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I know I'm jumping the gun here by declaring the holiday season over, but seeing as how today is the last scheduled day my studio/gallery is open in 2011 I think I can say with pride that my business and art has successfully weathered another year. And what a year it's been, full of suprises and interesting twists... not least of all being that I was featured in a pre-movie short by the good folks at Cineplex Entertainment. I finally made it into a theater to see the film a couple of days ago, which was a strange experience to say the least, and on a very bizarre note I can now say I've shared a screen with Justin Bieber - whose holiday jingle video followed my glassblowing tutorial. Having finally seen the finished product I'd just like to thank Cineplex one last time for their kindness, for the bold decision to feature an independent artist during the busy holiday season, and for making me look half decent up on the big screen!

2011 also saw Kelly Lowe Glass expand its horizons into other forums of media as well - including being featured in print, on television, and a new push into the world of social media on the internet - where I spent a bizarre portion of the year as one of the 100 most followed female Canadians (I'm currently ranked at 122, for those curious). It's been a very strange and interesting ride, and an unexpected one to be sure. Thank you to all of those who participated in making this year one for my personal record books. I'm truly grateful that I'm able to do what I do for a living, and I'm able to do so because of the people who have, and continue to, support me. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Next up: a full restocking of art pieces for my studio, a shift of focus onto the awards portion of my business (it's that time of year when those worth honouring get honoured!), and perhaps a little push to remind Hamilton of the glass art I make that would be perfect for Valentine's Day - such as the hand sculpted glass hearts pictured in this post. After all, when it comes to matters of the heart isn't handmade always better than mass manufactured?

I won't be going anywhere though, and my studio gallery hours will continue to be every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 - 6:00pm. So feel free to drop by and see what I've been up to in the hotshop, have a chat, and remind me that I have the best customers in the world.

If you're at all curious to see what all the fuss is social media wise, feel free to check out my Google+ pages. The first one I maintain is a personal page I use for sharing and discussing my art; mostly showing off new pieces as they come out of the furnace. You can find that one here: Kelly Lowe's Google+ Page. The second page is a business page for Kelly Lowe Glass, where I make announcements and posts on the business of glassblowing, as well as letting people know what's going on in the shop. You can see that page here: Kelly Lowe Glass' Google+ Business Page. Feel free to poke around, follow, comment and be sociable... I've found the Google+ community to be quite fun and interesting, and if you haven't checked it out yet I recommend you do.

Happy 2012 everyone!

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The shows are done, but that doesn't mean the gallery is closing for the holidays just yet! For those of you still looking to make it in to see my glass art, ornaments and gift ideas available at my studio gallery the hours from now through the holidays will be:

Dec. 13th: 2:00 - 6:00pm
Dec. 15th: 2:00 - 6:00pm
Dec. 20th: 2:00 - 6:00pm
Dec. 22nd: 2:00 - 6:00pm
Dec. 27th: 2:00 - 6:00pm
Dec. 29th: 2:00 - 6:00pm

For contact info, studio location and a handy map please visit: Kelly Lowe Glass - Contact & Studio Location.

A big thank you to all who have made this holiday season such a success, and for those still interested in coming down there's still lots to see! Also, don't forget New Year's Eve is coming up, and I have some really neat hand sculpted wine stoppers to add to your festivities.

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In honour of the approaching holiday season Kelly Lowe Glass' studio gallery will be open this weekend, Dec. 10th and 11th, from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Come down and see my glass art, gift ideas, ornaments and more!

For contact info, studio location and a handy map please visit: Kelly Lowe Glass - Contact & Studio Location.

Also, there will be a delicious selection of baked goods to feast upon. Hope to see you there!

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This weekend, December 3rd and 4th, I'll be hosting an open house at my studio gallery in Hamilton Ontario. I try to have one or two open houses a year - basically they're an opportunity to throw open the doors and invite art lovers/gift seekers of all ages down to see what I've been up to since the last time they've been in. Or if this is your first time into the gallery, to say "hello" and give you a chance to explore the work of a local artist in a relaxed, pressure free environment. There'll be sandwiches, cookies and other such goodies, as well as some original prints by Tim Russell, a local photographer whose "left of reality" style I'm particularly fond of.

For contact info, my studio location and a handy map please visit: Kelly Lowe Glass - Contact & Studio Location.

Secondly, today's the day my Cineplex film opens! The film is a minute and a half short in which I demonstrate how I make my traditional blown glass ornaments. The film will air throughout December before all rated G and PG feature films in Cineplex theaters, and hopefully will be something interesting for those who like to find their seats early. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank Cineplex Entertainment for offering such incredible exposure to an artist, and the arts, during what I'm sure was a hotly contested season. Let me know if you see it, and how many pounds a 50 foot screen adds!

Alright, time to get back to work. Busy, busy, busy... and I'm so happy that I am. Thank you all for your continued support, and I hope to see you this weekend.

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With the holiday season fast approaching I figured it was about time I got off my duff and set a date for my December/Holiday open house. I've been busy preparing for it: I've made tonnes of new ornaments, and some fantastic new pieces are ready for the public's eye to judge them, hopefully love them, and maybe give them a new home. I've even tapped my favourite baker friends to make some fantastic treats for the event - I just hadn't settled on a date. Well consider my tardiness a thing of the past, because I'm ready to announce:

Kelly Lowe Glass is Having an Open House on the Weekend of December 3rd and 4th, from 10:00am - 5:00pm.

What exactly is an open house, you ask? Well, it's a time to get together with fellow glass art lovers, come down to my studio gallery and browse, eat some goodies, and see what I've been up to for the holiday season. I have all sorts of ornaments ready to dazzle your eyes and make you go "oooooh!", as well a full gallery of beautiful glass which would be perfect as gifts (for yourself or others, I won't judge), and deserts made by the finest desert makers I know. It's also a good chance to get out and support one of Hamilton's resident artists - besides it's lonely if you don't come!

Also featured at this open house is the photography of Tim Russell. I really enjoy his work, and hope you will as well.

For a detailed map and contact information please see the Contact and Studio Location section of this site. For those of you who have chosen to join my mailing list the postcard invitations are currently at the printers, and will be mailed out as soon as I have them in hand.

On the weekend of November 18th - 20th I'm also participating in "The Christmas Show" - a yearly celebration of local businesses with a focus on gifts for the upcoming holidays. If you're planning on attending I'll be in booth #105 - you should drop by, chat a bit, and if you feel like it take a look at my glass.

Also, the good folks from Hamilton Life, Cable 14's daily lifestyle television show chose yours truly to feature in three upcoming spots talking about my business as well as to promote The Christmas Show. It was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they turned out - you can see the shows on the Hamilton Life Facebook Page once they've aired on television. No sneak peeks unfortunately, not even for myself.

I was also interviewed this month by jeweler Anna Kay of Anna Kay Creations for her "featured artisan" spot on her online blog. It was an interesting interview, and I had fun doing it. So if you're at all interested in the ramblings of a certain glassblower who tends to write novels when a paragraph will do, you should check it out here: Anna Kay Creations' Interview of Kelly Lowe. Also, check out her jewelry - she's a nice person who makes nice stuff, and supporting people like that is always more fun than giving your money to a faceless corporation.

Lastly, just a friendly reminder of my upcoming film that will be airing in Cineplex Theaters. It's a minute and a half short of yours truly demonstrating how I make traditional blown glass Christmas ornaments. It'll be airing before feature films throughout the month of December (so hurry to your seat!) and I'm excited to hear what people think.

Whew... a lot of info in this update. Things are moving faster as we get closer to the holidays, so expect more frequent updates. Hope you're all doing well!

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A few weeks ago I was contacted by the good people of Cineplex Entertainment about the possibility of shooting a short film detailing how traditional glass blown ornaments are made. The film would be shown prior to the airing of feature films during the holiday season at all Cineplex Theaters - an estimated audience of 6.4 million people. Well, we just wrapped up shooting on Friday, and everything's a go! So if you're interested in hot glass, glassblowing or how ornaments are made - or if you'd just like to hear my witty asides on my glassblowing battle scars, or see a very special moment in which I learn the true value of sharing (that part may or may not make the final cut) then come out, support the good people of Cineplex by watching one of their fine films, and let my gigantic fifty foot tall head teach you a bit about glassblowing while you get all settled.

See you at the movies!

To see the ornaments I'll be making, please visit my Special Occasions gallery, as well as my Ornaments gallery.

I was also really flattered by a beautiful blog posting by Suzanne Medrano, a writer who showcases "undiscovered" shops that deserve to be discovered by the world. I was really touched that she took the time to look at and write about my work, and that she was willing to give my young online store a boost! It's people like her that will keep the arts alive and flourishing in a world where it's so easy to be lost in aisles after aisles of generic mass produced look-a-likes. Thank you Suzanne, from the bottom of my heart. Read her blog here: Discovered Treasures

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As an artist who works primarily within her local market, my focus is always, and has to be, on the work I do for that market. The Hamilton region has been good to me - very good actually, allowing me to work full time at a job I love: as a full time glassblower. I've made many friends with both customers and other artisans, as well as other individuals who have made Hamilton their home and work to promote her. The people from Tourism Hamilton for example have always been great to me, as has the city's police force and many of the city's businesses - Hamilton is a wonderful place, and I encourage you all to come visit it. Hamilton gets a bad rap, I think, because because the inter-provincial highway system goes by our industrial areas and not our waterfalls, hiking trails and cute neighborhoods!

But over the past year I've also embarked on an adventure with this website. Of course it too serves primarily as a an online portfolio for my local customers, where people can find me, see my work, and see if they like what I do before we meet. It's been a learning experience to be sure - learning how to photograph the glass alone has been a major pain in the butt, but each time I get a little better I think, and learn something new. People have been very helpful... thank you to all of you who have sent tips and walked me through new techniques! I'm rambling a bit, but the gist of what I'm saying is this: This website turns one this month, and I wanted to thank everyone for helping to make it a success. Those of you who linked to me, who wrote about me, helped me figure out how to do... well, everything... I appreciate each and every one one of you, and without you this site would be sitting in a dark corner, unseen by either Google or my friends and customers. Hopefully it continues to improve over the next year!

As for this month... Halloween! Last year I made blown glass pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns for my Halloween show, and I've decided to bring them back again this year. I personally think they're a hoot, and enjoy making them, so I guess I'm making them a yearly tradition or something like that. Yay! They're not very big, perfect as a little decoration for the holiday, measuring 7.5cm (3") tall and 7cm (2.75") wide.

Speaking of traditions, I should also mention that I am not having a Halloween show this year (so if you'd like the pumpkins and/or Jack-o;-lanterns please come to my shop on Tuesdays or Thursdays between 2-6pm, or email me at kelly@kellyloweglass.com and we can arrange another time. I can also send you a Paypal email invoice and ship you your orange pal via Canada Post, if you'd prefer to do things over the 'net), instead deciding to focus on filling the showroom with new unique pieces and preparing for a larger winter show. I've been working hard for Christmas, making tonnes of ornaments and other such things... it's a busy season, but I'm going to be ready for it!

Oh, and I just love the leaves this year... it seems like they changed overnight!

I hope you're all doing very well... enjoy the Fall, it's beautiful out and one of the best reasons to live in this province I think. Just a reminder to those of you who haven't read last month's post, you can check out the new Kelly Lowe Glass Online Store if you have a hole burning in your pocket that can only be plugged with glass!

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*UPDATE* - This post is now outdated, as I now run my own independent online shop at store.kellyloweglass.com.

Busy, busy busy in the world of glass! August is traditionally a slow time here at KLG, since the summer heat makes working in front of an 1150 degree Celsius furnace a little more sweaty than we'd like (we're a vain lot, us glassblowers), and oh yeah, there's yearly maintenance to be done on the furnace itself. So for the only time of the year the hot shop becomes the "as warm as it is outside shop" and I pursue other projects to enhance my craft, my gallery, and the nitty gritty fun of running a business. This year however I decided to turn my energy to something new entirely: an online storefront.

For those of you sprinting for their wallets, sweaty hands fumbling for credit cards - well thanks Mom, I love you too. Here's the link, for any other relative or lover of Canadian glass art to peruse while the rest of us continue talking here... I'll even make it open in a new window, so you can catch back up with us after you've seen what I have up for sale: The Kelly Lowe Glass Online Store. For the rest of you, well... all of you, I imagine, you want a little bit more detail as to how it works, and what sort of things you can find on said store.

The store uses an Artfire storefront, with all payments being handled by Paypal. "Ah," you might be wondering, "but doesn't that mean I'll have to sign up to one of those services?" Not so! Signing up for either of those services is completely optional, and those who choose not to will still be able to peruse, purchase and support Canadian art to their heart's content. What sort of things will I be listing? Gallery items, mostly - fine art pieces such as vases, bowls, sculpted items and the like - smaller decor items, such as my paperweights, angels and candle holders - and other fun stuff such as my Kritters, bugs on sticks and ornaments and the like made for holidays and special occasions. Basically the online store will be selling the same pieces made for sale within my physical gallery here in Hamilton - except with 100% more postman!

Being a professional artist is the most exciting, rewarding and incredible job I can imagine. It is also, however, at times the most terrifying - as the world moves more and more towards a mass manufactured mindset, we artisans and art lovers huddle together with our eons old crafts and hope that there's still a place for the working artist next year, the year after, or in the decades of our lives to come. Offering pieces for sale online is an attempt to expose new people to my art who may have never seen anything like it, who may enjoy it more for the fact that an artist loved that piece during its crafting - rather than it being stamped out by a machine. It's an experiment, and I'll be interested to see how it goes.

But my feet will always remain firmly planted here, in Hamilton, in Ontario, and in Canada - at the hot shop, in my gallery and all the galleries who honour me by displaying my work. First and foremost I am a local artist, and that makes me smile every single morning when I wake up.

Click here to go to the Kelly Lowe Glass Online Store

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I know, I know, I'm barely squeaking in with this month's update, but I have a good excuse! I was in Vancouver, and then it was hot, and then I was busy. Okay, did I say "good excuse"? Actually I meant "I have a couple of bad excuses, and should have done this earlier." But, it has been a busy month.

The biggest news this month is that there's a job opening here at Kelly Lowe Glass! A lot of the work I do in the hotshop simply isn't a one person job: it's necessary to have another who knows their way around the furnace who can assist me in making pieces that are impossible for a single person to make, whether it be because of the size of the piece, the complexity or any variety of factors. At the end of the day it's still my work, but the assistant plays an important role in allowing that work to be made. A good assistant can make a glass blower's life much, much easier and more productive.

My former assistant has decided to pursue a career opportunity outside of the glass blowing world, something which I wish her all the best at. I also hope she continues working on her flameworking (a short description of flameworking can be read HERE for the curious) at her home shop, and I look forward to seeing what she churns out!

So what exactly am I looking for in an assistant? I'm looking for someone with experience both in the hotshop and with coldworking. Someone trustworthy, who follows instructions well and has a desire to improve their glass blowing skills. I hope to bring someone in with whom I can work well together on the first day, but as time goes by we'll only get better, and better, - and perhaps better! - so that we're more efficient and in sync at what we do. Also, a laid back attitude with a great work ethic is a big plus.

What else? Being fun is a great trait, both in life and for this job - also being willing to coldwork, I know it's not the most glamorous side of this business of ours, but it has to be done.

That's about it, besides me writing out the words "glass blowing job in hamilton ontario" so Google can find this if people are looking. Any questions, or interest, should be sent along to me personally at kelly@kellyloweglass.com or by phone at (289)339-2450. Hope to hear from you soon!

A big "thank you" to all of you who applied, but the position has been filled. If another position opens up I'll be sure to make a note of it here, and tap into Southern Ontario's talented artist pool again! Also, an apology to the person who phoned and left a message, I accidentally misplaced your number, and you didn't leave a name for me to track you down! I wish you, and all other applicants, good luck in your job search.

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Sorry for the late update, it's been a busy few weeks involving dental surgery, finalizing some new pieces and a short time spent touring the country in a van with a talking dog and some pals, solving mysteries. Meddling kids, we were.

First thing to update you on: The planter bugs are finished, and on sale now in the studio. Basically, the pieces are hand sculpted glass insects (bees, caterpillars, ladybugs etc) mounted atop a stainless steel rod. The idea is that they can be added to gardens, planters, bouquets - really anywhere you want a cute glass bug. The March 11th posting here in Studio News has a sample picture of what the bees look like, pre-mounting, to give you an idea of what they look like.

Second thing, I'm going away for a short working vacation from June 20th - July 1st. I'll still be reachable via email and the telephone, so feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss a project in the works, or about starting a new project, but I won't be in the hot shop making new pieces or in the studio for my regular hours. I have arranged for the studio to still be able to be open upon request, so if there's something you'd like to see/buy from the gallery, feel free to contact me and we'll arrange a time. Other than that, I'll be back and working hard on July 1st, and regular hours will resume on Tuesday the 5th.

Have a happy Canada Day, everyone!

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Some of my favourite statistics about glass blowing are those related to the temperatures we work with. Now I know what you're thinking: "favourite statistic?! I thought you were cool!" I know, I know - shattering a lot of illusions with that one, but honestly, I've never really claimed to be cool, have I?

So I have a favourite statistic, and you can find it on this site, on my "hey, my name is Kelly!" promotional material, and around the shop. That being that the furnace we pull the glass from is 1/5th the surface temperature of the Sun. Seem impossible? Well, here comes the science! The furnace I use is kept in the general area of 1150 degrees Celsius - this keeps the glass in a liquid state suitable for blowing and sculpting. The surface of the Sun on the other hand, is about 5427 degrees Celsius, which as you math majors (or those with calculators such as myself) have already figured out, is roughly 4.7 times hotter than my furnace... I usually round this number up, and say my furnace is 1/5th the temperature, since it sounds better than 1/4.7. So the next time you see someone shake their head at my outlandish seeming claims, feel free to tell them that I'm actually understating how hot my furnace is!

Now on to what's going on around the studio. The "planter bugs" (also known around here as "glass bugs on sticks") I mentioned a couple posts ago are nearing completion, I have everything ready to go: the bugs have been pulled and sculpted (bees, caterpillars, ladybugs and hearts), stainless steel metal rods have been purchased and cut - all that remains is to drill some holes, and attach the rods. The idea, for those who need a recap, is to have a series of affordable garden/planter/vase decorations to go with your flower displays. I think they're coming together quite well, and will be ready for gardening season I'm sure.

Lastly, a new gallery is opening up just outside of Niagara Falls, in Ridgeway to be exact, and they've honoured myself and Tim - the photographer whose prints adorn my studio walls - by taking a few of our pieces for display and sale in their gallery. I won't be able to make the grand opening myself, due to some surprise dental work I'm having done, but I encourage you all to go check it it on May 13th, between 6:00pm and 9:00pm. A handy map and more details can be found HERE.

Hope you're you're doing well, and remember: my studio is now open Tuesday and Thursdays from 2:00pm to 6:00pm, so feel free to drop by and browse, visit or bring me cupcakes!

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