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Heart of Glass - Blenko Glass

Blenko Glass is a West Virginia treasure that spans generations. Nothing symbolizes the state of West Virginia better or more beautifully than Blenko Glass. We will discuss current and former craftsmen and designers and how important it is that Blenko and West Virginia glass be appreciated and valued by the younger generation.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Glass mistake. Made vase instead of pitcher. V

Hello Hillary,

If you recall I said there are 3 basic shapes; tumbler, bowl and bottle. And you modify them to make different pieces. What people dont realize is when you add color, you change properties of the glass. Glass can handle more or less heat, and behaves very differently. I was tying to make a pitcher with red which is a hard color. Hard meaning it cools much faster than clear glass. So first I didnt heat enough, and the second time, I heated too much and could not control glass. So made a vase instead of pitcher. I just stretched the glass, and cut it to make this. Its about 18 inches tall. Have included blenko angel for size reference. The forest you see is view form my apartment.

As you know, I keep the worst pieces I make each week with me. Am just glad that this week the mistake came out looking good. Although, must admit. It didnt look as pretty before. Another lady I work with cut the top, then I ground the top and base.

You can see how far off I was. I was making a pitcher, and ended up making this.

Regards,
V





3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Lovely mistake.

Anonymous said...

Dr V,
I use to work at Blenko and the shop foreman Les would say
good glassmakers have no mistakes, they are 'one of a kind'
objects of art to be sold by Miss Marion.
Former Blenko Employee