Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Art of Glass Blowing




The items to the left are mouth-blown and hand-decorated crystal and are produced individually in the European country of Romania. The Collection provokes the mind and stimulates the eyes with its unpredictable swirl design, and "stained glass" like finish.

Glass blowing is the art of creating an object from molten glass by blowing air into a utilizing tube. The glass in the oven takes days to melt (the oven is never turned off). The artisan collects molten glass on the tip of his blow rod, being careful to accumulate just the right amount for the piece to be blown.

Once the shape of the glass has been achieved, the glass is cooled. It is then sent onto etching stations where the grape pattern is cut by hand into the glass. Different craftsmen cut the different pieces of the etching: one person etches the grapes, another the vine, and yet another the leaves.

When the glass etching is complete, the glass is polished and sent to the painting station. Here the etchings are painted by hand, using natural luster and real gold.

Once the piece is in its final shape, it is fired one more time to ensure long-lasting strength, durability, and color. To view the entire line of crystal wine glasses and accessories come by and see us at BONANZLE!

http://www.bonanzle.com/Teragatto

3 comments:

The Stylish House said...

Hi,
Great photo and interesting story how the glass is produced! I look forward to following your site.
Cathy

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing the process- love the glass!Will be back for more!

Melissa Miller said...

Hi Tera,
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and your generous and kind review. I really appreciate it.
You're always welcome!

Yours is so beautifully done and I will be back to visit with you again soon.
The glass is gorgeous.

Have a wonderful day.
~Melissa :)