I was thinking about life here at the Hot Shop. You know, glass blowing, teaching others, and boldly going where I’ve not gone before. Just the usual stuff. Anyway, it reminded me of a line from a Bob Dylan song. It went like this “Man not busy being born is busy dying.” And that, in turn, reminded me of the first time my mother-in-law came to the hot shop and watched what we do here. She said something like this, “Oh my, what you all are doing is wonderful…It’s so beautiful. It’s like giving birth.”

Perhaps she was right. At times the ideas and efforts flow smoothly, and at other times it is hard work. I suppose, in our own way, you could say we create our little bundles of joy five days a week. It is exhausting at times and, at others, very rewarding. You know, kinda like raising kids…only not as expensive, or perhaps more so.

–Michael Kerry Brown