Happy Valentine’s Day by Patty

Love and challenges. I learned a little something about this recently. Sometimes love can really be challenging, and in many different ways.

I was doing a trunk show recently, and a woman saw one of my vessel pendants. Casually, she asked if I could make one in a heart shape. Intrigued, I said that I would try, not really sure how I would go about this challenge.

She went on to explain that not long ago her son, who was in his early twenties, suddenly died, and she wanted a vessel to put some of his ashes in so she could carry him with her always. Of course this made me even more determined that I would create a vessel for her that is worthy of it’s duty.

This was definitely a challenge to figure out how to make the shape out of a blown vessel. It took me several attempts and a couple of weeks, but I finally got it to work out. Here are some of the “prototypes”:

The first one I tried in boro and it didn’t quite work. The second one in soft glass wasn’t any better and I didn’t even bother to put handles on it. (There were a couple of other attempts that aren’t even worth photographing!) I was getting really frustrated until the third one, and the shape came out nicely, but unfortunately it had collapsed down too much and is not hollow. Finally on a roll, I created these two:

Now this is what I’m talking about! She chose the one on the right, which is a little smaller than the left. Seeing the bittersweet look in her eyes was justification for all the effort I put into this.

While I was working on this challenge, I thought about how loving can really be a challenge. Whether it be a spouse, significant other, child or pet, loving comes with definite ups and downs. What my client just went through definitely makes one think if it’s even worth it to risk loving. Fortunately for most of us, our hearts won’t let us choose – it tells us that without loss, we may never appreciate the love we share with the targets of our affection.

Many of us will tell our loved ones today that they are loved. But let’s not let that end with just today. Take every opportunity to tell the special ones around you that you love them and that they mean a lot to you.

So to you I say: “I love you and you are very special to me!”