A week ago I took a glass blowing class at Glass Axis (through the UA Parks & Rec). We made pumpkins! I had to wait 5 days to pick it up since the items have to cool down slowly. There was a paper weight class at the same time and we all used the same "cool down vat" (don't know the proper name for it) and solid glass sculptures takes a lot longer to cool down than blown glass.
Since this was my first glass blowing class, I had LOTS of help. I am sensitive to heat so the thousands of degrees coming out the the gathering vat was rather intimidating. Plus when working with glass, constant rotating of the rod is important. Below are some pictures I took during class. I lost a few photos when I downloaded my camera to the computer so there aren't any of the glass being rolled, in the mold or being blown [I am bummed about that].
Some of the color selection
The rods preheating on the left and the big heating kiln / vat with the glowing hole and a heat shield (metal board with the writing on it).
Some of the shaping tools. Notice the wooden tool have to stay wet and the long tongs have beeswax applied regularly.
The molds: the big and medium one for the pumpkin and the small one for the stem.
Adding the stem and preparing to mold it around a pipe. All colors look brown when heated to such extreme temperatures.
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