+ bonus beautiful handblown and sculpted glass acorn ..
Hi, it’s been a while since Birgit & I last made blog updates. It’s been far too quiet around here. Let’s change that.
Did you know that I make ‘Alice in Wonderland’ nuts and seeds out of hot blown and sculpted glass? I am holding an Italian roasting chestnut baby in the picture below…
Jason’s chestnuts are already a complete product, available and made to custom order. But I would absolutely love to make the spiky outer husk out of glass as well. What do you think? Should I try it?
I make solid clear glass acorns like the ones below. But I also have a line of giant blown glass acorns. The difference is scale and that the smaller ones are solid and the giant acorns are hollow. The shapes are the same and can also be customised depending on your preference.
(By the way, if I don’t have an acorn waiting for you on the shelf then everything is available for custom order, turnover time can be around 2 weeks, but let me know if you are in a pickle and need an acorn to deliver to a squirrel with a tighter deadline, I will do what I can!)
2 solid glass acorns – available custom made to measure
Make a squirrel happy
If you have any questions or ideas you would like to discuss then please reach out and I look forward to speaking with you
Presenting Jason’s glasswork is always a challenge. We want to do it justice, make sure it sparkles and shows it’s best side. But not having our own studio we pack the glass treasures in and out of boxes, and each time we work on promotional photography it is a big deal to get everything we need in one place. But presentation is important. This is not a place to cut corners. Can you do it yourself!? YES you can. Is it incredibly helpful to delegate and focus everybody’s attention and time in a way that they do what they are best at: I don’t even need to ask, right!?
Perseverance. Sometimes getting the right photo can take a lot of shots and even multiple session tries. Then learning to do the photo editing, how to use software, which software to even use: all that takes perseverance. But it is worth it to honour and treasure the glass creations.
Yesterday we realised that we had misplaced the original edit of the image below, but we urgently need a specific file size of it. We have used this image on Jason’s business cards and now need it at a specific size for a residency application. So of course it needed editing immediately tonight, from the original file format, all over again. After an hour it looked like it does in image #1. I had touched up to reduce some odd reflections and a couple of too obvious fingerprints (what were we thinking not wearing gloves when photographing!!!) We were reasonably pleased but I just wasn’t sure it was all it could be. It looks a bit flat and the white was refusing to be white and it just had a bit of the ‘meh’ quality about it… I could have just leant right into the contrast, and thrown my weight around the curves but it didn’t feel like that would be enough by itself..
Image # 1
Fast forward another 2 or so hours, it is now 1:30am in the morning. Way too late, as I have other things to attend to besides Jason’s glassblowing career (i.e. my own career / an early morning language class to teach) but honestly I couldn’t leave it as it was before. It just didn’t look fresh enough! And Jason is such a hardworking and talented glassmaker, he needs better than average effort from me!
So.. I wrestled 2 photo editing softwares, created layers in Photoshop Elements; and with a combination of Lightroom > Photoshop Elements and back into Lightroom the end result is a fresh, fantastic, clear and exciting image that I have now saved in 3 different file sizes for Jason. We are now prepared for all eventualities! Don’t you agree that this is now a tasty eye candy, colour popping photograph of Jason Stopko’s Glass ?!
image # 2
I know there is still room for a little more subtlety in the image but it is 1:30am.. there is no time to work on subtlety. But in the future I will try out working with more than 2 layers in photoshop and fine tune my overall approach with more thought before action..
If anybody would like to know how this was done let us know. I can add a description of the photo editing workflow for you to follow.
Signing off duty until the next time, Birgit Deubner. The woman for everything that is not glass in this little business of ours.
As usual Jason leans to squirrelling away his glass and hiding it in storage boxes.. This particular vase is actually quiet new, it was recently made in about July or August 2016.
We have gone ahead and added it to Jason’s Etsy shop because it just is too stunning to wait for it’s forever home at the glassblowing studio any longer.
The vase is very thick and quite heavy but doesn’t lose it’s elegance at all. You know how sometimes thick glass isn’t very elegant? Well this vase is stunning and exquisite! What an incredible statement piece it will be in somebody’s home who also loves this rich lucious colour!
If you are getting the feeling that I am reluctant to part with this beauty then you would have guessed right! But we often move house and until we one day own our very own beautiful little villa we shouldn’t hold on to objects of desire that should really be enjoyed in the present moment.
Let’s not delay! May you feel inspired to acquire this treasure.
With many greetings from the office where I work for Jason,
Birgit
Hello Squirrels! (and everybody loving autumn fruits and nuts.).
The acorn harvest is in the bag, we have already selected boxes to ship them in, are just waiting on labels from the printers. This is the season to be nutty.
Clear acorns are proving difficult to photograph, but they are easy to admire. They have lovely light catching qualities and complement well with the etched acorns that we have recently added to the repertoire.
We have a big, giant autumnal goal to get as many acorns out into the world this autumn and winter as possible. Everybody should have some of these precious nuts.
Fun fact: Did you know that acorns are edible? They were an essential crop used to grind into a flour by Native Americans. Since we found out some months ago we have been rearing at the bits to go acorn harvesting (in nature, not the glass studio) and try them for ourselves.
Have we already missed the acorns?!
Another great fun fact: California is home to a great variety of acorns / Oak Trees!
Want to get more connected? Love acorns so much you want to ask about a commission for your wedding table decoration? For a graduation ceremony? For Christmas? For a gift for somebody recently returned from hospital..?Acorns are fabulous, you can use the contact form below to say ‘Hi’ to Jason.
when special orders arrive for Valentines and Jason is asked to create a set of ornaments to be suspended above the dinner table set for two the he gets straight to work and delivers within 12 says of the order placed.. For this fast tracked special order the minimum order will be 15 pieces but when it comes to the maximum: the sky is the limit….
Now can you picture these hanging from the ceiling, or from branches of a spring blossoming tree.. while two love birds share a glass of wine and a special moment…?
These ornaments are of medium weight, they are neither as light as the thin blown glass that you might be familiar with from Eastern Germany and Eastern Europe, nor are they as heavy as some of the import products from India and China. The durability of these glass decorations is above average and with some tender care they can last a lifetime and become an heirloom gift to your ancestors..
Availability in both Europe & America, with legal rights to sell in both places. (work permits for both locations are fully legitimate. Large wholesale orders are welcome. Jason Stropko has experience in meetings Targets in both quality of production as well as timeframe.
colour choices: a wide range of options, you can speak with Jason about your requirements.
If you would like to gift handblown heirloom glass for Christmas then we can no longer supply in time but you could print out a picture of the object of your choice and Jason will make it to commission to be delivered in january.
Who else do you know who receives the gift of a made to commission heirloom piece of Art and master craftsmanship?!
You can follow this link to Jason’s shop and see some of the beautiful glass:
Ready for Santa or ready for storage? You decide..
These are now the final 2 weeks before Jason travels to Germany to visit the Christmas Markets!
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These are now the final 2 weeks of the year in which you can take a glassblowing class with Jason or purchase a blown glass ornament or a set of 12, whichever your tree and life and stockings to fill require. Acorns are ready to be displayed under your tree or on the table, chestnuts, pomegranate seeds and sunflower seeds, vessels with lid and without, exquisite work and daily tableware..
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Write or call THIS week if you still need a handful of ornaments.
Many glass objects of desire will soon be packed up… but will they be delivered by Santa or carefully stored in storage?
Saturday 5th December @ Jason’s Tai Chi Studio only ! Call Jason for details 510 375 8487.
A range of nuts and seeds that will look just perfect in windows displays, as part of table arrangements, nestled among gifts under the Christmas tree, in your bowl of ready to be cracked walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds..
Jason Stropko Glass 