This past “weekend” (meaning Tuesday given my untraditional work schedule) I jumped into another creative endeavor I’d always been wishing to try: glass blowing. Found a one-man studio in northwestern CT and signed up for a two-hour, four item workshop. The end result? Two paperwieghts a.k.a. CONVERSATION STARTERS, a long-stemmed flower, and a blown glass vase. A dangerous workshop in that it opens the door into what could be a very expensive hobby :) (Although I can make the same argument for the handshake been photography and travel too.) Tried to be conned into making something with much more pleasant symmetry-but I would not be foiled. I’m innately attracted to more odd and out-there things. Between petals and stem, was about a 15 minute process. Shot on my Canon T3i-55m-250 Canon lens.
Was aiming for four chunky wavy petals and kind of did a small fifth snip. The front weight of the entire piece is awkward and skewed and perfect and quirky. Canon T3i. 55-250mm Canon lensSecond of two paperweights. First was a less-photogenic red brain-like structure swirled atop a bed of royal blue and white. I wanted something less standard and more top-heavy for this piece. I initially pitched, “like a butternut squash” in a chipper voice. I really like the spotted bottom and am glad I did not over-swirl (not a technical term) on the top. Canon T3i f/5.6 1/160 ISO 200 214mmPhotographed on my living room window sill. Love the long lens its ability to grab such a shallow depth of field. Didn’t adjust saturation in post (iphoto-though I’m seriously considering a switch to Lightroom) so this is a fairly accurate picture of the richness of color in the glass-how it blends and stretches in the extreme heat and then solidifies with the slow cooling process-about 24 hours
One Lens In China 