Blown Glass Lamps

!±8± Blown Glass Lamps

Blown glass, with its long and varied history, has taken many forms and functions. Nowhere is this medium more impressive and inspiring than in the beauty of a blown glass lamp. The element of light adds an infinitely fascinating combination of luminous color and form.

Glassblowing is a labor-intensive process that involves a great deal of training and skill. Described very simply, it involves the use of a metal blowpipe that is dipped into molten glass. The artist blows into the pipe, creating a bubble that is shaped with the use of a few simple tools, and is cooled slowly over several hours so as not to crack the glass.

The process of blowing glass while in a molten state first came into use around the first century B.C.E. by Syrian craftsmen. The technology was quickly adopted, then developed, refined and distributed by the Romans. By the Middle Ages, the world capital of glassmaking was centered in Venice, Italy. It was in Venice and on the island of Murano that the secret techniques of glass artisans were closely guarded and fostered for several hundred years.

Then in the mid-twentieth century, in the United States, Harvey Littleton and Dominick Labino started the studio glass movement. They brought glassmaking techniques to a smaller, studio-based scale that allowed more versatility with the medium. One of Littleton's most famous students, Dale Chihuly, began the Pilchuck Glass School, which continues to instruct and inspire artists.

Several contemporary artists are working today to make an amazing array of blown glass lamps; a combination of form (the glass) and function (to provide light) inspires and delights aficionados worldwide. For example:

· Venetian artist Eros Raffael, whose creations are represented in the United States by Oggetti Luce, works with glass canes to produce complex striations and dapples of color in his pieces.

· Guy Corrie of Union Street Glass, whose glass seems to take on a life of its own, mimics organic shapes and patterns found in the natural world to produce a wonderful variety of lamps and lighting fixtures.

· Lisa Schwartz and Kurt Swanson of Pinkwater Glass bring a whimsical and fun element to lighting with their distinctive, colorful, polka-dotted designs and almost-from- another-world themes.

· Tracy Glover, who uses her blown glass primarily in the stems of her lamps, creates simple, elegant and magical lighting fixtures that can be used in a variety of décor.

Celebrate the skill and artistry that has developed over the last two thousand years by exploring the rich variety of blown glass lamps available today.