A TOUCH OF Glass
By Cameron McCullough Photos Matt Elliott (www.mattelliott.com.au) and Supplied
G
lass blowing is an ancient craft/art-form that has remained virtually unchanged by the encroaching technology that vies to change our lives. Glass blowing is the art of gathering hot, molten glass on a blow pipe and then adding colour on various layers, manipulating and shaping the hot glass into beautiful shapes with intricate, delicate, beautiful designs and colours Each incorporated into the final art glass piece.
glass is being melted for a new day’s work it is heated even higher to around 1300 degrees. "Inside the furnace there is a big crucible where we melt the clear glass,” said Roberta. “Imagine getting honey on a knife, sliding the knife down the edge of the jar, and continuously turning it so that the honey doesn’t drip off. That is what it’s like to gather the molten, lava like, clear glass out of the furnace on a blow pipe."
piece is unique and special
Rye glass artist Roberta Easton has spent over 25 years working with glass; learning her skill, mastering the craft and expressing her creativity through the medium of “hot glass”. Her pieces are masterpieces in their own right.
At the studio where she works, Gordon Studio Glassblowers in Red Hill, the furnace runs at 1,120 degrees Celsius. When the
E ssence
44 | PENINSULA
January 2020
Glass blowing is very technical, and takes years, and an immense amount of practice, to
learn the skills. "You never stop learning, and the glass is always challenging you," said Roberta. continued next page...