OUCH! That was hot!

Sammi and I took an introduction to glass blowing class last weekend. We learned how to gather glass onto a pole, shape it into a circle and cut it off the pole. We made a marble, and a paperweight. It’s harder than I thought, and the glass is incredibly hot (2000°). Here’s a picture of me gathering glass, and another of Sammi shaping her paperweight.

After taking the glass off the pole it needs to cool down slowly over the course of 24 hours, and then the rough spot, where the glass was cut, needs to be smoothed out. We should get our finished products back this coming weekend.

We worked with two instructors, Alix and Malcom. They were both so excited about what they were doing and quite good at it too.

During the class we took a short break, and Alix used that time to demonstrate some things that you can do with glass. First, she took a “gather” and using a set of heavy duty tweezers turned the glass into a horse. There were six of us in the class. We were all in awe of what she created. As soon as she finished it she knocked the horse off the pole, and it crashed to the floor.

Then she demonstrated glass blowing for us. She took another gather and blew a bit of air into the glass. We watched with rapt attention. She swung the pole around a few times, added more heat, and shaped the glass into a vase. Then she removed the vase from the pole, reattached the vase at what would be the base, and stretched the top for a larger opening. She showed it to us. Again, we were in awe over what she was able to do in just a few minutes. Then she knocked the vase off the pole, and it smashed to the floor.

We asked her how she could do that? After spending time, energy, and resources on two pieces of work she smashed them without a second thought. Her response to us was profound – I don’t let myself get attached to it.

I know there are times when I feel a sense of duty after I invested time and energy into something. It’s almost like I owe something to whatever I created, or idea I thought of, to see it through. I then remind myself that I own my things, my time, and my ideas. They do not own me. I don’t owe them anything. Just because I created or thought of something, doesn’t mean that I must finish it, or do it at all.

How about you? Have you ever spent your time, energy, and resources on something that has the potential to be amazing? Do you force yourself to see those things through even if it isn’t the best thing for you to be doing? Have you gotten attached to things that you’d be better served letting go of? Share your experiences with this in the comments section below.