Using traditional Italian techniques...
Handblown glass, the way it’s been made for five centuries.
Techniques I use in making my glasses originated with the Venetians in the fifteenth century. In fact, if you were to transport a glassblower from fifteenth century Murano (the island off of Venice Italy) to our twenty-first century studio in San Francisco, he would find himself quite at home with the tools, techniques, and process I use (though he might be a bit mystified by the Grateful Dead music occasionally playing in the background).
My glass is made with glass cane, pencil-like pieces of glass with a core of color surrounded by an encapsulation of clear glass. I first make/pull the cane (a bit like pulling taffy, except the taffy in this case is two thousand degrees fahrenheit), then cut it up, and then pick up 15-20 pencil-lengths of cane on the end of a blow-pipe to form what will become the cup.
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words (and a short video, even better) so stay tuned for videos showing just how miraculous this process is.
My glass is made with glass cane, pencil-like pieces of glass with a core of color surrounded by an encapsulation of clear glass. I first make/pull the cane (a bit like pulling taffy, except the taffy in this case is two thousand degrees fahrenheit), then cut it up, and then pick up 15-20 pencil-lengths of cane on the end of a blow-pipe to form what will become the cup.
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words (and a short video, even better) so stay tuned for videos showing just how miraculous this process is.