When Life Gives you Lemons....Make Lemonade!!!: 43 List # 30 Glass Blowing.

My Journey on a Break from Ironman. Sometimes, life just tells you, you need a break. So this year. After a long year of training in 2016. I’ve given myself permission to not do an Ironman for 2017. It was a tough decision. Because I think I have been using Ironman training as a way to cope and avoid a lot of other things in my life. I used it as a way to not fully engage in life, and the things that I’ve not allowed myself to think about because I’ve been to scared to admit them to myself. So this year, is my “Year of Taking Control of the Basics”. My Health, My Wealth, and my Happiness.

43 List #30 Take a Glass Blowing Class.

So one of the things I've always wanted to try for years, is a glass blowing class. When I lived back in AZ, I always thought it would be fun to try. Of course, my amazing time training from Ironman prevented me from thinking about doing it. So, I added it to my 43 List immediately.

I had learned that there was a glass blowing place in Reno a few months ago, so I looked it up and contacted them about a month and a half ago. But no response. Then, my friend Jen and I went to the Sculpture Festival in May, we ran into an artist named Peter Hazel who happen to be familiar with Burnt Knuckle Glass, who offers classes. He had on display a really cool "jellyfish" sculpture that once we learned more, was actually one of the main pieces to be displayed for Burning Man in 2017, this September. So then after further discussion we found out, if we did the class, then we would have an opportunity to help make some of the pieces for his sculpture, BLOOM, which will be about 4 stories tall. So....here were are, on a Tuesday night, getting the chance to learn about glass work, helping create some of the pieces to put the sculpture together, some crazy number like over 800 pieces will need to be completed, and then we got the chance to make a piece for ourselves. Those pieces are currently cooling down for the night and we will be able to pick them up tomorrow. In the mean time, here is some photos of the fun we had. They are holding a fund raiser this week to help continue to pay for all the pieces. How exciting is it, to get the chance to actually do some glass work, and then have the knowledge that you helped make pieces that will go on a Burning Man Sculpture. I'm looking forward to hopefully helping out a few more times for the fun of it. There is more to this story.... To be Continued!