WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Vermont artist plays with fire
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Waterbury, Vermont - September 17, 2010
In most art forms people directly touch the medium they work with their hands. But for Waterbury artisan Glenn Ziemke that is not the case. He is the head glass blower at Ziemke Glassblowing Studio which has been open for 15 years.
"I've been doing it for 34 years and I still love doing it and I'm going to keep doing it," Ziemke said.
There are many steps to making a single piece of glass art work but it all starts with the glass. One of the two furnaces in the studio is dedicated to clear glass, which is always kept a liquid. A blow tip is then placed into this molten glass where it accumulates a ball of glass on the end. The color for each piece is heated up and threaded on individually.
"I went to school for ceramics but then got really excited about the possibility of glass, which is much more immediate than clay," Ziemke explained.
Blowing of the glass is only one of many techniques that are used to create his pieces. A wet cherry wood paddle shapes the glass, while wet newspapers smooth it and a marble table is used to roll and shape.
"It's a constant challenge," Ziemke said. "Every piece is unique that we make and you really have to concentrate to make the piece happen."
Glass is made of 80 percent sand, 10 percent soda ash and 10 percent lime. When it's heating to 2,100 degrees in the furnaces, it becomes the consistency of honey making it easier to work with.
From drinking glasses and pitchers to ornaments and sun catchers, Ziemke's glassblowing studio has a gallery of his work along with an observation area where you can watch him in action.
"Most people are amazed at the process of blowing glass," he said. "To see a molten liquid over 2,000 degrees being worked the way we work it without touching it and using these ancient tools and techniques people are usually pretty amazed."
"Now I'm going to take these jacks and jack the line that will end up being the top of the piece," Ziemke said.
He says one of the hardest things to master in this art form is the constant spinning technique.
"I have to keep turning the piece to keep it on center because the whole thing is between being a liquid and a solid so it's soft and if I stopped turning it it would start drooping," Ziemke explained.
It may seem easy but this art form, as Glen Ziemke knows, takes years to master.
"It takes at least 5 years to learn how to blow glass and it takes 25 years to master it," Ziemke said.
An ancient form of craftsmanship that's made right here in Vermont.
Gina Bullard - WCAX News - Made in Vermont
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