My First Show!

I got a call from Andy Boatman this afternoon(Wednesday) and received an invitation to participate in the show @ the State Fair Grounds in the International Building. That's the building that used to have the inflatable roof on it but now just has a conventional roof. I have my stuff in the Blue Sage Studio Booth about halfway down the building on the South(I think) side. (It's the side by the big aircraft outside). Andy, Brent, Callie, and Drew will also have their stuff there. The show starts Thursday night @ 5:00 pm for a special Corporate showing and then Friday and Saturday, 10:00am-6:00pm and Sunday, 10:00am-5:00pm.

Come down and buy lots of stuff!

New Pictures & New Stuff

We enjoyed having my dad and his wife over to watch glass blowing for the first time. I can't believe he took me serious! He got 3rd degree burns on his hands. After getting out of the emergency room he said. . . (Never mind what he said)

My dad likes John Deere tractors. I blew him a oil lamp complete with refigerator magnets to complement the John Deere green and yellow color scheme.

On a more uplifting note, I like the system 96 nuggets better. It seems like the glass comes out more clear than the spruce pine batch. Krista helped me lip wrap the purple pieces with the green lip wrap. That was only our second time. We will get better with more practice. I really like the purple with the green lip wrap combination. I am going to expand on that series. I also blew some purple and black and really like that color combination.

I also added some more pieces to the Tiger Stripe Series. If you see something you like and you want to buy, let me know what piece you are interested in and I will price it for you. Also, many are on display at Italian Jim's Pizzeria @ 342 S. Mustang Rd in the Yukon area. I now have so much glass that I bought another display case. I need to tweak it a little bit with some track lighting and should have it installed @ Italian Jim's PIzzeria in a couple of weeks.

Just wanted to use this last paragraph to say hi to my #1 boy! Hello Micah! Look forward to seeing you this weekend at your homecoming game!

A Few Changes - Comments Settings - Email - Lucia

Friday night I blew glass until a little after 1:00 am because I am switching glass batch from "Spruce Pine Batch" to "System 96 Nuggets". I wanted to get all the spruce pine batch cleaned out so I wouldn't contaminate the new System 96. The reason why I am switching is because when I "charged" the furnace (That's glass blowerese for putting more glass batch in the furnace) with the Spruce Pine Batch it would take about 2 1/2 days to get to temperature, 1 day to cook, a night to squeeze, and 1/2 day to get up to temp again. That means when I ran out of glass, it would take 4 days before I was going again. With System 96 I put glass in tonight and tomorrow afternoon I am ready to go. It's more expensive, but easier. Beside that the resident glass blowing god, Andy Boatman recommended it. Good enough for me. Plus it saves on the gas bill. Speaking of such, I got my first gas bill for a full month with the furnace running 24 - 7 @ 2100 - 2200 degrees. Ouch! My glass pieces that used to sell for $2,000.00 now have to sell for $2,500.00 And that's all I'm gonna say about that!

My dad is coming up from Ardmore Ok tomorrow and watch me blow glass for the first time. I'm gonna hand him the piece of the end of the punty and say, "Here dad, hold this". He's never seen anybody blow glass before.

Greg and Patricia got their oil lamps on Friday. They liked them. Phil hasn't gotten his yet. I'm making him wait and see how much patience he has. If Phil reads this I may not get anymore catering jobs from him. Just joking Phil.

I now have 200 lbs of System 96 in the furnace waiting for tomorrow. I'm trying to streamline Bella Forte Glass Studio a little bit. It has a tendency to get cluttered. I'm sure it's Bush's fault (I said that for Andy Pappas' benefit)

COMMENTS SETTING CHANGED
YOU CAN NOW LEAVE COMMENTS WITHOUT BEING REGISTERED AND GIVING THREE BANK REFERENCES

Thanks to Andy P., Jim(who I see at Norman on regular basis), and 2 or 3 others I found out that you can't leave comments on my website unless you're registered with Blogger. Sorry about that. I spent some time tonight and FIXED THE FREAKING PROBLEM. (you should know by now that I have a sense of humor). I didn't realize that a setting had gotten changed. It's fixed now. Thanks again for letting me know.

EMAIL
Thanks to the great and magnificent Andy Boatman for showing me how to do the html code thang so I could add a link for emailing me. A few folks mentioned that also.

LUCIA!
Many thanks to Lucia for the nice comments on the vaze(that's the way you pronouce a vase that costs over $500.00) and all the promotion she did with it for me.

3 Winners!

Congrats to Patricia, Greg & Phil on claiming the oil lamps. They will be in your possession shortly.

New Color Series & PHARMACEUTICAL REPS Notice (2 Winners So Far)

The second photo shows the new color series that I am working to develop. I call it the "Tiger Stripe Series". The inside color in the vessel looks similar to what I think the yellowish orange on a tiger looks like. I am going to make an "Artifacts Series" in the Tiger Stripe and also matching bowls and platters. The other photos show some different things I have made.

TWO OF THREE DRUG REP WINNERS!!
Congratulations to Patrica & Greg! Patricia & Greg are pharmaceutical reps whho saw the website and mentioned the offer. We have had over 25 caterings booked this past week and Patricia is the only one who mentioned the free oil lamp offer in the first week. Greg started this week off by mentioning it. I now have 1 (ONE) free blown glass oil lamp that I will make for you if you are the next drug rep to call and book a catering of 20 or more and mention the FREE OIL LAMP OFFER! I've got a number of colors you can choose from for me to incorporate into your oil lamp. (only 1 lamp per person)

To book your catering and claim your oil lamp, call:

ITALIAN JIM'S PIZZERIA
405-265-0919
MENTION THE OIL LAMP OFFER TO THE PERSON TAKING THE CATERING INFO!!!

When the catering is completed, I will then within a relatively short amount of time blow you a lamp with the colors you desire from the colors that I have in stock (which are considerable).

Over time I have had a number of people at the restaurant (Italian Jim's Pizzeria @ 342 S. Mustang Rd in the Yukon, OK area) ask about prices for the items that I have blown and put on display. Until now, I have been reluctant to sell any because I wanted to get my studio up and running first. Now that I am up and running, I am selling my glass. It is now priced in the front counter at the restaurant. I invite you come in and take a look at the glass and purchase if you wish. I also take special orders for certain colors you want incorporated into the glass. Also, if you had a question about pricing for something that I have put on this website, just let me know.

THANKS TO ANDY PAPPAS!
Andy brought by a small square of granite that he had left over from a house for me to display some items on. It looks classy! Thanks!

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT ABOUT GLASS BLOWING
On Tuesday evening, Oct. 18th I am speaking to Kappa Kappa Ota Club (An organization for teachers or spouses and others involved in education) in Weatherford Ok about glassblowing @ The Mark Restaurant @ 6:00 pm. Just thought I would mention it.


Thanks,
Chris