Thursday, February 17, 2011

BALL Amber Quart Fruit Jar




My circle of Jar friends just keeps growing, but to get the story right I have to back up a couple of years.

Two years ago this Spring, I made a trip to my hometown of Shelby, Montana, to visit my youngest sister and make a side visit to Larry Munson. Larry has a collection of fruit jars, or should I say HUGE collection of fruit jars. He has a five room house that is filled with fruit jars, and that house isn't even the one he lives in. I spent an entire afternoon taking photographs of fruit jars, and I came away with some good photos of  the specific jar that I made the trip to see: The Kilner Jar. I also took photos of the Everlasting Jar while I was at it, and I'm glad I did since you don't get an opportunity to see the variety of glass that Larry has very often.

And how can I forget the Amethyst Economy jar? Another jar from Larry's arsenal.

I'm not out of paper yet, nor am I out of story, either.

Through Larry, I met a woman on the web by the name of Marianne Dow. Larry told me that Marianne was a very personable woman who had a keen interest in antiques and a real love of glass. She's steered me to other folks who've been more than happy to feed my glass habit in one way or another. Marianne had a Putnam Lightning jar to hand when I needed a good photograph, and went so far as to provide a YouTube video of her opening and closing the jar so I could see how the wire bale operated.

Several weeks ago, I received an email from a fellow by the name of Bruce Schank. Bruce has a collection of Ball jars and a web site to go with it. He introduced himself by telling me that Marianne had suggested that he contact me. He told me that I really ought to look at what was on his web site, and as long as I gave him credit, I could use any of the photos he had out there. After exchanging several emails and a phone call, Bruce simply sent me some higher quality photos of a Ball Amber Quart jar that was proper for the Ball Brothers letterhead that I had obtained from Larry - two years ago.

So there you have it. I'm now out of the BALL game, since I have no more Old Ball Paper, but I'm always looking for glass paper of any kind suitable for framing. Marianne tagged me a couple of weeks ago with a new title: JArtist. I love it. And Larry and Bruce - you have mail!

7 comments:

  1. Love the fish design you sent!! Especially the peace signs in the background. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Dave -- another fabulous piece of J-Art! You have an incredible talent, and make that glass shimmer and shine so beautifully. It's great to be your friend. --Marianne

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  3. Small world, isn't it? Who would think of finding that kind of collection is tiny Shelby? Perhaps I can take a peek sometime.

    Love that amber glass!!

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  4. This is fantastic art, but the back story is even better. A house FILLED with rows of fruit jars? I love that image, and love even more that it is real. I love you in general.

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  5. Your glass jar artwork is my favorite. Just fantastic how you capture the look of glass, the reflections and the lighting. You da' man Dave! And it sounds like you've really met some great folks along the way.

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  6. My runaway favorite of all the jars so far, Dave. I could stare at it all day. And further intrigued by how Bruce and Larry's names appear as if written on a Ball jar. You are flippin' AMAZING!

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  7. Dave - Your JArt series is just beautiful. I get lost in your art and love following your links, too!

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