Posts Tagged ‘blown glass’

Man-made Glass: Making the Glass

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Although glass itself is a naturally occurring substance and has color variations as a result of impurities, man-made glass was probably first created accidentally as a result of the high temperatures used in making pottery. To make glass, silica and other materials are melted and fused together. Silica (sand) melts at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius) requiring the use of a glasshouse pot or kiln [source: Valldeperez]. The formulations, or recipes, for stained glass can vary from artist to artist but always include silica and substances like boric acid, lime, caustic soda and potash to strengthen, stabilize and help the stained glass ingredients melt uniformly at a lower temperature than silica alone.

Color is added to the melted silica using ground metal oxides. Once these coloring agents have been added to the molten glass, or gob, it’s refired. The colored glass can then be manipulated in any number of different ways to achieve a specific result, like shaping or texturizing.

These manufacturing practices have changed over the last thousand years, been lost, rediscovered and refined. Although there are still closely kept secrets to the glassmaker’s art that each artist protects, there are some basic methods of creating glass that we should take a look at: Read more »