Glass Blowing

Glassblowing is the process of forming glass into useful shapes while the glass is in a molten, semi-liquid state. A person who blows glass is called a glassblower, glassmith, or gaffer. more...

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History

While the first evidence of man-made glass occurs in Mesopotamia in the Late-Third/Early-Second Millennium BCE, the Phoenicians are generally credited with developing the art of glassblowing. The earliest known blown glass was found near Jerusalem, and dated circa 50-40 BCE. The blowing technique transformed the material's usefulness from a time consuming process, in which the medium was hot-formed around rough cores of mud and dung, into a mass-producible material which could be quickly inflated into large, transparent, and leak-proof vessels. Glassblowing techniques spread throughout the Roman world. Venice, particularly the island of Murano, became a centre for high quality glass manufacture in the late medieval period.

The relatively recent "studio glass movement" began in 1962 when Harvey Littleton, a ceramics professor, and Dominick Labino, a chemist and engineer, held two workshops at the Toledo Museum of Art, during which they started experimenting with melting glass in a small furnace and creating blown glass art. Thus Littleton and Labino are credited with being the first to make molten glass available to artists working in private studios. This approach to glassblowing blossomed into a worldwide movement, producing such flamboyant and prolific artists as Dale Chihuly, Dante Marioni, Fritz Driesbach and Marvin Lipofsky. Lino Tagliapietra was among the first Murano-trained artists to leave and spread their knowledge in the United States. In 1971, Dale Chihuly began the Pilchuck Glass School near Stanwood, Washington. The Pilchuck School of Glass became the source of a great deal of the current American Studio Glass movement, and continues as such today.

Glassblowing is a form of art that requires lengthy training and intense concentration. In addition to glassblowing as an art, many individuals pursue glassblowing as a hobby. In fact, it is one of the fastest growing hobbies in North America.

Process

The transformation of raw materials into glass takes place around 2400°F (1315°C); the glass emits enough heat to appear almost white hot., the glass is then left to "fine out" (allowing the bubbles to rise out of the mass), and then the working temperature is reduced in the furnace to around 2000°F (1100°C). At this stage, the glass appears to be a bright orange color. Though most glassblowing is done between 1600°F - 1900°F (870°C - 1040°C), "Soda-lime" glass remains somewhat plastic and workable as low as 1350°F (730°C). Annealing is usually done between 800°F - 900°F (430°C - 480°C).

Read more at Wikipedia.org