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Teresa
and I took a base tour of a Glass Blowing Factory and the
Noritake China Center. The tour started with our bus arriving
at this glass craft shop an hour from the base.
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Our
good friend Rosario also was taking the tour, and it was
great having her with us for the day!
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This
is the craftsman shop where they do glass wand and such work.
The wands are of different colored glass, and you melt the
tips to make things. I signed up to make glass beads.
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This
is the blowing area, where they taken globs of liquid glass
and make bowls, glasses, etc.
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Teresa
and I enjoy the shop while waiting my turn to make art!
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I
decided to make a black bead with brilliant blue highlights.
here I am heating up a wand of black glass.
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The
instructor looks over my shoulder as I work the glass onto
a metal dowel.
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I
now spin the dowel with the glass and blue fragments around,
mixing the colors, and making the shape of the bead I want.
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While
the bead cools, I now move to the furnace area. I decided
to make a mug, with dark red and black colors at the base,
with clear glass at the top.
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A
molten glob of glass, clear in color is adhered to the end
of this hollow metal tube. It is then dipped into different
colored glass shards.
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The
hot glass globbule picks up the cold colored glass fragments.
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I
now blow air gently into the globule of glass, expanding
it and creating a hollow portion inside. The glass is extremely
hot....over 2000 degrees.
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Heating and blowing, the globule becomes
elongated...
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Metal
tongs help shape the glass into the right shape.
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Repeated
heating and blowing help the mug take shape...
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Metal
tongs help press in on the glass to help form the mug.
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Thick
leather gloves and a half inch of wet newspaper help press
in on the glass...
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Wet
wooden paddles make flat surfaces, such as the base of the
mug.
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The
mug is flipped over to a new stick, and the mouth is now widened
with some reverse tongs.
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The
mug is now looking like a mug! I wish I had put more color
glass bits on it to make it darker tho. Oh well...next time!
A handle is put on the mug with more molten glass, and it's
done!
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Now
off to the Noritake Center. Sadly, it didn't offer a tour
of them making the dishes. It was more of a set of show rooms
and a resturaunt.
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Teresa
and I pose in front of the resturaunt logo!
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There
was a fair amount of Ghibli china....I like that!
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Several
different classes of showrooms. Some of the stuff was many
many many thousands of dollars for a single piece.
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Our
baskets are made of weaving the strands together, and glueing
the right spots.
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First
we make the base of the basket...
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Then
thread the sides from the bottom up.
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We
use clothespins to help hold things in place while it dries.
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It
was alot of fun...and it took two nights to finish our baskets!
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