Hello, we’re here at the Contemporary Glassblowing Studio in Amoy, China.
I’ve been a glass blower for about twelve years now, I’ve got several different lines of glasswork that I work on, and I’ll be talking to you about glassblowing.
The process of preparing the glass for blowing is very tedious and requires a lot of delicate detail. Raw materials such as limestone, sand, and other compounds are gathered and placed in a furnace. A furnace must be burning hotter than 2000 degrees Fahrenheit (1093 degrees Celsius) to transform the raw materials inside to molten glass.Over the years the results of making blown glass have generally been the same, however, the various methods that have been used have changed.Hand blown glass has been around for, at least, 2000 years uh when the Romans started really industrializing and modernizing tools. Um re-differentiate between the glass blown and hand blown uh versus machine blown or mold blown, and it’s a big difference. Uh, if you look at the bottom of a sticker of a piece, and it says hand blown, then it should be hand formed as well. If you see something that says mouth blown, your piece is probably blown into a mold um, technically that’s correct but as far as being handmade or not is uh, that’s probably debatable. But before the advent of molds and machinery and equipment that can grind and polish uh a uh work off uh hand blown, hand formed glass was how it’s been done for thousands and thousands of years. And that’s the style of glasswork that we practice here um. We do things from start to finish by hand using heat, gravity, centrifugal force and hand tools that have been uh created and used by glassblowers for generations. And it’s just a satisfying feeling to make something truly by hand that’s actually a piece of your work, um you know if you look at something that’s got the spun marks on it or something that looks like it came from a mold if it’s uh you know the dozen’s or so behind it then it probably was. If you find something that’s got a little bit more unique quality to it, that’s probably a hand-made piece and that’s got a little more character to it.
There are two specific methods of glassblowing.
One method of glassblowing is called offhand. In using the offhand method, an artist places a blob of fused glass on the end of the blowpipe. Blown glass is then formed by using different techniques of blowing and shaping the glass with the artist's hands, tools and molds.
Lamp working is the second method used in glassblowing. When using the lamp working method, the artist uses a flame from a torch to soften the glass. After the glass has been softened, the glass is then molded and shaped with the artist's hands, tools and molds. The method used in blowing glass is based on the artist's personal preference.

Blown glass is an extraordinary piece of art created exquisitely by the artist. Each piece that is made is unique. Sculptures, ornaments, vases and beads are various examples of blown glass and can be found worldwide.

Hello, we’re here at the Contemporary Glassblowing Studio in Amoy, China.
I’ve been a glass blower for about twelve years now, I’ve got several different lines of glasswork that I work on, and I’ll be talking to you about glassblowing.
The process of preparing the glass for blowing is very tedious and requires a lot of delicate detail. Raw materials such as limestone, sand, and other compounds are gathered and placed in a furnace. A furnace must be burning hotter than 2000 degrees Fahrenheit (1093 degrees Celsius) to transform the raw materials inside to molten glass.Over the years the results of making blown glass have generally been the same, however, the various methods that have been used have changed.Hand blown glass has been around for, at least, 2000 years uh when the Romans started really industrializing and modernizing tools. Um re-differentiate between the glass blown and hand blown uh versus machine blown or mold blown, and it’s a big difference. Uh, if you look at the bottom of a sticker of a piece, and it says hand blown, then it should be hand formed as well. If you see something that says mouth blown, your piece is probably blown into a mold um, technically that’s correct but as far as being handmade or not is uh, that’s probably debatable. But before the advent of molds and machinery and equipment that can grind and polish uh a uh work off uh hand blown, hand formed glass was how it’s been done for thousands and thousands of years. And that’s the style of glasswork that we practice here um. We do things from start to finish by hand using heat, gravity, centrifugal force and hand tools that have been uh created and used by glassblowers for generations. And it’s just a satisfying feeling to make something truly by hand that’s actually a piece of your work, um you know if you look at something that’s got the spun marks on it or something that looks like it came from a mold if it’s uh you know the dozen’s or so behind it then it probably was. If you find something that’s got a little bit more unique quality to it, that’s probably a hand-made piece and that’s got a little more character to it.
There are two specific methods of glassblowing.
One method of glassblowing is called offhand. In using the offhand method, an artist places a blob of fused glass on the end of the blowpipe. Blown glass is then formed by using different techniques of blowing and shaping the glass with the artist's hands, tools and molds.
Lamp working is the second method used in glassblowing. When using the lamp working method, the artist uses a flame from a torch to soften the glass. After the glass has been softened, the glass is then molded and shaped with the artist's hands, tools and molds. The method used in blowing glass is based on the artist's personal preference.

Blown glass is an extraordinary piece of art created exquisitely by the artist. Each piece that is made is unique. Sculptures, ornaments, vases and beads are various examples of blown glass and can be found worldwide.