Glassblowing is very physical. You have to be in the right state of mind before beginning a piece. It takes total concentration and about two hours for Rick to work on a sculptural piece, along with the help of an assistant. You can see that he is not much help in the office, however!
Happy day after Thanksgivng! We are grateful for all who came out to our studio for a wonderful day. Lots of favorite shoppers came out for their annual ornaments! Amara, our newest elf, helped all day while Matt made an outstanding goblet with the help of Lindsay and Rick hot sculpted a figure and a torso. First time he has been brave enough to sculpt in public! It takes intense concentration. We'll be blowing now every weekend up to Christmas so let the Holidays begin!
Thank you to all who supported the Autumn Art Studios Tour. It was a beautiful weekend! Matt was with us from San Jose State making his special delicate vessels while Roxie, the cat, supervised packing in the back room!
The Autumn Art Studios Tour Preview show looks great inside the old High Hand fruit packing shed. Not an easy one to set up, but the result is amazing. The old packing boxes add to the ambiance. High Hand Gallery has a new store front. Three local wineries just set up shop and a candle making store is almost complete. High Hand always has something new to discover. Many people walked through that hadn't heard about the tour while I was there so good connections were made!
Co-Owner of Nicholson Blown Glass since 1979. Rick studied glass at the University of Southern California and was a TA at Pilchuck Glass School for Dale Chihuly and Fritz Dreisbach in 1981.
I left my photographer position at the USC in 1979 to freelance and create designs on Rick’s clay forms. We were married the same year, and our artistic collaboration began. By 1982, we concentrated on glassblowing and moved to nine acres in Auburn, California where we raised two daughters, now in college.
Our works involve figurative sculpture, sculptural lighting, and multiple piece wall and ceiling installations. Recent projects include a 10-piece wall for the BMI lobby in New York City; two wall installations for the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Shenzhen, China; a 21-piece wall installation for the lobby of Weil, Gotschal and Manges International Law Firm in Dallas, Texas; a 17- piece wall installation for Kaiser Hospital in Roseville, California; multiple glass and steel sculptures for M Resort in Henderson, NV and two Torsos for the 4 Points Hotel in Guangzhou, China. While Rick does the hand blown work, I am the color and design part of our collaboration.