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The Complete Guide to Becoming A Glass Blower, Molder, Bender, and Finisher
What you'll really earn, how you'll really train, and whether you have the patience for a craft that burns 2,000 degrees hot
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: What Does a Glass Blower, Molder, Bender, and Finisher Actually Do?
Let's start by clearing away the image you probably have in your head: a lone artist in a dark studio, a glowing orb of molten glass on the end of a steel pipe, and a cloud of steam as the finished piece meets the water. That moment is real - it happens every day in shops across the country. But it is maybe ten percent of the actual job. The other ninety percent is preparation, repetition, problem-solving, and the kind of physical labor that leaves your forearms sore and your feet tired by the end of a shift. This chapter is about that other ninety percent, because that's the part that will determine whether you stay in this career for five years or twenty.
Four Skills, One Job Title
The official job title - Glass Blower, Molder, Bender, and Finisher - actually covers four distinct skill areas, and it's rare to find one person who does all four equally well. Most professionals specialize in one or two. But to understand the job, you need to know what each one involves.
Blowing is what most people picture. You gather a glob of molten glass on the end of a hollow steel pipe, about the width of your thumb, and you blow air through the pipe to inflate the glass into a bubble. From that bubble, you shape the piece using a combination of gravity, centrifugal force from spinning