Glassblowing at Sundance Mountain Resort, Utah

I wrote the following blog post for Sundance Mountain Resort about their awesome glass blowing program. If you ever have a chance to check these artists out, DO IT!

This article originally appeared at www.sundanceresortblog.com.

Sundance’s Recycling Glass Program by Susan Strayer

Beautiful colors mix in a molten sphere as artisans create fragile treasures to inspire and admire.Sundance Mountain Resort boasts one of the nation’s only recycled glass workshops, where Mexican artisans Gustavo Calderón Sr. and Octavio Fidencio Flores mold and shape old bottles into new beautiful creations. This past week I spent some time chatting with them while admiring their work.
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Speaking in their native Spanish, Gustavo explained how the furnace functioned. “We have three ovens here, one melts down old bottles at 2,000 to 2,300 degrees Farenheit. The finishing oven is used to heat the project while we work it, to keep its shape. The final electric oven finishes the glass, lowering the temperature slowly so the piece doesn’t break.”

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All the glassware at Sundance Mountain Resort, from drinking glasses in the cabins to platters at the restaurants, is made on site in the Art Studio’s glassblower workshop. Pitchers, glasses, platters, vases, wish balls, and beautiful ornaments are created here. Whatever is not in use in the restaurants is on display in the Art Studio Gallery in a colorful array like a stained glass window.
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“Glass blowing is about teamwork,” said Octavio. “I blow and shape the glass to give it the form and Gustavo finishes. We always make new things, so it never gets boring.” As I watched Octavio take a glowing glob out of the furnace, I could see he was right. The pole he used was like a big straw and he could blow into one end to inflate the glob into a sphere. Gustavo was on hand to add colorful shards into the pole before Octavio put the piece into the second oven. Then like dominoes falling into place Gustavo was ready to snip the globe, finish the wish ball ornament and place it into the final oven. It was like watching a well rehearsed dance with both people anticipating their partners’ next move.
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“We have to work quickly with recycled glass,” Gustavo explained. “It’s harder to bend. With new glass workers could take up to an hour to make a platter. With recycled glass we have maybe ten minutes.”
 He explained that it takes up to ten bottles to make one drinking glass because of the quality and thickness of the materials. Empty wine bottles from the restaurants and soda bottles from the deli are collected at the resort and turned into new glassware and décor. Even local homeowners like myself have been known to leave their used bottles from time to time.
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Both Gustavo and Octavio hail from Guadalajara, Mexico where there is a strong glass blowing tradition. For the last thirteen years, this pair has left families at home to share that tradition withSundance Mountain Resort guests. Working next to furnaces of several thousand degrees can’t be easy but when I asked how they managed the heat they just shrugged and said, “Your body get used to it.”
To see these artists in residence in action, stroll past the workshop Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm May to January. You won’t be disappointed. Glassware can be purchased in the Sundance Art Studio.
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Susan Strayer is a resident of Sundance and an outdoors enthusiast. Read more of her outdoor adventures at www.mountainmomandtots.com.

Cross Country Skiing with Kids

Last week I decided to take the tots cross country skiing. And I learned something. Cross country skiing with kids is tough. Thanks to the help of the Sundance Nordic Center staff I was able to get some of these photos to share with you.  Here are some thoughts from the day.

Lowered Expectations

First, for some reason I was not expecting Big E to have such a hard time. I don’t know what I was thinking, but it’s no surprise that an almost 4-year-old with no previous experience spent a lot of time on the snow and less time on the skis.

Continue reading “Cross Country Skiing with Kids”

Sundance Resort Opening Weekend

It finally snowed a good 8 inches and it was glorious. Shoveling the deck and figuring out how to use the snowblower, two awful tasks in my opinion, were actually pleasant this morning because of the beautiful blanket of white on everything. Now, snow in and of itself isn’t actually that amazing – its what you can do with it that truly inspires. Snowboarding!

Sundance Resort opened this weekend with limited access. Ray’s Lift to Midway and the tow rope were the only lifts open. I’m a back mountain rider so normally the limited access would have dampened my snowboarding spirits. But not today. The wait had just been too long from last season, plus the weather was perfect.

The flakes fell fat and slow all day, leaving powder caches along even the bunny slope. Strapping on my board for the first run of the season, I felt the nerves building. Would I remember how this all worked or would I find myself sprawled out on the snow like a newbie?

I took the first few turns nice and slow. A smile came unbidden to my face and could have giggled with glee at the feeling of sliding down the mountain again. My speed picked up and my body remembered all the movements it had no use for since April. Soon, I felt like an old pro, the queen of the mountain. I had forgotten how much fun it is to snowboard.

Now I’m hooked once again to this crazy sport. I’ve gotta say, I’m looking forward to a great season!

Red, Yellow, Green and All Colors Between

On a hike this past Sunday the whole fam got out to enjoy the fall colors. Little g did good in the pack, probably because Mountain Dad had her this time. In the pack with me is another story. The trail we did was the Sundance trail to Stewart Falls. I love hiking this trail, even though I have yet to make it to the falls with the tots. It’s nice because there’s a river that runs alongside for a while, a great distraction for tired tiny hikers. This time of year is especially nice since the colors exploded on the scene. Looking at the mountainside, it’s as if Monet painted an amazing impressionist painting using treetops as brushstrokes.