Glass Making

Searching for things to do on our Spring Break trip to Lincoln City, we found a glass studio where the average person off the street can walk in and make a piece of glass art. What a cool concept! We've certainly witnessed glass art being made before and watched the artisans working the glass in the ovens, but the idea of doing it ourselves was mind-boggling! The weather was so awful that the idea of being in a warm glass studio had its escapist appeal, as well, so off we went.

The Jennifer Sears Glass Art Studio is located right on Hwy 101 at the south end of Lincoln City. There are beautiful pieces on display in the gallery area, but the workshop is where you want to be - watching people just like you make glass art. Choices are numerous: paperweights, floats, and fluted bowls were most abundant. (Not so many bowls, as they were the priciest.) It should be noted that this is not a cheap form of entertainment. I was a bit relieved that Emily alone was creating that day. And I quickly made the decision that my role would be as photographer.

Safety was high on their priority list (along with a sense of humor!), and Emily donned gloves and goggles before starting her lesson with her one-on-one instructor, Andrew.

   

I was able to enter the work area and get pictures of every step along the way.

First step: Gathering glass. Andrew started out by gathering molten glass onto the end of the rod, and instructed Emily on the finer points of turning the pole and how to keep the glass from drooping and becoming  off center.

 

Adding color: Emily dipped the hot glass onto colored chips on the sides and top of her glass "blob". She chose red, orange, and yellow.



Integrating the color into the glass. The glass was placed in the furnace to melt the added colors into the clear glass she started with.



Giant tweezers were used to create swirls in the design

 

And the end was snipped off.



The glass was reheated in the furnace - a constantly repeated step to keep the glass at an optimal temperature for working it.



Bubbles were added.

 

And it was cooled a bit while constantly turning.

 

Next, came shaping the glass with a "block" ...

  

...and reheating again.

 

Emily began pulling the glass paperweight away from the rod.

   

Turning, turning, turning while it cools down. Andrew checked for proper temperature until it was just right for the next step.

 

Emily used this mini-baseball bat to literally knock the glass off the rod. It happened so fast, I missed it! But the piece is visible on the fiberglass cushion in the background. The colors are not yet recognizable because the piece is still so hot.



Emily and Andrew applied a blow torch to the bottom to make it a bit hotter for leveling off and stamping with the studio's seal.

 

Lastly, Andrew placed the paperweight into the 900+ degree cooling oven for gradual cool-down.



The next day, on our way out of town, we picked up the finished piece. What a work of art!

Spring Break on the Coast 2012

As Spring Break approached, I really felt the calling of the beach. We haven't had a beach trip in such a long time, and I needed a "fix"! So, I booked a couple of nights on the Oregon Coast. Originally, the idea was for the whole family to go. But, available dates precluded Larry because of work, and Sarah decided she had far too much schoolwork that needed to be finished. That left Emily and me. Off we went!

Our room was at the Looking Glass Inn in the Taft Historical District in the south part of Lincoln City.

  

I had no idea where this was when I booked the room, but it ended up being a pretty cool location. Turns out it's on Siletz Bay, right where the bay meets the Pacific Ocean. Although it rained on us during the entire drive over, it stopped shortly after we checked in, so we took advantage of the rare break in what would become an incessant storm, and took a walk on the beach.

It was delightful! Walking along the bay, we picked up rocks, many with lovely patterns, and enjoyed seeing the harbor seals that peeked at us from the waves.



We marveled in the union of the bay and ocean waters.



Suddenly, there we were, alongside huge ocean waves, having left the relatively calm bay behind. The beach changed markedly; here, there were fewer rocks and more logs and driftwood strewn about.

 

Despite being prepared with our rubber boots, we managed to find a wave that was quicker than we were and walked back to the room squishing water inside our shoes.

Once cleaned up and with boots left to dry, we made our way across the street to Mo's for dinner - another benefit of our convenient location. By now, mind you, the rain had come back in full force, and with the wind whipping, it was harder than we expected just to make our way to the restaurant. The storm continued unabated the entire weekend, and, in fact, left us without power the next evening.  The sideways rain was so powerful it was a challenge just to stand. That night, we opted to stay in with games and a movie, and ordered pizza delivery. A smart decision! (For us; perhaps not for the delivery guy! We did tip him well...) Galucci's makes good pizza! We slept both nights with the sound of wind gusting  - up to 50 mph! - all around us.

We are Oregonians, though, and rain doesn't keep us from doing much. Shopping was high on the agenda, as Emily needed some clothes, and we hadn't been very successful finding time to shop at home. Lincoln City is home to Tanger Outlets, so we had plenty to choose from. Emily was able to find clothes at a number of stores; we came home with several bags full! We visited a kite shop, too, where I found some new flags for our house, as well as a gift for Larry for Father's Day.
 
Whale watching was high on our list of things to do - we even remembered to bring our binoculars -  but the weather just wasn't cooperative. Days one and two were just too stormy. It would have been impossible to see them amidst all the blowing foam from waves in the storm. Day three loomed calmer, and thus, looked more promising as we left town, but the whales had not ventured back in close to shore after being run out to deeper waters by the storm. We'll have to try another time, perhaps at summer's end.

Two other activities deserve their own posts, so I'll blog separately about our trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and our Emily's glass-making experience. Suffice it to say both were wonderful experiences, and good way to spend a rainy day.

Our drive home was calmer than the trip over, as the weather decided to be kinder to us.  We discovered a covered bridge on the way, and stopped to check it out.

    

It was a most picturesque spot, and made me wish we'd had a picnic lunch to enjoy creekside. Maybe next time - in drier weather!

Christmas 2011

This year, I promised myself I would get a head start getting everything ready for Christmas. Just before December arrived, I got out the boxes of decorations and opened the first one. Ugh! Mouse droppings, shredded paper cum nesting material, and eaten-away fabric and ribbon. I cleaned up what could be sterilized, tossed what couldn't, and was totally unmotivated to open any more boxes. Christmas preparations were put on hold until I recovered.

In the meantime, the busy Conchords performance season arrived. Our shows were fairly compressed this year, and we found ourselves singing 2-3 times per week. It looked like finding a time to schedule a trip to the Christmas tree farm to cut down a tree was next to impossible, so Larry, Sarah, and Emily went without me - and found a beauty. School, work, and performance schedules continued to play havoc with preparations, so the tree sat in a bucket of water in front of the house awaiting decoration.

I was lucky enough to be working a lot, but eventually managed to get over my rodent aversion and snagged a couple of days here and there to decorate. Luckily, no more vermin evidence was found, and I managed to get the living room mantle decorated with its collection of nutcrackers and snowmen. Greenery from the backyard and berries from a neighbor's front yard completed the look.

  

Santas stood proudly on the family room mantle.

    

Swags of greenery finished the look on the front of the house and the stairway. Xeda had to check out the newly festooned banister, and expressed her approval.

      

A few other areas received a festive touch, as well.

 

Finally, two weeks after it was cut, we finally got the tree into the house and, with carols playing and a fire blazing, hung ornaments with great care. It was a lovely way to spend time with my family on my birthday.

A week later, Christmas day arrived with gifts aplenty. 

  

 

Clothes seemed to have been on everyone's list.

     

Emily's big gift was an iPod.

Larry received an oft-mentioned movie.

Doctor Who gifts were a hit.

 

A storage bin doubled as a good hiding place - but is sure to be filled up soon.

 

There were gifts in Xeda's stocking, but in true kitty fashion, she liked the empty boxes best!

Exhausted from our gift exchange, we laid low most of the afternoon and watched Christmas movies. Later that night, Joan, Liza, and Annie Overholser joined us for Christmas dinner. It was great to have them here and to be able to return the hospitality they show us every Thanksgiving. Emily set a beautiful table, complete with napkins "folded" to look like candles.

 

Appetizers were Sweety Peps (little marinated sweet peppers stuffed with goat cheese), and crackers and cream cheese with cherry balsamic sauce.

 

Dinner was pork roast with cranberry-ginger glaze, wild rice with caramelized onions and cranberries, wrapped green beans, corn casserole, salad and rolls. Pretty yummy! 

   

Dessert was red velvet cake (left over from my birthday), and an assortment of Christmas cookies and chocolates, followed by a rousing game of Passadoodle, eliciting many belly laughs.

A lovely day replete with family, friends, food, and fond memories in the making.