[PA-NJ Glassblowers] Couple follow their dream and begin glassblowing business
Tony Patti
gaffer at glassblower.info
Wed Jan 23 22:49:08 EST 2013
Following your dreams. And the magic of glass.
http://jg-tc.com/lifestyles/couple-follow-their-dream-and-begin-glass-blowin
g-business/article_577d0560-61d0-11e2-9243-001a4bcf887a.html?comment_form=tr
ue
Heat poured from a glowing orange compartment as Randy Turner twirled a long
metal pole with a small knob of liquid glass on the end. More than a dozen
Head Start students stood inside the warmed pole barn in rural Edgar County
Friday afternoon and watched Turner carefully craft the knob into a small
glass pumpkin.
The children gasped as Randy blew air into the pole making the glass bulb
gently expand on the opposite end. He then stepped onto a bucket to lower
the orange globe into a mold which created the pumpkin-like ridges and
gently squashed the flexible creation onto the floor producing a perfect
stout shape.
With the help of his wife Joy - who explained each step to the children,
Randy placed a stem on the top of the fall staple. The man set the piece
inside a chest that will gradually cool the art so it doesn't snap.
"This is the best field trip I've ever been on," a mother said from the
small group. "It's like magic."
Randy and Joy dreamed of starting their own glass blowing business since
taking their first class during graduate school at Oklahoma State University
in 1987. Finally in 2008, after years of planning, dreaming and saving the
couple sold their first piece from their shop, Larkfield Glass.
Colorful creations sit on shelves throughout the shop. Randy remembers
creating most and shares stories about the process. The man with a full,
graying beard laughs about his mistakes, and has learned to make the most of
his bloopers.
He's created a series of twisted vases he accidently made after replacing
the coils in the "glory hole" - the element used to heat the glass while
he's shaping the pieces.
"I swung the vase around, and the new coils must have really worked because
it became too long and very thin," he said, "so I pulled the end and wrapped
it around itself, and you know what - people loved it.
"You can't really put flowers in it, but it's a piece of art that doesn't
take up so much space. Now I do it on purpose."
When a beautiful orange and white plate shattered, Randy used the pieces
inside a clear paper weight that almost resembles gold fish in a bowl.
"You can't fight the glass," he said. "I think that's one of the things that
has really made me improve - when I realized you can't fight it."
Randy says he's improving his skills every day, and the couple plans to make
the business their fulltime gig, but for now they use their weekends to fill
their inventory.
"At first I thought we would have one or two shapes we would get really good
at and make several different colors of that same shape. But it's taken him
a while to find that one shape he is really good at, it's taken a really
long time," Joy joked.
Joy has accepted Randy's creativity. He's experimented with dozens of wonky
shapes - some they call failures while others are deemed surprises, and he
says he still hasn't used every color he bought in his first 2008 purchase.
Sometimes their best sellers come from requests from customers including
"tornado-filled" paperweights, orange, purple and green vases and large
globes with brilliant colors.
"When we take in commissions we never take money up front, and I'll try two
or three different items so they can chose the one they like the best,"
Randy said.
Sometimes the customer has taken the whole the lot with them.
Both of their children, 18- and 21-year-old University of Illinois students,
blow glass as well. Joy pointed out an orange and yellow piece her daughter
created they've named "Dancing Flames."
"They really caught on to the idea of the tools being an extension of your
hands, and that's something I haven't fully accepted yet," she said.
Joy says she has worked to improve her glass blowing skills, but she knows
it takes a special dedication to stand the heat. The electric furnace heats
up to 2,100 degrees and holds about 135 pounds of melted glass. This
results in the heating bill adding up to the most expensive part of their
operation.
"Glass is sand so I'd say that's a tenth of our cost," Randy added.
The couple has hosted open houses and attended festivals, but this year
their business took off and they think in part because of their Facebook
page.
As the Head Start class filed out of the barn they each said goodbye to the
Turner's cat Al (short for Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter book
series). The Turner's have grown used to having classes to their rural
home.
They've demonstrated the process for boy scout troops, high school art
classes, junior high gifted students and even a material chemistry class
from the U of I.
"We really studied up for that one," Randy joked.
"I think when people see how handmade items are made they really gain a new
appreciation for the art," Joy added.
After years of waiting for their dream shop Joy doesn't hesitate to share
some insight with the older field students either.
"I always tell them to start planning early, and even when it doesn't look
like you are going to be able to pull it off, just keep planning, because if
not it's never going to happen. No one is going to throw it in your lap."
The Turners will host an open house Jan 26. For directions email
larkfieldglass at juno.com and they will email directions or check the map on
the Facebook page, Larkfield Glass.
Larkfield Glass
Joy Turner shows visiting students a glassblowing pipe Friday (January 18,
2013)
during a presentation at the Larkfield Glass studio near Paris.
Tony Patti
<http://www.glassblower.info> www.glassblower.info
<mailto:gaffer at glassblower.info> gaffer at glassblower.info
<http://www.glassblower.info/qr-code.html> QR Code for Tony Patti -
www.glassblower.info
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://glassblower.info/pipermail/pa-nj/attachments/20130123/5ac5c6cc/attachment.html
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 42906 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://glassblower.info/pipermail/pa-nj/attachments/20130123/5ac5c6cc/attachment.jpe
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 18749 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://glassblower.info/pipermail/pa-nj/attachments/20130123/5ac5c6cc/attachment-0001.jpe
More information about the PA-NJ
mailing list