How to Blow Glass

Glass blowing is an ancient art form that has been practiced for centuries. With glass blowing, you can create beautiful artworks, utilitarian vessels and decorative items. Though it requires hard work and a lot of time, glass blowing can be a rewarding hobby or occupation.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Glass
• Furnace
• Blowpipe
• Hand tools
• Marver
• Annealer

1. Melt the glass in the furnace, letting it become completely molten. It will be a bright, burnt orange color and act like a thick, viscous liquid.

2. Heat the end of the blowpipe in a furnace until it is glowing hot. If the end is not heated it will drastically cool the molten glass and hamper your glass blowing efforts.

3. Gather the glass on the end of the blowpipe. You will have to dip the blowpipe repeatedly into the glass, turning it to catch the glass and wrap it around the end of the pipe.

4. Shape the glass on the marver into a cylinder, centered on the pipe. You will use a rolling motion and the glass will darken as it cools somewhat.

5. Take a deep breath and blow down the length of the blowpipe. Cover the mouthpiece when you are done blowing and a bubble will begin to form in the molten glass at the end of the pipe.

6. Gather more glass on the forming bubble. Continue shaping it on the marver and inflating it until you are close to the size that you want for the finished piece.

7. Add a neckline and finalize the bottom of the piece using a jack or the marver. Smooth the glass until the vessel will be able to sit level.

8. Transfer to a punty and finalize the shape of the top portion, using the hand tools. Remove it from the punty and place in the annealer to slowly cool.

Tips & Warnings

• Blowing glass is a skill that takes years to learn and is very time consuming, not to mention expensive, so be patient.
• A glass blowing furnace is extremely hot; in excess of 2,000 degrees. Be careful and only blow glass with a trained instructor.