Shaping the Glass: Glassblower Wes Sweetser rolls a glass piece across the marver. The glass is attached to the blowpipe and rolled across the surface to create symmetry. After a short time, the piece is warmed again to keep the glass soft and pliable, which gives the artist more time to refine the process. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
The Blowpipe: The blowpipe is an essential tool for glassblowing. The tool is designed to gather the liquid glass from the furnace. The artist then blows through the pipe to form the initial bubble of glass. The blowpipe is long enough to allow the glassblower to reheat the glass during the process. Shown is glassblower Wes Sweetser blowing into the pipe during a process while working at the marver. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Torch: Wes Sweetser fires a torch at a glass piece while Nick Noble rotates the piece to ensure even heating. Sweetser is sitting at the bench, which is a seat designed for fine-tuning the glass piece. Much of the work takes place at the bench, as many steps are performed at the bench. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
While visiting with my sister and her husband this week, we enjoyed getting out and exploring the Hill Country of Texas. One of our stops was Wimberley Glassworks.
The company often allows patrons the opportunity to see the glass-blowing process. The “Hot Shop” is where the magical process takes place. Seating for several visitors is arranged for spectators, but there were only about six visitors there the day we were at the shop.
The Hot Shop has earned the designation because it is very warm, not HOT due to the furnace and torches used in the glassblowing process. We watched glassblowers Wes Sweetser and Nick Noble as they made glass vases.
Glassblowing is a fascinating process to watch. Clear glass is melted into a liquid form in the furnace, which is heated to temperatures above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The glassblower collects the liquid glass with a blowpipe, which is a long steel tube that allows the operator to collect the glass and then blows through the pipe to form the basic bubble.
The marver is a large steel surface that allows the glass blower to shape the glass bubble and also creates symmetry. The artists continually reheat the glass and repeat the process. Glassblowers use a variety of tools to continue shaping and fine-tuning the glass into the desired shape.
A torch is also used periodically to heat specific areas of the glass and to create details. The glass must be heated continually to so the artists can make changes and prevent the glass from hardening too quickly. The heating process allows more time for the artists to refine the process.
After the piece is completed, it must be put in an annealer, a specialized kiln that allows the piece to cool slowly and evenly. If not put in the annealer, the glass would cool unevenly and crack.
We watched the glass blowers for over an hour while two vases were created. Glassblowing can be learned in a reasonable timeframe, but it is obvious that refining and perfecting the process takes years. We found that the process was fascinating.
Wimberley Glassworks was started by Tim de Jong. De Jong opened the business in 1992. His first shop was just south of the town of Wimberley, Texas, and has been operating from the current studio on Ranch Road 12 since 2006. In addition to the shop, there is a beautiful gallery of their work for sale.
Reheating: Glassblower Wes Sweetser reheats a glass piece in the Hot Shop. The space is large enough to move around while completing the glassblowing process. At the right is the furnace where the glass is retrieved. In the center is the marver and the bench where many steps of the glass process occur. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Glassworks Entrance: The Wimberley Glassworks facility is a modern building where the gallery and showroom are located. The shop is in the same building just steps away. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Gallery Shop: The gallery and shop have many custom glass pieces of all shapes and sizes for sale. The facility is designed so that the customer can watch his or her piece being made. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com