The Pacific Northwest is a hotbed of glass art so it's no surprise that there was a lot of great glass to see at the show. Here, glass fire pit tables from a company in Tacoma are dressed up for Valentine's Day.
Lots of people, including myself, make glass flowers from found pieces but the sheer number and fabulous style of these is impressive.
Barbara Sanderson, Glass Gardens Northwest, got into the theme of the show with her blown glass hearts.
Although she makes all kinds of truly beautiful things, my favorites are her "fiddlestix."
Totally Blown Glass, known for their exquisite vases and other vessels (some incredible colors!) is now creating these poured glass and metal garden pieces.
New to me, Island Art Glass, had some way cool creations over which to drool.
My favorite of theirs? This one!
Although, these beautiful leaves came in a close second!
Happy weekend everyone!
Some of those pieces would lo so fab in amongst foliage in the garden!
ReplyDeleteI agree!
DeleteGreat displays. Love the glass chickens. I would probably break a pricey rooster on the way home.
ReplyDeleteIs it because shimmer, shine and stunning color sells? Do more people buy pretty than buy plants not yet in bloom that they can't imagine as we do? You rarely see somebody buying an orchid plant with no blooms at a big box store.
A local high school's FFA announced a plant sale next month. I doubt many Facebook users experienced the thrill at a picture of a table of bloomless little Pelargonium plants that I did, even with a caption that said, 'Geraniums in red, white and salmon.' They took a close up photo of Impatiens in bloom.
People, like magpies and crows like shiny and colorful things. I don't think that there was too much glass or other garden art at the show, just not as many plant vendors as many of us would like to see.
DeleteWith experience, gardeners are much more willing to buy plants without blooms. Maybe it's that plants are a bit odd to schlep around a show. There is a holding area but if you're parked a few blocks away and buy lots of plants, let's hope that you remembered a wagon.
Some of those pieces are just amazing! I was worried when you started out showing the glass firepit "gravel", which is something that I just hate for some reason, but the chickens! And cattail leaves! The metal and poured glass sculptures might be my favorite though.
ReplyDeleteBTW, $65 for a single cattail leaf means that I'd not be putting these in the garden where some clumsy deer could kick one over...
Blown glass is a bit expensive to put in the garden where this clumsy gardener is likely to drop a bag of potting soil on it or hit it with a shovel! Fun to look at though!
DeleteThose glass flowers on a metal grid at the beginning of the post: I say you grab both of them grids, as shown, and use them to cover the insulation in your green house!
ReplyDeleteI also noticed the decline number of plant vendors at the show. I little less jewelry a tittle more plants is what I say.
I like the way you think! Both grids, flowers intact would be perfect to cover the greenhouse insulation! I'm sure the bank would understand that I wouldn't be paying the mortgage for a month.
DeleteMuch as I enjoyed the vintage market, I wouldn't mind at all if that was replaced with plant vendors. Like Danger said, it's not like people are selling plants at antique shows. Better yet, the vintage market stays but the plant vendors become so numerous that the show has to utilize the upstairs halls in the convention center as well.
Great roundup of some of the stunning glass creations we saw. I do like those stakes from Totally Blown Glass.
ReplyDeleteThose stakes are way cool and the nice gentleman at the booth shared information about how they make them. Could be a fun project sometime.
DeleteI know I'm the odd woman out and a bit of a bah-humbug but I'm just not jumping on the glass in the garden train. Looking on the positive side at least I'm leaving more for the rest of you to buy!
ReplyDeleteIt's a trend that will become passé but it will probably take some time as people like bright shiny colorful things. Maybe it's because for so long, home interiors have been painted white, beige carpets, etc. people have been craving color? Maybe now that interesting colors are fashionable inside homes, the desire for bright glass baubles outside will dwindle? Maybe glass is part of the "low maintenance" garden?
DeleteAnyway, it's perfectly wonderful that you're not jumping on the train! (or perhaps it's a monorail being Seattle and all.)
I´m loving the glass art since I saw how it looks in the garden during the fling. I see here there is many to choose from!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Lisa, in this region of the country, there are almost as many glass blowers as there are Starbucks! These are some fine examples of the craft.
DeleteI'll take the fish.
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty cool!
DeleteTrickle down glassonomics can be blamed on Chihuly. No wonder the Pacific Northwest is awash in it.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, Dale Chihuly has caused us to look at glass in different ways and has popularized the craft. Chihuly decided long ago that he wanted to be a glass star, publish coffee table books, and make huge installations which are beautiful but there are MANY amazing glass artists, like the folks who started Bullseye and Uroborous Glass years ago in your town. Let's not forget the centuries-long tradition of glass blowing in Murano. The PNW is lucky that we have so much glass eye candy to enjoy.
DeleteLots to drool over there. I wonder how my raccoons would react to glass fish?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see your raccoons try to eat one of those!
DeleteI'll stay out of the glass vs. plant fray and simply say, "So, SO splendid! What a colorful array!"
ReplyDelete(As I proofread my comment, I see I came close to achieving POETRY!)
Poetry indeed! There's space for both the glass and more plant vendors so we can have and love them both!
DeleteI am in total awe of people that can create this art. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous stuff and talented people!
DeleteLove that stuff from Island Art Glass, especially the lilies. And Judy wants at least one of those chickens! On the one hand, $150 seems like a lot for a chicken, but on the other hand, they don't need feeding and you don't need to clean their poop.
ReplyDeleteYet you will be missing out on all that fertilizer and the fresh eggs. Decisions, decisions.
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