Next, we'll move into the process of creating the blown glass planets and Sun. The planets are supported by curved, hollow carbon fiber arms; the longest being 3 feet (1m), so the orbs must be very light. Just as in the Celestial Winds Blown Glass and Carbon Fiber Mobiles that we make, that have arms as long as 20 feet (6m), saving every ounce of mass that is way out on the end is very important. You’re probably asking why we choose to pay that mass penalty when plastic could be used instead. Answer is simple:

"There’s nothing quite like glass."™

Glass. It’s captivating. It’s mesmerizing. Attempted by many; mastered by only a few. It can be a harsh teacher. Working with it is exhilarating and humbling. It requires planning and intense concentration, while at the same time also requiring one to being open to the serendipitous. It’s unmatched and worth every effort.

Now you can have one of your own. In blown glass, no less, with a flame and everything. This is the sixth in a series of Steampunk Rockets that has been a big hit. Who knew!?

We’ve got a couple of big ones that are really retro Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon rockets with bulbous bodies and curvy, super-pointed noses that will be coming along in the next few weeks. They’ll be about 10 inches (24.4 cm) tall when complete. This latest one is 3-finned, 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) tall and is really cool; with ribbed fins and tiny oval windows.

I can’t tell you how well received they have been. They certainly are beautiful, if I do say so myself. One sold to a friend and client just this afternoon. It’s the purple cone shaped one in the top row, center of the January 26th post. We’ll wrap him up and package him carefully and send him off to his new home first of the week.

Always a bittersweet time when one of your creations leaves. I know that a lot of people may not understand that but part of an artist is in each work that is produced. It comes directly out of you; from imagination and feelings through expert technique into reality. When I paint, I am copying the image from out of my mind as best I can. Sometimes, it isn’t as good as I see it. Sometimes, it’s way better than I ever imagined. It’s never exactly the same; only I know what it looks like in its “original” form.

While the cold-working is progressing on the new wine stoppers and small paperweights, I thought I’d share a bit about the Great Paperweight Project. A friend of ours, Jon Ramer, has been encouraging us to get into the Art Glass Marble market for some time. A few months ago, he invested in our effort, funding the first 40 or so marbles to get things going. He has pick of ten of his choosing, but has yet to tag any.

As you may have learned by this time, I do things big. Wasn’t intentional this time, as we were making marbles of less than 2″ diameter. Trouble is, molten crystal is the consistency of warm honey. It doesn’t thinly coat—it coats! Even if starting an internal color structure wee small, by the time you get two or three over-gathers, you’re up to a 3″ ball right quick.

One day you're up; next day you're down. When things get rough, sticking one's head "in the sand" by paying attention to one's work can help keep you from freezing to the proverbial flagpole.

Worked on the chandelier design after doing studio photography of a Lifetime Achievement Award sculpture to be sent off to its new home today. Always a bittersweet moment when one of our children leave for the outside world. Just like offspring of the human variety, sometimes we get to see them again but not often enough. We created them, poured ourselves into their being and then they're gone. Some go to the other side of the globe. Received word today that one of our large art glass marbles had arrived safely in England and his new owner and fellow space artist, David A. Hardy, is very pleased. He sent a shot of it amongst his dinosaurs and awards atop the CD collection. We liked this one because he reminded us of Wall-E.

Weather held for longer than expected, so made the most of it. 4-6 hours each day hauling around 2,200° balls of molten glass, 5-8 pounds flopping around on the end of a 5 foot long, 1/2 inch diameter molybdenum and stainless steel rod takes a lot out of you. By the time I was done… I was done. Not much energy left to sit down and post an entry.

Usually, Joy and I alternate the Gaffer and Assistant positions and that gives one time to rest, drink to maintain fluids and grab a snack between operations that you are needed for. Yesterday, though, I worked alone. Sometimes, it's a catharsis when you’re in the hot shop all by yourself. With some of the pieces being ornery and not having a breather, I only got two sets of four done before I had to quit with muscles complaining.

After completing a really successful glassblowing session yesterday (and, of course, dinner), I set to work customizing and linking the blog with Facebook, LinkedIn, FeedBurner and our websites; with RSS feeds, networks, etc. Convoluted and unintuitive don't quite describe it adequately enough. Found workarounds for things that didn't do what they were supposed to and finally crashed a little while after the Sun came up over the mountain tops…. again.

The blowing day was good. Some of the wine stoppers we made on Tuesday didn't survive the overnight annealing process. Looks like they may have been placed into the annealer too cold and got shocked by the 975° heat. The glass color formulae were good, so we made some adjustments in our procedure and reproduced them, along with some new designs, and these all came out of the annealer today in fine condition.