Freehand shaping Glass : Bench Work

Shaped by the human hand, only protected by wet newspaper or a thin teflon sheet… An amazingly fluid process, which leaves the glass frozen with the indents of the human hand and the natural honey like fluidity it possess .

Glass blowing in Wiltshire, UK

When glass is shaped freehand there always need to be a minimum of two people working. The gaffer (in charge) and the helper. The glass is shaped on a bench, which allows the gaffer to keep rolling the pipe on two armrest like metal rods while shaping the glass. If the motion stops, the glass will deform due to gravity. It needs to stay in constant rotation at a pace adjusted to its fluidity (which is determined by its heat)

Gaffer (shaping) and Helper (blowing )

Freehand shaped glass takes a lot of time and energy (both human and gas) to be created. It takes about 15 years to master the craft and become a gaffer, to be the one shaping and controlling the glass. It takes extraordinary hand eye skills and strong resilience to heat, as the human body has to constantly be facing the ovens and glory hole (the gas oven in which the glass is reheated during the shaping process).

James, the gaffer, and Utopia designer Pia with her daughter Maya in the hotshop