Staring at 300 pounds of molted glass, your mind begins to race with creative ideas!
SAN ANTONIO — I have watched glass blowing artists many, many times but now I have a whole new appreciation for the art!
Caliente Hot Glass resident artist Glenn Andrews said he was hooked from the moment he saw it.
“We walked by and I see this old man blowing glass and I thought ‘Wow that’s magic I want to be.’ And I went and I started watching him,” Andrews said.
It happened at a Renaissance Fair about 30 years ago.
“30 years of experience he made it look like a ham sandwich, like it was nothing he was just, you know making a ham sandwich, talking and these beautiful forms just manifesting in front of this fellow. And I was like, I want to be that kind of magic. And also I’m 20 so I thought look how easy it is, I can do that,” he said.
But Andrews quickly learned, it wasn’t that easy!
Over the last few decades, Andrews has perfected the process, now churning out a showroom of amazing pieces with everything from simple glass eggs, to glasses and vases, to chandeliers that are now shipped around the world.
But the best part is, you can learn and actually participate in the process.
I was engrossed the minute they opened the oven and showed me the liquid glass. Once Andrews dipped a rod in it and brought out a glob of glass, it was on. He quickly formed a cylinder of glass on the rod, then had me roll it over a trough of cooling water to center everything on the rod.
Everything has to be done in about 30-35 seconds because the molten glass cools so quickly. When it did, we slid it back into the 2070 degree furnace, until it was molten again, all the while turning the rod to keep the liquid glass centered on the blowing pipe.
When it’s molten again, it’s time to add color. While it’s still in it’s liquid form, you roll it in colored crystals, which stick to the glass then back in the furnace.
Once the color melts into the glass, it’s back out and onto a cool stainless steel surface where it is shaped and a small amount of pressure is blown into the tube to create a bubble. When that begins to form, Andrews attaches a small tube so you can blow more air into the glob of glass and like magic you see it expand to an orb.
When it’s the size you want, Andrews makes a small mark, with what looks like scissors at the top of the orb. He then carries it over to a pumice like holder where he taps on the rod – and the orb immediately separates. At almost the same time, his assistant Rutch Bushman brings over a small glob of clear molten glass to place over the top of the opening. As Bushman pulls up, Andrews cuts the liquid glass strand, then rolls it down to meet the clear top, creating an eyelet where you can place a hanger, and voila you have an ornament.
It is an amazing process, which must be done quickly and correctly or else you’ve wasted the glass, your time and quite honestly some emotion.
“When I wasn’t trying to force my will on it, then I understood how graceful and beautiful it wanted to be, if I would just love it enough and give it what it wanted,” Andrews said.
I would highly encourage everyone to experience this centuries old art, up close and personal. If you’d like to check out Caliente Hot Glass, or maybe sign up for a class or “experience” just click on this link: https://calientehotglass.com/