A Road Less Travelled

When we went to Silver Dollar City James was clear that there were two non-negotiables- the blacksmith demonstration and the glassblower demonstration. We were on our way out of the park when James remembered about the blacksmith, but we made sure we saw the glassblower on our first day.

I’d seen a glassblower demonstration once before at a Renaissance fair, but the crowd was bigger and there wasn’t really a chance for questions. When this demonstration started we were the only ones watching, thought that still makes for quite a crowd in most people’s estimation. The glassblower told us that he majored in theater and history in college so he can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. He was very good about answering our questions and even let the children pick the color of the piece he was making.

I love watching someone do something he loves. I also love watching someone do something he excels at. This man has been making glassware for 32 years and he loves doing it. I watched him manipulate molten glass that was between 2000 and 2400 degrees hot with ease. He made it look so easy I started thinking “Hey, I could do that.” Then I started thinking about the level of heat and care required and I returned to my senses. But watching him was a joy.

Towards the beginning of the demonstration I asked a question I have wondered for years. How, I asked, does one go about making a plate? I’d seen a vase made and understood how cylindrical shapes were made, but I was totally lost as to how a cylinder became flat. The glassblower said that he would make this piece into a plate just so he could show me how it was done. I was flattered. He made a beautiful plate with a wavy edge on a small pedestal. The main color was cranberry red as chosen by Samuel Lansberry and the accent color was blue which was Moriah’s choice. When the plate was finished I asked a question I had been pondering purely for curiosity’s sake. “How much will you sell it for?”, I asked, expecting something in the neighborhood of fifty to sixty dollars. He said that they would probably price it between thirty-five to forty dollars.

I sat back and thought for a bit. I had forty dollars. I had forty dollars that were set aside to spend on this vacation. How many times in my life would I be able to buy a plate made by a master craftsman at my request? So I beat up James and James’s mom and asked the glassblower to hold the plate for me. It had to cool for fifteen hours so I was supposed to come back around noon and buy it.

I was excited for several hours. Well, I would have been, but I got distracted. But whenever I remembered to be I was excited. The next day I went back to the store with Raquel and asked for the cranberry red plate. The glassblower remembered me and signed the bottom of the plate for me. They wrapped it in tissue paper, newspaper, and then bubble wrap. When I paid for the plate they told me it was twenty-three dollars. I was shocked. Twenty-three dollars is not a lot of money to pay for something so pretty. I paid it gladly and talked about it for the rest of the day. When I stopped by the shop at the end of the day to pick my plate up I bought a bright orange vase I’d fallen in love with, too. James’s parents offered to transport my purchases home in their RV so I wouldn’t have to pack it into a van with ten people.

I now have a handcrafted glass plate in my room. I have no idea what I’m going to do with it, but it was made for me and now it’s mine. It is by far the best souvenir I’ve ever bought.

Oh, and the blacksmith demonstration was cool, too.