A Glass Act

Just back from a trip to New Orleans… and boy is that place HOT! But also very cool. Because while I was there I took a class in glass blowing. This is something that always fascinated me but I never thought I’d have the opportunity to actually try it out. New Orleans Glassworks was right around the corner from our hotel so I went over to check it out and, after some deliberation, scheduled a two hour private class with a teacher. I was given a quick tour of the studio and advised to wear close toed shoes and sunglasses.

I arrived at 10 AM and it was already about 90 degrees. I met my instructor Drake. To be honest, he did most of the work… but I did pick the colors 🙂 The first thing we (he) did was use this long steel stick called a “punty” to gather the molten glass from the 2200 degree oven. (I’m sure you can understand why I was overjoyed that he took this job upon himself.) The punty always has to be twirling so that the melted glass doesn’t get off center and fall off. So that was lesson one… not too hard. Turns out I am a pretty good twirler. When you take it out of the oven, that’s when it’s the hottest so if you are going to add color, it happens then. I was allowed to pick from a bunch of Dixie cups holding crushed glass and larger chunks in all different colors. We rolled the hot glass in the “sprinkles” of color (all the while twirling away) and then shaped it into a smooth round knob using a cherry wood “block” which looked something like a ladle with one side off. The block had to be wet often so that the glass didn’t burn it- you could see sparks starting if it got dry.  After that was formed, another gather of glass was added on top of the first one. In order to keep the glass hot, there was another oven called the “Glory Hole” where you would “flash” the glass to heat it back to a workable temperature.

The first project I made was a paperweight which I think came out pretty cool. I never really got to see it because once you finish the piece, it has to go right into another oven where it is annealed. This oven slowly brings the temperature, starting at 900 degrees over a period of hours, down to room temp. If it is cooled too quickly, the glass will crack and be ruined.

The second piece we did started as a vase but kind of morphed into more of a bowl and actually involved blowing glass. I think I was most nervous of this and thought somehow I might inhale scorching air into my lungs and die. But luckily, it really was not possible to do that. I was surprised- the first bit of blowing took the most effort because the glass was relatively thick but once it thinned out, less pressure was required and it got easier.

I was especially interested in how the piece came off the punty. One of the last things you do when finishing a pieces is to take calipers (which look something like a large pair of tweezers) and score a line (twirling twirling) where you want to cut off your glass. Then you simply dip the calipers in water and press the point of them into the thinner (and weaker) scored area in 6-8 spots around the base of the piece. It is then placed it in the annealing oven over one of the shelves and given a couple of sharp whacks and off it falls! Then the oven door is quickly closed so the heat stays in.

Drake was drenched by the time we were finished and I was not much dryer even though I was not near the ovens half as much as he was. This NY girl was ready for a Big Gulp! I was very happy to hop on the streetcar after class and and cool down.