Unusual Gift Ideas

Mad River Watercolor Pond Bowl

George Bucquet
22” Diameter x 3.5” Height
Hot cast glass Watercolor Pond Bowl with metal leaf imagery.
George Bucquet creates contemporary, hand formed cast glass imagery that is both meditative and visually stimulating. His unique and elegant bowl forms gracefully capture motion and depth while appearing to emit light from within. The heirloom quality of Bucquet’s solidly rich sculptures is an uplifting addition to any style home. Each bowl is skillfully hand detailed with copper, silver, and gold leaf.  The Watercolor Pond Bowl in particular has the essence of an actual Koi pond, with the fish peering up from beneath and the surface containing the ripple effect of water.

Kenny Pieper Tall Satellite Series Vase

28” Tall x 10” Diameter Hand-blown glass, Reticello and Primavera Vase.
Tall Satellite Series Vase.
Kenny Pieper’s work combines contemporary design with traditional techniques which creates a striking sculptural vessel. The central element, which resembles black marble, is achieved by utilizing an Italian technique named Primavera and blends beautifully with the complex patterns of Reticello cane work. Reticello is another Italian technique where color rods are picked up, twisted in one direction, and blown in the shape of a cup. A second cup is made with the rods twisted in the opposite direction. Kenny then drops that cup inside the first, which creates tiny bubbles within the diamond shape where the two cups come together.

Laser Glass Shell

6 “ Diameter Hand cast dichroic glass and crystal shell.
Each one of Laser Glass Art’s Inner Glow Collection shells is comprised of 45% leaded crystal. They are individually hand-cast from actual seashells and contain a specialized, dichroic coating which gives them their unique inner glow. Dichroic glass is manufactured by evaporating extremely thin layers of metallic oxides onto glass in a carefully controlled vacuum. The artistic combination of natural shapes and optical coatings characterize their unique products. Dichroic glass is very light reactive, therefore the intensity of the shell’s color varies depending on its surroundings.

Reptilian Paperweight

Tom Philabaum
3” Tall x 3” Diameter Hand-blown iridized and faceted Reptilian Paperweight.
Tom Philabaum has been working with glass since the early 1970’s. He created his Reptilian series around 1983, and shortly thereafter opened his own studio in Tucson. Each paperweight is hand-blown with the interior bubble appearing as if it is suspended within the piece. The paperweights look phenomenal placed on a lighted stand, which will illuminate the piece with a particular emphasis on the interior bubble.

Gartner/Blade Covered Bowl

8” Diameter  Hand-blown Glass Gartner/Blade Covered Bowl with Bone & Tendril finial.
Stephen Gartner and Danielle Blade have been combining their individual ideas, techniques and experiences to create original hand-blown and sculpted glass pieces for over 10 years. The inspiration for many of their pieces comes from their mutual fascination with the use of found objects in the rituals of primitive cultures. In their pieces they hope to convey a reverence for and an understanding of the value of our natural resources. Each hand-blown piece is lidded, meaning the top is removable. Each piece has a very organic yet elegant look.

Ribbed Mini-moon Bowl

George Bucquet
21”D x 6”H x 4 ½”W  Hot cast glass and copper leaf.
George Bucquet creates contemporary, hand formed cast glass imagery that is both meditative and visually stimulating. His unique and elegant bowl forms gracefully capture motion and depth while appearing to emit light from within. The heirloom quality of Bucquet’s solidly rich sculptures is an uplifting addition to any style home. A mold is individually created for each casting and the colored molten glass is melted to 2,350 degrees in a custom built furnace. After several days in the annealing oven, each piece is hand detailed with copper leafing creating a patina finish.

Wine Stopper

Denise York
4 ½ Height Hand-blown glass wine bottle stopper.

Each wine stopper is hand-blown by Dennise York, who lives in El Jebel, Colorado, which is outside of Aspen. Dennise creates each beautiful wine stopper by melting the ends of clear or colored glass rods in the flame of a torch. Then tweezers and other tools are used to sculpt the glass. Her unique sense of color and design make each piece a treasure. The wine stoppers are a perfect gift for a wine connoisseur or for those who want to add something spectacular to their dinner table..

Gartner/Blade
Hand-blown and sculpted glass. 5”Diameter or 8” Diameter MediaStephen Gartner and Danielle Blade have been combining their individual ideas, techniques and experiences to create original hand-blown and sculpted glass pieces for over 10 years. The inspiration for many of their pieces comes from their mutual fascination with the use of found objects in the rituals of primitive cultures. Each Ikebana is a hand-blown Japanese flower vase. The center of the bowl contains solid brass pins which allow the user to display the flowers to their preference, with greater creativity, and for low lying as well as tall arrangements. Each hand-blown bowl is both beautiful and highly functional.