Glass Making

There are many types of glass making and ways to work with glass. To give you an idea of a few:

Kiln casting – Kiln casting refers to the melting of glass inside a mould within a kiln. This is one of the earliest forms of glass making and an early form of this process was used in Mesopotamia in 4000BC.

Cold working – Cold working is a process where an artist works with cold glass and can include a range of different processes including cutting, sandblasting, grinding, polishing and engraving. This can be a very noisy and messy process!

Flame working / Lampworking – Flame working or lampworking is a glass making process where the artist creates glass objects under a torch flame. Glass beads are often made using this method.

Glass blowing – Glass blowing is the technique of forming an object by inflating a gather or gob of molten glass on the end of a blowpipe. Traditionally and in modern furnace working, the gaffer blows through the tube, slightly inflating the gob, which is then manipulated into the required form by swinging, rolling, or shaping it with tools or in a mould.

Have a look on Youtube at videos of each of these glass working techniques. These different techniques are often used in combination; have a look at artists whose works use a range of glass working techniques and what the effect of these are.

Some examples to start you off:

Kiln casting: Kiln casting by ongekruid www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7zM1IMkBQw

Cold working: Optical Glass Sculptures by fine art glass artist Jack Storms - The Glass Sculptor www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeMGRMwarKI

Flame working / Lampworking: Making Glass Dip Pens | Où se trouve: GypsyRoad Glass, Silver & Stone by Stereokroma www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTE5550NU3k

Glass blowing: The Amazing Birth Of A Hand Blown Glass Pitcher by NOVICA www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtxrtKd-Vao