Safety Tips for Making an Imploded Glass Pendant

Series Summary

Spun glass is made from small rods of glass being heated to high temperatures and then spun or stretched into various shapes and patterns. Many homes feature pieces of this decorative art, usually in the form of spun glass figurines. The talented artist creates swirls of color and interesting bends in finely detailed glass sculptures and jewelry. Spun glass can be done at home, and many hobby or hardware stores will carry the necessary tools. When making spun glass, artists blend and seal sometimes dozens or hundreds of individual rods of glass, forming circles and patterns, angled limbs, or the smallest eyes. The craft requires an attention to detail and experience working colors into the clear glass to form interesting effects. Implosion is a process wherein colored glass is drawn or "sucked up" under the surface and inside a shape of clear, heated glass. The colored glass then appears to be floating inside the clear glass, and people may wonder how it got there. The answer: by implosion.

In this free video series on spun glass, expert Tom Wright takes you through the steps of making a spun glass pendant with imploded colors. He introduces you to safety concerns and the materials you will need, followed by a demonstration of all the steps needed to make your own spun glass pendant with implosion. Tom explains that a "maria" is a disc of glass, what a punty and bail are, and how to manipulate various pieces of glass to create a perfect finished pendant. He also shows you how to cold seal and kiln. This video is a great addition to Tom's other series on spun glass!

Video Transcript

"Hey, so the first step is always the safety when working with the glass. Always be sure to have your eye protection and your ventilation. You need the ventilation so you don't breathe in any of the harmful fumes, and you need the spectacles to protect your eyeballs from being burned out so you can't see any more, and then you can't work on glass. If you follow those two safety tips and of course, you know, watch out for your hands, it's hot. But if you follow those two rules, you should be okay."