Peonies, Peonies and even some glass Peonies...

Hello and welcome to summer 2015! Seems we keep vacillating between spring's cooler weather and a really hot summer day. So when its been cooler outside, I've been working away on some new glass cane and then I made these beads. I had a bit of a "proud feeling" to have found these in the kiln the next day because it seems I had found a solution for the wavy petals. I made another cane for the middle part as well. I love how they turned out. They really do look like peonies. Of course I'll never be as perfect as Blaschka! His amazing glass plants were used for botany study at Harvard and were commissioned by the Ware family. Leopold and his son worked their entire lives, yes, I'll repeat, their entire lives, 24 -7 making tiny replications of the wonders of nature. It is definitely on my bucket list to see these collections one day, and the links above are great sites of his work for you to see.

Here my peonies are made with 3 layers of petals and clear glass between each to give it that 3-D affect. The middle gets pushed inwards and hence that perfect little bubble of trapped air. They will eventually be made into finished jewellery pieces, but first I will need many more. Now that I see how they turned out, I'm inspired to continue. For now, I just wanted to share a tiny bit of the new work I've been doing. What makes it special is that they are specifically made for this upcoming outdoor venue I will be doing in a couple of weeks!

I will be at the 11th annual Peony Festival located in the beautiful Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens on June 13 and 14th from 10:00am to 4:00pm on both days. I will be inside my white canvas tent within a small group of about 20 vendors, so I won't be too hard to find. I haven't done an outdoor show in ages, so please pray for nice weather for those two days. Until then, I don't mind the cooler weather and working on a hot torch. It is not a show I've done before, but I have heard wonderful things about this venue, and I also love gardens.

I find gardens are great places for the soul. Simply just breathing-in all the luscious smells of those peonies sold me, and I bought my application right on the spot. Honestly, I do realize that the show is mostly about the Peonies, the gardens, and the award ceremonies. But just in case, I thought I might stir some curiosity with my own glass peonies. I found it to be a bit of a challenge but I love making flowers. It's really natures ultimate aesthetic isn't it? I had been working on this new cane to emulate the petals of the peony flower. I've made a few of them so far that are pictured here, and now that the cane is made, I'll go ahead and make more. I'm looking forward to this show, to be in the gardens, meeting new people and also seeing some familiar faces. Luckily, there is now an art contest, so I guess I will be entering these there as well.
Here is one sample from another new set I've also been working on. It is a sample piece from a commission that I delivered yesterday. I think I'll name this collection "for the love of flowers."