Sign up for Express
New from Palo Alto Online, Express is a daily e-edition, distributed by e-mail every weekday.
Sign up to receive Express!

Login | Register
Sign up for eBulletins
Click for Palo Alto, California Forecast

Increase font Increase font
Decrease font Decrease font
Adjust text size
How to make a glass pumpkin



Bookmark and Share
Although there are different ways of working with glass, here's one way to make a pumpkin, according to the Bay Area Glass Institute:

An artist uses a blowpipe to gather melted glass out of a furnace, then rolls it in colorful crushed glass called "frit."

The glass is then put into another furnace, called a "glory hole," to heat it again and melt the color into it. (Throughout the process, the glass must be continually reheated to keep it malleable.)

An artist blows into the pipe, making the glass into a bubble. The bubble is shaped with a pad of wet newspaper, and then blown into a mold to form the pumpkin's ridges.

The artist keeps blowing into and working on the bubble, adding another piece of glass for a stem.

Finally, the pumpkin is broken off the pipe and its bottom flattened with a torch. Since it will crack if it cools too quickly, it's placed in an annealing oven to cool slowly overnight.


Comments
There are no comments yet for this story.
Be the first!

Add a Comment

Posting an item on Town Square is simple and requires no registration! Just complete this form and hit "submit" and your topic will appear online. Please be respectful and truthful in your postings so Town Square will continue to be a thoughtful gathering place for sharing community information and opinion. All postings are subject to our TERMS OF USE, and may be deleted if deemed inappropriate by our staff
 
We prefer that you use your real name, but you may use any "member" name you wish.

Name: *
Select your Neighborhood or School Community: * Not sure?
Choose a category: *
Since this is the first comment on this story a new topic will also be started in Town Square!
Please choose a category below that best describes this story.

Comment: *
Enter the verification code exactly as shown, using capital and lowercase letters, in the multi-colored box. *
Verification Code:   
533 page views


Best Website
First Place
2009-2012

 

Palo Alto Online   © 2013 Palo Alto Online
All rights reserved.