Going to town on new "Sea Life' series

Here are 3 more sets of our "Sea Life" series that we blew recently. The first picture is pink with black accents. The second picture is Cerulean blue with cinnamon accents, and the third picture shows in a little more detail what we call the "exploded body wrap" underneath the main platter of the set we blew last night. It is opal sky blue(I think - not for sure) with crown yellow accents.

BLUE SAGE STUDIOS HOME SHOW!!!
THIS WEEKEND FRI-SAT- SUNDAY
In addition to our retail outlet @ Italian Jim's Pizzeria @ 342 S. Mustang Rd in the Yukon-Mustang Rd-Reno area, we are planning on having some things out at Andy Boatman's Blue Sage Studios in the Lake Arcadia Area.

From Edmond Rd @ 1-35 (Where that big white cross is) go about 4 miles east to Post road and then about 1.7 miles south to Andy's place. Blue Sage Studios is behind (west) of the old rock house. Micah and I will probably take some turns doing demos on Friday, Sat. and Sunday

CM

New Photos!

Here's the new set Micah and I did! What do you think? All the colors are the same, but we did each of the accent colors with a different technique. We used crown yellow and lapis blue.

Another new technique!

We spent about 2 1/2 - 3 hours tonight blowing glass. We tried a new technique that we are kind've excited about. Nothing big, just new to us. Can't wait until 2 pm tomorrow until it comes out of the annealer.

If it turns out cool, I will take some photos and post. Sometimes you're really excited when you finish a piece; then all the waiting and it comes out, and it really wasn't that cool. Hope that's not the case this time.

We also blew another set of our "Artifacts" Series.

See ya.
CM

New technique done pretty well!

It was great to hear from our good friends, Randy and Anna, in Colorado. We miss you as well and look forward to you coming back around the Thanksgiving & Christmas season! May I suggest you start up your own blog and post a photo or 2 of yourselves in the be - u - tiful Colorado scenery. Seriously, you ought to do a blog if you want to. I suspect you will find a Bacon Cheeseburger pizza with your name on it when you come back.

Krista, here's some of those new photos and you need to come in and see the new red and cream one with the new technique we did. It looks pretty good.

Hello Andy! Hello Gnat!

Hello everybody else! I would not have guessed it would have been a month and 2 days since my last post. Time flies.

Here's some new stuff. We have started making an Indian Basket Series. I love combining bold and constrasting colors and this series gives me a format to do just that. They seem to be well recieved. I am in the process of getting more of a "retail" "yes-I-want-to-sell-that-glass" look in the restaurant. I bought some point of purchase (POP) stuff on Friday and hopefully next week I will get it put up.

I've got 2 basket series together on the same shelf. One is basicly orange and black and the other is crimson and cream. I call them the "Bedlam Baskets". If you are from Oklahoma or even know a little bit about Oklahoma football you know why I call it the "Bedlam Baskets".

Micah and I are really excited about our new technique of optic molding the piece, threading a body wrap around it and "exploding" the wrap and then blowing out the piece. It turned out so good! We were really pumped about it. Can't wait to try some light fixtures and different colors and shapes with the same technique.

Here they are. ( I didn't take the time to put the pieces in my little photo booth thing. Some of the pictures were even taken behind glass.) Here they are.

Some New Stuff!

Here's a new shape we started doing.

The pieces are about 7 inches high and 9 to 10 inches across.

The First one is blown out of a rod of of Reddish Opal Orange. The second one is blown out of a rod of Cerulean Blue with a Light Blue body and lip wrap. The third one is a combination of Opal Nile Green - F-3, Curry F-3, and a lip wrap of Diablo Red. While we know there is plenty of room to improve, we are pleased.

Some more pictures of the Italian Jim's Expansion - A New Technique

Here's the new technique. We optic molded the piece, then body wraped it around the ridges of the freshly optic molded piece, then let the threads cool a bit where they weren't touching the glass (Have I lost you yet?) then stuck it in the glory hole, this shattered most of the glass threads that weren't touching the ridges - then blew it out.
















The glass ceiling is right over the waiting area where you sit and wait on to-go orders.

One of our 3 light fixtures over the front counter. Opal Nile Green body to match the green wall with diablo red body wrap to match the red wall behind the front counter and "curry" to match the main wall color in the dining room. All light fixtures in the new dining room incorporate those same 3 colors.

Some Pictures of Italian Jim's Pizzeria's new space!

Well, here's some pictures of the new space. I have some more to take of another area. To be candid, we out-did ourselves. My son Micah and I did most of the main construction. Shane Mutz(one of Micah's friends, stained the Harlequin pattern on the floor. He did a great job. People just love the floor! Super duper first class!

INTERRUPTION!
(Okay - I just posted this and looked better at the photo and realized I didn't get the floor in the photo. I'll get it later and post it. The floor is extraordinary! )

A friend of ours for 15 or so years, Mike, "helped" me a little bit on the trim work and cabinets. He is such a good helper. Jeff did the electrical work and did a great job. My mom sowed the fabric for the canopies. Micah and I built the walls, did some sheetrock work, taped, bedded, textured, painted, (My daughter Krista helped paint.) My wife and I picked out the paintings. My wife picked out the colors scheme. My wife told me to get it done. My wife told. . . you get the picture. Kim, my oldest daughter, kept the staff lined out and cleaned up a number of time after the messy Marvins (Me & Micah) Micah and I designed and built the glass ceiling ( the part that I don't have pictures of yet). My son and I also blew all the glass fixtures and fiore on the wall and ceiling. I have never seen a pizza place as nice or beautiful. It is gorgeous! It has exceeded my expectations. The pictures do not do it justice!

"THE BEST OF OKLAHOMA"
"The Best of Oklahoma" is coming out this Friday, Aug. 4th and shooting a small series of shots on Italian Jim's Pizzeria being the "Best in Oklahoma". We are excited! If you can come out and be there when they film you can be on TV at the best pizza place in Oklahoma! Shooting is supposed to be between 7 and 8 pm Friday night.

The first picture is before much work was done. The space was formerly a dance studio. Notice the corner on the right side of the picture.


Here is the same space with the photograph taken from approx. the same position. Notice how we added an angle wall to put the "Glass Fiore Wall" - "Fiore" is Italian for Flower. We still have to blow about 5 or 6 more platters to finish it out on the bottom. We have the "white" area behind the platters illuminated brightly so that they "glow" from behind and also have some bright track lighting shining on them from the front.

"CLICK" on the picture and enlarge it and look at it. It's still better in person!

New Work - Congrats to Courtney (Winner Pharm. Rep)

Micah and I have started another series. We are planning on doing them in sets of 3-5 each different set being a different set of colors.

Here they are - what do you think?

Congratulations to Drug Rep, Courtney. She claimed the body wrapped bud vase. She chose pink with a light brown body and lip wrap. Sorry, no photo. Forgot to take photo before I gave it to her.

Long Time . . . - "Gnat" welcome

"It's been such a long time. . ." Sounds like a song from "Boston" doesn't it? But what I mean is that it's been a long time since I've had time to post. We've been really busy getting the new space @ Italian Jim's Pizzeria open. We opened this last Sunday. It is SHARPPPPPP! REALLY SHARP! We still have about 75 to 100 pieces to blow to be complete, but it looks absolutely, double, triple unique and gorgeous!

I will be taking and posting some pictures in the near future. I've got some commission pieces to catch up on and a little bit of rest to take.

We have been blowing glass in this heat trying to get everything done for the restaurant. The other day it was 117 inside the studio while we were blowing - that temp was not in front of the furnace or glory hole - it was hotter there.

Well, I need to go and was just wanting to let everybody know that I was still alive and going.

Gnat, would love for you to come over this way. We will feed you some great pizza and make you feel welcome.

See ya,
CM

(New Drug Rep offer at bottom of page) - The Making of a Body Wraped Platter

Here are some pictures that my wife Linda took while Micah and I made a body wrapped platter with a lip wrap. Some of the pictures were only so-so because it was at night and the lighting was bad and the camera didn't want to focus because there wasn't enough light. In spite of that Linda did a great job and some of the pictures were really good anyway.

The first photo is the finished product.


I tried to upload some pictures of the most fantastic pizzas in the world for Gnat but for some reason they wouldn't upload. I think they might be too big. I will try to get some sometime for you or maybe I might email you some.


Gather number 1.

I just blew the starter bubble and am letting it cool a little bit after I blocked it.



























Gather number 2.

Blocking the glass to a good shape after gather #2.



Gather number 3.



Micah has just picked up a color bit out of the annealer and is preparing to heat and marver it to the size and shape we need for the "body wrap".

You can see I have the blowpipe with the piece on the "threader wheel" and Micah eases the bit up to and touches the piece. He then expertly pulls back until the thread is the proper thickness and I start turning the piece. The thread of glass then encircles the piece round and round and round… all the way to the end.







We finish the threading process and cut off the thread. Micah will take what's left of the thread on the punty and reheat and reshape and keep in the warmer for another piece while I stay busy doing what comes next.

I am now getting a really good heat in the piece so I can get a really deep optic mold imprint.





Into the optic mold and blow!






Reheat! You can see the deep optic molded ridges in the piece!

I am marving the piece and getting ready to cut the jack line in the piece with the jacks.

As you can tell I have blown out the piece some and getting ready to "drop a foot". (I don't have a picture of us dong the foot.)

We have just attached the punty to foot on the piece and are starting the transfer process.

I am now "chilling" the "jack line" with a few drops of water from the file and geting ready to break the glass at the jack line and complete the transfer from the blowpipe to the punty.

I'm keeping the piece hot while Micah is heating up the chunk of color (the bit) that we are going to apply for the lip wrap.

I'm trimming the lip of the piece, getting it nice and smooth and even for the lip wrap.

Micah has heated up the "bit" of color and has presented it to me with the correct shape and heat for me to apply as the "lip wrap" which I am doing now.

I am using the "puffer" to round out the mouth end of the piece before I open it up all the way. Here I am using the parchoffi sticks to open the mouth.

I now have the mouth opened up as far as I want to before I spin it out and this is the final reheat before I spin out the platter

Here I am "spinning out" the platter and then on the "knock-off" table and getting ready to put in the annealler.

Thirty-six minutes from start to finish. Bam!

It took me longer to upload the pictures and write out the steps than it did to make the piece. I'm tired now.

It was good to talk to Andy today in Columbus Ohio. Wish you and Brent the best while you guys are there! Look forward to buying you lunch or dinner when you get back.

Are any pharmaceutical reps reading this? If so, the first one to call me on my cell and mention this, I will blow you a bud vase. Hurry, offer applies to the first one only! tick, tick, tick, tick, tick…