Here’s a short video of Glass Blowing by Besa Lighting
embedded by Embedded Video
Download Video
Variations: The Beauty of Chance
With mouth-blown glass, every piece is an original, possessing its own character. Small variations in thickness, color, decor pattern and dimensions are normal. You may even find a few visible air bubbles.
Hand Forming
To form a glass shade, molten glass is taken from a furnace with a pipe. It’s pre-formed by turning and blowing. Then the still-viscous material is blown into a mold to give it the final shape. For pressed glass, the glass is poured into a mold and pressed into shape with a stamp.
After being removed from the mold and the pipe, the item is made stronger by a slow process of reheating and controlled cooling. This removes tensions in the material itself. Further work includes cutting, grinding and polishing, and any final decorating. Decorating can include etching, painting or handcutting.
Achieving Depth
- Clear glass is a single transparent layer, while Opal glass is a diffused white.
- Frit glass utilizes small bits of colored glass applied to the surface of an item while the glass is still extremely hot, creating irregular patterns and multi-colored surfaces.
- Cased glass features a colored glass layered with a clear or opaque glass. Multiple layers of colored and clear glass together achieve a rich color and optical depth. Etching or cutting the outside layers to reveal inner layers can be especially attractive.