Sea Life Paper Weight, tide pool paper weight, ocean paper weight, torchwork paper popular weight, star fish paperweight

I am inspired to create these sea life sculptures from my childhood experience living in Hawaii and Aruba where my US Naval officer father was stationed. As any kid living in those places I learned to snorkel (skin dive) and eventually scuba dive.
This is a hand-made glass paper weights depicting an underwater feature. I start with clear green tinted glass gathered on the end of a stainless steel rod. When the gather is large enough I encase it with white powdered glass and melted to the surface. Next I apply specific colors of powdered glass and chips of glass selected to visualize the ocean floor. I make the small sea anemone with colored glass encased in clear glass and stretched while hot. I then cool the rods and cut them. I lay them out and attach them to the surface as I sculpt the coral reef. Using a special hand torch I manipulate a drop of color glass into a star fish. This finishes the interior which becomes encased in molten glass. After I remove the piece from the pipe I fire polish the bottom to remove sharp edges. Once annealed, I flatten popular the bottom with a diamond grinder. I then sign each piece.
This piece is approximately 4 inches wide and 3 inches high.