Fire, and hot glass!

[Joe Pelonio]

Just got back from a glass blowing class. I have done stained glass work for years but always
wanted to try this. Not something I could do in the home shop with the giant 2,000F ovens. Really
fun to do. I made a 6" ball float, unfortunately can't show it as it has to anneal in an oven for 2-3
days before I can pick it up.

glassbl.jpg

[Ted Calver]

I'm jealous Joe. You are out there in an area with a very high concentration of glass artists. Lots of learning opportunities and some really cool art.

[Joe Pelonio]

Yes, we even have a Chihuley piece in a display case where I work.

[Ted Calver]

I love working the glass, but I hate the annealing wait!!

[Bryan Morgan]

My wife and I have been playing with glass lately. She bought a small kiln for her jewelry stuff and when I was looking through the manual it said something about glass. Light bulb sparked and we bought a bunch of scrap to throw in there and see what we could do. Pretty fun and neat when you have something cool to show for it. Love that dichroic stuff. I stood there for a long time watching a glass blowing demonstration at the fair not too long ago. I am fascinated by it for some reason!

[Eric DeSilva]

I took a glass blowing class last summer and it was a lot of fun--although those big glass ovens get awful hot. Probably came back from class with a lot less arm hair. I keep trying to find time for another class--in the studio where I went, they have a basic glassblowing, then a basic shapes class, then they are ready to rent you studio time.

Something I never knew tho'--blown glass will never be as gorgeous as it is when it is still hot and all the colors are glowing. Magic.

[Van Huskey]

My wife is a "warm" glass artist traditionally called lampwork. She does beads, paperweights and the like and has made cabinet knobs as well, the latter by winding and shaping the molten glass onto stainless inserts. She uses propane/oxygen torches and a small kiln for the annealing. We also have a kiln for slumping (plates, bowls etc) but just never seem to get around to playing with it. There are tons of really interesting uses for glass.

[Bill Cunningham]

I always used to marvel at the glass blowers at county fairs etc.. It looks so easy.. haha. Considering, one case of the hiccups could net you 40 percolator tops, or a wrong inhale you could end up with a 'pane' in the stomach it always looked like fun to me..

[Van Huskey]

I always used to marvel at the glass blowers at county fairs etc..

I always marvel at the high tech tools like wet newspaper...

[Joe Pelonio]

Here it is at last, I'm thinking of making a wooden stand, perhaps with LEDs to light it from below.