A New Way of Living

Coronavirus Covid-19

Last time I blogged the world was in a much different place, and life seemed somewhat "normal."  But since my last entry 2 months ago, Covid-19 has eerily crept into our communities, growing like an invisible wildfire, and has kept almost everyone on the planet a little preoccupied with the unknowns of this new virus. We are all trying our best to create a new sense of normalcy and well-being, but frankly I feel a little off-kilter.  I never would have thought in a million years, that life would be warped and twisted around in such a short time frame, as we all face this unsettling reality. New vocabulary has emerged as quickly as this pandemic that we find ourselves faced with. "Social Distancing, Coronavirus, Asymptomatic, Contact Tracing, Quarantine, Essential Workers," etc. have all become words we now hear with frequency. It's the new normal, and frankly, at times quite hard to deal with. 

But looking at the glass 1/2 full, I'd say we are fortunate to have our Studio connected to our place of residence, and there is no need to travel to our place of work.  Russ still has his day job, of which we are extremely grateful, even though it is quite tricky to learn and adapt from home. He is managing like he always does. We are not suffering anywhere near the amount others are during this strange and unusual time. We are certainly grateful for what we still have, and have stepped up to the plate to help others in need, when and where we can. After all, "We are all in this together." I feel it's our duty to help others less fortunate, especially in these troubling times. Helping others eases their burdens somewhat, and makes this trauma more bearable. Every little bit helps. 

Meanwhile, we have managed to complete many projects while observing the "Stay at Home" orders from our Governor. The Yellowstone glass orders will be wrapped up some time next week. And we got a new shipment of glass for more projects down the pipeline. The glass pictured below will most likely be turned into a set of Sushi plates.

New glass designs to play with in the kiln.

And the artistic piece below (Net Worth) is showing in a "Virtual" Juried National Art Show located in our City's downtown area, at the Willard Art Center. If restrictions are lifted later in May, we might just be able to see it and other great works of art before the show closes the end of May. 

"Net Worth"

And every now and then a customer needs a piece repaired. The piece below, coincides nicely with the Spring weather. It was repaired, reheated in the kiln, and returned to the customer right before the "Stay at Home" order was put in place. Whew!

"In the Garden"

We have had a little extra time on our hands during this lock down, and had already ordered the materials back in February, so we've built a High Tunnel over 1/2 of our garden to try and extend the short growing season in Idaho. (And keep the bunnies out of the garden goodies we grow.) It was designed and built by that "workhorse" husband of mine, with assistance from Yours Truly. 😊 We just finished planting all our seeds this week.

Our newly built high tunnel-greenhouse. 

Raised beds inside the high tunnel, ready to plant now.

And of course, everything needs to be cleaned and wiped down....so that includes a bath for the 3 little kittens. Not sure if it was really their thing, but they sure smell nice now, and their fur is shiny and soft to the touch. 

Ryder fresh out of the bath.

Annie is perturbed. 

Our cat Marshmellow is quite the character!

Lastly, here's a throwback picture of when our now full grown 2-year old chickens were just tiny chicks entering the new world. Well, the world has certainly changed since they were born. The picture is a reminder of Spring, new beginnings, and maybe a symbol of hope, hence the share. Trying to do our best over here to adjust to the new normal. Our thoughts are with those on the front lines fighting this unseen enemy. Nothing but admiration and mad respect for them. They prove our humanity is worth fighting for. A big thank you to all those giving us hope. We see you!

Signs of Spring, Glass Flowers

January Tune Up

 
 Most of this month found us both down for the count. Bronchial crud is not easy to get rid of. We had to go to the Doc. to give us both a tune-up. In between the coughing spells we got to work on various projects, and also managed to give the Studio a tune-up of sorts. We added a wall so I could have my own space for packing up orders. I have really needed this area, especially when the orders start piling up. And of course there is a need to start fresh in the new year, so we organized the room and repainted it too. It feels much better to enter our work space since making some much needed improvements.  Now to work on the front display area before the Valentine lessons start in a few weeks.  (You wouldn't believe how quickly dust settles on the glass.) 

Not many new projects to report, other than the tennis ball snowmen ornaments we worked on. They took up a good chunk of the first part of the month. It was reported they were well received by the tennis club members. Makes all the labor worth it to have happy customers. 

Working on a commission of  tennis ball snowmen.

We worked on a few miscellaneous orders too, like the pouncing fox and cobalt blue dolphin, pictured below. Also a variety of roses and tulips. (Customers seem to buy lots of Spring flowers from us in January, they must want to kick the January blahs with some pops of color.)

Pouncing Fox

Cobalt Blue Dolphin Ornament

Our glass roses and tulips come in a variety of colors.

We haven't had as many deer this year, but it was nice to step outside the Studio and see a couple of bucks in the backyard recently. There have been some poaching incidents reported around our area, so it gives me solace to see two bucks surviving both winter and bad humans. We've also seen many birds of prey, but they are harder to get a snapshot of. And owls hoot away at night, perched in our tree tops in our backyard, waiting to snag one of the many rabbits around the property. Have I mentioned how much I love witnessing the plethora of wildlife and the nature around here? 💓

Two bucks in our backyard.

The first full moon in January was a sight to behold in the early morning hours. It made me long for a zoom lens so I could get a better shot of the man in the moon. 😊 As you can tell by the picture below, we are experiencing a good Idaho winter this year. As I get older and wiser, I realize how important the snow pack is for our summer months. So, while it may be cold and dreary this January day, I accept it as a good thing. A good snow pack means a good storage of water for those hot summer months coming down the road. Well, time to stop daydreaming of Summer and get ready for our "Hot Date Night" Valentine lessons. See you next month.

The first full moon of the year, setting over our sleepy little town.

Wild West Creations

Manzanita Burlwood really accents our glass wildlife

July has proven to be yet another busy month in the Studio. Along with the usual Etsy orders shipped all over the country, we restocked the store in Jackson Hole with a new selection of wildlife this month. Pictured below was part of the selection of wildlife we sent up there, including some fun wildlife ornaments.

Blown Glass Fighting Elk Scenes are very popular

Blown Glass Moose with cattails

Our Bucking Bronco Ornament can either stand or hang

Moose Ornament with Gold Antlers

Glass Cowboy Boot Ornament

White Water Rafting Glass Ornament

Pouncing Fox Blown Glass Ornament

Bugling Elk Blown Glass Ornament

Cowboy/Bucking Bronco Glass Ornament

Blown glass Moose Ornament

Blown Glass Trout Ornament

Russ also created a Southwest themed slumped, sandblasted glass bowl this month.

Southwest themed float glass decorative bowl

While we do have a lot of success when shipping our glass, every now and then we endure the hassles of shipping mishandling. The Daisy pictured below was so beautiful, but when the postal service broke it not only once, but twice, both us and the customer were at our wit's end and we have decided that is one flower that can't endure shipping. Anyone wanting this particular flower will need to personally pick it up at the Studio. We're just like any business out there, can't seem to escape a little drama here and there. But overall, the rewards of glass far outweigh the mishaps. That's why we keep moving on.

A Fragile Blown Glass Daisy

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!

Have a Heart

Lustered Rose bouquet

Another small bouquet with purple highlights

Valentines Month is also "Healthy Heart" month. From some personal experience, I can say I understand the importance of this focus. Normally February is a very busy time for us, teaching lessons for "Hot Date Night" and shipping out rose bouquets, both of which were accomplished. But this year I'd be lying if I said everything was smooth sailing for us. Production in the Studio kind of came to a screeching halt as we dealt with major health issues on both sides of our families.

If anything has been learned, we can say we have a fresh perspective on just how precious our health and hearts can be. Family is what captures our hearts the most, and we are thankful for having such strong family ties. Life has it's ups and downs, and in reality it's never the bed of roses we wish it could be. But how we deal with the lows is just as important as how we deal with the highs. Have to remember that one.

Teddy Bears with heart shape balloons are new this year.

As far as Valentine gifts, there was still time to get a little creative with some new blown glass creations like the ones pictured above and below (we're dealing with the personal stuff as best as we can.) Bottom line is when life gets tough, it's important to "have a heart" and give of yourself to those around you that might need the comfort of a helping hand. We're appreciative of the fact that our family is good at rallying when the going gets tough. 

"Heart of the Ocean" Blown glass Valentine gift

We shipped out a number of these bouquets this month

Upcycled bottles pictured with some of our heart pendants

February is coming to a close and the dark clouds of winter are lessening. A little sun is good for our overall outlook, and helps improve the mood. So as we adjust our attitude, we look forward to a little more sunshine and happiness as we welcome Spring next month. Until next time, remember how important it is to "have a heart", literally and figuratively. 

Good Tidings

One of our large blown glass Angels created by our Lamp work torch.

Have you ever had the feeling that external forces are helping you along in life, without being able to pinpoint the exact cause for your good tidings? This sums up our 2015 year in the Studio. Call it a guardian angel or whatever phenomenon you'd like, but we felt like the season was full of exciting and memorable creations, to where it felt like something outside ourselves was sometimes helping us along our paths of creativity.

A blown glass scuba diver ornament

The year is winding down and we are finding ourselves reflecting once again, on so many unique, fun creations of glass, from the beginning in January, right down to the very end of December.  

A unique piece of art features a fused glass trout swimming in a riverbed

Of course, we have had our share of mishaps too, like the trout scene above. Countless hours were spent on the fused piece, only to find out it was damaged during shipping. That's the luck of the draw, when it comes to shipping glass. But we try not to spend too much time and energy focused on the failures, and instead, like to focus on the overall success of the glass art we created in the Studio.

Blown glass treble clef ornament

Many ornaments were shipped out the door the last quarter of the year, from doves to candy canes, to Christmas trees, to musical ornaments. 

Lovely Calla Lily Arrangement

We also had time to create commissioned pieces like the elegant luster pink Calla lilies pictured above. They are nestled in one of our recycled and engraved wine bottles for a unique centerpiece for the home of our customer.

Slumped and fused pieces featured at our Annual Open House this year.

The fused pieces above, and the blown glass elk below were featured in our annual December Open House. We look forward to the community coming to our Studio this time every year to watch us blow glass and browse through our large selection of ornaments and glass art.

Blown Glass Elk were also featured at our annual Open House

We did a commissioned Idaho Falls Temple for one customer that came to our Open House. There are glass pine trees surrounding the building, just like the real time landscaping.

A commissioned blown and sculpted glass Idaho Falls Temple

We had time to make a unique tiki ornament for all of Adele's brothers and sister, to remember the fun we had at her family's reunion. It was held in sunny California earlier this year. The reunion had a tiki theme and we gave these whimsical ornaments to help them reflect back to good times with the family.

Whimsical Glass Tiki Ornaments

We also had time to make new ornaments right up to the last minute. One customer requested the cute penguin ornament below.

Commissioned blown glass penguin ornament

These scalloped float glass trees were a bit of a challenge to make, but the end result was what we were after, with an engraved greeting on the front of the ornaments.

Scalloped and engraved float glass Christmas tree ornaments

Another customer asked to have their pets blown out of glass to mimic the real thing. This was also a challenge to get exactly right, as the colored glass is much harder to work with. We hope the recipient was happy with this piece.

A customer's pets were recreated out of colored glass

Once all the orders were complete and picked up, we got to business preparing for family to come. We still pick out an old fashioned pine tree to decorate, just like the old days, when our kids were younger and we would go into the forest to chop down a tree. We eagerly awaited the arrival of all of our children on Christmas Eve. The little grandchildren were all gifted Christmas pajamas and this Grandpa and Grandma were in heaven surrounded by all our children and their families.

Our old fashioned Christmas tree

The most precious gifts, our grandchildren

Cute ornaments we made just for our grandchildren

We enjoyed some much needed time off from the Studio and played in our back yard's winter wonderland with our oldest grandson. It was quite cold, but still fun to enjoy a very white Christmas this year.

Fun in the snow with our grandson

The slumped and fused snowman candle centerpiece felt appropriate to make this year too, with all the snow that's been falling in our neck of the woods.

Slumped and fused winter snowman scene accented with a candle

Jack Frost is also working his magic lately. Everything is shimmering and bright under a full moon Christmas picture that we took out our front window. We would like to thank each and every customer that has purchased from us and helped us continue to thrive as a small business, and look forward to another new year of great tidings. Season's greetings and a very happy new year from 

A Touch of Glass Studio.

Jack Frost is helping us end the year out right with a beautiful winter scene view out our front yard.