Jack Pine Blown Glass

Searching for Jack Pine blown glass?  We have a piece to share with you today that is just perfect for fall!

Have you begun thinking about fall with September right around the corner?  I think about fall often throughout summer.  I love those chilly mornings and evenings, and layering up my clothes, and snuggling up with cozy blankets, and letting the pup lay on me while we cuddle up for those frosty mornings.

There are so many things to love about fall... hot chocolate, hay rides, cooler temps, the fair... yes, Fairfield County located in Ohio has the last county fair and it is in October every year.  There is also the Pumpkin Show that is in Circleville too.

It has been years since I have attended the fair or the Pumpkin Show, but I have many fond memories of going to the fair with my friends and family. 

When we were kids, the main attraction were the rides, then as you got older it was boys, and then as adults?  I would say the food is what draws adults to these festivities with children in tow.  

I recall one year riding the Ferris wheel and it was snowing while we were on the ride.  The weather is all over the place for this fair, sometimes hot, sometimes cool, sometimes snowing!  You just never know what the weather will bring October in Ohio.  Just one of the many things to love about Ohio... or at least that is a common statement.  If you are from Ohio or have lived in Ohio, you know what I am talking about.

I mentioned the Pumpkin Show... my oh my, if you are a lover of pumpkin anything, you can find it there!  There are pumpkin donuts, pumpkin fudge, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin cake, pumpkin brownies... you get the idea.  I just wanted to see how many times I could say pumpkin in one sentence!  😉 

You can also see pumpkins that weigh in over 1500 pounds!  Anything you can imagine pumpkin, you will find it there.  The town actually shuts down for this event, the streets are closed and it is held in the center of town.  You are hard pressed to do much of anything other than the Pumpkin Show if you try in Circleville this time of year. 

They have the world's largest pumpkin pie on display that takes 400 pounds of flour, 360 pounds of sugar, and 795 pounds of pumpkin to make!  Of course there are other ingredients, but those are the ones that are important and stood out to me.

You can also find blown glass pumpkins.  Jack Pine is a name known in this area for his blown glass pieces.  He has some really amazing items, it just so happens I have one to share with you today.  

One of my friends and his wife gave me this piece this past year for Christmas.  Do you see the mercury glass pumpkin on our coffee table?  Yep, that is the piece, and I love it!  

I have been in love with mercury glass for as long as I can remember.  I am a fan of most things glass, but mercury glass is pretty unique to me and always catches my eye when I am perusing online shops, or antique stores.  

I think my obsession with glass began as a little girl.  My best friend from elementary school had a home like a museum.  Literally, her home was filled to the gills!  Some rooms were hard to walk around in since her parents were such advid collectors.  They collected antique anything and everything antique.  They had a collection of glass paperweights that I always admired.

Of course us being kids, would throw them back and forth like a ball.  Good thing we never broke one.  Her mother had one in particular that always held my attention.  It was a clear glass paperweight that had a very colorful flower inside it.  Funny, I can still see it in my mind's eye.  That's the thing I love about memories, just a glimpse of something can have those childhood memories flooding back so quickly.  

All these years later, and can you believe I only have one paperweight?  A snowflake.  I doubt I need to remind you that snowflakes are a favorite of mine.  How can you not love them?  No two are alike, they are cool to the touch of your skin, when they pile up, they cause all sorts of mayhem, or fun, depending on what receiving end you are on.  Maybe one of these days I will get back around to searching for those cherished paperweights.    

Oh the trips down memory lane you go with me... it's always fun though when you get to reminisce about the past, isn't it?  As I have gotten older, I love to see things through my eyes as an adult and as the child I once was.  Sometimes those opinions differ as we get older, and sometimes they just stay the same.  

I keep this pumpkin in our china cabinet year round.  I decided I would get it out for fall and since our coffee table needing something different, I decided to add it to our gold tray and books.

I love how the light dances off the glass, how the bottom of the pumpkin looks like when you throw a stone in water and the water ripples, and I especially love the color.  

I found where Jack Pine Studio has glass blowing workshops.  I think that would be a lot of fun.  My mother and I took a stained glass class many years ago and we loved it! 

 

I enjoy getting to make something I would not have the opportunity to make otherwise.  Do you think you would enjoy something like this?  Do you like stepping outside your comfort zone and learning new things?  

I think I am a student of life since I will try most things.  Welding is still on my to do list of learning though.  I am fascinated with the trade and have so many ideas of things I could make!  Time will tell... 

Hope you enjoy your Friday!  TGIF!