Formed with Silica: Curated by Sally Prasch

Lampworking: Glass tubes and rod are manipulated over a torch or in the olden days over an oil-fueled lamp. With this technique, you can work molten glass in a precise manor to create small or large works. Pictured here is Lloyd Moore working on a vacuum manifold.

a photo of an African American man in a tie and striped cardigan holding a flame to a network of glass tubes. The room is covered in plastic and looks very scientific lab like.

Sally Curcio lampworking glass

an image of a woman with long dark hair pulled back holding a flame to a rod of glass. She is wearing a striped shirt and very large sun glasses.

Sally Prasch lampworking glass

a blond woman in front of a machine that is shooting fire at a tube of glass. At the end of the tube is a round bulb. She is wearing a red shirt and red sunglasses.

Fused Glass: A process where pieces of glass are heated in a kiln to ranges 700C – 820C and they fuse together to become one. Depending on the temperature of the kiln you can create flat sheets of glass or glass in relief. http://www.klenell.com/ingalena

a blond woman in front of a table full of clear glass on a white tablecloth. She is holding a piece of paper in one hand and a long tool in the other. She is wearing a green jacket and a blue striped scarf. There is writing like scribbles on the wall behind her.
Photo Credit D. Nilsson

Cold-worked Glass: Working glass that is not hot. Cutting, grinding, engraving and sandblasting are some examples. To cut and grind glass to a polish is labor intensive but can give you unique optical qualities. Photo of Vladimir Klein working.

an older man holding a papaya shaped white piece of glass to a grinder. The man is wearing an apron, glasses and a white shirt.

Neon: Hollow glass shapes are made to allow a vacuum to be pulled and then are filled with one of the Nobel Gases such as Neon. Depending on the color of the glass and the gas to fill the piece you have a wide range of colors and effects. http://ne0ns.com/

A small black image of a man working a glass tube for neon lights. He has curly hair and is wearing a striped shirt.

a hand with tubes of glass that are being bent for neon. There is a measuring tape behind and the glass on top is yellow. There is a paper underneath with black lines where it looks like the glass is supposed to match.

Furnace Glass: Glass made with molten glass taken out of a furnace. Furnaces are designed to hold glass in pots at a molten state. This gives the glassblower a place to gather glass from that then can then shaped and formed. Reheating the glass to keep it in a molten state while forming is necessary.

George Kennard holding a pole in a furnace. The side of the furnace has a drawing of what is happening in the furnace. The end of the pole holds a bulb of molten glass

Painting on Glass: an ancient tradition of using glass powder enamels to paint on glass. After painting, the item must be fired again to fuse the enamels to the glass.

an image of a hand holding a paintbrush to a vase with light green leaves and lines making a design.There is a woman's face behind and on the right. She has brown eyes and brown hair.

Methods

Formed with Silica: Curated by Sally Prasch