The art of glass blowing is a complex, painstaking process. A similar technique is similar to the first century BC, it appeared in Sidon (now coastal Lebanon).
The art of glass blowing is a complex, painstaking process. A similar technique is similar to the first century BC, it appeared in Sidon (now coastal Lebanon). From there the art spread to the Roman Empire and then to other parts of the world. The art of glassblowing is still practiced today, and involves mastering a host of complex techniques. The most important thing in the work of glassblowers is the performance of work with a high level of accuracy and accuracy.
The process begins when a 4-5 lb. tube enters the furnace, where the glass is melted at 2200 degrees Fahrenheit (lava temperature).
This process is called collection. Once collected, glassblowers dip the blowpipe into hot glass until a decent-sized blob is concentrated at the end. This is a very difficult moment, as the glass has the consistency of honey and drips easily from the end of the pipe.
In the next step, the glassblower starts blowing air into the pipe, creating a small air bubble inside the molten glass. This is a very delicate process: if the artist blows too hard, then his work will collapse.
One of the most difficult aspects of blowing is keeping the temperature at the right level. By maintaining the temperature, the artist can shape the glass into whatever shape he has in mind. Thanks to the traditions that are passed down by glassblowers from generation to generation, this art never ceases to attract and conquer our attention.
At first glance it may seem that the production of glass requires very complex compounds of chemicals obtained in a difficult way. But in reality, glass is made enough in a simple way using the most ordinary components.
Glass is an alloy of certain materials, cooled in such a way that the atoms in its structure are grouped in a chaotic manner. An interesting fact is that 95% of the Earth's minerals can be used in the glass production process. The most important of these are (silicon dioxide), soda, limestone, borax, boric acid, magnesium oxide and lead oxide.
It is noteworthy that the first glass was created by nature itself. About 450 million years ago, molten rock from the bowels of the Earth rushed to the surface and, with the help of volcanoes, broke through the earth's crust. When the hot lava contained silicon dioxide and rapidly solidified, a glass formed as hard as rock. There is an entire mountain in California covered in glass of volcanic origin.
Volcanic glass is called obsidian. This extremely hard and durable mineral is widely used in industry, and its especially beautiful specimens are used to make jewelry. Due to its high hardness, obsidian belongs to.
Man has been making glass since ancient times. The Egyptians knew how to make colored glass more than five thousand years ago. With this material in the form of glaze, they covered stoneware, dishes, and sometimes made beautiful beads and other decorations. Perfume and ointment bottles made of glass were already in use in Egypt over 3,500 years ago.
The Roman Empire period (1st century BC to 5th century AD) was one of the greatest periods in the history of glass. It was at this time that man mastered how to blow glass and how to give objects a certain shape and at the same time make them the right size.
Glass blowing.
Glass blowing is one of the oldest human skills. But since they were developed modern mechanisms and the need for glass products has increased significantly, manual glass making technology is becoming a rarity.
When the glass is in the molten state, it can be processed different ways. For example, it may be pressed, blown, painted or rolled. For centuries, the main method of glass processing was blowing, which helped to produce a wide variety of glass products.
The glassblower collected a ball of molten glass at the end of a straw and blew into it. Using his skills, he gave the glass the desired shape and brought it to the desired thickness. He constantly heated the glass in order to keep it in working condition for as long as possible. Then the master finished processing with special tools.
In this way, many types of glass objects were created. Glass can also be molded into a mold and take on a desired shape. Surprisingly enough, window glass used to be made by blowing a long cylinder, which was then cut and rolled to form sheets of glass. Of course, the size of these sheets was limited by the strength of the light glass blower.
Today, a similar process of obtaining glass, which is called manual work, is increasingly used in the production of special scientific equipment or expensive, magnificent glassware. Today, the manual labor of a glassblower is highly valued, and a person needs significant professional skills to work in this industry.
Production of glass bottles.
Over time, the need for glassware such as bottles became so great that every effort was made to create a glass blowing machine, which was invented in 1903.
The machine uses vacuum to blow enough glass for one bottle. First, the neck of the bottle is formed. Then compressed air is supplied and the entire bottle is blown out.
After that, the resulting product is automatically fired and tempered, and then a slow cooling process takes place, which makes it durable. Such a machine is capable of producing more bottles in one hour of work than six glassblowers by hand in a whole day.
Later, another machine was created to automatically blow out light bulbs, which allowed the wider use of electric light. The majority of all standard bottles, jars, jugs, glasses and other glass vessels are produced by machine.
Today, of course, there are many new ways to produce glass, but this is the main process. Raw materials for glass production enter the glass factory and are stored in huge tanks. The required amount of substances is measured, dosed, and then they are mixed in the correct proportion.
Broken glass, similar to that produced and called "cullet" is added to the mixture to speed up the melting process. The resulting mixture is automatically fed into the oven. The molten glass then flows out of the furnace to cool.
Then it goes through numerous processing processes, such as blowing, pressing, rolling, casting and painting, depending on the type of glass to be obtained. Thus, it is possible to produce both simple window glass and patterned glass, which is characterized by high decorative qualities.
In early December, the glassblower and the owner of the "Steklow" workshop, Yegor Komarovsky, invited all those who are not indifferent and interested to his master class. The workshop is located on the ground floor of the House of Sculptors of the Union of Artists at the address: St. Petersburg, Zanevsky Prospekt 26, building 2. Egor said that artistic glass-blowing is now not as popular and widespread in Russia as in European countries. He mastered the craft on his own, studying literature on English language and watching video lessons from foreign masters, now he is open to cooperation, ready to teach and surprise.
All the ovens, and there are four of them, Yegor assembled in the workshop on his own. In the center of the photo you can see the induction crucible furnace. It got its name from the Crucible - containers for heating, drying, burning, roasting or melting. various materials, in this case, it contained molten glass.
In Russia, there are about 8 colors of glass on the market, in the American markets - 120, the difference in quantity is very noticeable. Examples of glasses and their colors.
Let's start the process of making a vase, heat the blowing tube. This is a hollow metal stick 1 - 1.5 m long with a mouthpiece at the end. We were shown the technique of free blowing, it consists in the free molding of the product. Glass objects made by free blowing are also called free-blown glass (from the German hutte - guta, glass-blowing workshop).
Let's scoop molten glass from the crucible furnace and start blowing it through a tube.
In the process of cooling, the master rolls out the cooling glass, correcting its shape.
Add more glass from the furnace.
The glass ball is getting bigger and bigger.
The sequence at the initial stage is simple: dunk, twist and shape, heat, blow…
In addition to free blowing, it is possible to use other techniques: Hand blowing into molds allows you to create products that are similar to one another. For example, laboratory flasks. The glass blower collects molten glass on the tip of the glass blowing tube, blows a bubble and begins to mold it, constantly rotating the tube and molds the glass into wooden or metal molds.
Press blowing. The future product is first molded in a mold, and then hot - with air. Products are thicker-walled, less transparent. But this method allows you to create relief decorations on them.
For heating, Yegor uses a stove - "cuckoo". It is heated to operating temperatures from +1100 to +1200 °C. The doors of this oven open if necessary, allowing you to place the product in the oven, rotate it in it, place the product partially and without contact with the walls.
Gravity helps shape the glass.
A little more time and the ball turns into a drop.
The glass heats up, during heating the tube constantly rotates.
Let's take glass plates from several colors combined into one element, attach it on top of the product and heat it up.
After heating, the plate gradually bends and turns around, forming the shape we need when rolling out.
We create a product.
We roll out again.
And we heat the workpiece.
At each stage of work, constant quality and size control is necessary. When work is carried out according to the drafted project, the first version is initially made, which is broken down for accurate measurements of wall thicknesses, after making adjustments and amendments, the final version of the product is made.
We heat it up again and blow it out a little.
After blowing, roll out, giving the desired shape.
We create a decorative pattern, pay attention to it on the finished product.
We form the ideal shape by gradually rotating and cooling the product. Cooling is done with wet newspaper.
When cooled, the color of the workpiece changes.
Let's add volume, blow out a little more ...
Let's add clear glass over color. The new layer will be the third, we will get it from the crucible furnace.
Gradually heating and blowing, we get a rather large figure of the future vase.
We check the quality.
We form the bottom and fix the product for it.
Create the shape of the neck of the vase.
Last steps...
Annealing is called heating up to 530-580°C followed by slow cooling. With rapid and uneven cooling after molding, residual stresses occur in the glass, which over time will lead to the fact that the product will collapse by itself, for no apparent reason. Annealing reduces these residual stresses and makes the glass durable.
After the end of the annealing, the vase is polished and it can be used for its intended purpose. The annealing furnace in the workshop is electric, and when the power goes out and the glass cools quickly, it becomes brittle and short-lived.
There are many different glass products in the workshop, all of them are made by hand.
If you want to create something yourself, for example, a ball on a Christmas tree, a glass or a vase, or vice versa, you want to learn how to work with glass, then Yegor Komarovsky is happy to conduct individual classes, excursions, master classes for various age groups.
All details and contacts in the group
The art of glass blowing is a complex, painstaking process. A similar technique is similar to the first century BC, it appeared in Sidon (now coastal Lebanon). From there the art spread to the Roman Empire and then to other parts of the world. The art of glassblowing is still practiced today, and involves mastering a host of complex techniques. The most important thing in the work of glassblowers is the performance of work with a high level of accuracy and accuracy.
The process begins when a 4-5 lb. tube enters the furnace, where the glass is melted at 2200 degrees Fahrenheit (lava temperature).
This process is called collection. Once collected, glassblowers dip the blowpipe into hot glass until a decent-sized blob is concentrated at the end. This is a very difficult moment, as the glass has the consistency of honey and drips easily from the end of the pipe.
In the next step, the glassblower starts blowing air into the pipe, creating a small air bubble inside the molten glass. This is a very delicate process: if the artist blows too hard, then his work will collapse.
One of the most difficult aspects of blowing is keeping the temperature at the right level. By maintaining the temperature, the artist can shape the glass into whatever shape he has in mind. Thanks to the traditions that are passed down by glassblowers from generation to generation, this art never ceases to attract and conquer our attention.
A strong man in a circus inflates a heating pad, a dad blows balloons for a child on his birthday, an alcoholic blows vodka, and a baby just blows his pants. But there are people who have decided to devote their lives to making very beautiful products from the most fragile material - glass. These are glassblowers. Most likely, this profession is not complete without a bit of magic. How else to explain the fact that real works of art are obtained from a handful of nondescript sand? Want to know how it's done?
pantry glass
In the Tavastia region, in the Finnish town of Riihimaki, there is an old glass factory.
One of its premises today houses the glass-blowing workshop and gallery of the artists Maria Hepo-aho and Kari Alakoski. Maria and Kari are well-known and recognized Finnish glass artists. They produce everything from jewelry to vases and crockery.
Anyone can enter the workshop and touch the magic of glass, make beads for themselves and buy their favorite products and souvenirs. And most importantly - Masha is from Russia, and you will have absolutely no translation difficulties. :)
The spacious workshop has several jobs. For example, here Masha makes birds out of glass, peeping into a book about the birds of Finland.
It's hard to imagine until you see how owls, cockerels, storks and sparrows are made from these colored glass sticks. Masha studied this craft at the university for 6 years!
What intricate handicrafts you will not find here: balls, beads, vases, glasses, decanters, candlesticks - all this then disperses to shops and glass exhibitions.
Thousands of colors and shades, shapes and shadows!
Ice stylization, designer finds, glasses-candlesticks - there is nothing here!
There is even an old cash machine, which Masha found with difficulty and bought. This is the First Lady workshop. It still works great, and instead of ringing silver, there are modern euros in the money box.
But one thing attracts attention more than others. How did the bubbles appear in this glass mortar? Laser technologies? Magic?
Masters reveal secrets
It didn't take long to persuade - Maria herself offered to make the same mortar with magic bubbles in front of our eyes. As it is not prosaic, but everything in our world begins with dust. Masha scooped out a handful of raw glass from the bag, which they buy in Sweden. These balls will then end up in the oven, where 1200 degrees Celsius will turn them into a thick, viscous mass.
It is this mass that Kari is now wrapping around the end of a long metal tube.
It is this small piece of light that will have to go through fire, water and copper pipes on the way to its final and perfect state.
First of all, the glass needs to be shaped and the surface of the workpiece needs to be slightly cooled. Technology hasn't changed much since glass was blown in Finland (almost the latest in Europe). To do this, Kari uses special, water-soaked wooden spoons in which he constantly rotates the workpiece. Wet wood allows you to very smoothly lower the temperature of the glass mass, preventing it from cracking.
At the same time, Kari also shapes the future mortar with metal tongs, making a thinning at her throat. All this time he rolls the pipe with the workpiece on a special chair - the main workplace of the glass blower. If this is not done, the viscous billet will flow down under its own weight.
At the right moment, Masha joins the process.
With the help of such a mechanism, more like a medieval instrument of torture, the workpiece is clamped and corrugations are created on its surface.
This is what our piece of glass looks like now. Doesn't it look a lot like a glowing light bulb? This corrugation is the whole secret of magic bubbles.
Now Kari is reheating the workpiece in an oven called the Glory Hole. After that, he again picks up fresh glass mass in the first furnace, wrapping the workpiece with a second layer of glass.
Then Masha begins to play the main role. With the help of old wet newspapers folded in several layers, it cools the workpiece again to the desired temperature and viscosity. Wet paper absorbs heat very well and smoothly, preventing the workpiece from becoming cracked. Layer after layer of paper burns, taking away excess heat and giving the desired shape to the future mortar.
The second layer of glass seals the pits of the first layer, and Kari inflates the workpiece from the inside.
This is how bubbles are made.
After that, it's time to work on the neck of the mortar. To do this, you need to change the place of attachment of the workpiece to the tool. To do this, Kari takes a second tube, winds a small piece of glass around it and glues it to the bottom of the mortar. When the mass seizes, you can remove the first tube by chipping it from the throat.
Masha cuts off everything superfluous with scissors, forming the future throat of the mortar.
Kari gently expands it with tongs...
And we get an almost finished mortar.
A few finishing touches...
And the mortar is ready! But not really...
After breaking off the tube from the bottom, sharp pieces of glass remain on the surface, which must be smoothed out with a special burner.
And even after that, the process does not end - the mortar will need to rest for a day in the third furnace, where 500 degrees Celsius will remove everything from it internal stresses. This must be done so that the mortar does not once shatter into smithereens even from a weak blow. This process is called tempering, as in metallurgy.
Such a mortar will be sold to lovers of everything elegant and handmade for 30 euros. You can grind seasonings in it, prepare medicines, you can simply decorate the room with it.
Let there be color!
Do you want to know how these colored vases are made?
The highlight of the process is the addition of pieces of colored glass at the initial stage.
In the process of blowing, it dissolves in a thin layer inside the main mass, giving the product a unique color.
But what will happen if you do not smoothly cool the workpiece with wet newspapers, but abruptly place it completely in a bucket of water. The surface is covered with small cracks that create a texture that is pleasant to the touch.
Masha and Kari - gods of glass in their workshop. They can even take a photo for memory. Over the years, they have accumulated hundreds of different tricks that are beyond the reach of many of their competitors in Finland.
For a fee, they are ready to conduct an excursion (a group costs 100 euros, singles are generally free), a master class and even give them the opportunity to do something themselves. For 65 euros, you will be allowed to blow your faceted glass with a family monogram, and the finished product will be sent by mail the next day.
They are often approached by people who would like to turn their artistic ideas into reality - to make an exclusive set of dishes, decorations, corporate souvenirs and much more.
Yes, and they can also blow out a light bulb :) What would you like to make yourself out of glass?
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