Stafford Art Glass Class

My New Year's resolution this year is simple: try 5 new things.  My first new thing to learn is glassblowing.   Actually, I didn't know that was the first thing until I saw on Facebook that  Stafford Art Glass right here in Giles County was having classes this weekend. 

I signed up for a half hour class to make a "suncatcher" ornament.  I arrived early so I watched the student before me.  This helped as I could see exactly what I was supposed to do. 

 First, I got a big blob of molten glass and kept turning it in the furnace.

 I went over to the table of colored glass and picked up mostly blue glass but some other colors for interest.  I did this twice.

 Then, back to the furnace again with some more twirling.

 This part was too difficult for a beginner. The instructor twirled the pipe while using the tool to  shape the blob into a more rounded mass.  I went back to the furnace to heat up the mass, then shaping again.  Finally he used another tool to narrow the top (a lot like making the top of a narrow-necked vase on a potter's wheel).  Then I blew thru a hose to make the perfectly round ornament.

The instructor snapped off the top part to make a hole and then put a taffy-like molten glass on the top and bent it over to make a lip so you can hang it.  This is another skill a beginner couldn't easily do.  The suncatcher was put in a 150 degree oven overnight to anneal which relieves the stresses in the glass.

I picked up my suncatcher this morning and installed on my front porch. 

Glassblowing is a very cool thing to do for my list of new things to try this year.  I am not sure what I will do next.