Blow me!
So with a title like that, what the heck is this blog about? It’s about blown glass, of course! (get your mind out of the gutter…will ya?)
Sometimes people think fused glass and blown glass or torchwork are all the same thing. Well…they’re all different types of warm glass, but beyond that, they’re extremely different.
- Fused glass involves flat sheets of glass layered and then heated up in a kiln to melting point. Fused glass can be draped over a form and slumped so that the glass melts down the sides of the form. (sample of slumped dish) And while there are lots of other awesome techniques you can do with fused glass, it all happens inside the kiln.
- Torchworked glass or lampworking involves a torch and rods of glass that are melted by placing the glass into the hottest part of the flame, and then bending the glass over some kind of steel rod or other tool. (read about the History of lampworking…) You’ve likely seen lots of torchworked beads in your time. Here’s some excellent examples from lampworking artist and friend Lindsay Fields. You can “blow glass” with torchwork, but only small pieces. I tried making torchworked beads and made the most horrendously awful misshapen beads that I immediately ran back to my kiln!
- Blown glass is what artists like Chihuli do. The amazingly beautiful glasswork affixed to the ceiling of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas is one installation of Chihuli’s work that takes my breath away. Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves melting glass in an extremely hot open oven, and then inflating the molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of the blowpipe, or blow tube. This is the most advanced, most difficult kind of warm glass craft, and typically involves several people working together in front of a very, very hot open firepit-like oven.
Because each of these types of glasswork involve tons of practice and experimentation, glass artists usually pick one and stick with it. Fused glass suits my sensibilities, so I’ll probably be crafting with a kiln for a long time to come!
