Glass production has begun

So when I started thinking about this project, I had this grandiose plan of using goblets to help blur that preconception of beauty.  Someone picking up a goblet, looking at it lovingly before reluctantly putting into the box to be broken.  Then I realized I suck at making goblets.  I make them way to big, crooked, and the proportions are all off.  In short, they are ugly goblets.  Maybe if I had a solid year of making nothing but goblets, I could use them as my breakable wares for this project.  But that is not going to happen, at least not for this run.

Once I figured out that goblets are not my forté, I relaxed a little bit and started to produce some work that is still technically challenging to me, but cleanly designed.  I am much happier where this is going now.  This will be the trick to this project... by using clean design coupled with a strong technical slant to make glass that can be broken easily.  Nothing would be more embarrassing than someone hammering a piece of glass that won't break when that's the whole point of the project in the first place.

This grouping is much closer to what I am after.  Body wraps, small handles, torch work bits, and blown feet all add up to a great foundation for making even more complex (gaudy?) work, and harken back to 1950s Dutch glass I that absolutely love.  As it stands now, these take approximately 15-25 minutes to make and require an assistant to bring bits.  Usually not a problem, but I am training my assistants as I work with them so production has been a little slow, but it has been getting faster as my assistants retain more knowledge through repetition of movements.

The size is better, and the proportions are getting better as well.  One thing that I have noticed is how much variety is possible within a golfball sized blob of glass.  Once I start adding optic molds for texture, the bling factor will go up exponentially, as there will be tons of little ridges to catch the light.  Now just imagine a couple of long tables with about ~300 pieces of glass between them, with some nice lighting they'll be spectacular.  That's the plan anyway.