3. Glassblowing
“Glassblowing” conjures images of a guy pulling a wad of molten glass out of the furnace on the end of a blowpipe, twirling it around, lifting the pipe to his lips and blowing it into an exquisite work of art.
That’s exactly what experienced artisans do, whether guy or gal - but not novices.
I mean, would you trust a newbie with a glob of glass heated to over 2,000 degrees?
At the glassblowing class my friend Mark and I took at Luke Adams Glass in Norwood, Massachusetts, we got to assist our teacher, Keith, in making a couple of glass pumpkins - really interesting and fun, and a great way to spend an hour.
Highlights from our glassblowing class
First, we chose the object we wanted to make (actually, assist in making): an ornament, a paperweight, or, for an extra $5, a pumpkin. Then we chose the colors. I don’t know why I thought we’d have more creative flexibility, but soon saw that participating in the process provides the real benefit of the experience. The fantasy of creating an original work of art the first time around now seems ridiculous.
I was up first. I went with Keith to the furnace where he stuck in a blowpipe and gathered up a bit of molten glass. He had me turn the pipe constantly, cooling it with water then heating the glass back up in the furnace. I helped him stick it into bins of color - small pieces of colored glass - then put it back in the furnace.
The blowing part constituted only a small part of the process. Keith blew first to get the ballooning action going, then put it back in the furnace, twirling the pipe. Then he brought it over to where I was sitting with some jacks - a big pair of tongs - and rolled it while Mark blew to enlarge the pumpkin.
So Mark blew mine and I blew his. Close your dirty mind …
The coolest part was watching Keith make the stem by placing a wad of orange, molten glass on the top of the pumpkin, stretching it, then curling it around a pipe and clipping off the end.
Then into another oven at 1,000 degrees, to slowly cool down over a couple of days. Mark picked up our pumpkins when they were ready, but the studio will ship them to you if that’s easier.
This is not a hobby to take up in your basement. You need a furnace that stays on all the time at 2,000 degrees, filled with molten glass. You need to feed it glass pieces so it never gets too low.
Then you need all sorts of tools, from blowpipes to jacks (big, pointed tongs) to shears to molds. And you need a cooling oven, bringing the piece down from 1,000 degrees.
If you want to do this and don’t mind spending the money, take the three hour class. You may get the chance to take over a bit more of the process as your teacher starts to trust that you’ll be safe.
Although I have my pumpkin, I don’t feel like I made something; I just helped Keith make it. But I learned a lot, which is even better.
Luke Adams Glass Blowing Studio, Norwood, MA https://www.1hotpieceofglass.com
One hour glass blowing class: $90 (I got a Groupon, so it cost $93 for two people, plus an extra $5 each to make the pumpkin instead of an ornament or paperweight)
Three hour glass blowing class: $195
Check out Keith’s art here: keithcerone.com
For a really cool 10 minute, Oscar-winning short documentary about glassblowing, from 1959 (the year I was born!), check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAYh0f1CPuc
