It’s time to redeem that birthday certificate that Susanna and I gave our Mom on her birthday earlier this year. We’re treating her to an afternoon, hands on Glass Blowing Class in the East Bay. We’ve got our closed-toe shoes and safety goggles on, and we’re ready to come face-to-face with a 500lb furnace.

This was all together a brand new experience for us. First, we got a brief overview of the facility and an orientation of the tools we’d be using. Then we were asked to think about a color and there was an assortment of colors to choose from. With the metal pole, we initially inserted it into the clear glass and formed the foundation of the vase. It was a combination of dipping it into the liquid glass, heating it in the furnace and shaping the glass on the metal table by rolling it and blowing some air into it. Coloring the glass and dipping it into the palette was the fun part, though I couldn’t make out the actually color until we began to sculpt and shape it. The instructor and his assistant were hands-on at all times and helped create each piece (which took roughly 20 minutes). Following the shaping and molding, we had to quickly stick it in the heated oven for a day until it cooled down. It was an interesting experience and I love that we got to walk away with a finished product. I think my mom enjoyed her birthday gift.

Now it’s time to go flower shopping!