"The Oklahoman" link & OETA

Heather Warlick with the "Oklahoman" came out and did a great interview and even shot a few minutes of video. The lead photograph for the story they did on us made the front page next to Sam Bradford's picture. (WOW!) Then the story was in full color on the front page of the "Life" section of the newspaper. It took up almost all the front page and then ran over to another page!!! Again, thanks to Heather and her photographer for such a great story. Click on this link for the story and in the body of the story you will see the video for you push the "play" button.

As many of you know we were recently featured on OETA's "Gallery" program. Randy and Susan came out to the restaurant and the studio and shot some video over a few days and I also went into their studio for a sit-down interview. Again, thanks to them for such a nice piece! We still get folks come into the restaurant and say they saw us on OETA. Someone told me this week that they had the video up on their website. I was going to put the link here, but could not find it. If someone out there finds it let me know please and I will post the link.

Finally Back!!

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been so long since a post. We have been incredibly busy. First thanks to Elaine and Greg Dean and the crew at Dean-Lively Gallery in Edmond. Our show there was a success! We had a great turnout and want to thank everyone for coming out and taking a look and buying. Here's the new 75 piece chandelier at the Dean-Lively Gallery in Edmond. Come by there and see it in person.

Micah and I have been busy on a number of commission pieces and didn't even get pictures of several of them.

We are falling in love with some new shapes and our work is evolving a little bit. We will still do what we have been doing but we are entering into another dimension and are excited about it. Our skill level is increasing and so it the size of our work. Our tallest to date is a little over 27".

Some pictures of a new style for us are posted here today. Right now we are calling this style, "Raffinato". It's Italian for "Elegant".

The "Raffinato" right now has at least two versions. The first is the "Redento Raffinato" and we don't have a name for the 2nd one yet. We have yet to make a third version, but we know what it will look like and it is coming. The "Redento" is Italian for "redeemed". We have taken trimmings and scraps from other things from off the floor and out of the trash and "redeemed" them and made something beautiful out of them. Kind of like God does with people. He picks up people off of the scrap heap of life and makes something beautiful out of them if they will let him. Whoa! weren't expecting that were you?

Anyway here's some stuff we have been doing. The guilded olive green raffinato is 20" tall. Most of the others are taller, up to 27".

I''m posting a couple of pictures of some things Micah did by his self. The grayish granite looking one is about 15" tall and the blue/sandy beach one is over 20" inches tall, maybe 22". We don't know for sure, it sold before we measured it. Micah is really doing great. Together we are blowing the best glass we've ever blown. We are fixing to get started on Aaron's chandelier in January. He ordered one that has lots of warm transparent colors in it. Oranges, ambers, reds, gold browns, etc... We are really excited!

TODAY'S THE DAY!

Dean-Lively In Edmond 5 - 9 pm!

New Technique!

Micah and I fused pieces together and rolled them off the pastorelli and blew it out. We were very pleased with the way it turned out. It stands slightly over 17 inches tall and about 5 1/2 inches wide.

We also have another Indian Basket set in olive green with formal black accents. It's about 11 inches wide.

Micah's Blue Voyage

Micah did a great job on this one!

Art Show @ Dean-Lively Gallery in Edmond

New Blown Glass Christmas Ornaments and a bowl!

More New Stuff!

We are busy making Christmas orders and replenishing our blown glass on hand. Here's a couple of things we did yesterday. Also we are posting another photo of our new red Chandelier.

New Blown Glass Chandelier!

Congratulations and thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Lance Haggard and Lori Dobbins, the proud owners of a new Bella Forte Glass chandelier. In case you can't tell by the photograph, it qualifies as red. It's beautiful! It has 51 blown glass pieces in it! It is about 30 inches tall by 30 inches wide.

New Work!

Here's some new stuff we did the last couple of days. I have wanted to get this shape (The wide mouth, low sided, soft curved edges in the light blue - the middle-sized bowl) and finally figured out how to do it. The chartreuse set is a little more green in person, than the photos turned out. The photos make it look a little more yellow than I think it actually is. The blue set in particular is kind've opposite of what U2 said in their song. They said that..."I still haven't found what I'm looking for..." In this set "I found what I am looking for." At least in being able to make that particular shape. Cool-O!

Our First Showing! The Edmond, "Dickens Weekend" @ Dean-Lively Gallery!!!!

Bella Forte Glass will be the featured artists at the Dean-Lively Gallery on Thursday, December 4th, 2008! This is going to be during the "Dicken's Weekend" in Edmond. From what I understand, shop owners and others will be in period costumes (stuff they wore back when Charles Dickens wrote "The Christmas Carol") The Mayor of Edmond, Daniel P. O'Neil comes down and lights the Christmas Tree at the Mayor's Tree Lighting at 6:00 pm on Thursday night December 4th. They have really revitalized that little downtown area and it looks really cool with neat street lights and bronze statues, and brick walkways, and trees and all sorts of neat stuff. They are going to be having Penn Square Christmas Carolers, Santa walking around, carriage rides, street corner food vendors, the governor is gonna fly over in a helicopter and throw millions of hundred dollar bills down...... (I think I just got carried away, scratch the governor and the hundred dollar bill part) Anyway, Micah and I are going to be the featured artists and Elaine Dean will be showcasing alot of our work. We plan on having a beautiful red Chandelier made and hanging.(No promises, but we are working hard to make it happen.) Dean-Lively Gallery (Elaine and Greg Dean) has purchased and just recently moved next door to where they were for years. "They" (I think that means primarily Scott Butler) has really done a great job on all the construction and finishing touches. I think Scott could do Ty Pennington's job and make it look easy! A really talented guy! I'll mention this again and possibly again and again later on! We are looking forward to it.

First Christmas Ornaments & Manheim Steamroller Christmas Music!

Here are the first blown glass Christmas ornaments I have ever blown. The clear one is the first one I ever blew. Followed by the blue then the Gold Ruby one, and then the other Gold Ruby one. They are a little thick, but I didn't want them to break easily. I will say that listening to Manheim Steamroller is the ONLY way to go while blowing Christmas ornaments! Seriously!

New Sea Life Sets

Here's some new nestled bowl/platter sets we did. I love the color combination of the Chartreuse and Raspberry colors and we are really pleased with the way it turned out. It is really thin but not too thin.....just right! Appropriately thin may be the way to describe it. The Lapis Blue and yellow is also really nice and appropriately thin as well. The Lapis blue and yellow sets have always sold well, so Micah wanted to make another set of those. What Micah wants, Micah gets (most of the time anyway). We are really wanting to do more cane work. We just haven't had the time. We just completed a beautiful red chandelier and are making another one to put at the Dean Lively Gallery

Blowing Glass In T-Town!

We were really excited that Sarah Diggdon with Tulsa Glass Blowing Studio invited us to do some demos and come up and spin out a few platters. We had a great time. Was glad to see Benita Duncan there. Enjoyed meeting Kurt with the Tulsa Police Department and had a good time talking weapons. It was good to see Roy from Andy Boatman's studio there demo-ing fish, skulls, and sea shells. Roy is entertaining in more ways than one. Never boring watching Roy work! Roy is cool!

Read about us in "The Daily Oklahoman" - Also - Blowing Glass in Tulsa on Friday, November 7th, 2008

The Daily Oklahoman came out today to Italian Jim's Pizzeria and then out to our studio to watch, interview, and take a few pictures. I'll confirm this for sure later, but I believe I understood them to say they were going to run it on November 12th. Will let you know later. I can't wait to get some pictures of some of the most beautiful platter sets we have ever blown and post them. I was so excited to get them up to the restaurant that I didn't take the time to get pictues.

Sarah Diggdon has so graciously invited us (Micah and I) to Tulsa Glassblowing Studio @ 19 E. Brady, Tulsa, OK to demonstrate blowing and spinning out a few platters from 6 - 9 pm Friday evening on November 7th! We are excited. Sarah has always been very nice to us. She even came out and ate one afternoon at Italian Jim's Pizzeria! Also, Roy from Blue Sage Studios is going to be demonstrating some sculpting also. Roy has gotten really good! We look forward to watching him work.

Bella Forte Glass NOW at Dean - Lively Gallery in Edmond

We are proud to announce that the prestigious Dean-Lively Gallery in Edmond is now carrying Bella Forte Glass! They are located at 16 S. Broadway, Downtown Edmond OK. (1 1/2 blocks north of 2nd on Broadway, east side). Phone (405) 341-2143
Store Hours are 9:30 - 5:30 Mon-Fri, 10-3 on Sat and closed on Sunday

Pumpkins, Leaves, and platters

The orange pumpkin is about 71/2" wide x 6" tall. The Green pumpkin is about 81/2" tall x 7" wide. On the bottom platter, the orange in the reflection is the color of the lip wrap. In the picture, the lip wrap looks yellow. It is not, it is as orange as you can get.

Venetian Vases with curls

Here something we are working on. Not exactly what we want yet, but working on it....
Venetian Vase #1 is Chalis Blue with silver and silver coils is almost 14" x 6" x6 "The second one, Chalis Blue with silver leaf and silver coil is about 18 1/2" x 5" x 6" and the third one is Gilded Ruby Rose Venetian with Golden Curls is about 20 1/2" x 5' x 5".

HUGE!! BELLA FORTE GLASS ON OETA TV THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16TH, 8:00 PM CST

We are excited! This Thursday night (as of this writing on Oct. 13th, 2008) Bella Forte Glass is going to be featured on OETA. Randy and Susan were extremely nice - like bend over backward nice! - Like bend over backward "limbo" nice! Like, "We really liked them alot!" nice! It's supposed to show @ 8:00 pm C.S.T. on OETA TV on the show called, "Gallery". We haven't seen it yet but I know they really did a great job, I saw a tiny part while they were editing it in the studio. I don't know if it's gonna be on the front part of the show or the back part of the show. Can't wait to see it. *Everybody that watches the program and calls my cell phone gets a free blown glass platter! *(Not really just messin' with you) but you could call and tell me you saw it.

Zanfirico Canne work

Micah and I have been working on making zanfirico canne. This last Saturday was our 2nd try at it. Then we wanted to get enough to make a "lace" handkerchief bowl. Recently Marty Lockstone came by the restaurant, saw the glass and gave me a call. Marty is from Weatherford and we knew each other back in high school. He graduated a year before me at Weatherford. He wanted to know if he could come and watch us blow glass. He came over Saturday and was good help. He helped us pull canne and helped us with the zanfirico bowl. It's been nice to get reacquainted. Here's some photos of the canne, the bowl and of a vase we have been trying to pull off. It's blue, about 13 1/2" tall with a yellow coil around it.