Lampworking 101

B moved from glassblowing to lampworking today at the glass studio. It's a natural progression. What boy wouldn't be thrilled to play with a torch and melt glass rods?! Some amazing projects can be made, once this early glass working techinique is mastered. And the really great thing about this is, it is something that can be done at home - without the cost of setting up a glass furance!

B will continue to take classes with Annette for the next several weeks. I assume he will move from the easier projects (like marbles) onto the more complex projects he has in his head. Then we will decide if this is a craft he would like to hone his skills at while we are at the lake this summer or he wants to wait and return to the studio in the fall.

Glassblowing Projects Unveiled

Here are the projects that B made in last weeks glassblowing class. This first one is a garden ball or large Christmas ornament. It is one of my favorite pieces he brought home and is currently hanging in our dining room. This is actually the very first piece he made.
Second, not surprisingly enough, is this hallow fish that is a great representation of his orange cap orandas. It actually holds water. This probably B's favorite project.

This is the seaweed/plant leaves that he was pulling. The idea is to either mount them on a piece of glass or put them in a vase with rice. Colorwise, these are beautiful.
Despite the mother's lack of skill with the camera, this Christmas ornament was made for grandma. It is white and then has a layer of green and red shards melted into the surface.
Two betta (yes the fish) bowls. The smaller of the two are going to be used in B's closet for his change collection bowl.
It was a great experience, although being a perfectionist B was dissappointed when he came home with his work. I'm not sure if he expected museum quality pieces the first time in the studio or what???!!! Definately an area we need to work on, in terms of acceptance :)