What’s more intriguing than watching a glassblower? Trying glassblowing out for yourself, like I did at The Glass Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
We walked into this shop …
… and this is what we saw.
No barbers, but rather, bearded men working on glass creations over torches. We asked if you had to have a certain look to be a glassblower. The answer: the guys grow beards as a protective measure against the heat from the torch. Otherwise, you get quite a “sunburn,” according to studio owner, Eran Park. Hmm, I wonder what women glassblowers do to protect their faces.
A Glassblowing Dream Come True
When Eran was a young teenager, he saw someone melt glass. Right then he knew what he wanted to do. He had the opportunity to learn glassblowing when he was a high school senior, and he’s been at it ever since. With about 15 years of experience, Eran now owns his own studio where he creates ornamental glass objects and teaches others to do it, too.
The Glassblowing Process
As we watched the guys working on their creations, Eran explained the tools used in the process: torches that run on propane and liquid oxygen, cutters, graphite tools, and tapers. He said working with glass is like playing a musical instrument in that you need to get the rhythm and feel of working the glass.
After a short demonstration, Eran offered each of us the chance to try our hand at it. We didn’t have time for a full lesson, so after donning protective glasses, we took turns adding dots of color to a clear stick.
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Eran told us to think of the colored stick as a paint brush and the clear stick as a canvas. We were instructed to hold the clear glass stick underneath the torch flame to heat it but not melt it and then touch the edge of the color stick to it and pull it away, leaving a dot of color. Eran compared the texture of the melted glass texture to sticky taffy, and that’s exactly what it felt like.
Take a Glassblowing Lesson
The Glass Park offers lessons, and you can take only one lesson if you’d like, perfect if you’re just visiting Fort Wayne. You’ll create a bauble or two like these:
Eran will finish your work in the kiln, and it’ll be ready the next day. He can even ship it to you if you can’t make it back there.
If You Go…
The Glass Park is located at 4235 Fairfield Avenue in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Adults and older children may take lessons, but children must be accompanied by an adult. Reservations are required. Check the Facebook page for details.
Disclosures: My visit to Fort Wayne was hosted by Visit Fort Wayne, but any opinions expressed in this post are strictly those of the author.
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I would love to watch a demo or learn how to blow glass
I consider this very interesting and would like to learn more about it. I’ve been accepted at Heron, Cincinnati, Chicago, and Savanah. Ended up at Ball State….. my home town. That’s what I could afford. Then had to drop the art education major because I couldn’t afford supplies. Go figure? Ended up with anthropology, religious studies, and philosophy. People, thinking, caring, and creativeness I truly love. If you have any thoughts, questions, or information that I could receive. I’d greatly appreciate that! I’m just trying to find something at 45 with a family to do besides house work. I’m a house husband. Has it’s pluses and minuses. Just say’n. Thank you for whatever!?!?