The paperweight I made.

So a few weeks ago, right before Halloween, I went with a friend to a glassblowing class. My friend got a LivingSocial deal for a class for 2 and she took me along with her! It was SO fun.

Ok, so I say that it was fun (and it was), but it started off terrifying. We got to the cute little studio--a garage next to the artist's house--and met the other ladies who were taking the class that night. Then the artist explained some concepts and demonstrated what we would be doing that night: making a paperweight. No, a paperweight might not sound glamorous and it doesn't actually involve glassblowing (only turning and shaping) but it was the fastest, easiest way for the artist to teach beginners some of the techniques of glassblowing while still allowing them to take something home at the end of the 2 hour session.

Oh, the scary part you ask? That would be the demonstration of what we were going to do that night. We stood close to the fire, turned the glass on the stick (I'm not using technical terms because who would know anyway, right?), and I even shaped molten hot glass with nothing but a wad of wet newspapers between my skin and the glass. All through the demonstration, the artist warned us to keep our hands here, don't touch that, make sure to do this. And it was so scary! One slip up and you have third degree burns! Needless to say, the other ladies in the group were too afraid to go first so I had to step up. It was actually a lot of fun and I felt really proud of myself afterward. I felt even prouder when I saw my finished product!

If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend giving glassblowing a try--it's a really unique activity and makes a great story.