Are you curious about learning glass blowing but worried that it might be too hard? Of course, the difficulty that comes with learning a new skill is somewhat subjective. The challenges of learning glass blowing depend on factors like what type of instruction you receive, how much strength and dexterity you have, and how much time you spend practicing. No matter your current schedule or comfort level with glass blowing, there are plenty of tools available to help make learning easier than you might think.
What is Glass Blowing?
Glass blowing is a skill that is hundreds of years old. It is the process of blowing air through a tube to shape a piece of molten glass. Glass blowers start by heating glass to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit in a furnace. When the glass is molten, they gather it on the end of a hollow metal tube called a blowpipe, inflate it by blowing through the pipe, and then mold it into a variety of different shapes before it hardens. Glass blowers make bowls, vases, light fixtures, glasses, sculptures, and many other objects. They sometimes work alone, but often need help from an assistant.
Benefits of Learning Glass Blowing?
One reason to learn glass blowing is to make a career out of it. Glass blowers work in a variety of different settings. Some are employed in factories, where they mass-produce items like lighting fixtures, while others work in art studios or other small businesses, where they make one-of-a-kind artisan products. Glass blowers can also find work with universities or other scientific organizations, making specialized glassware like flasks and test tubes. Another career option is restoration; glass blowers can restore or repair antique glass pieces.
Learn Glass Blowing
- Up to $20 off your first class
- 10% Reward Points
- Price lock guaranteed
- No added fees
Thousands of classes & experiences. As featured in Time Out.
If you’re not interested in a paid job as a glass blower, you can still benefit from learning this skill. Glass blowing is also a popular hobby. Many people say that they find it very rewarding to experiment with this medium, creating unique works of art that can’t be found anywhere else. Since glass blowing is not easy, it can also be rewarding just to feel like you’ve mastered a challenging new skill. Beginning glass blower Alan Mendelsohn talks about the personal fulfillment he gets from blowing glass, explaining, “You need not be an accomplished artist to love working with glass. When I gather the perfect ball on the end of my pipe, or blow an even bubble on the first try, or feel my tools smooth and sharpen with the lightest of touch because I’ve heated my piece to the perfect temperature…or when the trim is straight, the lip wrap is even, or the punty releases easily…those are ALL hallelujah moments for me.”
What Are the Hardest Parts of Learning Glass Blowing?
Glass blowing is a unique activity, and comes with some unique challenges. By knowing what some of these challenges are, you can be better prepared to deal with them.
Learning How Glass Behaves
Expert glass blowers explain that one of the most challenging parts of mastering this skill is learning how to work with glass. For instance, glass blowers need to understand how liquid glass behaves and changes, and how to work with that glass to get the results that they want. They also need to get an understanding of when they need to stop working on a piece, so that it doesn’t break. Glass blower Jill Reynolds talks about some of the different elements of glass blowing. She says, “You have to learn how the glass moves because it gets the consistency of putty almost. It's liquid. You know it's a solid that turns into a liquid and then it turns solid again. While it's liquid that's when you get to work with it. You just have to figure out how to move that liquid so it does what you want it to do. It takes a lot of practice. Then you add in the colors, and the colors — they do their own things. You think it's going to be one shade of blue and it comes out completely different. There's a chemistry to the colors as well.” Most glass blowers say that the best way to learn about glass is simply by trial and error, and also just by spending hours practicing. Reynolds says that it took her almost three years to master the process of blowing glass. She says, “After a good solid two-and-a-half to three years I was finally comfortable to get what was in my brain out into an actual piece.”
Safety
Another challenging aspect of glass blowing is learning to be safe. This activity involves constantly being near things like a furnace and molten glass, which can cause severe burns if you don’t know how to be safe. Glass blower Todd Hansen explains that one of the most important parts of being safe is learning to always be aware of your surroundings and mindful of your actions. For instance, he says, “Before you get up from the bench or before you leave the glory hole or head to the furnace, always take a quick look around to see who's doing what. Make sure you're not going to collide or at least even come close to each other. Just be careful of what you're doing. You always want to be careful about what you do with the tools as well. Anything in the shop can be hot, a lot of stuff in the shop can be sharp as well. Some things are both, they are hot and sharp. So, you always want to make sure when you approach, if you're going to pick up a tool from the bench or if you're going to pick up a pipe, don't just grab it and run. Take it, it's not a bad idea to give it a little pat and then make sure you're safe and good to go. Likewise, if you see some glass on the floor, it's wise to just be very careful about that. Again, you don't know who was working, when they were working and the last thing you want to do is pick something up, give a good grip to it and end up with a nice big burn or blister on your hand, or god forbid something worse.”
Dealing with Failure
Glass breaks all the time, and expert glass blowers explain that another challenge involved in this skill is learning how much you can work the glass before it breaks. Glass blower Jared Last says, “It's a medium that definitely keeps you humble all the time because that sort of thing happens with frustrating regularity!” Glass blower Jade Usackas agrees. She says, “I feel like we're constantly riding that razor's edge between making it and breaking completely.” Usackas and others advise that in addition to spending a lot of time practicing, and getting to know how glass behaves, glass blowers also need to understand that quite simply, failure is a common part of glass blowing; sometimes the glass will break, despite your best efforts.
Finding a Place to Work
Glass blowing requires a lot of specialized equipment that most people don’t have. For instance, a special furnace is needed to melt the glass. Glass blowers also need access to an annealing kiln to cool glass pieces gradually so that they don’t shatter. In addition, they need a work bench, a blowpipe, a yoke to hold the blowpipe while it's in the furnace, and a variety of different tools and molds for shaping the glass. Taking an in-person glass blowing class can be a great way to get access to all of this equipment, since with this type of class, all necessary equipment is usually provided. In addition, some studios that run classes also allow students additional practice time. For instance, if you live in New York City and take a class like The Fire Within at UrbanGlass, you’ll have access to extra hours in the glass blowing studio.
Key Takeaways
Glass blowing can be difficult to learn, but is also very rewarding.
- Glass blowing has been practiced for hundreds of years.
- Learning to blow glass can lead to a career, but it can also just be a rewarding hobby.
- Glass blowers spend a lot of time learning about how glass behaves.
- Learning to be safe in the glass blowing studio is another challenging aspect of learning this skill.
- If you’re planning to learn glass blowing, you need to be prepared to deal with failures as well as successes.
- Finding a studio to practice in can be another challenging part of learning glass blowing, but taking a class is a good way to get studio access.
- If you’re interested in taking a group glass blowing class, or finding a private training session, contact CourseHorse to discuss your options.