That’s an interesting question and deserves an interesting explanation. On many occasions, customers will come to the Glass Academy and ask us to make a Dolphin or maybe a glass wave. They’ve been on vacation to Hawaii and saw something like this and now are inspired when they come to our studio. The artist who owns the studio in Hawaii created these pieces because of the environment they have been living in and they reference items in nature that are influencing there creative process.
They might have owls in south Florida but I can confidently say they don’t have oak trees. So, unless an artist with a glass studio in Florida had lived or vacationed to an area that these kinds of trees grew, most likely they might not be inspired to make items like glass acorns.
More importantly as an artist trying to make a living off of your creations, it’s important to think about what your customers are attracted to. I’m half of the design team at the Glass Academy, Michelle being the other half. Contemplating and designing what our customer will like and creating around the Michigan seasons has been a passion of ours for a long time.
These small but really unique glass birds were first thought up and designed by Michelle. I remember she had the idea to add them to our Harvest season line and it might even had been around Thanksgiving that she asked Jake, our son, if he would assist her at the studio trying to work out the design. It was born, or should I say hatched. She created the first and most fresh owls I had ever seen. I think having the design come from her and Jake, working together on it, made it that much more of a great result. Like other items, it was time for me to put them into production, which means I would have to figure out the most efficient way to produce them. The natural production process perfects them and also evolves the design into its perfected process and design. I really love the way Michelle and I work together to discover and create items in this fashion. It’s unique to our business and process.
As for the acorns, we reproduce the artwork of Mother Nature. Sometimes this happens. Just making nature’s perfect design out of glass is all it takes. Autumn oranges, crystal and blues are the colors we use and with the iridescence of the acorn cap, they are a wonderfully unique item. The acorns were developed to be an accent piece to display with your pumpkins. Creating a little installation for your seasonal decorations was our thought behind the acorn, as well as leaves.
I have to say that the harvest season is my favorite season of the year.
Chris Nordin
Co-owner, Glass Academy
