In 2005 after my Father’s death, I had brought home a green glass bottle that was
originally sold containing prune juice. Some people will remember it as a 9” tall 3.5”
wide, square embossed green bottle with the imprint WATER on one side and JUICE on
the opposing side dating from 1950-1960. It was used as a water bottle in our refrigerator
when I was growing up and still being used by my Father. I set it on the table of my
then, new glass studio which was in a carriage house attic with no heat. I was making
glass only when I could stand the ambient temperatures. Somehow it got broken and I
was sad that the physical reminder of a memory was gone. Or was it? I make things
with glass and fire…..why couldn’t I do something with this? So I ended up
experimenting with the glass and thinking through the ‘rules’ of glassmaking to be sure
that I would come out with a stable item. I created several beads that were given to my
daughter and relatives. It was a lovely way to share the ‘memory’.
At that time, I lived in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate NY wine country. I began to
make things out of wine bottles for a friend’s winery. The next development was to
make things for brides from their wedding wine bottles.
Then I was helping my friend Karen disseminate her Mother’s belongings after her death
and she asked me if I would make her something out of an Antique Mason Jar we found.
Her Mother had many jars and Karen donated them to me for future experimenting.
People who saw the Mason Jar beads were fascinated with the color and the memories it
evoked. Thus a new line of beads was begun.
I continue to develop the process of making interesting beads from a singular color.
Keeping the glass stable from breaking apart when cooling is the challenge. So I am
always experimenting with how to make a bead interesting with shape, design and texture
from the same jar batch since adding other glass elements could create instability. I love
a good challenge.

As I continued to experiment with using the jar material there are many rules that I
needed to consider. The recipe for each jar was a little different because of the quantity
of iron and other materials in the glass. This is evident by the ‘color’ of the glass. Older
glass is paler green and then there is what is now called “Ball Blue” or aqua.
Sand, Soda and lime are the basic elements found in the formula for glass. The natural
color for these jars made by the Ball brothers in Muncie, Indiana was aqua because of the
amount of iron in the sand used. Different companies used different stockpiles of sand.
By approximately 1937, the stock-pile of sand the Ball co. was using was depleted and
the last of the jars in that color were made. As time moved on, clear glass became the
standard of purity, so glassmakers started adding manganese to decolorize the glass.
When manganese was no longer available because of WWI, they turned to selenium.
What I had to consider was that each jar could contain different ingredients and should
not be combined with another jar because the degree to which a material expands and
contracts with temperature called the Thermal Coefficient of Expansion (COE) could
cause it to be unstable and break immediately or later. So when I’m making beads, I
keep the bottle pieces separate and use only that jar batch for the entire bead. Any raised
glass designs using ‘glass stringers’ (thin rods of glass created by pulling when molten)
are made from the same jar batch as the base bead.

The glass is melted at a torch (propane & oxygen combination) of 3000º and
reshaped from the molten glass. Raised designs on the beads are created by using glass stringers (thin rods of glass created by pulling when molten) pulled from the same jar batch. Raised designs vary because they are applied free-hand at the time the bead base
is created in the flame. All beads cool with a shinny finish and matte finish beads are
dipped in acid then hand polished. Combination beads containing a matte and shiny
finish (such as the pendants with raised designs) take several more steps to produce. The raised design is painted with a resist glue type material that needs to dry to create a
barrier from the rest of the bead. Then the entire bead is dipped in acid for a time,
removed and then rinsed several times. The resist glue is then peeled off and the final
bead is polished by hand.

The history of the fruit jar is extensive and there is a plethora of information on the
internet as well as many books. Some highlights are that John L. Mason filed the patent
with the U.S. Patent Office on November 30, 1858 for a new fruit jar with threads
creating a hermetic seal. He was a tinsmith by trade and not a glassmaker. So he
licensed others to make the jars. Clayton Parker was the glass blower who made the first
Mason jars in a shop owned by Samuel Crowley.
Mason licensed the production of lids and jars out to separate entities which is why most
Mason jars have interchangeable lids. The development of the lid took several steps to
the version we know today.
Mason’s original jar patent expired in 1870 and opened the way for hundreds of glass
manufacturers to pick up the patent and keep Mason’s name on the jar.
Brothers Frank and Edmund Ball in Buffalo, New York, were one of the many who
produced a line of fruit jars referred to as “Buffalo Jars” from 1885 to 1886. The Ball
factory went up in flames and the brothers were enticed by city officials in Muncie,
Indiana with a gift of seven acres of land, a rail line to their future factory and abundant
natural gas resources. The brothers later developed a powered glass-blowing machine
which increased jar production dramatically with the “Ball” brand.
The story continues as grocery wholesaler Alexander H. Kerr filed a patent for a jar lid.
He is also credited with producing the “wide mouth” (3” opening) jar. Ball copied and
produced this same jar. In 1930 Kerr’s wife took over the helm of running the company.
Rose Kerr was the first woman executive in the glass-blowing industry.
There are numerous stories and tall tales of Mason jars, Moonshine and World War II
rationing of food and the advent of the Victory Gardens to learn about and not enough
space here to share. Today’s collectors are a great resource of many of these stories and
legends.
The abundance of jars is evident when people see what I am doing and frequently say, “I
have a few of my grandmother’s jars!” or “My Mother has an attic/garage/basement full
of these!” or “I just threw out a whole bunch of those!” or “I just saw a box of those at
an auction!” Collectors are known to gasp when they hear this and worry about the
history being lost. There were millions of jars made and I respect the collectible ones
with special numbers, lids, shapes and irregularities. I do my best to get them back in
the hands of collectors as well as the lids which I do not need. So fear not, I am using up
the jars that would otherwise be buried in a landfill or are already broken.

Yes, I’m happy to take older (not clear) jars you might be interested in moving along.

I’ve seen prices from FREE upwards of 40.00 each, depending on it’s collectability.

Yes, I’m happy to make you something from your jar. I suggest you consider designs
that I’ve already made so that you know the pricing. If you wish to work together to
create an ‘original’ design, I charge a minimum 50.00 design fee based on time spent.