That Time A Muffin Went To A Glass Studio

Good Evening Sleepy Muffin Readers!

Tins of colored glass

So I don't know if you knew this, but aside from Muffin's being sleepy (they are even more sleepy after a long weekend full of tasty leftovers) they are also very curious. My curiosity prompted us to attend the Near Southside Art Goggle a little while back and we happened to stumble upon SiNaCa Studios while listening to the Whiskey Folk Ramblers perform (awesome band might I add). SiNaCa studios we soon discovered, is a school of glass with an adjacent gallery that showcases artist's creations.

Fast forward to this past weekend: the in-laws were in town and I was trying to think of someplace we could check out that was not a mall or something "usual" and would interest everyone. Since we happened to be in the area, I suggested that we go check out SiNaCa- I just wasn't expecting anyone to be working with glass while we were there!

Kevin McGhee working with the beginnings of a blown bowl

As soon as we walked into the gallery, I was already checking out the next room where they had the kilns running (See? Muffin curiosity at its finest right there). We immediately were invited to go over and catch some of the action going on inside as they worked with molten glass.Of course, I didn't need a second invitation and made my way over - woohoo!

In a nutshell, we were absolutely amazed that these guys start off with a small blob of virgin (clear) glass, and after adding in pieces of colored glass it eventually turns into this breathtaking piece of art.Of course, what kind of post would this be if I didnt elaborate on the process?

As we watched the guys form their piece, our visit made me realize that to make a single bowl, it could easily be a two-man process and both people needed a good amount of skill and trust in each other. Especially when one person is blowing the glass through a special pipe and the other person is rolling that same pipe to make sure the glass is distributed evenly.

See that bowl forming?

Once the blob had been blown a small bit, it would be reinserted into the kiln, taken out, have colored glass added, formed, and the process would be repeated until it reached the ideal color content they desired and the appropriate size for them to start forming the bowl. Unfortunately, I was so fascinated by the process and what was going on that the details are starting to become a little fuzzy (sorry).

One thing Kevin or his associate Clifton mentioned, was that when they're forming a piece, they water the tools they use to keep the temperature down which in turn, prevents the glass from sticking to their tools, thus allowing them to form their pieces  however way they want. They also said that there are many things that could be used as a tool to help form the hot glass such as a mold, a wood paddle or even a pad made out of wet newspapers provided they were wet and the temperature was kept down low enough that the glass wouldn't stick to it.
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After a certain point, they opened up the hole that would become the bowl's opening using centrifugal force and gravity to give the bowl its height and shape.Clifton mentioned that this method is ideal for forming the bowl, however if your glass is too thin it can mess up the overall shape of the bowl or it can even cause your project to come off the pipe and end up as a mess on the floor.

As you can see from the pictures, that bowl has already started developing some really beautiful color patterns and it wasnt even completed yet. They showed us that hot colored glass will change in color over the time it cools so that you never know what the end result will look like until the piece has completely cooled. Meaning, that sometimes a piece might not look very nice when they complete it, but after it has cooled it might had developed some amazing unique color patterns that they were not expecting.

Kevin and Clifton (right) working together on the blown bowl

Sadly, our demonstration ended after a while - but we stuck around and chatted with Clifton about SiNaCa itself and discovered that it is a non-profit organization that is available to anyone in the community who wants to hone their skill in glass working from beginners to seasoned experts. As you can guess, the pieces available in their gallery were made by many of the artists who use the facilities at SiNaCa. I also discovered that you can take a number of different classes to try your hand at working with glass to make your own creations.  I truly felt like a small child in a huge toy shop - there was so much to look at and take in.

Overall - visiting SiNaCa Studios was truly an amazing, amazing experience, I really can't say enough good things about this place. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful - if you're ever in the area, stop by say hi and help support this local spot! I cant wait to sign my husband up for one of their classes or even try my hand at glass working myself.

Until next time!


The Little Sleepy Muffin


P.S:  I want to thank Kevin, Clifton, and the staff at SiNaCa for the wonderful time and experience we had at your studio this past weekend. Thank you for answering all our questions and allowing me to take photos. My only regret was that my photos cannot do your work justice.

Bar-B-Cation

Good Evening Sleepy Muffin Readers!

I mentioned in my last post that we went to Austin on a short weekend trip. Well, the reason for the trip was a mini vacation to the 2nd annual Texas Monthly BBQ festival. My husband dubbed the trip a Bar-B-Cation since our main focus of the trip was some of the most amazing, succulent BBQ I've ever tasted in my life in cause you were wondering about my odd title this week.

The excitement in the air that day was almost palatable. Wait...that might have actually been the smell of slow cooked meat in the air. Regardless, everyone from the event coordinators, to the pit bosses, to regular attendees like myself were super excited about this event and ready to declare to the world their love of barbecued meats.




Prior to the event starting, we wandered over to some of the vendors parked along the edge of the event area to scope out all the different types of custom grills and see the pit bosses in action. One of the pit bosses (Boss's BBQ) even allowed us onto his trailer to view his kitchen setup and rotating grill up close.After checking out all the grills and posing for a few pictures we decided to head back to the line to wait for the event to actually begin.

BBQ Sauce in a baby bottle? Yes please!

At exactly 1:00pm, the event coordinators finally let us in (we just happened to be first in line - yay!) and the feast of ribs, brisket, and sausage was on. Our game plan was to start at one end and work our way around only sampling each vendor unless we absolutely loved their meats. I hate to be wasteful in that sense but considering there were 24 vendors at this event and some also provided sides in addition to their meats it made sense to try and pace ourselves.

The absolute best overall BBQ we tried in our opinion was from Franklin's in Austin (they actually won the people's choice award for brisket this year too). In addition to some amazing BBQ they also made this wonderful espresso bbq sauce that paired very nicely with their meats. I was such a fan I had to purchase a BBQ t-shirt from them to add to my growing collection of restaurant t-shirts. A few of the other things we tried there was corn pudding from Wild Blue, sausage from Smitty's, and some tasty brisket and ribs from Baby J's.

With so many vendors to visit and so many people moving around  I ended up running around with BBQ sauce smeared on my face unashamedly for a while. Sadly, I think we barely made it 3/4 of the way through all the vendors before we called it quits but not before I got myself a vanilla fried pie for dessert.  I am a rabid fan of the fried pie, however I've never tried a vanilla pie before because it just seemed a little too plain. I was completely wrong: this baby was just the right amount of sweet to offset all the smokey goodness we had just gleefully consumed.

After a few hours at the event, we went to the Bob Bullock History Museum to walk off the huge meal we just finished which is also where I found that cute tote I used in the DIY tote pillow project. The museum consisted of three stories of nicely put together and very well presented exhibits. The only downside I can say was that there were not enough areas for a pregger Muffin to sit down and rest her poor feet at. Thank God for those little video features they had scattered throughout the museum. Believe me: I watched them all.

Finally, we decided to head back home but not before getting some ice cream at Lick, a new ice creamery that opened just recently. We got to sample flavors such as Bacon, Beet, Sweet Corn, and Butternut Squash before deciding on 2 scoops of Cilantro Lime ice cream,  a scoop of pumpkin pie, and a scoop of grapefruit and ginger ice cream. My absolute favorite turned out to be the Cilantro lime ice cream because it was so light and refreshing. It also doesn't hurt that I'm a huge fan of cilantro and tend to use it very generously in my own cooking.

Overall, it was a fantastic (although, short) foodie vacation. We left Austin smelling like smoke and happy as a clam. We're already planning on making this event into a yearly family tradition when the little tummy monkey decides to arrive. I can't wait to see what's in store next year.

A quick weekend blurb

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. I know we definitely did.

Sunday Mornings in East Texas

It was fairly busy, however definitely worth it. Lets just say after the first evening this little muffin was already wiped out.

On Friday, we packed up everyone (my husband, myself, and our two puppies) and went to East Texas to go see my husband's family for my niece's first birthday party. We got to send some nice quality time with my mother-in-law and his brother and family. I also got the most amazing crocheted baby afghan and an adorable glow in the dark bug t-shirt from her for Reuben!

Oh! Side note: Our first little muffin-lette Reuben is due in February for this coming year.Unlike me, he's not a very sleepy little guy and is fairly active right now. We just can't wait to include him in all the adventures we have.

my husband Randall with the buffalo

Speaking of adventures.......my husband was trying to pick a fight with the poor buffalo head at a Mexican restaurant we went to Saturday night. I think it ended in a stalemate.If it weren't for my husband, my life would be so boring. That's part of why I love him so much.

So, later on our way home, we were planning on swinging by the Texas State Veggie Fair (http://texasstateveggiefair.com/) at White Rock Lake.  As we got closer to home we decided to pass on it after all since we had already been on the road for 3 hours or so and we needed to get the puppies home. Sigh.....there's always next year.

Did I mention that I got some vintage bedding from my mom for Roo this weekend also?!? I was so thrilled when she showed me all the goodies she had saved when my brother and I were infants - I had a hard time choosing which pieces I wanted. I think if I could I'd squirrel away each and every piece. She had this amazing jungle print set from Ward's that was brand new in the package still that I snatched up in an instant. Yay! I'll definitely be posting a few pictures of them when she's able to get them to me.

That's all I have for now,

Have a great week everyone!

The Little Sleepy Muffin