an evening spent creating glass bottles at a chicago-based glassblowing studio

my ever-growing collection of antique american soda bottles and my persistent and/or obsessive privy digging engagements are firmly planted (for better or for worse) in the day-to-day living with my significant other. recently she surprised me with an unbelievably thoughtful "couple activity," in which we visited a glassblowing studio to learn firsthand how to create our own glass bottles.

at the helm was instructor and glass artist alex krueger, who patiently guided nancy and i through the various steps required to turn a blob of molten glass into a bottle that, at least in theory, would resemble the numerous bottles i've recovered from privy vaults and/or dig sites around chicago.

despite our best efforts, the bottle we created (largely on our own) is comical in appearance and proportion. it was our first attempt though, and most importantly, we made it together. as a result, it is one of the most cherished bottles in my collection. in fact, it commanded a prominent spot under a glass dome on our bedside table.

i hope to eventually develop enough skill to blow glass bottles with pontiled bases and applied tops in a variety of colors that are period appropriate. if i can find a way to have hinged molds and slug plates fabricated, i could conceivably crank out more bottles, which would allow me to experiment with applying crudities, embossed lettering and even designs. this very well may be wishful thinking, but at the very least, it was well worth the time to experience firsthand how to handle molten glass, add color, and with the air from my lungs, create a bottle similar to the ones i spend countless hours searching for buried underground.

the photogallery below represents a collection of images taken by nancy and i during our time at the glassblowing studio.