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May 21, 2007
It's been said that people should know their limitations. For me anything hot; ranging from an oven to boiling water has always been my ... cryptonite.
So obviously I was slightly hesitant when I decided to give the art of glass blowing a try. I walked into Glass Heritage in downtown Davenport last week and immediately started to sweat next to their 2,200 degree furnaces.
But I worked through the heat learning how my new glass paperweight would take shape. Each of their hand blown glass pieces starts the same way.
Molten glass is gathered from the furnace on a pipe and then rolled on a bench to pull it off the pipe. More "gathers" of glass are rolled into the soft glass and color is added until the piece is the desired weight.
Then the inside of the piece is twisted and shaped using different metal shears. More glass is added on top of the piece and it's then shaped with wooden blocks.
I can tell you rolling molten glass on wooden blocks very close to your face is a hard, hot job and definitely took me a try or two ... or three.
After your shape has a smooth, or in my case a somewhat smooth, finish it gets a rest in the kiln. After a final sanding and buffing the piece is ready to join the line.
Glass Heritage is only in its third year of business but the shop already ships items to 22 states and three foreign countries. They offer different seasonal and custom pieces, as well as several varieties of stained, fused, and etched glass.
It's definitely not your average nine to five job... and I can't imagine what it's like working next to those furnaces in summer temperatures. But the three owners of Glass Heritage say they can't get to work fast enough every day. I think being that passionate about your job is something everyone should wish for. But for me... and after my oddly, slightly lopsided paperweight experience, I think I'll stick to reporting for now.
You can check out Glass Heritage's Website at: http://www.glassheritage.com.
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