It’s been eighteen months since I turned on my torch. That’s a long time to go without the flame and molten glass that recharges my soul. You would think that in this time of COVID isolation I would have all the time in the world to add glass to mandrel and make some magic. It didn’t work that way. At first there was a stress level that I just couldn’t justify the “reward” of time on the torch. That attitude really does suck, doesn’t it? Then I made the decision to move. After 30 years in the same house, most of my life in the same city, I moved.
I’m in a town now, instead of a city and in a much newer house. Along with that goes setting up my workspace again. The construction part of it took time, the contractor fitting me between larger jobs. Now, I have to setup the glass shelves and unpack 200 pounds of glass rods to put into their pigeon holes. Over the years I’ve accumulated a lot of glass and bits. The pieces of pvc downspout that I use to hold my glass need to be put back together with double sided tape. It sounds silly, but part of the decision needs to be how to organize the glass. I got to the point where I liked having the neutral colours together. Then each of the manufacturers are together. It makes it easier to grab a rod of a different colour when I’m mid-bead.
I’m almost there, almost ready to unpack the glass.
I’ll send this out into the flame and see you soon.
