Fused Glass Ornaments and Tiles!

I don't get too many opportunities to double up the material I am writing about on this blog with the subject matter for the blog I write for my mother-in-law's fused glass art (www.anncavanaugh.com), but I am going to take advantage!  My mother-in-law, Ann Cavanaugh, is a fantastic fused glass artist. She invited our kids to her studio, along with the kids of several of her friends, to make Christmas ornaments.  I've written about the process on her blog here, but I thought I'd give a little sneak-peek right here.

The kids made these lovely tree ornaments (The Boy's are in the top row, and Little Sister's are the bottom row):

They also made these stars.  We're using them like decorative trivets.

by Little Sister

By The Boy

They took it so seriously!  I had to swallow my worries about my two- and four-year-old using tiny pieces of glass and superglue and let them at it, because they had such a good time and were being so very careful.

Putting the final touches on her masterpiece

I mean, I only had to tell Little Sister to take the chunk of glass out of her mouth once.  (Yes, that really happened).

The Boy's finished work, awaiting the kiln

My favorite part of the day was making glass tiles.  I supervised Little Sister making hers with the abandon that only a two-year-old possesses, dumping any mix of colors and textures she could get her hands on into the glass tray Ann had provided.  Colby oversaw The Boy's methodical placement of glass pebbles and colored glass sprinkles in his frame.  And I even got to make one myself!

My snowy woods

The Boy's careful placement

Little Sister's wild mix

 And afterwards, we got to play in the woods and explore Grandma Ann's property!  Such a great day.

The Boy in the bamboo forest

That's not a leaf.  THIS is a leaf.

If you have a chance, you should totally check out Ann's work on the website I've been putting together for her.  The gallery page shows off a bunch of her newer pieces, and there's info on taking classes and current events as well.  You can like her on Facebook too!