Glass Blowing Tips

You might not have noticed but a lot of things around us are made of glass. Aside from windows, mirrors, and car windshields, you surely have seen many amazingly shaped glass sculptures and forms.

From mini-occasion giveaways to expensive Chinese figurines and house decorations, glass has been a very versatile material that allows artists to display their skills and imagination.  Have you ever wondered how these things are made?

One of the 2 most used methods of creating glass forms or sculptures is called glassblowing. It is not as complicated but it is more amazing than you first think.

Glassblowing is the ancient method of making shaped glass through having glass molten on one end and blowing through the other to create a form.

Now, we will go through the steps of the glassblowing process.

Equipment

In creating a glass, one of the most important items of equipment for your process is a furnace. A glassmaking studio has 3 furnaces. Furnace 1, the crucible, is for gathering molten glass. The second one is the “glory hole” where the molten glass is reheated so it can be formed by the artist.

And the third furnace is where the molten glass is slowly cooled down to harden. These furnaces, an open-ended blowing pipe, a cold steel surface, and molding sets are needed for a glass designing studio.

Primary steps

The first thing to do is to reach an amount of molten glass or “gathers” in the furnace and in the crucible. The crucible is full of molten glass and you will get an amount on the edge of the blowing pipe. After that, roll the molten glass into the flat metal surface to create an initial form, usually cylindrical.

Now, you can heat it back in the glory hole to get it ready for more forming. Usually, you will have to come back to this furnace several times until the final form is achieved; it is only when it is heated at above 1,000°F that it is moldable.

Designing glass by adding color

Glass is primarily transparent, and glassmakers add color to create magnificent designs. They use frits, bars, and powers to make various designs and patterns in the glass piece. The heated glass on the blowpipe is rolled over the color, picking up pieces of it before putting it back to the glory hole.

The color is melted to the clear glass. The pipe is continually turned to keep the shape at the end of the blowing pipe.

Constant motion

High effort and specialty are needed for a glassblower to achieve designs. The pipe has to be turned continuously. The glass blower sits while resting the pipe on steel arms and turns this with one hand, while the other hand uses the shaping tools. It can be wet newspaper, wooden paddles, stainless tools, and much more.

The glass maker simultaneously does different jobs with both hands. The shape can be determined while sitting at the bench.

Turning and heating in the glory hole is done several times. The artist may add clear glass or another batch of color and continuously shape it until the final design is achieved.

Actual pipe blowing

Here is where the actual blowing begins. The glass blower starts by puffing on the end of the blowpipe and making a bubble. Again, it is back to the glory hole to turn and heat again, and back to the bench for shaping.

When the artist is satisfied with the shape, the piece must now be carefully transferred to a “punty”. A punty is a steel pipe that has been heating over flames. The transferring from the blowpipe to the punty gives the artist the chance to create the vase opening. The punty is attached to the bottom of the piece.

Actual transfer from blow pipe to punty

This is a tricky step in the process. The blower or the assistant takes a small gather in the furnace using the punty. The blower turning the pipe stops and the punty is attached to the other end of the glass piece.

At the right time, the blower or artist “raps” and detaches the pipe from the glass piece, leaving it attached to the punty. If not handled with care, the piece usually breaks with low chances of being repaired.

Opening up the glass piece

The piece attached to the punty is taken again to the glory hole for heating. The artist sits again on the bench and this is when the artist uses tools to create the opening of the bowl/vessel. The heating will allow him to alter the shapes according to his desire.

When he is satisfied, the artist removes the piece by firmly hitting the punty and dropping the piece into a box with thick layers of fire blanketing.

Cooling

When the piece is done and ready to cool, the artist wears Kevlar gloves to pick it up and transfer it to the annealing oven. It is kept at 960°F and cooled down for 14 hours to room temperature. Cooling is crucial so it is not fragile and gets the best glass color intended.

Finally, the artist takes the piece from the oven and does the final touch of polishing it from the edges the punty.

Glass is one of the things that you find all around us. If you haven’t realized, try noticing and you will find glass from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to bed. From your window pane to your dining table, to the door of the building, the classy sculptures in the hotel lobby, and much more, it is everywhere.

This complicated and delicate craft has its roots deep down to centuries ago. The ideas that and techniques perfected ages ago by artists have made their way to modern times. The methods and techniques of creating some of the world’s most precious art pieces have been passed down through the centuries.

Types of glass

Out of the many types of glass, soda lime and borosilicate are most used.  Soda-lime is often called the “sold glass” while borosilicate is often called the “hard glass.”

Soda-lime is the most commonly used type. It is what makes ordinary containers, windowpanes, jars, bottles, and bowls. The latter, on the other hand, is more of a specialty glass. It is harder to make than traditional glass.  The melting point of borosilicate is higher and it is extensively used in glass blowing and lampworking.

Borosilicate makes a harder glass piece which is why it is the most ideal in making durable laboratory equipment like test tubes and beakers. It also makes cookware and telescope mirrors. It has extremely high physical strength, enough to handle radioactive wastes for disposal through vitrification.

Shaping glass can be done in many ways and techniques. It includes cold working, glass casting, fusing glass, lampworking, stained glass, and glassblowing.

Cold working

This is a technique artists use for both hard glass and soft glass like cutting, polishing, and sandblasting. The artist styles a formerly shaped glass by etching the glass piece with acid. Using diamond wheels, the artist can hand engrave on it or he can use acid to leave a matte finish on the glass piece.

Glass casting

This is the technique that uses soft glass. The artist can do it with a torch, at a furnace, or in a kiln. Using refractory sand, silica, or plaster, the artist makes a mold and then fills the mode with colored, patterned, or clear glass. It depends on the design and effects that the artist wants to achieve. Big sculptures are usually done in this way.

Fused glass

This is what we call a soft glass heated at 1099°F to 1501°F in a kiln to bond glass together. Most fused glass makes use of colors in creating simple images and patterns. Thin glass sheets are stacked and layered with colors to create eye-catching pieces.

These stacked glass layers are then placed inside the kiln for heating. In this process, the layers melt and start to bond together while the edges round and soften.

Fused glass is the glass shaping technique used to make glass art, jewelry, and tiles. The slumping process is responsible for the creation of larger functional pieces such as kitchenware, bowls, and ashtrays. Functional glass pieces undergo double firings. First fuses the glass in the kiln, second is the slump.

Stained glass

The products of this technique are widely used all over the world. When you go to churches and museums, it is not hard to find these glass pieces that are colorful and look like broken glasses formed into an image. These are simpler than other amazing stained products.

The glass is cut into specific patterns which will be attached together by a solder or lead cam. In creating patterns and textures, the artist also uses strategies with the kiln to change the glass’ overall shape.

Lampworking

Here, glass is formed using heat and manipulation, and an important component called propane/oxygen torches. It stands up to 5300°F and is worked by an artist sitting on a bench shaping it using glass tubes and various graphite and metal tools. This technique achieves higher levels when it comes to detailed design and detail.

Glass blowing

Lastly is the widely familiar glass blowing. An open-end blowpipe is first dipped into a furnace with a molten glass/crucible. It is manipulated into a basic shaper and blown to create form. Then, it is brought to the glory hole to be reheated repeatedly while designing.

Then, it is taken to a kiln/annealer to slowly and carefully cool down. There are various glass blowing techniques that have been developed to make advanced design. These glassblowing techniques create medium to very large art glass and a lot of useful functional sinks.