I remember the first piece that grabbed my attention.  Thick.  Heavy.

Ever had a tumbler or paperweight that felt solid?  1 kg or more?

Stripes that ran through it…sigh…

But I lost it in a divorce.

“How did I lose something so precious to me?”  Oh…never mind…if you haven’t been there, you wouldn’t understand…even the important things are worth letting go in a divorce.

It’s standing here, the heat in my face as I gather, where I feel truly at home.

My first glassblowing class, unlike yours, was almost a joke.  No help from the instructors, as if they wanted to get a good laugh watching us fail.  Nothing to take home with me, either.

That’s why you’ve got the molten ball, the flowers, the paperweight and the tumbler.

I want you to remember this day, cherish it, even.

Quiet.  There’s a chopper coming in.

I thought we had promises of no warzones anymore.  Oh well…

Where was I?

Hmm…I left my job, my “real” job, a while back…’95, I believe.

I got here in 2003.

In between, well, let’s say it was an adventure…renting time in other glassblowers’ studios.  Studying under people who had no idea what they were doing and some who were very nearly the best of the best.

Sure, I could have apprenticed at a glass factory but I didn’t want to spend five years learning and relearning the fine art of one single activity, perfecting it before moving on to the next.

I like to experiment, see where the glass is taking me, understanding what the colours and the minerals do in extreme heat.

Yes, I’m married but my husband is the exact opposite of me.  Very quiet.  A homebody.

That’s okay, though, because we get along.

Besides, he doesn’t mind if I work late.

After all, this is my job and my hobby.

That’s the thing about owning your own business — you never get a day off — if you love what you do you never want to take a day off.

I have my apprentices here, as you can see.  I love them all in different measure, just like children, who require various levels of attention, care and guidance because every personality is different.

After you’ve gathered and gathered and gathered, you get a feel for when gravity is pulling, so that’s why you see me absent-mindedly rolling the pipe in my hand.  Ask my husband.  If I’m standing with a broom, I’ll roll it around, too.

I’ve worked in this business long enough that I’m used to being seen as one of the guys.  You don’t get a lot of female glassblowers, especially when I started, so I’m pretty thick-skinned.

That twisted piece down there was going to be a Christmas chandelier or tree topper but I didn’t like so I broke it.  I think this piece could be a horn or a party hat.  What do you think?

Stop by again soon and I’ll talk with you in more detail.  I really think there’s a good story you could make with my character.

I don’t mean I have some sob story that’ll break your heart.  I know there are a lot of good people in this town that a story’s begging to be told about us in one of those intersecting storyline/character sketch sort of things.

A small cotton town growing into the Rocket City.  Where do we go from here?

When will the first glassblower open a shop on the Moon or Mars?  Hey, it’s just a matter of time, right?