We started with a lecture on what glassblowing entails.
Showing glass color rolled onto the uncolored (but red-hot) base
Heating the glass to keep it workable
Shaping the glass with waxed tweezers
Elenor’s Glassblowing
Elenor's colors were lilac, aqua, and dark blue.
Vince (?) rolls the base in each color
Then he rolls it against the metal table to push the shards into the base.
Elenor turned the glass in the glory hole to keep it heated up enough to work.
Very hot, very bright!
“Do it like this.”
“Now, blow!” Blowing into the red-hot glass puffs it up.
He rolls it and shapes it while the air is puffing it up.
Having finished it, he cuts it off the pipe.
Affixing the base and flattening it.
“This was fun!”
Success! The still-hot, finished ball!
Michael’s Glassblowing
This is what we'll be doing.
Here's where we pick up the clear base glass.
Michael picked cherry red for his globe.
Blow! See all their colors in the window. (Notice Mike’s globe has blown up.)
A small hot piece of molten glass
Clipping the finished piece off the pipe.
The base before flattening
This is how it’s flattened.
Success!
One final demo – a fancy vase!
Charlotte works the opening
You can see the vase opening behind her plank.
Putting the base on it.
He spins it to get the waves in it. This is preparing to cut it loose.
There are lots of “apprentice works” in the garden.
Michael liked this train set that ran around the garden.
Elenor’s Finished Globe
Michael’s Finished Globe