Vintage Turkish Signed Ceramic Bluebirds & Signed Leo Ward Glass Bluebird, 1993!

Description

This is a superb and lovely collection of 4 bluebird figurines in excellent condition!! Two of the bluebirds are vintage ceramic Turkish hand-painted and signed, one is a larger contemporary unsigned ceramic bluebird, and one is a solid glass signed and dated Leo Ward Bluebird of Happiness from 1993. For details of the description, size and condition of each bird, please see below.
The items are carefully packaged and shipped with USPS Priority Mail.
(1) Leo Ward solid glass Bluebird of Happiness, signed and dated 1993 -
This lovely little vintage glass bluebird is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks. Please see photo for the signature and date at the bottom. This little fellow measures about 1 3/8 inches in diameter and is 2 inches high.
From the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas: The original Arkansas Bluebird of Happiness was created by Leo Ward at Terra Studios near Durham (Washington County). Since their introduction in 1982, over nine million bluebirds have been sold. Each bird is individually crafted from molten glass by artisans at Terra Studios and is signed and dated. Though Terra Studios creates glass birds in many colors, the bluebird has always been the most popular choice.
While living in San Diego, California, in the early 1970s, Leo Ward discovered a passion for glass blowing. Along with his wife, Rita, Ward opened a gift shop and constructed a glass furnace on the premises. When a city inspector discovered this furnace, the shop was closed, and the Wards moved to Arkansas, where Rita’s parents had retired.
In 1975, the Wards purchased ten acres of land near Durham and slowly began to establish themselves as artists. One of Ward’s creations was a little glass bird, which he began selling at the War Eagle Craft Fair in 1982. When Ward placed an advertisement for these birds in a regional magazine, The Ozarks Mountaineer, a salesman suggested the name Bluebird of Happiness.
After Ward’s bluebirds became a regional success, Rita urged him to sell the birds at hospital gift shops and was instrumental in starting a wholesale business. The Original Bluebird of Happiness is a registered trademark, and the birds have been sold at 8,000 gift stores nationwide. The bluebirds are also sold internationally and have been shipped as far away as Australia and Japan. Each bluebird is individually crafted at Terra Studios, and it has sometimes taken as many as twenty glass artisans to keep up with the demand.
The enormous popularity of Ward’s bluebirds has fueled the creativity of many artists in northwestern Arkansas. Over the years, Terra Studios has grown into a 160-acre showcase of artwork created by hundreds of artists who have worked or taken classes there. Ward retired in 2006. The bluebird business was taken over by his son John.
Terra Studios announced in November 2019 that the company would suspend production of its bluebirds indefinitely at the start of 2020 as a way to bring attention to the global problem of climate change. The blowing of glass involves a large amount of natural gas and electricity, a process that produces greenhouse gasses.
(2) Vintage Turkish Hand-Painted and Signed Ceramic Bird -
This bird is white ceramic with a hand-painted blue flower on its back. It is a solid ceramic piece and has some weight to it. It is a beautiful minimalist bird and is signed at the bottom with "Can Yumru Adana". This piece is from the 1990s and is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks. It measures about 2 inches in length and is 3/4 inch wide and about 1 inch tall.
(3) Vintage Turkish Hand-Painted and Signed Ceramic Bird -
This minimalist vintage hand-painted ceramic Turkish bluebird is signed at the bottom with "Alopacolu". This piece is from the 1990s and is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks. There is however some crazing in the glaze (see photo). This little bird measures 2 3/4 inches long, 1 3/8 inches wide and 1 3/4 inches high.
(4) Contemporary Hand-Painted Unsigned Ceramic Bird -
This slightly larger bluebird is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks or crazing. It measures about 4 3/4 inches long, 2 1/4 inches wide and about 3 inches high.