Handkerchief Vase and Memories of Hankies

Handkerchief VaseYou don’t see a lot of people using handkerchiefs these days. But I can remember when I was a child I had one in my little Sunday purse. My father always carried one in his pants pocket, and still does to this day. In his case, it was often used to stop bleeding. If you work with glass, you are going to bleed. My mother always had one at the ready too. Hers was the scary one! You never knew when she’d whip that hankie out, dampen it on her tongue, and wipe my messy face. Yes! Yuck! Now that I think about it, it was usually in the car on the way to visit my grandparents. I’ll bet I’m not the only one with that experience.

Picture a handkerchief pinched in the middle hanging down. A handkerchief vase replicates these soft folds of fabric.  It is made by placing a flat piece of glass over a mold and firing it in a kiln. Once the glass heats up enough it starts to bend and drape over the mold. At that point, I check on it every few minutes to decide when it is done. Done means whatever look I am going for. Then it’s a matter of cooling down the glass slowly so it doesn’t crack. No two are ever exactly alike.

Soft Folds of Handkerchief VaseThe vase pictured here is done with a beautiful glass in burnt orange tones. It’s a great color all year round, but especially now for the fall. The thing I love about handkerchief vases is that because of its shape, the flowers arrange themselves. One other way to use a handkerchief vase is to place a small votive candle in the bottom. Even empty this vase would be a great eye catcher in any room. This piece is available for a sale in my 1000Markets shop. Click on the picture of the vase to go to my shop.

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