Glass blowing class in East Falls

Here are some photos from the glass blowing class we took last week at East Falls Glassworks. we had a lot of fun! Having seen glass blowing on tv, it seemed very intimidating, i'm so glad to have finally given this a try.
our teacher (in purple below) was great, and walked us through every step of the way to help each of us make a glass paper weight and an ornament. the whole process took several hours, and we had to let our pieces cool slowly (in a kiln) overnight.

me spinning the hot glass

shaping the glass

torching glass to soften enough to stamp my initials, and flattening the bottom

ryan also had a great time! i know he thinks of me as the artist in the family, but he has that spark in him too, and its fun to see it come out!

ry heating the glass in the oven!

dipping the hot glass into colored glass pieces, and shaping

shaping the glass.

 

 

The final products! we were really pleased with how these turned out! ryan's paper weight (the green one) has more bubbles, something we were both trying to achieve by poking the hot glass with the metal tools.

ry's paper weight, and mine

my ornament and ry's

This is something we would both try again. it is fun to do with a friend or group. ryan wants to go back to make holiday gifts! so don't be surprised if you get a paper weight from us next year!