Glass is an interesting substance. Neither a liquid or a solid, it's actually an amorphous solid which is somewhere between those two states. Mix some sand, a little soda, and a bit of calcium carbonate, add heat and voila - the shimmering material whose shine has captivated people for centuries. (Those more philosophical than I might make some sort of connection between objects of great beauty being wrought from something common as sand under difficult circumstances. Oh wait, they already do that with coal under great pressure making diamonds. Never mind. Who wants to be sparkly anyway? Excuse the digression.) We're lucky to live in a region where glass making and working of all kinds have experienced a renaissance in the last 50 years or so. While handmade glass is labor intensive and therefore expensive, there are a some relatively inexpensive ways to obtain beautiful pieces. One of the most popular of these is the Glass Eye Studio semi-annual sidewalk sale. The autumn edition took place last weekend. I don't need another glass object but it's always fun to see what folks are making so off we went.
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And one of these as well. There were also a couple of five dollar, made in China pumpkins that tagged along. I'm branching out from the traditional orange.
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You never know who might be glass gazing! You may recognize the dynamic, tireless, and talented Tom and Linda from Linda's blog Linda Letters. It's always a pleasure to see them!
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Island Art Glass was among the affiliated vendors that brought glass to sell at deeply-discounted prices. You may recognize their work from the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, Sorticulture, or a number of other venues.
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One of the many independent glass artists who set up shop on the street approaching the Glass Eye sale.
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Cleverly, the line to check out winds through a variety of vendors who were happy to share interesting information. This dry-looking iridized finish was created using glass with high silver content and working the outside with a reducing flame. The effect is similar to the raku technique where a reduction chamber is used to achieve somewhat similar results.
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One of these joined my glass pumpkin collection.
And one of these as well. There were also a couple of five dollar, made in China pumpkins that tagged along. I'm branching out from the traditional orange.
Purty!
Who doesn't need a cyclops glass, breast bottle, or octopus?
Fun floats!
You never know who might be glass gazing! You may recognize the dynamic, tireless, and talented Tom and Linda from Linda's blog Linda Letters. It's always a pleasure to see them!
Saturn! The glass eye makes paperweights of all of the planets in our solar system.
Starfish with dichroic frit. Fun.
Island Art Glass was among the affiliated vendors that brought glass to sell at deeply-discounted prices. You may recognize their work from the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, Sorticulture, or a number of other venues.
One of the many independent glass artists who set up shop on the street approaching the Glass Eye sale.
Cleverly, the line to check out winds through a variety of vendors who were happy to share interesting information. This dry-looking iridized finish was created using glass with high silver content and working the outside with a reducing flame. The effect is similar to the raku technique where a reduction chamber is used to achieve somewhat similar results.
Hope your weekend is free from great pressure, heat, and stress but is beautiful nonetheless!