When Liz was thinking about visiting this fall, I started researching cool things to do in Seattle that weren't your "typical tourist" type things to keep us entertained. I found this glass blowing studio and thought it would be fun to try. Liz ended up not being able to make it out, but my want to try glass blowing never quite left. So when Groupon had a two for one deal I snagged it, and so did Katherine. So, this Saturday we had a Hot date with our guys at the Rainier Glass Studio in SoDo to blow our own glass ornaments.
We got all checked in and picked our projects, and colors, and then hung out by the blowing area to watch how it was done!
The artists helping were amazing - they let you help as much as you can when you don't know what you're doing with molten hot glass! Mostly, they were super cool and made it a fun experience while learning more about the art.
I chose an icicle ornament with white and cherry - pretty typical of my Christmas loving self!
Eddie was our primary artist who helped with our projects, but everyone in the studio kind of pitched in to help wherever needed. Mine got a little out of hand in the kiln and half of it melted off and fell to the bottom. But Eddie assured me it was OK and that my ornament would just be more delicate than the rest.
Here's my finished product! I'm so excited to see it again in four days when it's good and cooled. Think. When they put it in the kiln, it's heated to over 2,000 degrees.
They kept high fiving us and telling us how great of artists we were, but seriously, all we provided was a little spinning, a little air, and a lot of supervision. These guys are spectacularly talented!
To blow air into our pieces, they gave us a piece of tubing with a straw in the end of it. It was really cool to watch it expand!
That's Eric's project, you can't tell but it's green and red! It was hot orange every time it came out of the kiln! We realized while we were sitting there that this was our first time in our 7 years of Christmases together that we have made ornaments together for our tree. Kind of surprising with my need to be crafty all the time!
Here's Kat's round of shaping her ornament - hers was a pretty blue and white - very wintery!
I really love that they hand shape each ornament topper.
Tim "Broke the Mold" and made a bowl instead of an ornament. I can't wait to go back and make one of these, because his turned out so cool!
This was a great Ronnebeck / Oleson family outing!
Our tenure as roommates ends this weekend, but this was a nice way to round out our time living together!
We are all very excited to go back and really recommend this fun activity! I have even purchased a few vouchers for gifts! I want EVERYONE to go glassblowing!
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