Glass blowing is a unique technique of making glass art, which involves inflating hot glass with the help of a blowpipe (that’s the official term). The person doing the blowing of air into the blowpipe is called glass blower, or gaffer. Depending on which type of glass blowing techniques you are going to use you could do this manually and on small scale, or with the help of machines at large scale.
When choosing a glass blowing machine there are many factors to consider. First, you must determine whether or not the glass blowing equipment is for home or business use, and also how much equipment you need. It is possible to purchase glass blowing machines commercially, but these machines are often very large, and require practice and experience to handle safely. A good option for those who are interested in glass blowing but do not want to invest in commercial equipment is to opt for glass blowing kits as these kits include all of the equipment necessary to begin making glass art at home.
Lampworking
Glass blowing is becoming popular again, as modern technology enables artists to create art at home using modern techniques, and one of these new techniques is called lampworking. This technique uses a gas fueled (blow) torch to heat up the glass, after which you can shape it using various specialty utensils and tools that are designed specifically for at-home usage.
There are two types of glass blowing techniques: wet and dry. Dry glass blowing uses no fuel while wet glassblowing uses a combination of fuel and flame to heat up the glass. The resulting glass pieces are sometimes hard to make and they often break more easily than regular glass.
Tips For the Beginner Gaffer
Some of the best tips for the beginners address the preventing of your glass piece from cracking. And the first step to avoid this is by not heating the glass too much, as this can cause significant cracking once it cools down.
Another good tip is that when heating the glass, you should always keep a safe distance from the glass you are working on, as well as wearing safety glasses. After heating the glass, try to sit back and watch it carefully, so you can see if any cracking occurs.
If you’re interested in lampworking, or even making glass art in a studio there are plenty of opportunities to learn glass blowing from the comfort of your home, and when you’ve grasped the basic techniques go practice in a studio. You can also try different techniques at home, and look for glass blowing shops that have more experienced personnel. After you learn the basics of lampworking, you’ll soon be on your way to having beautiful glass pieces for display or to use on special occasions.
If you think this craft might be something interesting to try, why not write it down in a diary or business ideas journal and add more information to it that you can find at Learn Glassblowing?
Alyosha Lonoff is a proud editor for learnglassblowing.com and has got lots of experience in the glass making industry. Be sure to check out her website to learn more about the gorgeous art of making glass pieces at home,