Glassblowing Supplemental

Glassblowing Supplemental

Abstract

(see main article: Glassblowing)

Glassblowing is complex art with a multitude of different techniques that any individual driven to learn the craft must learn. While only time, practice, and dedication can hone a talent to incredible heights, it does little hurt to record those techniques that a glassblower must learn during their time at the furnace. This document is not meant to teach, but merely to act as a supplement for those who might wish to have a better understanding of the craft.


Index of Techniques

• Adding Color*
• Beads and Marbles, Molds*
• Beads and Marbles, Drawn*
• Beads, Lampwork*
• Cane and Latticino, Pulling
• Cane and Latticino, Applying
• Combining Blown Objects (Example: Goblet)
• Crystal
• Lip Wrap
• Embrossed Panoramas (Glass Casting)
• Figurines
• Marbles, Plain, Lampwork*
• Marbles, Ribbon, Lampwork*
• Mirror*
• Orbs with Intricate Interior Designs & Hollow Shells (Panorama Balls)
• Painting
• Paperweight, Basic*
• Paperweight, Complex*
• Reticello
• Stained Glass
• Thread

Note: Techniques with an asterisc (*) are not included in the glassblowing write-up, but have a level at which they can be made notated in their description

Glass Techniques

Adding Color - There are many different methods in which a glassblower can add color to their vessels. Sometimes color is added to the initial batch of glass made for that brightening. This can, however, be limiting. It is best to add the color during the creation of the vessel. Glassblowers can be terribly secretive about their coloring techniques, especially if they have developed a unique coloration. Glassblowers will learn different types as they become more familiar with their craft. Any of the following methods can be utilized.

Cane, Plain - These vary in thickness and are usually one solid color. See "Cane and Latticino, Pulling" to see how it is created and "Cane and Latticino, Applying" for how Cane is applied to a vessel. Glassblowers learn how to pull cane as a Novice, but do not apply it until they have become Apprentices.

Cane, Latticino - These vary in thickness and often contain elaborate designs that hold themselves to the utmost detail even after applied to a vessel. See "Cane and Latticino, Pulling" to see how it is created and "Cane and Latticino, Applying" for how Cane is applied to a vessel. Glassblowers learn how to pull and apply latticino when they have become Apprentices.

Cane, Reticello - Reticello is the combination of several plain cane sticks or stringers that have been twisted and woven together prior to being applied to a vessel. See "Reticello" to discover how they are created and applied to a vessel. Glassblowers learn this art when they have become Journeymen of the craft.

Frit - Frit is colored, broken glass either of the same color or of mixed colors. The vessel is rolled in a tray of frit for its application and then placed in the furnace so the frit melts onto the vessel. When applied it creates a speckled coloration over the piece. Frit is usually gathered by sweeping up the discarded glass pieces and then crushed into tiny pieces. Glassblowers learn this art as Novices.

Lip Wrap - A lip wrap is a string of glass wrapped around the entire mouth of the vessel. This usually contrasts in color. See "Lip Wrap" for details on how to apply this to a vessel. Glassblowers learn how to apply the lip wrap as an Apprentice.

Powder - Fine powders are the basic colorations for any glass vessel. These can be added to the molten glass mixture either when the glass is initially mixed or during the glassblowing process when the vessel is rolled in the powders. Commonly used are copper for red, magnetite for purple, wood charcoal and chalk for yellow, and natural quartz for green. These were not the only color ingredients used, however. Novices are taught how to mix the powders from the beginning and will often put together the powders for their mentor (excluding those the glassblower has developed himself, in which the glassblower will be the one to mix them).

Black: Combination of Salt of Manganese, Iron, Copper, and Cobalt.

Blue: Salts of Cobalt

Green: Natural Sand Quartz creates green because of the natural Iron, which turns the glass green; When a small amount of Salts of Magnetite is added it deepens the color

Purple: Salts of Magnetite

Red: Salts of Copper

Violet: Salts of Manganese (Cobalt sometimes added)

White/Opaque: Calcinated Bones

Yellow: Chalk or Wooden Charcoal

Other Colors: Combinations of the above can create any mix of colors with experimentation

Stringers - Stringers are very thin strings of glass used for coloration. They are slender versions of cane and often are about a millimeter in width. They are created in the same fashion as cane and latticino, but are pulled to a very fine width. Novice glassblowers are taught the skill of making stringers, but are often not taught how to use them until they become Apprentices.

Thread Thread is a strip of glass that winds around the vessel in a spiral fashion, although it has been used to stripe pieces before. To figure out how to apply thread see "Thread". This is often taught to Journeymen glassblowers.

Beads and Marbles, Molds - Beads and marbles made of molds are simple enough to make and are often a task delegated to a Novice, freeing up a glassblower of better skill to do far more important tasks. These pieces tend to be uniform in design, making them a cheap staple of nearly all glassworks. This is the quickest, easiest way to produce a bead or marble. The steps for both beads and marbles differ only in that the molds for the beads poke holes into them and the marbles remain whole when pressed in molds.

Step One: Choosing a selection of color canes (these can be latticino cane or plain color cane), the glassblower heats the tip of a selected rod until it has been heated to molten, a glob forming at its tip. This can be achieved over an open oil lamp and is often time consuming. The rod must be rotated throughout the duration of the heating so that the hot glass does not drip off. To hurry along this Step, the glassblower can use a mini blowpipe to increase the heat in the oil lamp flame by blowing air through the pipe against the flame.

Step Two: The resulting glob is dripped into a waiting mold and the top is carefully latched into place once each slot has been flipped. The mold shapes the glob into the desired shape and, in the case of the beads, punches a hole into the molten glass. How many beads are pressed in a given moment depends entirely on how large the mold is.

Step Three: The beads stay within the mold for only a short length of time before they are carefully extracted with mellon tweezers (bowl-like tongs) and placed on small metal stick (to uphold the hole in the bead). The beads are then placed in the annealer to cool for a few candlemarks.

Beads and Marbles, Drawn - Drawn beads and marbles tend to be a relatively simplistic concept, although they do require a bit more skill on behalf of the glassblower. It isn't often that Novices are taught this technique for it's often introduced at an Apprentice level. Drawn beads and marbles are pulled from a gather of glass and shaped while attached to the punty rather than being placed in a mold or worked over the open flame of an oil lamp. The difference between the creation of beads from marbles are the holes worked into the beads.

Step One: The glassblower proceeds as if they would with any other handblown glass object, gathering glass out of the furnace and shaping it over the marver.

Step Two: Color is next added, either with cane, frit, or color powders. The glass is reheated in the furnace to merge the color with the glass.

Step Three: The glassblower proceeds to further shape the object, angling the punty so that the tip of the gathered glass is narrowed.

Step Four: Once the shape has been completed, the glassblower sits down at the bench and uses the jacks to curve around the neck of the piece towards the very tip. This gives some separation from the tip to the rest of the globule's body. Depending on where the jacks are placed determines how large the glass at the tip is.

Step Five: From here the glassblower can begin to shape the marble or bead. Beads are often shaped in many ways at this point--sometimes square, sometimes assymetrically, sometimes circular. Because of this different tools are used. When beads are made round or the glassblower is making a marble, a paddle with a rounded base is used to cup the piece as the punty is rotated along the bench arms. This keeps the rounded shape for rolling it along the marver can often squish the bead or marble.

Step Six: Once the shape has been achieved, the beads have a hole poked into their molten shape with a pointed stick. The stick is left in the bead when the piece is clipped separate from the rest of the glass. Marbles are not punched in such a manner and are simply clipped away from the rest of the glass with the diamond shears.

Step Seven: The bead or marble is then placed in the annealer. More beads and marbles can be produced from the remaining glass after reheating it in the furnace.

Beads, Lampwork - While it is possible to create beads by drawing them from the gathered glass, Journeymen glassblowers often put aside such methods for a more creative and difficult approach: making the beads over an exposed oil lamp flame. This proves difficult because, in order to get the heat required to melt the glass sticks used, the glassblower must focus not only on the creation of the bead but also blowing air onto the lamp flame to produce the heat. Each bead is a one of a kind and often prove expensive if the glassblower can successfully work them.

Step One: The glassblower introduces the color rod of their choice to the exposed flame of the oil lamp. While holding the color rod in place, the glassblower proceeds to blow air towards the middle of the flame. This expands the heat of the flame.

Step Two: The glass will start to glow at the tip, a sign that it is turning molten. The glassblower continues to rotate the color rod continually so that any forming hot glass does not drip off. The glass is continually heated by blowing air against the flame until a glob takes shape at the tip.

Step Three: With the glob taking shape, the glassblower puts aside the blowpipe and picks up a small metal stick. Both stick and cane must be continually rotated so that the stick is heated evenly and the glass does not drip off. With enough practice a glassblower can handle this with ease, although it can often be a tricky movement to get adjusted to in the beginning.

Step Four: Once the stick is heated, the tip of the glass glob can be touched to the stick. The glass is wrapped around the stick by rotating the stick. To break the string of glass away from the bead, the glassblower must focus the heat of the lamp towards the breaking point.

Step Five: The individual handling the stick continues to rotate the piece, using the blowpipe to heat the flame. Angling the stick in different directions in the flame helps dictate the shaping of the bead.

Step Six: Once the bead has been given shape, decoration can then be added using stringers. The tips of these are heated and pressed against the side of the bead in the preferred design. Often a cane of clear glass is used on top of the colored glass to give it a smooth finish.

Step Seven: The glass is then heated in the flame with a boost from the blowpipe to smooth over the newly added markings.

Step Eight: The glassblower can either continue to add layers of design or simple complete the design here. If they wish to continue the design, they need simply repeat Steps Six through Seven before continuing on to Step Nine.

Step Nine: Once the designs have been completed, the glassblower places the bead into the annealer, still on the stick (this is to prevent the bead's hole from collapsing in). These take several candlemarks to cool, although it is best to leave them over night.

Cane and Latticino, Pulling - Rods of glass made by pulling and stretching molten glass from both ends. Cane tends to be of one color, while latticino are more intricate canes that create different patterns and designs when applied to glass pieces. Cane can be pulled long or short, sometimes ranging from five feet to thirty feet depending on how much glass is gathered prior to the pulling. When cut, cane tends to be under a foot long in length.

Step One: Gather glass as if creating a regular vessel and shape as usual, adding desired color or colors

Step Two: The rest of the steps are for two people to complete. One person holds the blowpipe vertically with the globule of glass pointing down towards the ground above a bucket of water. Another individual stands nearby with a pair of diamond shears waiting until a doorknob-sized dollop begins to drip down from the glass. uses the diamond shears to grasp the tip of the glass at the end of the blowpipe.

Step Three: Once the knob has formed, the person with the diamond shears grasps it and guides the very tip of it down into the water, but never putting more than the very tip into the bucket.

Step Four: After the glass has cooled enough, the blowpipe is braced horizontally on a bench and the individual with the diamond shears begins to pull the cane out and away from the concentrated globule. This creates a rope-like fixture that can expand only as far as the amount of glass gathered allows. The cane can be pulled straight or twisted during this process.

Step Five: Once the cane is as long as it can reasonably go and the glass has cooled down too much to continue pulling, the person beside the blowpipe uses another pair of shears to clip the cane free from the concentrated globule attached to the pipe.

Step Six: The cane is placed on a wooden trough with the help of both individuals. One person cuts the cooled cane into workable sized pieces and puts them in the annealer to cool while the other one reheats the glass on the blowpipe to begin the process over again. This process will be repeated until nearly all the glass has been removed from the pipe.

Cane and Latticino, Applying - When applied to vessels and fused into the glass in the furnace, the cane strands expand to create lines along the glass piece. Latticino are more intricate versions of plain, one-colored cane, holding detailed designs that are held to even the most minute detail when they expand.

Pre-Step: If no cane is readily at hand to use, follow the process for "Cane and Latticino, Pulling" and wait for the cane to cool. This takes one brightening.

Step One: Place the cane/latticino on a flat metal paddle evenly spaced apart and insert into the furnace. The cane needs only to be softened and should not be long in the furnace. Once they've been heated, remove them from the furnace and place the paddle on the bench.

Step Two: Proceed to create the vessel the cane will be applied to. The glass needs only to be worked until color is applied or just prior to the color application process if no further color is intended to be added.

Step Three: The cane can now be applied to the piece. Hold the glass so that the blowpipe is horizontal to the floor and roll the glass over the top of the cane so that it adheres to the side of the vessel. The tweezers and jacks can be used to further guide the cane against the side of the glass.

Step Four: Heat the vessel in the furnace to further adhere the cane to the glass.

Step Five: Any excess cane or latticino that is too long to fit against the vessel should be clipped off using the diamond shears.

Step Six: The glassblower can proceed as usual in the rest of the creation of the vessel.

Combining Blown Objects (Example: Goblet) - This process is used with goblets and other expansive pieces that require multiple glass vessels be fixed together. Combinations of objects can be a tricky subject to cover so the example will be done through the creation of a goblet, starting with the merese (the foot) of the goblet and ending with the basin. The example will be given as if two individuals are handling the procedure.

Step One: Create the merese following the usual steps, transferring the piece over to the punty and opening the mouth of the piece with the jacks and flattening it with a paddle.

Step Two: Another individual works on the creation of the stem. Once the stem and merese are both ready for the transfer, the tip of the stem is carefully guided to the point where it is to rest on the merese (usually the middle). There is a brief pause in the rolling of the merese on the punty during the transfer.

Step Three: While the individual with the merese and stem takes care of any imperfections on the newly combined objects, the second person begins work on shaping and coloring the basin.

Step Four: Once the basin is ready the pieces are combined in the same fashion--with the basin touched to the stem where the glassblower desires them to be connected. The basin is snapped from the blowpipe.

Step Five: The individual with the punty now must work to open the mouth of the goblet and further shape any other affects onto the glass as they wish, proceeding as with any other vessel.

Crystal - Crystal is a step above regular glass with its improved luster and clarity. Not only is its weight dramatically increased in comparison to glass, but the index of refraction and the ability to cut the material without the risk of fracturing is also greatly increased. Crystal is created when lead oxide is added to the glass mixture.

Making Crystal: The creation of crystal begins when the mix for the glass is placed in the furnace. Along with the normal ingredients of sand, potash, and lime, lead oxide is added. While the maximum lead content is 33 percent in the mixture, this requires a lot of skill in forming a shape so a lesser percentage of 10 - 24 percent is often used instead, although the same sparkle is often not garnered. Too much lead oxide will result in crystal that is too fluid and hard to shape.

Embrossed Panoramas (Glass Casting) - A mold of varying sizes usually utilized to create flat-paneled, texturized glass pieces such as windows or door panels.

Mold Creation: Small glassworks will usually give the design they have in mind to someone who specializes in this creation, but larger glassworks will usually make them on their own. Glass molds are made of resin, sand, and a catalyst, which harden into a sandstone-like consistency when mixed together. Designs are carved into the mold using chisels and hammers to create a desired texture or depth.

Step One: Using a large ladle, glass from the furnace is transferred into the molds. The individual must be careful while proceeding and are often cautioned to wear thick, elbow-length gloves, protective chest gear, and cover for the eyes. This is due to the fact that the poured glass can splash over or up if handled in a sloppy, careless manner. Students are instructed to keep the ladle close to the mold into which they are pouring the mix.

Step Two: Once the mold has been filled, the glassblower brings the mold over to the annealer and sets them there to cool gradually.

Step Three: These thick glass sheets take several brightenings to cool before they can be extracted. Either the glass can be carefully removed from the mold or the mold can be delicately broken around the glass. Regardless of the method used, the mold cannot be used a second time because the high temperatures destroy the mold, making each piece unique.

Figurines - Usually small and decorative, glassblowers create these artistic pieces through the manipulation of jacks, diamond sheers, and tweezers with occasional help of other tools. The following instructions are for a figurine created from one gathering of glass.

Step One: Because of their size figurines require only a small amount of glass to work with. Of course, the bigger the figurine the more glass should be gathered. The gathering of the glass is the first step executed.

Step Two: The glassblower shapes and smooths the glass using a wadding of wet parchment paper. This cools the glass enough that the glass won't droop while being shaped.

Step Three: If color is wanted in the figurine, the glassblower adds the color and reheats the piece, then proceeds to repeat step two.

Step Four: When the piece is sufficiently cooled, the glassblower begins to manipulate the glass, using the tweezers to pull glass out and away from the globule and the diamond shears to grasp and hold. Both the shears and the jacks can be used to create indentations or slight separations in the figurine. The edges of the jacks and tweezers can be used to smooth. It is entirely up to the artist's imagination how they manipulate the glass.

Step Five: After the glass has been manipulated as much as it can be with the glass attached to the punty or blowpipe, the glassblower uses the diamond shears to clip the piece off. Make sure to have the piece lying on the bench when this is done or the risk of the piece flattening when it falls are high.

Step Six: Further manipulation of the piece can be done while it sits on the bench, if necessary.

Step Seven: The piece is otherwise done and can be placed in the annealer for cooling or can be kept outside to be added onto, if desired.

Lip Wrap - A thin contrasting stripe (circle) of color added to the lip of a glass piece. It is typically one of the very last steps when working on a piece, as the lip wrap is added after the piece is transferred to the punty.

Pre-Step: Prepare the piece to apply the lip wrap to. After the piece has been transferred to the punty and the mouth of the piece set to the desired size, the lip wrap can then be applied.

Step One: Applying a lip wrap is a two person job, so glassblowers will often have a Novice on hand to help. Using a punty or blowpipe, the glassblower gathers glass from the furnace and colors it however they wish.

Step Two: With someone else holding the punty with the glass piece to which the lip wrap will be added, the glassblower holds the newly gathered glass above the blown glass and lets a globule drip down onto the mouth.

Step Three: As someone else rotates the punty and the glass piece, the glassblower holds the pipe steady with the glass dripping downward. The rotation of the punty will curl the dripping glass around the mouth of the vessel.

Step Four: When the punty is brought to a full rotation and the lip wrap has been wrapped around the entire mouth, the person holding the punty snips the dripping glass where it meets the vessel with the diamond shears.

Step Five: The lip wrap is now in place and can be shaped and smoothed as needed.

Marbles, Plain, Lampwork - Making glass marbles with this method tends to be something Journeymen glassblowers and those of greater skill can work at with some ease, whereas lower levels find it a little too complicated. This process is simple to that of making a bead, involving the oil lamp and color rods, but it exclude the use of a stick to roll the glass around since marbles do not require holes to be punched into them.

Step One: Follow Steps One and Two of "Beads, Lampworking".

Step Two: With the glob taking shape, the glassblower puts aside the blowpipe and picks up the marble molds. The marble is then pressed into a marble mold very gently, using a size that is slightly larger than the marble. The glassblower rotates and rolls the rod quickly so that the glass does not harden, going back and forth with the flame and the mold until 2/3 to 3/4 of the marble is round.

Step Three: Next the glassblower picks up a clear color rod, heating up the tip of it and pressing it into the side opposite the color rod used for the marble.

Step Four: The glassblower waits a few moments for the rods to harden before clipping the first color rod off.

Step Five: When returning the marble to the flame, the glassblower needs to be cautious because the marble has cooled significantly during the last few steps. The marble should be flashed in and out of the flame before finally resting it there, focusing the flame on the area of the marble that has not yet been smoothed out.

Step Six: The glassblower repeats Step Two with the newly exposed side of the marble.

Step Seven: Once the marble has been rounded out on all sides, it is ready to come off the clear rod. The glassblower sets the marble in one of the marble molds that is not large enough for the marble to touch the bottom, but big enough to keep it steady. The rod is then cut off.

Step Eight: Allowing the marble to cool down for a few moments, the marble is then picked up with mellon tweezers (rounded and ball-shaped) and carried over to the annealer to cool overnight.

Marbles, Ribbon, Lampwork - Making glass marbles with this method tends to be something Journeymen glassblowers and those of greater skill can work at with some ease, whereas lower levels find it a little too complicated. This process is simple to that of making a bead, involving the oil lamp and color rods, but it exclude the use of a stick to roll the glass around since marbles do not require holes to be punched into them. It differs from the making of a plain marble in that it adds a swirled twist of color in its center.

Step One: Follow Steps One and Two of "Beads, Lampworking".

Step Two: With the glob taking shape, the glassblower puts aside the blowpipe and picks up a small paddle with a rounded mold around it. The glassblower presses the glob against the the flat paddle. The paddle mold rounds out the exteriors--the resulting look is that of a flat lollipop. This will be the ribbon on the interior of the marble.

Step Three: While keeping the glob over the exposed lamp flame (and rotating it to keep the shape), the glassblower picks up another color rod and heads it until it beads with molten glass.

Step Four: Once the blob is large enough, it is dripped off the rod and onto the flat of the created lollipop

Step Five: The glassblower then repeated steps Three and Four, except this time pressing the rod against the other side of the lollipop rod.

Step Six: The resulting mix of rods is held over the open flame with the glassblower adding heat with the blowpipe. Carefully the rod is rotated so that while the colors melt together, it does not heat unevenly to one side or the other.

Step Seven: To give the ribbon a twist on the inside, the glassblower uses a pair of tweezers to grasp the glass where the colors meet. The twisting is done slowly, pulling the glass into a spiral. Usually only half the color twists. To keep the marble from stretching, the glassblower pushes the tweezers slightly into the marble and stops twisting if the marble folds or begins to droop.

Step Eight: The tweezers are then put aside and the glassblower resumes reheating the marble until the tweezer holes are melted together, rotating the piece all the while.

Step Nine: The marble is then pressed into a marble mold very gently, using a size that is slightly larger than the marble. The glassblower rotates and rolls the rod quickly so that the glass does not harden, going back and forth with the flame and the mold until 2/3 to 3/4 of the marble is round.

Step Ten: Next the glassblower picks up a clear color rod, heating up the tip of it and pressing it into the side opposite the color rod initially pressed into a lollipop (this should be rod still attached to the marble).

Step Eleven: The glassblower waits a few moments for the rods to harden before clipping the first color rod off.

Step Twelve: When returning the marble to the flame, the glassblower needs to be cautious because the marble has cooled significantly during the last few steps. The marble should be flashed in and out of the flame before finally resting it there, focusing the flame on the area of the marble that has not yet been smoothed out.

Step Thirteen: The glassblower repeats Steps Seven through Nine with the newly exposed side of the marble.

Step Fourteen: Once the marble has been rounded out on all sides, it is ready to come off the clear rod. The glassblower sets the marble in one of the marble molds that is not large enough for the marble to touch the bottom, but big enough to keep it steady. The rod is then cut off.

Step Fifteen: Allowing the marble to cool down for a few moments, the marble is then picked up with mellon tweezers (rounded and ball-shaped) and carried over to the annealer to cool overnight.

Mirror - A reflective piece of glass created through the use of tin and mercury. This is a simple technique often executed by Novices. This is a time consuming process that takes three cycles to complete. It is also unhealthy due to the fumes produced by the mercury and many glassblowers will not produce mirrors unless a special commission is made.

Pre-Step: The glass that will be turned into a mirror should be created and cooled prior to the application of the mix.

Step One: A piece is mirrored by placing a sheet of tin on a special stone stable surrounded on all four sides by gutters. The tin should be larger than the mirror to be created. The tin should be secured to the table.

Step Two: A small amount of mercury is then poured onto the sheet and subsequently rubbed in with a cloth to ensure connection has been made.

Step Three: After the initial coating of mercury has been poured and rubbed in, a second layer of mercury is poured onto the tin. This layer is still considerably thin, but thick enough that it covers the entire sheet of tin.

Step Four: The glassblower will then place the piece to be mirrored down on top of the mercury. This must be done carefully so that the mercury does not splash and the glass doesn't break. The glass should float on the layer of mercury.

Step Five: The glass is then covered with a blanket and aggravated by weights, pushing the glass down against the tin sheet below. The mercury that does not adhere to the glass flows off through the gutters on the sides.

Step Six: The stone table is put at a slant and the glass is left there for three cycles to let the last of the unused mercury flow off and the glass to dry.

Step Seven: When the glass is lifted off the table any serious vibrations (as from an earthquake or anything toppling over) can result in the mercury suddenly flowing off the glass. Glassblowers must be extremely cautious in the removal or their work will have been for nothing.

Orbs with Intricate Interior Designs & Hollow Shell - One of the most difficult decorative pieces to create, these glass balls have elaborate scenes on the inside made of glass. They are typically displayed from a hook or dangled from a high point in a room, but some glassblowers design them with flat bottoms or to be placed on a display case. Only glassblower Masters and above tend to be able to design these.

Step One: The glassblower begins by creating the bottom of the orb. This can be either rounded or flat, but almost always matches the color of the shell that will will encase the decorative piece in the center. This is the norm, but not the rule. The glassblower creates this bottom piece as they would any other piece, transferring it over to the punty and either flattening it out completely (if they intend to stand the ball on its own) or giving it a slight round to it (if they intend to let it be a hanging ornament).

Step Two: Once the bottom piece has been created, the decorative pieces can be attached to it. If the glassblower is working on their own they will have to put the bottom piece into the garage while they begin working on these decorative vessels. If they are working alongside someone else, they can give this bottom piece to an assistant while they work on the pieces.

Step Three: To learn how these decorative pieces are fixed onto the bottom piece, please see the steps to "Combining Blown Objects". Do not proceed onto the next step until all decorative pieces have been attached to the bottom part of the vessel.

Step Four: Once again the punty can be left in the care of an assistant if the glassblower is working with someone, otherwise the piece completed so far can be placed in the garage until the next part of the vessel is completed.

Step Five: The shell of the ball is completed last. Usually the walls of this are blown as thin as possible and are usually colorless as to give the best impression of the scene inside, although glassblowers have been known to color this shell. Molds are often used to get the perfect circular shape.

Step Six: Instead of transferring the ball over to the punty with the interior scene, the shell is transferred over to a different punty where the mouth is opened to the desired width, the shape carefully worked over to smooth out any uneven ends. Molds are again used to ensure that the shape is perfectly circular. The mouth is usually wide and flared out a little at this point as to compensate the eventual merge of the two shaped vessels.

Step Seven: Once the glassblower is certain the shell is ready, they ease the opening of the shell around the scene and the bottom half. The glassblower must work quickly to secure the glass against the bottom half's lower edges before the shell collapses around the interior. A hot metal rod is usually used to help move along the process. Once connected, the punty fixed to the shell is popped off.

Step Eight: To further ensure that both pieces remain fixed together, the glassblower uses the edges of the jacks to smooth out the edges and places the combined objects in the furnace. The ball cannot be left in the furnace too long or the interior scene will begin to grow limp.

Step Nine: With the shell firmly adhered, the glassblower can remove the ball from the punty and place it in the annealer for cooling, which can take several brightenings if the scene inside is elaborate.

Painting - Because of the sleek surface of glass, the paint that is used must adhere to the surface rather than slip off. Glassblowers tend to make their own paints as to further the range of their pigments.

Vinegar Trace Paint: This paint, which is dark and completely blocks out the light in the areas where it is applied, is most often used for figure or design lines. It is fairly thick and must be mixed with water, vinegar, and gum acacia to use. Gum acacia, which helps the paint stick to the glass, is usually purchased in powder form and must be mixed with water or alcohol before using.

Step One: Vinegar trace paint must be applied "wet on wet"; that is, both the brush and the glass surface must be wet. More paint cannot be applied to a particular place once it dries otherwise the paint is likely to flake when fired in the kiln. Painting with vinegar trace paint requires practice. The hardest part is learning to apply just the right amount of paint. Too much on the brush and it will blot, too little and it will dry before the stroke is complete.

Step Two: When dry, vinegar trace paint is often scraped or scratched with a small stick or quill. This gives the paint a texture and depth that can't be gotten from the paint alone. Once prepared, the paint is fired. It becomes shiny after firing.

Matte Paint: Matte paint, which uses a base of either water and gum acacia or water and vinegar, is easier to apply than vinegar trace paint. It can be applied thickly or thinly and can even be "blended" and stippled or worked with a second brush to give it an interesting texture. Some artists even rub it with their fingers to achieve more unusual effects. Because it is more transparent than vinegar trace paint, matte paint is generally applied over trace paint. Often, two firings are required, one for the trace paint and a second for the matte paint. Matte paint is most frequently used for filling in backgrounds and adding shadows. As with vinegar trace paints, the color selection is somewhat limited, consisting primarily of blacks, brown, blues, and greens.

Silver Stain: Silver stain, which is available in shades of red, yellow, and orange, gets its name from the presence of silver nitrate in the stain. After firing, it turns golden, not silver-colored. It is unlike paint in that it actually changes the color of the glass, rather than simply covering it up with a dark line or wash. Silver stains do not flow well from the brush, but since they are generally used to add accent colors (rather than detailed lines) this is not a major issue. They are often applied to the opposite side of the glass from vinegar trace and matte paints, and may be fired face down, with the silver stain resting on the kiln shelf.

Oil-Based Stained Glass Paints: The advantages of oil-based glass paints are that they come in more colors, are easier to work with, and are not effected by general atmospheric conditions. The major disadvantage of these paints are that they tend to be less consistent in application; although colors may be mixed like regular oil paints, they do not always mix easily or thoroughly and sometimes fire unevenly. Oil-based paints, which use an oil-turpentine base, are generally fired to a slightly lower temperature than water-based paints. They tend to break up if fired to higher temperatures.

Paperweights, Basic - Paperweights are a relatively simple design when done in their basic form and can easily be created by a Novice glassblower. These thick, solid glass pieces are used by many to hold down papers or as a simple decorative object.

Step One: Glass is gathered from the furnace. Rather than working on giving the glass shape, the glassblower can immediately choose the form of color that they wish to utilize. It is more common to use a variety of colors with paperweights to give it that wavy flare of color rather than going with one straight color. Frit resting on a heated source (to keep them from shattering when impacting with the molten glass) are often a popular choice.

Step Two: The glass is then reheated in the furnace to melt the colors into the glass.

Step Three: Once the color is melted into the glass, the glassblower will begin to give the piece the shape that is required. Usually this is round or oval and molds are often utilized to get the right shape.

Step Four: After some basic shaping has been given to the glass, the glassblower goes in and gathers a second glob of glass.

Step Five: The glass has now been enlarged and further shaping on the marver and molds are required.

Step Six: Once shaping has been completed the paperweight can be removed from the pipe and placed in the annealer to cool for a brightening.

Paperweights, Complex While basic paperweights can be executed by Novice glassblowers, paperweights with decorative interiors (such as flowers, butterflies, etc...) take a hand that is a little more skilled. Because of this, paperweights with shapes on the inside are often reserved for Apprentices of the field.

Step One: Glass is gathered from the furnace. Rather than working on giving the glass shape, the glassblower can immediately apply color to the globule.

Step Two: Once the color has been applied, the glassblower can now manipulate the glass into the desired shape using tweezers, shears, and jacks--or whatever other tools they may find useful. The more intricate the design, the more skill the glassblower must have.

Step Three: The glassblower then goes back to the furnace and gathers more glass around the shaped piece. This does not ruin the pre-made shape on the inside, but merely surrounds it with a new layer and gives the paperweight that solid interior.

Step Four: With the added exterior, the glassblower needs to give the piece the shape that they desire. They may also vary outside of being circular, going with such shapes as starfish or squares. These shapes are generally best done with molds so that they are not lopsided.

Step Five: Once the shape has been achieved, the globe is snapped off of the pipe and placed in the annealer to cool.

Reticello - Reticello is the most time consuming and technical of coloring techniques. To create the reticello pattern, two twisted canes are fused together. The canes must be twisted in opposite directions, and the low spots between the canes act to trap air, creating the little air bubbles inside each diamond.

Pre-Step: If no cane has been prepared, follow the process in "Cane and Latticino, Pulling" and wait for the resulting cane to cool. This takes one brightening.

Step One: The individual separates out an equal amount of cane into two piles. One pile of cane is physically twisted to the right while the other pile of cane is twisted to the left. The cane must be marginally soft for this to happen and the individual should be wearing protective gloves.

Step Two: The twisted canes are then twisted together in pairs.

Step Three The combined cane pieces are then woven together like a basket weave, with enough space between each twined pair so that diamonds or squares are shaped. The size of these diamonds are determined by the preference of the glassblower.

Step Four: The woven canes are then placed on a metal flat paddle and set into the furnace for a short length of time to fuse them lightly together.

Step Five: The flat paddle is placed on the bench and the glassblower begins work on the glass piece that will use the reticello.

Step Six: The reticello is added to the piece in the early stages of its development, either after coloring has been added or, if no additional color will be added, after some basic shape has been leant to the piece. The reticello is added by rolling the glass over the top of the fused canes. The reticello weave will adhere, although further fusion will take place when the combined pieces are placed in the furnace

Step Seven: The glassblower may use the tweezers or jacks to further guide the reticello against the shape of the glass. Any excess in reticello can be clipped off with the diamond sheers after the reticello has been fused. The glassblower can proceed as normal with the rest of the piece's creation.

Stained Glass - Colored glass pieced together by glassblowers typically created to fill windows.

Step One: The pattern should be drawn to scale. This pattern should be duplicated or copied for guidance in later steps. The colors of the pattern should be determined, often written in the margins or on the drawn shapes themselves.

Step Two: With the colors in mind, the glassblower will then set out to create the flat sheets of glass that they will need. The glassblower has several methods they can utilize:

Cylinder Glass: Glass is gathered from the furnace and blown, being continually manipulated until it forms a large cylindrical shape of even diameter and wall-thickness. It is then cut open, laid flat and annealed to make it stable. This is the type of glass most commonly used.

Crown Glass: Glass is partly blown into a hollow vessel, then put onto a revolving table which could be rapidly spun like a potter's wheel. The force causes the molten material to flatten and spread outwards. It is then cut into small sheets. This glass could be made colored and used for stained glass windows, but is typically associated with small paned windows. Concentric, curving ripples are characteristic of this process. The center of each piece of glass receives less force during the spinning, and thus produces a thicker piece. These centers are used for the special effect created by their lumpy, refractive quality.

Table Glass: Table glass is produced by pouring molten glass onto a metal table and frequently rolling it with a large metal cylinder, which imprinted whatever pattern was inscribed on it onto/into the glass. The glass thus produced is heavily textured by the reaction of the glass with the cold metal.

Flashed Glass: In this procedure, a semi-molten cylinder of clear glass is dipped into a pot of colored glass so that the colored glass formed a thin coating. The laminated glass thus formed was cut, flattened and heat annealed. This allows a variety in the depth to the color, ranging from very dark and almost opaque, through pale and sometimes streaky colors that are often used for thin border pieces. The other advantage is that the color of double-layered glass can be engraved or abraded to allow light to shine through the clear glass underneath. The other advantage is that sheets can be flashed in which the depth of color varies across the sheet.

Step Three: After the sheets have been given time to cool (about one brightening), the glassblower then cuts out the pieces from their paper pattern, placing them on the selected glass and tracing around them with a sharp cutting tool.

Step Four: Pieces are then sanded and polished to remove burs, sharp edges, and sometimes to add desired effects into the glass.

Step Five: At this stage additional painting or shading can be added onto the glass pieces. Many glassblowers apply a layer of enamel to stained glass to give it a particular shine or gloss.

Step Six: If further coloring or enamel has been added to the pieces, they must then be baked in a kiln for several candlemarks.

Step Seven: While the pieces are in the kiln, the glassblower can work on creating the frames made of lead cames that will brace the glass together. Using special tweezers, the glassblower can bend and twist the lead into an H-shape.

Step Eight: Using a copy of the pattern created in the first step, the glassblower assembles their window with the H-frames between each piece. This must be done carefully or they risk cracking candlemarks of hard work.

Step Nine: Once the pieces have been fit together, a hot metal piece with a narrow tip is applied to the lead pieces to solder them into place. This process is painstakingly slow for the metal continually needs to be heated and one H-frame can take a while to solder.

Step Ten: Once the lead has been soldered, glass pieces are stopped from rattling and made weatherproof by forcing a soft oily cement or mastic between the glass and the cames.

Step Eleven: The glass is then ready to be inserted into whatever door or window they have been made for.

Thread - A thin wrap or spiral of glass that goes around a vessel, creating a spiral design. The application of thread can be done alone, but it is easier with two individuals.

Step One: A lump of glass color is preheated on a flat paddle in the furnace.

Step Two: While the lump is preheating, the glass vessel the thread will be attached to is formed, following the usual steps. After the color is added (or just prior to the color step if no color is added), is when the thread should be applied.

Step Two: Once significantly heated the thread lump is attached to a punty and further heated in the furnace.

Step Three: The heated color lump is then shaped on the marver to form a molten cone.

Step Four: The tip of the cone is then brought to the vessel and touched to the piece's side. The blowpipe with the vessel fixed to it is then rotated and the thread is lowered little by little so that the thread wraps itself not around on area, but rather around the entire surface the glassblower wants threaded. The speed at which the blowpipe is rotated determines how quickly the glass is pulled off the cone and how thin the thread is.

Step Five: The thread application is completed once the thread breaks free on its own or is cut free with the diamond sheers.

Step Six: The vessel is reheated in the furnace to fuse the thread into the glass.