Glass Birds

Imagine this, colorful glass birds chirping their way into the hearts and minds of my good people. There is a soothing quality to their simple and dexterous design. I like to place them near my house plants for an accent of shape and color. Though detail is left up to the imagination the shape is unmistakable and easily recognizable. A tiny cute colorful glass bird.

Tiny colorful glass garden birds.

Tiny colorful glass birds.

Close up of tiny colorful glass garden birds.

Reds

Red glass is a difficult color to use for many different reasons. I am no scientist but from what I understand the chemical composition of red is temper mental at best. I have experienced opaque red glass cause cracking due to incompatibility making the glass crack after annealing. Transparent Cherry red will turn brown if it is over heated. A chemical reaction will occur if white and red are in direct contact turning the red brown. The metal Selenium is added to the batch then melted. The melted compounds are cooled down in the manufacturing process at least once before I even start working with it. Once I add it to my glass it is heated over 2000 degrees then cooled in my annealing process. So the red color is going through several redundant phases increasing exposure to a rich flame making it oxidize and turn brownish.

Bright orangish-red glass with translucency. It is likely made with Selenium.

Here is an example of opaque red. Antique red has generally good workability. If it is spread too thin it looks dull. I have not had any compatibility issues with this red.

Sunset inspiration

Twisting a starter bubble on the marver as preparation for another gather of glass.

Have you ever been on a hike in the late afternoon when it reached that time of day where you can feel a noticeable shift in the surrounding light. At that point you can either turn back and ignore something very special is taking place or lean into the 24 hour time cycle of our planetary system. I admit that sometimes I am too caught up in my own tangle of thoughts to take a moment to enjoy a sunset. However there are times when the gravitational pull is just too strong to ignore another day coming to an end. In that moment a spectacular feeling is alive and all eyes are diverted to the horizon. There are many varieties of sunsets from different vantage points all around the globe. The weather dictates a lot of how we experience the sunset. The type of sunset I’m imagining here is the one in where the atmosphere gently begins to glow with full spectrum colors and becomes intense with fiery oranges, the few clouds in the sky become electric lavenders, bright golden yellows, and chromatic blue grays. Slowly the upper skies become a night blue and the heavens reach downward to welcome in night. Stars begin to twinkle and some of the planets will appear as the moon discloses its phase. The sunset in this way is inspiring to be part of because inner animal can feel what it’s like to be alive. Once the sun is completely down the senses change and night is upon us.

Home Made Pozole

Home made Pozole is a warming soup in the cold winter months. The bowl it’s in was a commission for a private collection.

Pozole is a wonderful soup stew from Central Mexico. I remember the first time I had Pozole. It was at a Holiday Party I crashed by accident. It was Margarita Ville in the Capitola Village and I unexpectedly descended on their holiday party. A friend of mine was their chef and had cooked up an enormous pot of pork stew with a beautifully rich red hue with stunning fluffy grain balls and meat. It looked so filling. My friend insisted I take a big bowl and he ladled me up some stew. It looked like magic coming out of the pot and cascading into my bowl. He then garnished it with thinly sliced cabbage, diced onions, lime, and a corona on the side and handed it to me. It was so good! The sensations were tangy, spicy, crunchy, sour, and chewy. That was the best bowl of Pozole I ever had. But since then every bowl of Pozole is good with its own time and place in a different context.

I’m happy when two or three worlds collide and create what is art. Life is art. And how we all have a choice to make these moments sacred in our lives. It culminates from a place of doing what we must do. Our expressions come out when we do the most essential tasks in life, like in cooking it becomes a display of beauty and grace. It is my honor to be the glassmaker that holds such amazing gustatory delights.

Everything Going

As a follow up to my last post I am writing to express my gratitude for everything working out in favor of the glass. I was able to manage making the cups and had fun while doing it!

Glass blowing is something not a lot of people get exposed to on a regular basis. So when folks hear that I blow glass they react with an astonished expression like, oh wow do you get burnt a lot. I tell people that I’m very lucky. I was exposed to glass blowing at a time in life when I could be open enough to absorb years of knowledge from master craftsmen in the city where I lived. There is a secrecy to it that has intrigued people over the years. I know i’ve been intrigued for two decades. The magical alchemy of sand, minerals, and fire - has both mystified and charmed glass aficionados for centuries. It has never been easy. Years ago it took an intense apprenticeship to learn anything. Whats more is, if you are one of the lucky ones to study/work under a skilled glass artist - thats only half the battle. There is still a ton of social networking and self promotion that needs to happen in order to break into the consumer market. Glass artists are not easily accepted by galleries and artist boutiques. Knowing how to make a vase or a cup or even a goblet is not enough these days. Art glass has to live up to its name sake and be dazzling, creative, and be amazing.

I will definitely revisit this topic about the allure of glass blowing and the beautiful object that must be created out of sand and fire.