Blown Glass: They Do Still Make It Like They Used To

Blown art glass is quickly becoming one of thesoda, potash and other compounds. The actual
fastest growing hobbies in North America... and ittransformation of raw materials into glass takes
is about time. Glassblowing has been around sinceplace well above 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.After
27 BC in Syria, though the first evidence ofthe glass has melted, the artist uses a blowpipe
manmade glass products occurs in Mesopotamia into shape the glass. The blowpipe is about five
the late 3rd century BC. But the advancement offeet long and is used for blowing a parison of
actual "blowing" glass using a tube transformedmolten glass. Molds are used to impress
the materials usefulness. The new techniquedecorative patterns.There are two types of
quickly spread throughout the Romanmodern glassblowing but offhand glassblowing is
world.Harvey Littleton, a ceramics professor, andthe type most people picture in their mind when
Dominick Labino, a chemist and engineer, arethey think about this kind of art. The artist
credited with starting the most recent "studiogathers a glob of fused glass at the end of a
glass movement" in 1962. The two heldhollow tube called a blowpipe or blowing iron. The
workshops at the Toledo Museum of Art. This ismolten glass is then fashioned into its final form
where the current method of melting glass in aby various techniques of blowing and shaping with
furnace for use in blown glass art was originated.hands, tolls and molds. The second kind of
Thus, Littleton and Labino are credited withglassblowing is lampworking. Lampworking is the
making molten glass available to artists in privatesoftening of a glass tube by heating it in the
studios.The actual process of preparing the glassflame of a torch. Next, the softened glass is
for blowing is very involved though. The glass ismanipulated into its final form by blowing and
melted in furnaces using the sand, limestone,shaping with hands and tools.