在火中創造美麗– Artech玻璃吹製工作室–哈利伯頓

The fire burns hot inside the studio/barn but the snow is softly falling on the glass ornaments that line the pathway outside …

吹管被浸入熔爐內部的熱熔玻璃中，數分鐘後，經過一些哄動，吹管從一無所有變成了精美的玻璃藝術品。我們在 Artech玻璃吹製工作室 in Haliburton Ontario. We’ve already watched the demo and it will soon be our turn.

It’s about 1,000 degrees Celsius inside the actual furnace but it’s -6 degrees outside.

如果我們周圍的爐子太熱，我們會圍著爐子在鄉村的穀倉/工作室裡烤麵包，因為我們看著受過訓練的玻璃吹製教練Terry Craig教給我們玻璃吹製的基本知識。

The four of us – Vanessa of Turnip Seed Travel, Helen of Not Without My Passport, Sharon of Dream Travel Magazine and I are nervous and listen carefully to the safety points – hair pulled back, safety glasses on, touch here, don’t EVER touch there…

We choose our colours…

會是什麼？

Blues, purples, pinks, greens…so many choices, so many combinations.

I decide to go with “Anabelle’s choice” for my first “piece of art”.

At least that’s the name I’m calling my bowl on the table containing the mixture of green coloured shattered glass bits. It’s a family affair at Artech Studios with Terry Craig and Jennifer Wanless-Craig running the show and even their young daughter, Anabelle, pitching in with her chicken to help me decide which colour to choose. She says it’s her favourite so it will be mine now too…

At Artech Glass Blowing Studios the demo is over – It’s my turn.

Guided by Terry, I nervously dip the steel rod into the clear molten glass in the furnace to gather a glob of glass onto the tip of the pipe then we dip it into the shattered glass coloured bits of “Anabelle’s choice”. The pipe goes back into the furnace to melt the coloured glass bits. Stretched like taffy the coloured glass gets pulled and manipulated with various tools to create the design that will live inside the clear exterior that will be my future paper weight. It gets reheated and dipped again in more clear glass…slowly it’s formed with various ladle-like wooden tools.

This process gets repeated – wooden ladles, sharp instruments and fire are used to form, shape, pull, cut and coax the glass into a masterpiece.

I’ve created my first work of art – a paperweight that sits proudly in front of me as I write this article.

It isn’t as beautiful as 吹塑雕塑 在佛羅里達州聖彼得堡的想像博物館發現的，但是一個女孩必須從某個地方開始嗎？

Here’s a video of me in action.

Time flies. It’s all a blur of excitement as we each take our turn learning the art of glass blowing creating 3 beautiful works of art. Each one of them different, each one unique, each a one of a kind like the people who created them.

在Artech Glass Blowing Studio，美麗源於火的熱

I had the most amazing experience and it was something that I’ve never thought I’d ever get to do myself. I’ve loved glass for a long time – you could say that the love of glass runs in my family, as my brother-in-law is a collector. I’ve even dabbled in stained glass a bit, creating my own windows and boxes but creating beauty from nothing in a fire is a totally different experience that I will never forget.

Artech Studios提供全天和兩天的周末工作坊，是您可以體驗的眾多創意冒險之一 您的戶外活動. Terry and Jennifer are the perfect instructors and hosts as they made us feel right at home in their studio as we enjoyed a cup of tea prior to our lesson. Don’t be surprised if Anabelle gives you a tour (wink).

Yours Outdoors also offers packages and tours for individuals, couples and small groups. They can be single adventures or custom multi-day adventures. Themes change throughout the year according to season. Adventures are “active” such as dog sledding, ice fishing, ice climbing, and biking or “creative” such as pottery, wine tasting, cooking and music.

Barrie Martin, owner of Yours Outdoors is a perfect gentleman and host as he picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the studio due to a snowstorm…Not because we are special but because it’s just what he does…

From having tea and meeting a little girl’s chicken and to being rescued in the snow – just another testament to the warmth and friendship that we experienced in Ontario’s Highlands.

我是來賓 安大略省高地旅遊。我的意見一如既往是我自己的看法，絕不會受到我獲得的補償的影響。

有關哈利伯頓的更多冒險活動，請查看：
– 在安大略省的高地戶外活動已經一去不復返了
– 迪金斯山景住宿加早餐旅館的楓糖漿體驗
– 安大略威爾諾的發現之旅