So, I've been too busy having fun to post my updates :). However, school has started and being sick allows for free time to reflect on all the fun. Here's the first of many updates (hopefully).
My nieces came to Seattle this summer from Texas. We took my oldest niece, Paige, to the Tacoma Glassblowing Studio, where we learned how to make hand-blown glass. Guess what? You get to keep what you make!
First, you start by choosing the style (vase, votive, clam shell, etc) and colors...
Then, (with the assistance of a professional glassblower, obviously) you start turning the VERY hot glass to cool it down.
You add the color (by rolling it on) and then heat it up again. After that, you mold it with special wooden molds. See, you actually do a lot of this on your own!
There are different design styles that you can do. I did a fan design...my niece did the spiral design by grabbing and twisting the hot glass.
Then, through a tube that tastes like Purell (thanks to lovely sterilizer wipes), you blow to expand the hot glass to the right size...
As you can see, it doesn't matter what color you choose, it all looks orange at this point...
At this point, the professional takes over the dangerous part...the blow torch! This creates the opening on the top.
See, the color is actually starting to show up!
Time to heat it up some more...seriously, very hot!
The final product is "broken" from the metal rod and a base is melted on the bottom...
Finally, the vase is "cooled down" in a 900 degree oven!
Maybe one day I'll learn to make items that look like this...
(from the Chihuly Glass Bridge)
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