Glass blowing at Bristol Blue Glass
Another creative venture for ya, I tell ya I'm oozing so much creativity at the moment I need a sit down. This time I was at the Bristol Blue Glass factory where I tried my hand, or rather my lungs, at a spot of glass blowing. I was impressed to see that this company still makes all their products by hand, er lung...you get my drift... Each piece, although made to spec, is completely unique in that it's not made from a mould but blown into shape by a glassblower's own lungs. This ancient art form dates back as early as the 1st century BC, and I was pleased to see it's still alive and well.
The molten glass is kept in an extremely hot furnace, over 1,000°C, that's almost hotter than a mouthful of scotch bonnets. I was shown a long pipe, called...well, a blowpipe, innit obvious?? A blob is 'gathered' on the tip of the blowpipe and, employing skilled techniques in turning and blowing, said blob is shaped into your chalice/paperweight/vase/delete as approriate, various hand tools being used to maintain this shape. Intermittently, to keep the glass at the correct temperature it's poked through what's called a 'glory hole' (hehehe). I avidly watched the glassblower checking for impressive burns but to no avail, these guys must be extremely careful working with temperatures like this. I can burn myself pretty spectacularly cooking pizza at 200°C so was a bit cautious of not getting too close to glory holes and the like.
When I got the opportunity to make my creation, I stood at the end of the blowpipe and summoned forth the air from my lungs. I blew my blob into a round ball which was rotated and moulded by the skilled glassblower into a giant blue bauble. It was then transferred to another furnace for cooling - still at a temperature of about 400°C it needed 24 hours to reduce down to a less skin melting temperature. It now dangles proudly from my patio door collecting the daylight and reflecting it in hues of blue, how pretty! ...And I am first degree burn free (until my next pizza).
Image: Sinéad Millea
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