My Leap Back Into the Glass Art World

One of the most successful creative periods of my life, before now, was when I co-founded a glass art studio called This Place Blows. So many things had to line up just right for this to happen. My partner and I were both artists at heart, working as a guerrilla marketing and event promotions team for a well-known beverage company. Our “real-world” job required us to travel all over the country for about 10 months out of the year and didn’t leave much room for pursuing our artistic dreams.

We were getting ready to kick off our third tour year when we received notice that the company was restructuring and funding for our national promotional tour had been used for a Super Bowl commercial. It was a “thanks for working here, but we no longer have a job for you” letter. We felt knocked to the ground, at first. The universe has a funny way of suddenly placing obstacles in your path and new opportunities in front of you. You just need to recognize the signs and follow your heart, not your head.

Getting Into Glass Art

At the time, I had never worked with glass as an art medium. I had created art with just about every other medium, but I had no idea what the process of creating fused glass would entail. My partner, on the other hand, was an established glass artist and worked solely in a technique called glass torchwork. This process uses a propane torch, borosilicate glass rods and powders, and dozens of steel tools, which are used to sculpt and blow glass. While he had not pursued fusing glass, he had a decent-sized kiln and the book Contemporary Warm Glass by Brad Walker. He suggested I read it and “start playing with glass to see if I liked it,” and pointed me toward the Bullseye Glass Company, a local producer of art glass. He came up with a comical business name, This Place Blows (TPB), so all we needed now was a space that would give us both room to create.

I set my sights on finding rentable space and within a few days I found myself standing in an old building on Alberta St in NE Portland (Studio 1627). Not much to look at, but there were over a dozen active artist’s studios inside and it had an authentically Portland charm about it. The hardwood floors of this old place creaked and it smelled like leather, sawdust, paint, and photography chemicals. Just outside the back door of the main studio building was a small courtyard that led to an old garage that faced the corner of 17th and Alberta St. The owner of Studio 1627 was a sort of salty guy, but what sold me was when he told me he would always maintain this space for artists. A true supporter of the art community. I signed and put a deposit down that day and immediately went to work cleaning it up. We designed the space with two artist workstations, a gallery area, and a small storefront display area in the middle. All that was left to do was learn how to fuse glass.

Using the book mentioned earlier, some notes my partner made when he dabbled with fusing, and a set of glass-cutting tools, I started playing and instantly fell in love!

At the center of the Alberta St arts movement.

When we opened our doors to the public, Portland was a buzz about the area becoming the “Alberta Arts District.” Every last Thursday of the month throughout the summer hundreds of artists would show up, block off the street, and set up their crafts hoping to sell their creations. There was no supporting organization running things and it didn’t cost anyone anything to display and sell their art, so it was an eclectic and wild west artist vibe. We were now creating art in the most popular artist community in the city of Portland. Crowds filled the street, there had to be over 10,000 people wandering around and more than 1000 of them would wade through our tiny space every month.

During my time at TPB, I met and befriended some incredible artists, taught glass fusing classes, and collaborated with other artists. Together we created a community of arts and crafters who showed their works in the TPB gallery and within the walls of Studio 1627. I made hundreds of pieces of jewelry and developed custom products like sushi dish sets, clocks, and fine art. I quickly became obsessed and glass became my favorite creative medium to work with.

Everything changes when you least expect it.

Just when we least expected it, the abrupt economic crash in December of 2008 sent me back to the corporate world doing marketing. I packed up my tools, all the raw Bullseye glass I had on hand, and the products I had not sold yet, and hung it all up. The kiln was repurposed for my partner to use so he could continue TPB on his own.

I truly missed the creativity and collaboration that came from that experience. Over the years, I thought about getting my hands on a new kiln so I could create glass art again. Those dreams faded as the years went on and I pursued my professional career. My love of the glass arts became a part of my past.

Your calling is calling, aren’t you going to answer that?

If you’ve been following my creative journey, you already know how I came back into the creative world again after 15 years away. You can read the whole story here. To quickly summarize, during my pandemic burnout recovery, I realized one of my happiest memories was when I was creating art full-time. A discovery I made while participating in Tony Robbins’ personal development programs. One of the program benefits was to work with a professional coach. This was the critical point where I was able to get the guidance I needed and realign myself with my true calling. I began this creative journey by sketching a series of backyard birds inspired by Mother Nature’s small wonders. Not long after the creative faucet had been turned on, my passion for fusing glass came rushing back.

This summer, I started seeking out ways to get back into creating glass art again. I reached out to my old TPB partner and was able to acquire the very same Skutt kiln I used 15 years ago. I unpacked the Bullseye glass, tools, and old glass products I had been storing all this time and felt the excitement pulsing into my heart. With the support of my incredible husband Daniel, we created the Lucky Starz Studio in our home and I got back to what I loved once again!

The only “work” I’ve ever truly loved.

Of course, there have been a few setbacks along the way (I’ll save those fun moments for another day), and I’m sure there will be others in the future, but let me just say this, I believe when you follow your true calling the universe shows you signs and thoroughly tests your commitment. I’m proud to say whatever the obstacles, I’ll never stop creating art again! I hope this inspires all those who read this. Never stop doing what you love. Have faith that there is a way through the darkness and that creativity is key to the path through any challenge in life.

I’ve started unveiling some of the original TPB glass art, sushi dish sets, clocks, and jewelry that have been hidden all these years. Several TPB items will be added to my online store over the next couple of weeks, a few are there already. Don’t forget to follow Lucky Starz on social media and subscribe to the newsletters to get these updates in your inbox.

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming out of hiding.

NOTE: Several of This Place Blows (TPB) glass products shown above require a little work before they can be published for sale, but if you’re interested in claiming any of them, please connect with me here.