I am giving thanks to paperweight lovers across the world this month. Paperweight collectors are some of the nicest people you can meet and they live among. They are everywhere and have come to appreciate glass paperweights in many different ways. Some remember a paperweight their grandmother had that they could touch only if being very careful. Some were attracted while pursuing antiques. Others were offered the opportunity to attend a paperweight collectors meeting with a friend.  These collectors form a community of people who love art, are willing to purchase it, and love meeting and visiting with anyone who shows the remotest interest in glass. They seem to love to travel as well; willing to go miles out of their way to visit a glass studio or find a museum, or even attend a paperweight collectors meeting.

Of course, paperweight collectors would have a difficult time being satisfied in life without paperweight artists, so we are very grateful for these unique and talented individuals who come into our lives, inspire our vision, and share their art with us.

Paperweight artists seem to be givers, contributing back to their communities by donating their art for fundraisers, contributing their talents as teachers and lecturers, and contributing to professional glass associations as professional artists.  All the while, they are figuring out how to support their families with their passion for glass paperweight making, fostering the inner glow of creativity within themselves that makes them successful, and remaining diligent and careful to stay alert and healthy when working with hot, and I do mean hot, glass working it on the end of long rods or within inches of their eyes.

Another group to give thanks to is the group of people we call paperweight dealers. A number of them are registered with the association called PCA, Inc. These special people are are well educated about paperweights, freely pass on their knowledge to others, travel to conferences and meetings often bringing artists with them, and sometimes have promoted artists in ways that boost their art to the point of having recognition around the world. Thank you.

The highest honor that I can imagine is to have your art purchased and placed in public museums for many visitors to see curated with explanations about the history, the tools, and the technology that the artist has applied to their work. Museums like the Corning Museum of Glass (NY), the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass (WI), Chrysler Museum of Art (VA), Chicago Art Institute (IL), and many others around the world enlighten and educate all of their visitors, offer Facebook pages, YouTube Videos, and websites that help everyone understand how the glass paperweight is made.  We are grateful for the work museums do, the research libraries, the authors of books on paperweights, and  the many elements that inspire us all to appreciate this art form.

Paperweight by David Graeber – American Bounty – David will be the guest artist at the PCA TX meeting March 4, 2017 in Houston, Texas.

Some glass paperweight artists are so good at matching seasons. This article features several paperweight artists whose work evokes summertime!

Jim D’Onofrio, is described as providing us with three-dimensional snapshots of people, animals, and creatures that let our imaginations tell us what they are. He describes himself as a storyteller in glass and certainly his stories are many and varied. In this paperweight, two dogs are featured being playful outdoors while whispy clouds float overhead in the blue sky. But wait! Perhaps we are seeing a large cat and a dog on a raft in this story!

Melissa Ayotte brings summer to life with flowers. The red poppy in this paperweight is exceptionally brilliant and matched with blue, white, orange, pink, and gold stems of various flowers. Anyone would be pleased to have this bouquet on their table this summer. You may hear Melissa speak about her work being a container of light that gives us the opportunity to reflect on nature and the natural world and in this case focus on the flowers and beautifully shaped bouquet. Melissa brought this image to life in 2012.

Both Jim and Melissa worked with accomplished artist Paul Stankard in his New Jersey studio; Jim in the 1980s and Melissa in early 2000.

Hot pinks are always great in the summertime. Take a look at this paperweight with hot pink and hotter pink accented with three white flowers containing bright yellow centers. Anyone would enjoy sitting in the shade with a cold lemonade in one hand and the opportunity to hold and enjoy this paperweight in the other.