Glass Making and Care for Your Glass Art

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glassmaking is an ancient art dating back centuries, with early glass vessels found in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Treasured by pharaohs and nobles, glass was as precious as gold. Today, glass is ubiquitous in modern life, yet the grandeur of glass art endures through time.

Special types of glass, crafted by hand into sheets, rods, stringers, and crushed forms, are used in fusing and torch work. Artists assemble these pieces into intricate patterns, then transform them through heat in electric kilns, a process that can take days.

After cooling, the glass may be shaped further using specialty molds or reworked into new forms. This meticulous process, though aided by technical advancements, relies ultimately on the artist's eye for precision and control of kiln temperatures.

Once cooled, the glass undergoes grinding and polishing, sometimes accompanied by custom stand construction, before emerging as a finished work of art—a transformation from rigid liquid to sculpted beauty.

For torch work, I use soft glass from Italy and Boro Glass for hand sculpting. Flowers and small sculptures are meticulously crafted using hot glass techniques and annealed in an electric kiln for durability.

 

Care of Your Glass Art:

Always wash your glass with a soft cloth, never anything abrasive, because this is a one-of-a-kind handmade glass art.  Do NOT put in the microwave or dishwasher.