Hand Blown Glass

Hand Blown glass (also known as "lampworking") is the art of taking pyrex glass rods and melting them with a oxygen torch and then hand crafting them into designs. The glass is not poured into a mold and all items are free handed. It's almost a lost art.

There are only 63 known artists in the U.S.A. who blow glass for a living because of the amount of time and labor that goes into each piece.

History Of Glass Blowing

Why is glass blowing sometimes referred to as Lamp working? Lampworking is glass working using a torch to melt and shape the glass. It is also known as flame working or torch working. Today there is no longer a use for oil-fueled lamps. Although the art form has been practiced since ancient times, it became widely practiced in Murano, Italy in the 14th century. In the mid 19th century the lampwork technique was extended to the production of paperweights, primarily in France, where it became a popular art form, still collected today.

In the early days Lampworking was done in the flame of an oil lamp, with the artist blowing air into the flame through a pipe. Thus hand-blown-glass. Most artists today use torches that burn propane for the fuel gas, with pure oxygen as the oxidizer. It was not until the late 1960s that lampwork became recognized as a serious art form by a German born lampwork glass artist named Hans Godo Frabel who utilized his scientific glassblowing training to create relatively large pieces of lampwork glass art in borosilicate.

Popular Hand Blow Glass Figurines

When most people purchase hand blown glass gifts they have a hard time choosing their favorites.

Some people love glass roses. Others prefer glass figurines like the glass elephant figurines, glass cat figurines, and the hand blown glass dolphin figurines.

What's your favorite?