Villages Orb Project

Did you locate an orb? Register it!

105 Villages Orbs will be hidden along trails throughout the Villages of Van Buren County, Iowa, for a total of 130 for 2024! You may find them while hiking in outdoor locations around the county, such as beautiful Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Farmington's own Indian Lake Park, or one of our many serene trails maintained by Van Buren County Conservation. Orbs will always be placed within a few feet along the trails. They will never be on private property. Please be respectful and leave the property undisturbed.

Van Buren County Trail Maps

What is a Village Orb?

These are hand-blown clear glass orbs roughly the size of an orange. They will each be signed, dated, and numbered. If you are lucky enough to find an Orb we ask that you register it by clicking the link above. There will also be some blue recycled glass Orbs and a few special colored Orbs hidden!

Who can locate a Village Orb?

Anyone!

We do ask that you only keep one per explorer, please. And don't forget, please register your Orb!

Get out, explore the outdoors and the beautiful trails in the Villages of Van Buren, and you just might find an extra special surprise! Just one more thing...if you happen to find a second Orb, please leave it where it is for the next person to discover!

Project History

The Villages Orb Project started out as an idea local glass-blowing artist Tim Blair had been wanting to try along the trails of the Villages of Van Buren County.  It began June 1, 2022, as a collaboration between Bloom and Bark (Orb design, creation, and distribution along the trails) and the Villages of Van Buren (Orb promotion and marketing — aka getting the word out!). 52 Orbs were made that year with no outside assistance. 

For year two, we reached out and applied for local grant opportunities in the area. With help from the Van Buren Foundation and the Villages of Van Buren, we were able to get the funding necessary to continue this fun project. 103 Orbs were made for 2023. 25 orbs were already placed on the river trail for the First Day Hike at Lacey-Keosauqua State Park and 105 more will grace our trails for 2024.

About the Artist

Tim Blair

Tim was born and raised in Van Buren County. He has been wandering the trails here all his life. Eleven years ago, he took his first class with Jim Topic, a glass artist in Nauvoo, IL, and instantly became smitten by molten glass. Soon after, he started gathering equipment and remodeling an existing building at his home at Bloom and Bark Farm, located just outside of Keosauqua on Route J40, where he and his wife, Kim, reside with a menagerie of animals.

Tim, a primarily self-taught artist, is constantly learning and growing as an artist during his travels. His studio changes along with him. It was initially a one-room space but has grown into a Local Artisan Market along with an open-air studio, allowing him to work year-round in a shaded woodland setting. Tim provides demonstrations and offers classes in basic glass blowing, ornament making, and more. No experience is necessary, just a desire to cross over to the "molten side." 

Tim had the pleasure of taking a class from Eban Horton in Rhode Island years ago. He then visited Block Island where Horton had initiated the Block Island Float Project. This sounded like something that would be exciting to try along the trails of Van Buren County. Tim developed the design and had a stamp made for the Villages Orb Project. As procrastination and the pandemic occurred, it was put on the back burner until 2022. June 1, 2022, was when the initial search for Orbs began in the beautiful Villages of Van Buren County!