Illinois couple makes art with glass

SHELBYVILLE— A kiln, some empty bottles, patience and plenty of free time helped create a hobby-turned-business for a Shelbyville couple.

Mike and Pat Macklin found ideas to create such things as wall décors, lamps and serving dishes using a practice of heating bottles called “glass slumping.”

The Macklins, who call their operation Pat & Mike’s, now display and sell their artsy creations in locations such as BJs Antiques, Sullivan; Country School Market, Findlay; JK Stuff N Things and Simply Yours, both in Shelbyville.

The once-booze bottles are converted and/or slumped into useful and decorative items simply by heating and decorating.

They have made things such as wall hangings, ashtrays, dip bowls, bottle trees, spoon rests, and lamps and bottle lights.

Plans are being made to make clocks out of bottles that once held wine, whisky, beer, vodka and other similar alcoholic drinks.

Their most recent creation was a hummingbird feeder that is now being used at their rural Shelbyville home.

It all began with some free time and a desire to learn a new trade.

“I had been a hairdresser for 25 years. We shut down the business in 2005, when the economy got bad. Then I injured myself when I fell on ice, which resulted in a broken shoulder and a broken foot,” Mrs. Macklin said. She recuperated at home for eight months.

Macklin also was retired due to health reasons after being treated for throat cancer. He had worked for Shelby Electric for 30 years.

“I had so much time on my hands and I was looking for something that interested me. I bought the kiln in September 2011. When we bought the kiln, we didn’t have a clue what we were going to do with it,” she said.

Searching the Internet for some ideas, the couple learned about the glass bottle art, also known as slumping.

And since nobody else in this area had done it before them, plenty of mistakes were made while trying to learn the art.

“We learned by trial and error — we broke a lot of bottles in the process — but we have had a lot of fun,” Mrs. Macklin said.

“I’m a firm believer that if you have things to work on and keep your mind busy, it is a big part of how you deal with other things,” Mrs. Macklin said regarding the couple’s recovery from illness and injuries.

Pat & Mike’s is given plenty of bottles with which to work, so they never have to worry about emptying one on their own. Area businesses supply them with a variety of shapes, sizes and colors of glass bottles.

“We get about 100 bottles a month. So far, I use around 30-35 bottles each month,” Mrs. Macklin said.

The two have become tee-totalers in their later years, she said.

Their work area inside a shed on their property is well-stocked with empty bottles such as those from a wide array of wine, but also those labeled Jack Daniels, Beefeater, Jim Beam, Jose Cuervo, Sailor Jerry, Captain Morgan, Absolut vodka, Corona, Budweiser, Grey Goose, Malibu Rum and Crown Royal.

They use one of eight molds and place the glass container in the kiln and heat it up to 1,600 degrees to cause the slumping process.

It is fired for about 2½ hours to the point the glass flattens out and becomes the shape of the mold inside the kiln. It must then cool for several hours, sometimes into the next day, before the process is complete.

Depending on the bottle, some take longer to melt into the formed shape, and some just bring more challenges due to its thickness and shape.

The paper labels on bottles must come off and a replacement custom-made label may be used instead. Customers can request a personalized label or go without one.

The painted labels will remain intact and readable on the bottle during the process as long as the bottle is secure in its mold inside the kiln.

The couple are now branching out and trying new creations such as the latest hummingbird feeder.

Macklin hopes to create some clocks soon. He specializes in bottle lamps and bottle lights, something that would serve as a nightlight or for a bar or rec room, they said.

“We buy the lamp kit. Using a diamond bit, I drill a little hole in the bottom of the bottle. Then I can put the lights — colored or all white — inside. The LED lights work best, because they don’t get as hot,” Macklin said.

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Information from: Mattoon Journal-Gazette, http://www.jg-tc.com