Glassmaking and fabrication are ancient crafts. Glass has been utilized as an artistic and ornamental medium throughout history to produce numerous remarkable creations. It has been alluring to architects, jewelers, and sculptors from different eras. A symbol of rebirth, beauty, integrity, and transformation, glass art can mesmerize an audience like none other.
John Moran working at Corning Museum fo Glass. Photo courtesy of The Corning Museum of Glass.
A glass art piece is unique. Glossy finish, crystalline form, distinctive texture, and impeccable visual aesthetics are prized qualities of glass artwork. Moreover, the fragility of the art piece increases its preciousness. However, this fragility makes it a tricky substance to work with. Passionate artists took it as a challenge and developed techniques to make the use of glass in arts and ornaments possible.
In a broader sense, every glass art technique classifies under three major categories; hot glass, warm glass, and cold glass. Hot glass involves heating the medium to 2000 degrees and, once molten, molding it into the desired shape. Warm glass work refers to treating glass in a kiln at temperatures ranging from 1200 to 1600 degrees. Finally, any technique that does not require heating falls under Cold glass.
Here, I will showcase six distinct types of glass crafts that have been gathered from various categories, each exhibiting a unique product and expression.
Lampworking
Lampworking, also called flameworking or torchworking, was widely practiced in Murano, Italy in the 14th century. This glass technique involves melting the glass with a torch and then shaping it using tools or by hand, using a mandrel and gloves. It requires mastery over an artist’s ability to control the shaping of a semi-fluid substance.
This technique is used for making glass beads, hollow tube-like structures, small vessels, and figurines. It employs several methods, including hollow work, lamp-wound work, marvering, and pulling-a-stringer. This art form is often combined with other techniques to create a piece.
Lampworking is unique in highlighting individual aspects of a theme. As it gives an artist more control over shaping and detailing, the technique is one of the best in reflecting the artist’s expression with finesse. Lampworking has received a resurgence since the mid-2000’s in the form of functional art glass, mainly focused on smoking paraphernalia, growing into an internationally recognized sub-culture.
Blown Glass
Using wet newspaper to shape blown glass. Photo courtesy of Gent Glas.
As the name suggests, this technique involves blowing into a hot, molten glass to give it shape. Believed to have originated between 27 BC and 14 AD in the Fertile Crescent, Middle-East, this technique is one of the most practiced today. Glass blowing, in contrast to lampworking, cannot give fine details to a shape but is unique in creating a perfect base shape for medium-sized objects, which are combined to make a large scale piece.
Glass blowing involves two methods; free-blowing and mold-blowing. After spooling a molten glass blob to one end of a blowpipe, the artist blows short puffs of air to shape it as desired. It is called free-blowing. In mold-blowing, the molten blob is spooled similarly but is placed inside a cast and then blown to make the desired shape.
Hot glass added to a blown glass form. Photo courtesy of Gent Glas.
The application of blown glass is as infinite as imagination. Depending upon the artist’s skill, anything, from a vase to Dale Chihuly’s 20 feet tall Violet Crystal Tower, can be created with this method. Like its application, the expression blown into a glass can be unbound. Even if this technique does not allow the artist to express through fine detailing, a glass artist can still illustrate a whole concept or a story through blown glass. Much like the previous technique, this one is also used in combination with other methods.
Cast Glass
Originating in Egypt in the 15th Century BC, cast glass is another popular technique. Unlike blown glass and lampwork glass, this technique is not too demanding with the artist’s expertise. The process involves pouring molten glass into a premade cast and then letting it set and cool down to achieve the desired shape.
Glass casting is an efficient method in glass crafts. It speeds up productivity, gives a shape close to the artist’s need, and doesn’t require much fine detailing. When talking about expression, this art form is the best in realizing a theme that the artist wants to portray, perfectly aligned with his thought, while saving time.
Stained Glass
Stained glass is the most enchanting form of glass art. The way it uses the lucidity of glass is fantastic. A prized architectural component of the Gothic Era, stained glass can add an ethereal effect to the illumination of a building even today. This technique is also unique in its practice. Glass staining focuses on coloring the medium and creating 2D shapes instead of 3D modeling.
The process of staining involves adding metal oxides of various concentrations to molten glass to achieve the desired color. Stained glass is extremely expressive by design. The larger the scale, the better the expression. You’ll find stained glass portraying stories in churches and other religious monuments. Stained glass creates a dreamy atmosphere by adding captivating lighting to the intricate designs.
Fused Glass
Researchers are unsure regarding the origin of the Fused glass technique. However, there is evidence that it was a practiced technique in 2000 BCE in Egypt. This warm glass technique seems simple but is quite intricate. There are two main types of glass fusing: tack fusing and full fusing.
In tack fusing, different pieces of glass are stuck together to create a single piece, though every individual piece retains its shape. On the contrary, full fusing refers to multiple pieces losing shape and merging to produce a distinct art piece. Tiles, art glass, jewelry, and utensils production uses this technique widely.
The expression of fused glass hides in its three-dimensional detailing ability. No matter the scale of work, detailing can add life to it. Glass fusing is unique as it can turn a plain glass vase into a cultural artifact.
Cold Glass
Cold glass is an umbrella term for multiple techniques of glass artworks that do not use any form of heat to modify the material. Usually, these techniques are employed in tandem to get the desired effect. The methods include cutting, scratching, engraving, polishing, etc. Unlike metal and wood, glass is brittle. Thus, working on cold glass requires a high level of skill and control to avoid damaging the piece.
Similar to fused glass, the illustration power of this art form is due to its two-dimensional detailing ability. Unlike fused glass, it provides more freedom for an artist to narrate a story. Not bound by the task of sticking the pieces together to transform a model, cold glasswork allows the artist to utilize the base glass pieces as a personal canvas.
Glass art is evolving. Not only its portrayal but also its techniques are transforming with the advancement of technology. As this community welcomes more members in it, the new ideas merging with the traditional foundations guarantee a bright future for this industry ahead. If you are not yet acquainted with this art medium, visit a workshop nearby. If you do, I can bet you’ll fall in love with glass.
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