Glass Blowing

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.

-Langston Hughes

I awoke Sunday morning to the sound of heavy rain. Actually it was more like a torrent of rain. The weather had been cloudy with the threat of rain for a couple of days, but today is by far the most steady and intense day of rain since I've been here.

Today will be my very first glass blowing class at Island Glassworks in Kailua. My only mode of transportation would be via bicycle. With some trepidation, I headed out. The possibility of getting wet was high and I wasn't far from home before I got caught in a downpour that didn't stop until I got to my destination. At least I wasn't wet and cold, as the temperature was still in the mid 70's.

Our group of 4 were given an introduction to the entire process before we would take our turns. By the end of the workshop, everyone will have hand-crafted a Christmas ornament with the help of the professional glass artists.

First we all decided on which type of design we wanted - spiral, spotted, clear, opaque, or some combination of all options. Colors were were also selected and then the fun began.

The glass furnace is 2000 degrees! [BTW my wet clothes dried in a hurry]. That's where they get the melted glass for the ornament. It's "gathered" on the end of a long rod and comes out looking clear and molten, the consistency of lava. The glass artist then does some shaping before rolling it in the colored glass chips. It is then placed in a different furnace that isn't quite as hot, to melt the color chips. After picking up the second color it goes in again to melt the next layer of color.

"Gathering" the molten glass from the 2000 degree furnace

Shaping the molten glass and picking up the color

After that the blowing process begins. After the artist blows the first bit of air into the hot glass glob, we got to actually blow the rest of the ornament. We were coached to blow more or less and to watch the glass as it expanded. Fascinating. At this point the true colors don't really show. They won't until the ornament is completely cooled.

Glass blowing process - beginning

Glass blowing process - end phase

The blown ornament is then cut from the rod and placed in a special holder where another artist puts the glass loop on top from which it can be hung.
 

Adding the hanging loop to the ornament

The final step in the process is the cool down phase. The ornaments are placed in a special oven [called the annealer] where they will be cooled down in a process that takes 12 - 14 hours. If the glass cools too quickly it can crack or break and the ornament would have to be remade. Tomorrow will be the unveiling. Hopefully I chose a color and style combination that will be awesome.

tick, tick, tick.... 24 hours later....

Monday, November 21st. I am very excited to pick up my cooled-down ornament and see what the colors really look like. When Allison and I arrived at the studio, we were allowed to watch two artists finish a pitcher they were in the middle of making. Fascinating is all I can say. What a great experience to watch these talented glass artist work.

Here is my glass ornament. I'm very happy with the way it turned out and as a surprise I have gifted it to Matt and Allison for their first Christmas together.

This workshop was very interesting and I am glad to have had the experience. Funny that it took coming all the way to Kailua for me to finally give it a try. My goal going forward to to continue to experience other art forms to keep the creative mind active, engaged and growing. Until next time, Aloha!