A dollop of glass is twisted into the hanging loop
That one's mine. I helped make it at the Sonoran Glass Art Academy on my Tucson trip. It's yellow and hyacinth, with a twist. The process was fascinating, although Lee, Sarah and Eve were careful to do the hot, dangerous work themselves.
Starting out a bowl
After we had put my ornaments in the annealing furnace, mom and I watched Eve create an acid green bowl. Or she said it would be acid green when it cooled in a day or so.
The hot glass shaped by rolling it on the steel table
That orange glow is from the "glory hole" furnace, where the piece is reheated between shapings. When Eve first dipped the blob of glass onto the pipe, she cooled the pipe in a trough of water so she could handle it. She said she judged the glass temperature not by the color but by the texture and feel of the glass on the pipe as she manipulated it.
Glass-blowing - a team sport
Sarah rolled side to side on an old office chair while Eve rotated the pipe. A very elegant dance, seemed like they'd done it a million times. When I blew mine, it wasn't so smooth, but Sarah was very patient. They told mom they considered themselves beginners, having only four years of experience. We would have talked more, but their Chinese food (finally) arrived and the glass blowing team retired to lunch. The experience was very fun, only whetted my appetite for more. Hot shop in SLC, anyone?
