Today was the day, Courtney & I started out in Duvall at the annual plant sale. This is a fund-raising event for the community & we were both pretty amazed at the amount & variety of plants available for really decent prices.
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Blown ornaments & floats |
Courtney had mentioned that she wanted to try glass blowing a few weeks ago
& asked if I was interested? Yes! I love glass & have always been
intrigued by the process. So when she emailed me that the class was
scheduled & to consider it an early Mother's Day present - I was
thrilled :-)
After the plant sale, we drove over the ridge to Redmond & enjoyed an incredible lunch at the
Pomegranate Bistro. The menu was a somewhat strange combination of NW cuisine, along with "biscuit's & gravy" items that made you think of Grandma's on a Sunday morning. We splurged with the Savannah Hot Puffs! Melt-in-your-mouth puffs of a very light pastry, covered in cinnamon, sugar & served with fresh whipped cream! There was even a TV personality having lunch with his family while we were there :-)
Near by is the
Redmond School of Glass, where we were scheduled for the 1 p.m. class. There were probably five couples who joined us. The artisans working at the studio were very helpful & straight forward as they started with the most important aspect of working around hot, molten glass - SAFETY! Where to hold the rods, where Not to! Where to lean or sit & where Not to!
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Red Hot Temperatures |
Next was the description of the tools we would be using & the choices we would have to the colors of the glass that were available. Finally - we watched a demonstration of the entire process - twice! We asked for twice!
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Dipping the molten glass into the colors |
Courtney went first & decided on a combination of green, then moved over & added blue the next time the glass was re-heated.
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Working the glass at the bench |
It was a two-person project, as one of you worked the glass, the other blew into the end of the tube! I didn't get a photo of this - I was blowing! It took a Lot more air than either Courtney or I imagined to get the glass to expand. The pole is long & the tube we used was relatively small in diameter.
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Finished products~ |
Once the correct size, our "art" was taken away to be either capped for a float, or topped with a hook for an ornament. Above are some of the ornaments that are for sale, we didn't do this type, with the "sprinkles" & had to wait to take ours home. The glass balls have to cool slowly to prevent cracking. Can't wait to see how ours turned out next week!
That is SO cool! I'd love to learn to blow glass but I never knew you could take a lesson at a school! can't wait to see it when you bring it home :)
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