When glass is heated, its surface and shape can be altered in many different ways. Techniques for shaping and colouring glass have been practised for hundreds of years. Stained glass was first used by wealthy Romans to decorate their villas and palaces. Over the years, clerics began to use stained and tinted glass windows in churches to keep these places of worship cool and dim.
At the end of the 17th century, the Bohemians discovered that adding chalk to glass created a much more brilliant version which, once cooled, was thick enough to engrave with elaborate patterns. Today, decorative glass is still popular and regarded as a highly-skilled craft.
Hand-made glass
In small glassworks and studios, glass is still made by hand. The raw materials are melted in a small furnace. The glassblower gathers a gob of glass on to the end of a long iron pipe known as a blowing iron . By blowing down the pipe and shaping the glass against a stone slab , the glass can be made into the shape required. A solid rod is attached to help hold the article and the top is cut off with shears. The glassblower will then finish shaping the work . If a handle is required the glassblower will get more glass from the furnace. Finally the rod is cut off .
Stained glass
Stained glass windows have been a feature of church architecture for centuries. The design is laid out on a table and small panes of coloured glass are mounted in lead frames to make an elaborate picture. Usually the colours are produced by adding metal oxides when the glass is made, although sometimes extra details may be painted on.
Decorating glass
Hand-made glass for wine glasses is often decorated. Lead oxide glass is especially suitable as it sparkles in the light. Deep patterns are made by cutting. More delicate designs are made by engraving using a copper wheel or a high-speed drill similar to the ones used by dentists. Glass can also be decorated by ‘sand blasting’, using a gun which fires sand particles.
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