Making Art From Glass

Time: Monday, 11:45 a.m.
Location: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Photographer: Jeff Hawe

After making a “gather” of molten glass for a sculpture, Jonathan Swanz removes a small piece that accidentally broke off the inside wall of one of his furnaces. These furnaces heat a mix of silica sand, soda ash and limestone to a temperature of 2150 degrees Fahrenheit, creating the molten glass. He then gathers the liquid glass on a blow pipe and methodically works it into art. The large piece that Swanz is working on requires three gathers of glass, one application of color and a final gather of clear glass. Jonathan has two decades of experience in glass blowing and teaches his craft at UH Manoa.