Artsy Fartsy

With our hectic lives, Steve and I have little time or money to date and enjoy time together with just the two of us. When we do have free time, we are trying to drink up as Moanna as possible because we are afraid of how much it is going to cost us to put her through therapy because all Mommy and Daddy do is work.

Now that Mo is living it up out of town, Steve and I have been able to spend some time together. Granted, most of that time has been spent cleaning the house and plotting our future. Last Saturday, however, we spent the day playing in Charlottesville. We went to the outdoor mall. The streets are lined with little shops, art galleries and food. We are typically very cheap people; any extra money we come across goes to debt. However, there are four things that are sure to get us into trouble. They are art, book stores, good food and traveling.

Near the end of our day in Charlottesville, we came across a place galled The Glass Palette. It is an interactive art studio where you create your own glass masterpieces. You browse through the different example pieces to get an idea of what you would like to make. Once you choose the shape and style, the staff teaches you how to cut glass, and shows you where everything is. After that, you are free to run wild.

We chose to make a full-fused rectangle plate. Steve wanted something controlled and symmetrical. I wanted something free and chaotic. Most couples would have been smart and each done their own art projects, but not us. We stuck to sharing one piece of glass, and started to compromise. Steve got to choose the colors and add a few right angles to the edges of the glass. I got to have chaos in the middle.

Steve’s primary job was to pick the pieces of glass, and cut them into various shapes and sizes. My job was to take those pieces and arrange them. On one end we put the pieces of glass very close together, and has we traveled to the other end, the pieces of glass got further and further apart. Our vision was to create something that looked like an explosion. After the pieces were layed out, we had to glue them down. That was the only part that I could have done without. It was a wee bit tedious, and  I was ready for the ice cream Steve promised me.

Once you are done with your art project you must part ways with it for a few days. It must be baked twice. The first time is to allow the glass to fuse together, and the second time is it to mold it into its proper shape.

On our way to get ice cream, Steve and I pondered what the finished product would look like. Would the colors hold up? Would the pieces melt together? Would the mail man dare to break it?

After sampling a dozen or more ice cream flavors, (cucumber mint, red peppercorn, chipotle chocolate and so on) Steve settled on pistachio and peach, and I had lavender and raspberry. Ice cream in tow, we went back to discussing the future of our art. Where would it go? What would we use it for? How long will it take to get here?

When the box finally arrived on Thursday, we tore into it like it was Christmas. Wide eyed and giddy, we inspected every inch of the glass. Some of the colors had changed. Some of the shapes had changed. Overall, it was perfect, just how we wanted it to look.

Currently, the plate lives on our coffee table. When Moanna comes home we will have to move it to safer ground.  It matches nothing in our living room. We don’t care; we want everyone to see that we are talented, veteran glass artists.

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