and memorable occasion yet, but it will be etched in our minds forever. We spent months preparing our yard so that it would reflect the ambiance our special couple was going for. I snapped a few shots to show how we incorporated many little touches, including some glass, around the yard. We also made some whimsical dipping plates, sauce bowls, and cheese trays out of slumped and fused glass to match their animated theme for the wedding. Below are some shots of the backyard that will show some of the looks we were going for for this memorable event. I felt it was worth sharing. Please enjoy.

The location of the ceremony was this Arbor in front of our garden.

Blown glass balls in the pond were a colorful accent.

A slumped and fused piece was attached to our walking bridge

Chicken Wire Flowers were created to match the Wedding colors

One of our slumped and Fused cheese trays matched our son's animated themes

Our son's animated creation

Another animated creation made by our son to match the theme of the wedding

A dipping sauce plate was matched to our son's animations

We also matched this animation with a slumped and fused cheese plate

The groom's parents couldn't be happier

Some of the menu for the dinner

The location of the Wedding Ceremony was held in front of our garden