The T. C. Wheaton & Co. Glass Works Wheaton Village, NJ

Mom, Dad and Donna took Maggie and me on a mystery ride that involved my birthday present. We arrived at Wheaton Village, a community specializing in glass works and crafts. I was signed up to make my own glass paperweight! Inside the building is a huge gas furnace with multiple openings.

Joe Mattson, my teacher, was giving a demonstration on blown glass. He is blowing the glass into a form, then opening up the top, and finally spinning the piece to create a bowl. He is one of the resident artists.

Joe supervises as I roll molten glass into a tubular shape. Then, after it is reheated I dip it into the three color piles, light blue, dark blue and white.

The piece is then reheated to bond the colors with the clear glass. Now I have a glass tube with stripes of color on the sides.

We reheated the glass, and as Joe turns the rod I grasp the end with a pair of pliers. Slowly I pulled the end out to swirl the colors, then brought it back to form a jumble of colors, like spaghetti. Another reheating forms it back to a round shape, and then a layer of clear glass is added.

A cherry wood form soaked in water rounds out the glass, then compressed air is used to cool it off. The finished piece still has red molten swirls inside.

The glass is scored at the base, then placed onto a stand. A sharp tap with a pipe on the rod separates the ball from the base. After 24 hours cooling in an annealing oven, the finished paperweight is ready to go home. A unique birthday present with a special meaning. Thanks, Mom & Dad!