Playing With Fire

At the end of July, the kids got to spend a morning at Portland Glass Blowers.  The back story on this one is:  Several years ago, we took the kids to blow a glass float while we were on vacation in Lincoln City.  Jourdan had a great time; Julia was too young to actually participate.  She has been upset about that since, so when I saw the Groupon offer for a glass-blowing class, I decided that would be fun for her.

*You would think that I would check my camera for an SD card before we went.....not so much the case.  Therefore, all these pictures were taken with my phone (and I don't have a "smart" phone - I have a "dumb" phone); so, all the pictures that are sideways cannot be turned around.  Sorry, you'll have to tilt your screen or your head (your choice).

The kids each made a paperweight and got to blow a small glass cup (or vase).  Here's Julia beginning her paperweight.

Jourdan working on his paperweight: 

Close-up shot of Jourdan's paperweight: 

Semi-finished product.  The color changes dramatically when the glass cools completely, so it isn't pink- more blue now that it's cool.

Next, the kids got to choose the colors for accent details on their cups/vases.  Julia chose colors that matched her bedroom - blue, green and yellow: 

Jourdan chose blue, blue and......(wait for it)....blue.  He said, "IS THERE another color?  I don't think so!"

Julia claimed her arm got tired from constantly rotating the glass in the flame. 

Here's Julia blowing her vase: 

Jourdan spinning his vase:

Blowing into the tube to make the vase:

Sort of the finished product (Jourdan's).  Like I said before, the colors change after they cool.

Julia still wants to blow a glass float, so I'm not sure this class really solved the (7 year old) problem, but they both had a great time.  It was a fun experience for all of us.  The only bummer was having to drive back to the studio the next day to pick up the items.  They had to spend the night in the kiln and then cool before we could pick them up.