Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Glass Blowing - Making an Ornament


The sequel to Lords of Dyscrasia is coming in 2014, entitled Spawn of Dyscrasia.  It features a hero from Clan Tonn who is a glass blower.  My wife empowered me to do some research by signing me up for a basic glass blowing class; the goal being to make a glass ornament.  So across town to Brazee Street Studios (Cincinnati, OH) I went and had a great time.  John Ruzsa (glass blower) guided me through the process.  The below montages summarize:

  1. Gather some glass (Furnace 1)
  2. Manage temperature of the pipe and glass (Furnace 2)
  3. Add some color (colored frit is worked in)
  4. Shape it (molding, blowing, pincing)
  5. Anneal it (Furnace 3, not shown here.  Essentially the glass is equilibrated at a cooler, but still "hot" temperature.)

The ornament is quite robust, and rather heavy.  The blowpipe is the length of an Aikido jo (staff) and could easily be employed in combat.  And the furnaces...wow...they are hot!