Information on various forms of glass
Flame Run not only wants you to enjoy glass art but to understand the science and process of how pieces are created. Please use our glossary of terms below to learn more about the different forms glass art can take. Simply click on the word to see the definition. The process involves forming an object by inflating molten glass gathered on the end of a blowpipe. Heating the glass in a high-temperate furnace, the gaffer (glassblower) blows through the tube, inflating the glass with air. The hot glass is then shaped by swinging it, rolling it, or shaping it with tools that range from wet newspaper to high tech metals. The manipulation of the hot glass is sometimes referred to as pipeworking.
Casting refers to a variety of ways of forming glass by pouring molten glass into a mold.
The generic name refers to a wide variety of techniques used to form glass sculpture without heat. Coldworking as a skill is completely different from hot glass furnace work and involves such techniques as grinding, sawing, carving, etching, cutting, laminating, or polishing.
This technique is used to form small objects or decorated beads from colored rods of glass that, when heated over a flame, become soft and can be manipulated into desired shapes. Formerly, the source of the flame was an oil or paraffin lamp used in conjunction with foot-powered bellows; today, gas-fueled torches are used. See lampworking.
Fusing is one of several ways of joining pieces of glass with heat until they bond.
Graal Technique is glass that is blown twice. The glass is made with a color overlay that is cut, etched or sandblasted with a decoration. The piece is subjected again to the heat of the furnace for fluidity and smoothness. Then the piece is encased in clear class and polished. The Graal technique was developed in Sweden in 1916.
The generic name refers to a variety of techniques that involve heating glass at high temperatures to manipulate or shape it.
Laminating is the process of fusing pieces of glass through the application of clear or colored adhesives.
Lampworking is an older term for any glass-working technique done with the direct flame of a torch. The term “lampwork” derives from the use of a flame from an oil lamp. See flameworking.
Murrines are small fused pieces of colored glass, which are melted in such a way that the various colors join together to create patterns and pictures.
This is a process of mixing ground glass with a small amount of paste and forming it in a mold.
See blown glass.
Industrial plate glass is sometimes used by glass artists to create unique objects.
This technique uses heat and gravity, and sometimes a mold, to form glass.
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