Glass Blowing

Glass blowing is a technique which has not undergone many changes since it was discovered. A glass artist, or maker, blows within a pipe, which is known as a blowpipe, in order to cast a glass item in the proper shape.

Enthusiasts and glass item collectors often refer to Murano glass makers as some of the best glass artists in the world due to the impressive look of their products. Murano glass is glass that is produced on Murano, a Venetian island.

Glassmakers from the region have dedicated themselves to the production of intricate and lavish glassware for hundreds of years.

Here are some of the methods that were used by Murano glassmakers in order to create such fine pieces.

Millefiori

This is a primeval method that was employed in Egypt between the 3rd and the 1st century BC. It involves utilizing thin segments of glass rods which are bonded together, blown, then cast to create geometric or floral shapes.

Cameo

This is a luxurious kind of glass art which engages the fusion of 2 layers of glass with different colors and then carving or engraving on it later to produce designs. The most well-known types of cameo glass are white dense glass figures set on a background with darker colors. This method was initially utilized by the Romans back in 30 BC.

Fenicio

The Fenicio method was utilized on the glass in 200 AD, and by the end of the 17th century, it was used by Murano glass artists. The method involves the artist covering the glowing glass threads with a skinny pontil, then combing these threads with the use of a hooked device while the item is still hot.

Afterward, the threads are combined into one segment of glass and the artist finally completes the ornamentation which resembles feathers.

Cristallo

Cristallo was created in 1450 in Venice by glass expert Angelo Borovier. It is done by bleaching the glass blend with manganese or other kinds of materials that will provide color.

Calcedonio

This method was created during the 15th century on the island of Murano but the formula for this kind of technique was nowhere to be found for a great number of years. The metals that are often used for this method are silver, copper, iron and other mineral oxides which are combined with opaline glass.

Filigrana

In the 1500s, the filigrana method was created. It involves utilizing glass rods that are melded together, blown then cast by the glassmaker. There are three designs which are made when using this particular method—the mezza filigrana, the reticello, and the retortoli.

Lattimo

This certain technique has been used by Italian glass artists since the 1500s. The primary purpose here is to create opaque white glass which would mimic fine white china, which was extremely popular during that period.

Ghiaccio

This method was well-known throughout the 1600s down to the 18th century. It involves plunging still-heated glass items in cold water. This results in a glass object which seems broken on its exterior and resembles cracked ice. Following the plunge, the cracks are then wrapped with another glass layer.

Incalmo

The glass that results from this method was created initially in the 1600s when Italian glass artists searched for a method which will let them create glass items with 2-3 varying colored parts of glass that appear as if it was one whole piece.

Numerous multicolored glass pieces are combined while the glass is still pliable enough to be formed as a single portion.

Avventurina

The method was made in Murano in the 1700s and its application lets a colored glass object to display the results of color changes once slanted. The glass is made by means of supplementing metallic parts like chrome or copper which are crystallized bit by bit out of the melted glass. It presents an effect that makes the glass object glitter.

Sommerso

The sommerso method was created during the 1930s in Murano and it lets glassmakers make items with a layered look where a colored layer of the glass is enclosed by another layer with a different color. It is made by utilizing glass layers cast by plunging the glass item into a molten glass of different color.

Bullicante

Bullicante is a method which is employed for the purpose of producing a steady design of consistently spaced air effervesces. These effervesces, or bubbles, can be small or big.

Solitary bubbles are moved forward into the melted glass with a spike which makes an orb look silvered while the glass cools down. This method was quite popular in the 1950s.

Summary

Murano glassmakers have created and made use of several excellent methods so they can present the most exquisite glass art to the world. The products that resulted from those methods are distinctive and they are often sought after by collectors and glass art enthusiasts.

Murano glass items in the form of centerpieces, vases and bowls make for beautiful ornaments in the home or office. Many glassmakers from all over the world have adopted these Murano techniques to create their own unique pieces; thus, the tradition of superb glass art continues.

Glass is an important material used in a wide variety of products today. You can see glass used in items like mirrors, vehicle windscreens, medical items, eyewear, kitchenware and a lot more. But what is glass exactly? What does it contain? What do you need to blow glass with? What procedures are needed in order to create such material?

In this article, we are going to answer these queries. We are going to concentrate on the glass and the needed devices in order to perform a technique such as glassblowing.

What is glass? The main material that composes the item is silica, a material that forms in great quantities naturally. The primary varieties of glass are flint, sand, and quartz. Once warmed through to very high temperatures, all combined materials melt down to create glass.

Heat is important to the formation of glass. In fact, volcanic eruptions that happen in areas where great amounts of silica exist can also create a natural, dark kind of glass known as obsidian.

The temperature that is needed to melt down silica is approximately 1,800°C. It is higher than could be acquired in ancient wood-burning furnaces. Glass that was made by man became a possibility once it was discovered that soda ash or potash, which is acquired from seared vegetable items, made the silica thaw or melt at 900 to 1100°C.

In Mediterranean locations, many use soda ash for material, while European countries are in favor of potash. The natural shades that are found in glass are eliminated by supplementing the material with arsenic, manganese or nitre. This was not an accurate aspect since the supplementation made shades of their own.

This explains why the glass of old featured a broad range of colors. Contemporary, unadulterated additives indicate that a constantly transparent and color-free glass can be made. Adding certain metals like cobalt, copper, iron, tin and other sorts of items can, in turn, produce colors like amber, blue, green, red, purple and white.

These days you will see plenty of household items with glass parts on them. After the creation of machines that help in the mass production of glass, it became a common sight on plenty of products. The price range for this item differs as well. There is reasonably priced glass, while there is strong, durable glass that costs hundreds of dollars.

The glassmakers of old made use of casting or shaping methods to create glass. This method lasted from around the 15th century BC until the 1st century BC. Glassblowing was uncovered over the course of the 1st century AD.

In reality, every method of shaping and decorating glass have been encountered, from molding, mold blowing, free blowing, engraving, enameling, gilding, cutting and draping the layers with colored glass.

There were also methods in order to make glass look like natural stone or rocks. These methods were performed over 200 years ago and some of them made comebacks at differing times until today.

There are tools that every glassmaker should have while making glass. The devices employed in the practice have remained the same for many centuries due to the tools’ simplicity for the most part. Here is a list of tools that are used.

Blowpipe

The glass is collected on the rounded end of the pipe and the glassmaker will try to create the glass’s shape by blowing down on it.

Bench

Also known as the chair, the bench is the workplace of the glassmaker. It has flat arms located along which the blowpipe can be trundled in order to cast the container.

However, in the glass industry where hand-blown glass is made, this particular term refers to a group of 3-4 men. Hence the size of the plant or factory comprises a number of chairs.

Clappers

These are devices that are built from wood and they are utilized to compress a globule of melted glass into a foot for a product like wine glasses.

Gadget

This refers to a spring clip that is fastened to an iron rod. The gadget was a replacement for the pontil iron clip in the 18th century because it does not leave behind a pontil mark.

Marver

This is a flat iron plate around 2 to 3 feet square, bearing a significantly polished and smooth exterior. Melted or molten glass typically has a plastic texture and can be trundled on the marver over the course of the blowing procedure to smooth and cast glass.

Pucellas

These are spring tongs and they have the same appearance as sugar tongs.

Pontil iron

The pontil iron refers to a dense metal rod. Its end is warmed through and applied to the base of the container which is being blown. It supports the item once the blowpipe is removed. The pontil mark refers to the signature mark the pontil leaves once it is removed.

Glass is a see-through, tough and chemically immobile material which can be formed and casted with a smooth, impermeable surface. Because of these attributes, glass has presented many uses. It is made when a sticky, melted material cools down very quickly so that it will not have sufficient time for a normal crystal framework to develop.

One of its most significant attributes is the fact that it is translucent to visible light. This translucence is accredited to its lack of atomic line transition with the perceptible light’s energy in the item that composes the glass. The majority of standard glass are composed of other ingredients which are supplemented to change its structure.

To change glass’s electrical and thermal properties, the material boron is added. Likewise, adding barium to the item will maximize its refractive index, while cerium is employed to make glass take in infrared energy.

Obsidian, which is a natural glass, has been used by people since the Stone Age. The first recognized glassmaking procedure happened in Egypt approximately 2000 BC and it was employed as a type of glaze for pottery, containers, and other objects.

But where did glassblowing originate then? In the first century BC, this particular method was progressed and glass, in turn, became a common item. The Roman Empire, in fact, presented plenty of glass forms that were made especially for use in bottles and vases.

It was only in the 12th century that stained glass was created and then used for decorative purposes.

Venice became the hub of glass making at the beginning of the 14th century because the glass artisans there honed and developed many new methods to create and shape glass. By that time, the place was exporting mirrors, dinnerware and other kinds of luxury objects.

Ultimately, several Venetian glass artists relocated to other parts of Northern Europe and took their glassmaking methods with them.

The Crown glass process, meanwhile, was employed up until the middle of the 1800s. In this method, the glass artist would revolve approximately 9 pounds of molten glass at the end of a single rod until it is compressed into a disc which measures roughly 5 feet in diameter.

The disc would then be reduced to pieces. Venetian glass was highly coveted between the 10th and 14th centuries because glass artists kept their methods secret. By 1688, the procedure for shaping glass advanced which resulted in it being a more frequently employed material.

In 1827, the glass pressing machine was then invented and this made the mass manufacture of affordable glass items possible.

The float-glass procedure was then invented and this process involves molten glass being dispensed onto molten lead as it hardens, making it possible to make bigger sheets of flat glass in a more cost-effective manner with greater quality compared to earlier procedures in which the glass was forwarded throughout rollers.

There are many standard glass wares these days but you will still see hand-blown pieces from acclaimed glass artists like Sidney Waugh, René Lalique, and Louis Comfort Tiffany. These artists made exquisite glass art pieces that are highly recognized today.

Crystal glass originated from rock crystal and has come to signify top-quality colorless glass. Crystal glass often contains lead and is, at times, applied to any excellent hand-blown glass.

Toughened glass is hardwearing but it can be breakable. Glass items meant to endure quick temperature changes and forceful handling are at times fortified by fast and restricted cooling of their surfaces over the course of the building procedure, a process called tempering.

This pre-strains the item and it minimizes its propensity to break at the surface when pressured. Once tempered glass breaks, it shatters into round granules that are not as risky as shards of common glass.

Bigger sheets of glass can cause serious damage once it gets broken since they are prone to forming shards with ultra-sharp edges. This danger is undesirable on glass products such as shop windows and vehicle windscreens. This danger can be minimized by laminating the material with layers of plastic material.

Laminated glass is apt to contain itself together once it breaks. The shards connect to the flexible layers of plastic where they are less possible to cause harm to individuals and animals. Bigger sheets of glass will be both laminated and fortified. The laminate can be applied inside the body of the item or applied to its exteriors.

Glass has plenty of uses and age-old techniques like glassblowing are now considered a favorite hobby by many. If you want to pursue such a hobby or want to become a professional glassmaker, it is not hard to get education and training for such careers at this time.

There are many available courses and workshops dedicated to the craft that will help you hone and perfect your skills.

Glassblowing is ancient art, dating back to around 200 BCE. This particular technique of shaping glass is done by inflating a tiny quantity of melted glass on the end of an iron tube, which has a hollow structure. This iron tube is called a blowpipe.

Even though the techniques have not changed much over the passage of time, the technology that is used has significantly improved.

What is involved in glassmaking? There are 2 primary techniques used in blowing glass and they are called offhand glassblowing and lampworking. Both methods make use of melted or molten glass and a punty, an iron rod made with stainless steel. However, both techniques vary in terms of the way the glass is formed and heated.

The standard formula for glass is pretty much the same formula used until now. Glass is produced by combining sand, lime, ashes and potash and more likely items. Before the whole procedure was created, people made containers and vessels by wrapping hot glass all over molds and cores.

However, they were not smooth and uniform, thus they were always prone to leakage. As soon as the procedure of glassblowing was developed, it became the choice method to make containers, and its use spread from Europe, Asia down to Africa.

Due to glassblowing, glass was now a bit easier and more effective to produce, and thus it became more available.

The rise of Venetian glassmakers was established in the early 13th century. These glass artists perfected the method of glassblowing, and by the early 60s, the studio glass movement propelled a new following which led to the formation of studios and workshops meant to further introduce the public to the craft.

At this point, the craft of glassblowing is indicated as one of the country’s fastest-developing pursuits.

There are three furnaces that are used in offhand glassblowing. The first is known as the furnace and it is employed to contain the heated, molten glass that is the primary raw material of the glass artist.

The subsequent furnace is called the glory hole, which is a pat wherein the piece is warmed through and reheated over the course of the process of forming and working on the material. The lehr, or annealer, is the third, final furnace; this is where the glass cools bit by bit over a number of days in order to minimize thermal pressure.

Glass blowers or artists make use of several devices to accomplish this procedure. The blowpipe is plunged into the molten glass to amass globules of the liquid and then rolled along the marver, which is a flat, tough surface. Following this, an air bubble is exhaled into the glass by means of the blowpipe.

Blocks are also utilized to form and cast the glass. The glass blower has a workstation, called the bench, and in here lay a number of hand devices that the artists use to further cast the glass.

The jacks, which are sizable bladed tweezers, are employed to pull on the material to create more intricate adjustments while the shears are used to cut the glass.

Glassmakers are particularly skilled in a number of methods—there are artists who might be trained to perform only certain methods, while there are some who might possess a complete range of abilities. Every job might need a varying combination of skills and capacities.

Several basic categories comprise glass making which is completed by mixing specific silicates with other materials, engraving glass, refining, shaping glass through glassblowing and more.

Outmoded lamp working methods make use of a flame that is produced by an alcohol lamp and bellows. The usage of a lamp during the process is what gave the method its name.

This technique is still employed by many to produce beads, smaller glass objects, laboratory items like test tubes, sculptures, and figurines. These days, lamp workers make use of an oxygen flame that is produced by propane or natural gas torches.

The molten glass is gathered on the punty, worked on while revolving on the rod and continuously casted by a selection of hand devices. This method was utilized principally for scientific means but it has since progressed into an art form.

If you are interested in glassblowing as a hobby, you can train in the craft by attending workshops and other related studies. Supplement your training by reading related material and watching instructional videos. There is, in fact, a wealth of information available online about the subject.

You can even research glassblowing workshops that are happening near your area. Glassblowing is a wonderful pursuit to get into because of the beauty of the finished product.

Shaping and forming glass is done through a procedure called glass blowing. In order to create glass, materials like sand, potash, limestone and soda ash are mixed and then heated in a kiln that is beyond 2,000°F (1,093.3°). The mix is then shaped into glass while it is in a melted state.

The glass maker should have a blowpipe in order to take on the procedure. The tip of the blowpipe is preheated by plunging it in the molten glass as it is placed in the furnace. A globule of the molten glass is gathered on the blowpipe and then placed on a tool called a marver, which is a flat metal sheet.

The marver is crucial to the process because it creates a cool exterior layer on the glass and it makes it possible to shape the glass. The artist exhales air into the pipe in order to produce a bubble into molten glass. For bigger pieces, the artist can generate extra bubbles over the original item.

In the process of glassblowing, a variety of shapes and different sizes can be created. By using a tool called a tweezers, the glass blower then begins to pull on the glass and produce the features he wants. The artist can also use special paddles built from wood or graphite to etch designs onto the glass’s flat parts.

To cut off bigger parts of the glass, the artist must make use of diamond shears. As soon as the artist has produced a segment of the correct size, they will then move the piece to a device known as the punty. In this device, the glass artist will then proceed to complete the top of the piece.

Glass blowing is a practice that dates back to 200 BCE. During those years, glass was created around a sample made with mud or dung. Usually, the procedure was done to produce vessels and containers that are able to enclose liquids.

These days it is considered an art form and is used to create craft and art projects. It is one of the most popular hobbies in the US and some parts of the world, today.

Professional glassmakers are experts who make a living making glass. There are different fields in glassmaking that a glassmaker can take on. They can work in manufacturing glass or become employed in the industrial field to produce decorative glass pieces or make exquisite glass beads.

Many manufactured products contain glass components. These range from vehicle windshields down to telescope optics.

Several of the work that a glassmaker or artist can take on include producing the proper combination of materials for a particular kind of glass, making the piece, supervising glass-making machinery, or quality testing finished products to guarantee that said products include appropriate strength and composition.

Industrial glassmaking is a complex, laborious profession that takes comprehensive training in the place of work.

Glassmaking that is done in a non-industrial setting is often suggested as craft glassmaking. The training for this kind of profession can be accomplished by way of degree courses at a university, college or trade school.

Training might take a number of years of practical and academic study and might involve continuous education in order to enhance or hone abilities.

Professional craft glassmaking typically engages the manufacture of glass products, however, it is done on a smaller scale. Limited goods, products that are made in small batches and artistic pieces are often created by craft glassmakers.

Artisanal vases, vessels or stemware, hand-blown crafts and stained-glass pieces are typical products from this industry. Artists of this profession might work for a small glassmaking company or a studio. They might have their own business retailing craft glass products as well.

Some glassmakers opt to get into the craft as a pastime or hobby rather than a profession. Glassmaking hobbyists often create distinctive pieces for their own contentment or make creations for their friends and family. They can learn how to start glass blowing through classes or learn through books and instructional videos.

As mentioned earlier, this is a hobby that is fast-developing due to its beautiful procedures. Anyone who has an interest can pursue glassmaking, provided they have the will and the determination to learn and hone their craft.

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.