Glass blowing is the process of blowing air through a tube to shape a piece of molten glass. This unique skill can be used to create both practical and decorative glass pieces. Some people blow glass as a creative hobby, but others make it into a full-time job. Here, you’ll learn more about the ways that you can benefit from glass blowing and how it can enhance your life. Regardless of your overall goals, learning glass blowing can be a valuable and impressive skill to learn.
What is Glass Blowing?
People have been blowing glass since the 1st century C.E. According to the glass blowing website, Working the Flame, the process hasn’t changed a lot. For instance, it says, “Glassblowers living and working in the colony of Jamestown in the early 17th century worked glass in much the same way as artisans today.” The process begins by heating a mass of glass in a furnace, then collecting it on the end of a blowpipe, which is a long, metal tube. The glass blower then inflates the glass by blowing through the blowpipe, and while that glass is soft, they molds it into different shapes. After that, it is slowly cooled in a specialized oven.
Glass blowers make many different things out of glass, including glasses, bowls, vases, ornaments, and sculptures. They also work with a variety of different types of glass. For instance, many use borosilicate glass because it is heat-resistant and relatively durable. Soda-lime glass is also popular because it is fairly inexpensive. Some glass blowers work by themselves, however, certain projects require the help of an assistant. It is possible to learn the basics of glass blowing relatively quickly, however, many glass blowers spend years mastering this skill.
Benefits of Learning Glass Blowing?
There are lots of good reasons to learn glass blowing. It has a number of practical applications, and many people turn it into a part-time or full-time career. For instance, some glass blowers work in glass factories, mass-producing items like lighting fixtures or household glassware. Others create unique artisan products, working in art studios or small businesses. Glass blowers also make specialized equipment like flasks and test tubes for scientific facilities. Sometimes, they restore and repair damaged glass objects.
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While glass blowing becomes a career or a side job for some people, others learn it as a hobby. Glass blowing can be a great way to express yourself artistically because it is a very creative activity. Glass blowers experiment with different shapes, colors, and textures, and create one-of-a-kind works of art.
Learning this skill can also be a good way to connect with other people who share your interests. There are many different local and national glass blowing organizations and clubs, and learning glass blowing can help you get involved with some of these groups. For example, you can connect with other glass blowers by joining workshops or exhibitions, or by visiting glass blowing studios.
A Unique Career
Learning glass blowing can lead to a number of unique career opportunities. For example, some glass blowers become scientific glass blowers, working in laboratory settings such as at universities, where they create and repair scientific glassware. In an article in Discover magazine, the author explains scientific glassblowing: “Glassware is an essential tool in nearly every government, academic and industrial laboratory around the world because it's transparent, sturdy and resists damage from most chemicals. But when mass-produced pieces crack under pressure or simply won’t suffice for the experiment at hand, scientists turn to skilled artisans called scientific glassblowers to manipulate them into different (often more complex) dimensions.” Neal Korfhage works as a scientific glass blower at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Of his profession, he says, “I don’t think it’ll ever die out because chemists will always break glassware!”
If you like the freedom of having your own business, then glass blowing might be a good career choice for you, since many glass blowers are self-employed. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is a federal agency that collects and analyzes information about the U.S. economy. It reports that 58 percent of craft and fine artists–a category that includes glass blowers–are self-employed. Ronnie Phillips is a glass blower who works in the Seattle area, and he runs his own glass business. He says, “My days are a mix of marketing, research and development, maintaining relationships with galleries, and production of my glass work as well as developing new forms and ideas.”
A Creative Outlet
Glass blowers transform glass into beautiful and unique creations, so glass blowing can be a very fulfilling creative outlet. You can make all kinds of useful and decorative objects out of glass. For example, flameworking is a type of glass blowing that utilizes a torch rather than a furnace, and can be used for very precise glass work. Artists often use flame working to create beads, figurines, and pendants. If you want to learn to make a glass pipe, you’ll probably be learning flameworking. Glass blower Evan Burnette describes the appeal of glass blowing. He says, “It’s magical, is what it is. It’s the closest thing to real alchemy that you could imagine. You’re taking sand and, through a process that is basically a mystery to almost everyone that hasn’t seen it before or doesn’t know about it, turns it into this beautiful vase with huge bright colors. And I mean, that is magic. That is alchemy, and that’s what brought me to it. It’s the fact that it was something that was so mysterious. If you don’t know how to do it you’d never guess.”
There is lots of evidence that being creative is not just fun, but can actually help improve both your physical and mental health. Professor of neuroscience Christanne Strang explains, “Creativity in and of itself is important for remaining healthy, remaining connected to yourself and connected to the world.” In a 2016 research study, researchers investigated the relationship between creativity and stress levels, and found evidence that being creative can reduce stress. They measured the cortisol levels of 39 participants before and after they did something creative for 45 minutes. Cortisol is a hormone that helps regulate the way the body responds to stress. They report: “Results indicate that art making resulted in statistically significant lowering of cortisol levels.”
A Way to Learn Something New
Glass blowing can also be rewarding because of the way it pushes you to learn something new. Nick Dunne works at Third Degree Glass in St. Louis. He explains that glass blowing is challenging to learn, but that challenge also makes it very fulfilling. He says, “If you’re working with glass blowing where it’s already hot and molten, blowing it up with the breath from your own lungs, you have to really understand what you’re doing because the slightest move can cause a break. It’s a natural material, it has a mind of its own. It’s very rewarding to work with.”
Dunne goes on to explain that another rewarding part of learning glass blowing is that you’re likely to discover that you can do things you didn’t think you were able to. He says, “I think the greatest benefit for students is the opportunity to break out of their bubble. People have misconceptions about glass—that it’s sharp and dangerous. That’s mostly true, [laughs] but they can also work with it and become comfortable around it. They’re breaking preconceived ideas about working with glass, but also about what they see as their own capabilities.” Even if you know something about glass blowing, there are likely to be additional styles and techniques for you to learn. For instance, some glass blowing schools offer classes in Venetian-style glass blowing, which is a style known for its delicate style and beautiful colors.
An Opportunity to Meet New People
Learning to blow glass can also be a way to meet new people who share your interests. Glass blowers can connect with others in many different ways, including through glass blowing classes, clubs, exhibitions, and shared workspaces. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stresses that social connection is a vital part of well-being, stating, “Research shows that social connectedness can lead to longer life, better health, and improved well-being…Social connections are important for our survival.” It explains that people are social by nature, and that when they have good social connections, they are more likely to have good mental and physical health, and can also better cope with difficult things like anxiety, stress, or depression.
According to the UK Mental Health Foundation connection is particularly beneficial as you get older. It explains, “As we age, we might face isolation through a loss of social connections such as friends, family and workplace—as well as other limitations such as decreasing physical health. Through getting involved in arts programmes, people in later life can rebuild their social connections and extend existing support in their communities.”
How to Start Learning Glass Blowing
The best way to start learning glass blowing is to enroll in a class. The glass blowing website, Working the Flame, says that while some types of art can be self-taught, glass blowers generally need to start out with professional instruction. It explains, “Unlike other art careers, glass blowers typically require a level of traditional training to perform their work safely and gain the experience necessary for creating beautiful, well-made items. Self-teaching can be dangerous due to the high degree of heat involved in the glass blowing process. Becoming proficient at glass blowing also takes a lot of time, so having professional guidance and a team to help you in your learning is highly beneficial.”
In recent years, online classes have become increasingly popular for many different types of subjects, however, glass blowing requires some specialized and expensive equipment–like a furnace–that most people don’t have access to at home, so in-person classes are generally a better choice when it comes to learning this skill. Many large cities have glass blowing studios that offer in-person classes. For example, residents of Washington, DC can attend Beginning Glassblowing, which is a five-session class that covers basic techniques so that students can experiment with glass blowing safely.
Practice is also an important part of learning almost any new skill, and glass blowing is no exception. Glass artist Amanda Dziedzic is an experienced glass blower and she explains that she still has to work at her craft. She says, “Some days blowing glass is the hardest thing in the world and everything you touch turns to garbage and then the next everything is a dream and you really feel like you got this blowing thing in the bag! She’s a fickle beast, taking years of practice to tame. You just gotta hang in there.” Some schools allow students access to their glass blowing studio so that they can get in additional practice time. For instance, if you live in New York City and take a glass blowing glass such as The Fire Within at UrbanGlass, you’ll also have access to additional time in the glass blowing studio.
Key Takeaways
Glass blowing is the art of blowing air through a tube to shape a piece of molten glass. There are lots of good reasons to learn this skill:
- As a glass blower, you’ll have a number of unique career opportunities.
- Glass blowing is a fulfilling creative outlet.
- Learning to blow glass involves pushing yourself to think in different ways and learn new skills.
- When you learn glass blowing, you’ll get opportunities to meet new people.
- Most people learn glass blowing by enrolling in an in-person class.
- Practice is also an important part of mastering glass blowing skills.
- To find options for in-person or online glass blowing classes–including private group sessions–contact CourseHorse.