Blowing Beer Bottles/Recycling!

This Sunday we filled the annealer with used bottles, beer, wine and the like. The theory is , if you heat some bottles up to 950 degrees or so and pick them up on the end of a blow pipe or punty rod you can alter it's shape to create a decorative or functional "new" piece of blown glass. Voila-recycling
! Ken Perrin pushing/ pulling the limits
Well as usual with theory and practice it is much harder than it seems. Harder being the operative word. See the bottle glass is formulated so it sets up instantly when blown (by a machine) into a metal mold. therefore the properties of the bottle glass are that it heats up quickly to a liquid state, and then hardens immediately when touched by the tools.
Alex Carpenter 2010 artist in residence.

Hmmmm who doesn't like a challenge?
Linda Grecco 2010 Intern from College of The Atlantic


I think this has been great fun but I don't think it will go into heavy production any time soon. Rest assured you may see a smattering off these pieces inthe gallery from time to time and we will ytry to have these for the commmon ground fair at harvest season, but--The glass we usually use is a lovely crystal, formulated to be soft and pliable to the hand work of a skilled artisan. When heated and brought to the glassblowers bench it can be worked with the tools for a lot longer than these brown bottles. SO although this has been fun, whats more, it has increased the appreciation for what we normally use every delicious molten day! Clear art glass crystal! mmmmm can't wait to get back to it...
! Linda Perrin

Apprenticeship in glass blowing

Great vibes this year! We finished last year on a real upswing largely due to the help and company of Emily Lyons (aka, big puff) a sculpture student doing an internship/apprenticeship with us for college credit from the University of Southern Maine, and Alex Carpenter a world traveler, COA student and all around earnest fellow who has begun a glass blowing residency/apprenticeship with us. Working in the hot shop in exchange for access to hot glass is a classic apprenticeship model. Since it was the holiday season we had a lot of work to do and they really helped increase the Christmas ornament production in this hot shop --all the way up to 100 ornaments in 1 day!! boy that felt good-when it was over :)

Emily has returned to Portland to finish up her art degree from U-Maine, and well, we miss her. Luckily she is an Ellsworth native and we have been assured she will be back!
Alex will continue his residency with us for a while longer, happily all the color techniques he has learned and his ability to plug into our glass blowing team will be put to good use as we prepare for the Buyers Market of American Crafts show.

Buyers Market of American Craft

Come see us! SOON
February 12-15, 2010
Jewelry Preview: February 11, 2010
Pennsylvania Convention Center
Philadelphia, PA
A wholesale show featuring the work of the finest national artisans selling to shops and galleries with artistic and cultural integrity.
We'll be there!

Glass Blowing Classes winter 2010

The 2010 winter glass blowing classes will begin January 16th!
Classes for beginners and advanced students.
Enrollment is limited so sign up now before we fill up!

Beginning Glass Blowing
This course is designed for beginners. Emphasis is placed on learning the basic skills necessary to complete simple blown vessels. Class time is divided between demonstrations and supervised work time, with individual attention for each student. No glass working experience is required. Tuition: $375.00
This is a five-week course meeting once each week for four hours. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, as class sizes are limited. Full payment must be made by first class


Continued Glass Blowing
This class will build upon the skills acquired in previous glass blowing classes. It is also a prerequisite to studio rental. The class will explore the use of color and bit applications. The course structure will include demonstrations to suit the individual interests of participants. Schedule is determined by the instructor and the students. Class size is limited to four students. Tuition: $375.00 Dates: Send us an email for current dates -16 hour course. Registration is first- come, first-served, as class sizes are limited. Full payment must be made by first class.

Year End Highlights

Working TOGETHER!!!

Inspiring the NEXT Generation!

Teaching at College of the Atlantic.

Sharing with family...
Our Aunt!

Our NEICE!!!

Remembering what is really important.

Discovering Quebec!



Bringing it to our community!

Ken's dad Steve Perrin receives high honors.

steve perrin daughter inlaw linda and son ken maine
Well hasn't it been special?

The 3rd Ward

Woo hoo, we are showing our handmade blown glass at the 3rd Ward in Brooklyn this week-end. We will have lots of pretty ornaments, our unique wearable blown glass jewelry, and other great gift items. So remember "Buy Handblown" this Holiday season.

Make an event out of holiday shopping this year at

The Handmade Holiday Craft Fair
Where giving really is better than receiving
195 Morgan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Big Double Show week-end

Island Arts Association-Bar Harbor

Friday, Dec. 4, , 9am – 5pm Saturday Dec 5, 9am-3pm

Atlantic Oceanside Hotel, 119 eden St, Bar Harbor, ME 04609

The Island Arts Association sponsor this intimate showing of great affordable work by innovative local artisans and donate a portion of proceeds to a local charity. Great show-great group, lotsa fun& feels good! Linda and Ken will feature blown glass Christmas ornaments in myriad colors, as well as their latest one of a kind creations of vases, bowls, and paperweights and last but not least the ever popular VERY UNIQUE blown glass bead jewelry.

The Harvard Square Holiday Crafts Fair is one of the most popular fairs in Boston.
Held at the First Parish Unitarian Church, at the corner of Mass. Ave and Church Street.
December 5th and 6th
Saturday 10-7 and Sunday 12--6
Ken and Linda will be showing and selling their work this Saturday and Sunday. And will feature blown glass Christmas ornaments in myriad colors, lot's of holiday gift items such as oil lamps and fun drinking glasses, as well as their latest one of a kind creations ie: vases, bowls, and paperweights. Not to be missed the VERY UNIQUE, very popular, blown glass bead jewelry. Come see us in the big city, we will be happy to see a friendly face!

Courage

Tidepool

Lively necklace of blown glass
online shop

Hoping to blow glass!

For the last month the furnace has been off but soon we will return to hot glass stories and adventures but in the mean time this was a delightful little adventure.

Recently I drove down to Rockland to meet with Frances, the buyer of fine Maine made products for the Farnsworth Museum shop. Happy discovery was that the Robert Indiana show dates have been extended. Instead of ending on October 25 it will continue through the better part of the winter. Now all the busy Mainers who haven't had the chance to see things during the summer season will be able to get their butts over there to see, Robert Indiana and the Star of Hope.
It's easy to combine business and pleasure, so after a lovely sunny meeting in the garden discussing an online museum shop and a project to create an exclusive design of blown glass jewelry for the Farnsworth ... (More about this later!)
We headed down to In Good Company a beautiful little bistro with great "nibbles" and refreshing wine choices. Nothing like a Portuguese white to accompany a late lunch. Frances gave me some new roasted kale recipes, and in true artsy form, she knew the inside scoop regarding the artist whose work hung on the walls..-Rockland has the amazing ability to make you feel like you are sitting in an old gas lit cafe in Paris at the turn of a century experiencing world class cultural phenomena through small town gossip. Really a great community, intimate and far reaching, unpretentious and hip. --All in all a fun productive Day!

Eepy Bird!!

Maine is so cool! I got to meet Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz of Eepy Bird two performers of Oddfellow Theater in Bucksfield Maine who became the Rock Stars of a viral video involving Mentos and Coke. This meeting took place at Haystack's Creating in Maine Symposium. the 24 hours were jam packed with some of the most amazing Mainers! Artists, entrepreneurs, and policy makers. A pretty yummy and encouraging mix of like minded and supportive people. Fritz and Stephen gave a presentation about their creative process. Just what happens between experiment #1 and the famous Experiment #137. The amount of time they spend with the (ordinary) object of their current musings, the notes they take and .... the laughs. They also spoke about the special quality of Maine and how they choose to live where they do because of their community. To this I can relate, the place and people here combine to make, pardon the expression, ...the way life should be... I hope to cultivate the relationships that were made at the Haystack session, to look further into the interesting information presented in bits and snippets during the petchakutcha or slide slam...but now, .... on to getting ready for Common Ground Fair ...yippee, more good times and good folks showing their truly good work. ...see you there!

Upcoming Shows

Maine Crafts Guild, Portland, Sept 19, 20
Common Ground Fair, Sept 25, 26, 27
Harbor Arts, Camden October 3, 4

Northeast Harbor, Invitational Crafts Show

Don't miss it this is one of the best showings of our work all year.

NorthEast Harbor, Neighborhood House Invitational Arts and Crafts Show

The third annual Neighborhood House Invitational Arts and Crafts Show will take place August 13, 2-7 PM; August 14, 10-7:00; and August 15, 10-5 PM

Go to www.nehnhi.blogspot.com for more info!!

Dancing with Fire

Guest post by Rachel Addie, niece of the Perrin's and summer visitor/sweat laborer...
As a Texan, born in the heart of Dallas (where the temperature varies between eternal damnation and sauna), I'm probably more comfortable in the face of fire than the average Mainer... or so I like to think. But I was still trembling as I was handed my first glob of glass on the end of the puntil. And I'll be completely honest - I screamed when I completed my first "paperweight." It's a dangerous dance with a blazing partner, and you don't have any time to stop and think - you just go. The glass is always cooling, always hardening, becoming less and less malleable. The entire process is like a free fall. You can't stop. Once you get going, you go until your glass item leaves that pipe. And dance really is a good word for it, because it's so similar to music. It's a fast-paced sort of thing, but it's a combination of songwriting and performing. You plan out your piece, and then you go. But when you pull out that piece and see it for the first time at room temperature, it's all worth it. It's a jewel, a transformation of all your discomfort and sweat.
A tangible representation of something I believe - suffering produces beauty, a gentle spirit. Well, the first attempt wasn't exactly beauty, but it was a cute little thing. It's the one on the left. I call it the "Crystal Turd".The one on the right is my second attempt, and I liked that one. :) So yeah, that's all for now. I faced the furnace today, a giant box of flaming death, and survived. I call that success.

Hummin' along

Just in case it gets hot and feels like summer, I have been getting up early to blow glass with Nate Parker on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The pace is always good and the quiet time before all gets bustling is lovely.
Well last week on Thursday the day started out as usual, but ended in what we are fondly calling a magical moment. I blew, it got hot, I had help preparing for the upcoming Maine Crafts Guild show. all was well and good, that is until, the humming bird entered the scene. It rose to the top of the hot hot ceiling and fluttered there unsuccessfully trying to escape. Pushing it's tiny head against the ceiling like a fly against a window no progress could be made. I have seen this before sometimes bees or in this case humming birds go after our glass because of it's vibrant colors. I think they mistake it for blooms or something tasty. When a humming bird gets caught inside it will flap it's wings, invisibly quick until it just can't flap any longer. In exhaustion it will finally careen to the ground. This is what began to happen only I caught it in Ken's hat before it fell. We all began running outside as though filled with the birds passion for open space. Running outside, I grabbed a ribbon, and requested some sugar water, Ken obliged.
Lying in the hat in the garden we gathered around the poor little humming bird...it appeared nearly expired. I offered it the sugar water dipped ribbon and it's beak opened to reveal a hair thin tongue which licked the small droplet it contained. Yippee, he righted himself. We offering the sugar water repeatedly and wondered if it was sweet enough...no energy seemed to return to the iridescent fairy bird. Rachel got it into her head to dip her finger into the residual sugar on the bottom of the cup, and gather some crystals up under her nail. This she gently offered. A humming bird drinking from your finger?!?! Have you ever imagined such a thing? The tingle and tickle of the teeeeeny tongue lapping at the sweet finger. Blink blink and a snap of the camera, another blink and the creature flew up and away. Happily we watched the empty sky, after it's flight. Had that really just happened, had we seen the tongue, the green feathered body the trusting eyes had we been giant flowers for a moment? Rachel called it a magical moment. Truly it was.

Texas to Maine

The current time is about 12:30 AM - and I have just arrived at Atlantic Art Glass Studio in Ellsworth, Maine. It's where I'll be staying for the next three weeks.

I really love it here in New England. The air is so fresh because A) fresh ocean air blows in from the sea and B) there are massive amounts of trees around here. And the trees are spectacular :D

My aunt and uncle are glass blowers, they make art out of hot melted glass. Pictures to come, but I have to say they're gorgeous. They have some glass cups in their kitchen and it's kinda cool to be drinking out of my aunt and uncle's artwork!

Well, I'm about to go to bed, it's been a super long day of traveling through three, four states. Plane trip was three hours, driving was four.

Fresh Face!

Well the calendar says it is "Summer" but it is feeling like it only in fits and starts. I am wearing a Gap tee shirt that says something like "Time is an Invention" and it seems ultra true right now. Months and days have names, hours line up, but really if you look around everything is so fresh and original that no amount of quantifying or counting can change it. June with 23 days of rain, July was nearly the same, with continued soft gray, ominous skies. But now the calendar turns to August. Surely a switch will be flipped and the sun will shine and swimming will begin. I wonder though, does the sky know the page has been turned and a new beginning should deliver our expectations? I mean it's time already isn't it? Hmmmmm? Perhaps time is an invention, one meant to numb us and help us through the ever new. One where we can "I know" it away if we call it by it's name. Five o'clock, lunch time, 3:30, Monday, TGIF, --August.... Well what ever you call it the days around her are fresh as a daisy, and an inner sun is shining since we have a had the great honor to host a new visitor to Atlantic Art Glass, glass blowing studio.
Drum role please......watch for the new adventures chronicled here of our niece, Rachel-Addie. Her fresh and inspiring perspective is enough to charm the hurried humming bird....you'll see what i mean, check back for more posts, soon.

Happy Anniversary

We are celebrating our first year of blogging today! Thanks for paying attention to any part of it. We have had e-visitors from Singapore to Somerville and have enjoyed sharing our adventures with everyone and their grandparents. It has been a joy to share our glass making with the public in our studio as well as over the internet.Today being a special day I took some random photos around the shop to mark the occasion. Ken blew glass today. We had a great crew on board with newby, Emily Lyons one of Ellsworth's very own darling daughters.
Katie Dube was in the studio clearly a vital helper
....whose motto is better late than never.
We even had the ethereal Martin Brief in the shop, he is responsible for our great web site yippee. But as usual all the rainy day visitors enjoyed seeing Serafina the wonder dog (and door bell) as much as as they did the hot glass.
Cheers!