Being a glass artist isn't always about glassblowing

So in the course of my week I will be doing many hours of glassblowing but I'll also be busy doing lots of prep, design, composition, coldwork, photography, packing, shipping, etc.  While I work with an assistant blowing glass who also does a good amount of coldworking, there's still a ton I have to do throughout the week.  This week had two galleries that ordered five Bloom but I was all out of stands so...I made up a dozen stands.  I designed these stands to suspend a Bloom sculpture, cradling it at a precise angle.  While I make them in batches of twelve but when I match a stand to a Bloom, the stand gets final custom adjustments bending the supports in order to precisely support the individual curves of the Bloom it's matched with. 

Stands are made from hot-rolled heavy steel plates with supports made from stainless rod for greater strength.  Once they are welded together, they are then powder coated for a time-tested and durabile finish.  Padding is added in the form of silicone and heat-shrink tubing over the supports, then they're ready to be matched with the glass. 

Sometimes being a glass artist also means being a welder :)