CLICK ON IMAGES FOR PRICESSOLDPolka is a vase blown using the time consuming & technically demanding Swedish glassblowing technique 'graal'. It gives the artist incredible control over the use of pattern & colour.
This piece was blown in Istanbul, Turkey when Chris was teaching at the Glass Furnace http://www.glassfurnace.org/yeni/index_en.php with Tim Shaw http://www.timshawglass.com
At first glance a graal glass piece can appear uncomplicated but with its elaborate decoration suspended in several layers of crystal glass, it can take more than 40 hours to complete each piece.
Artistic sensitivity, intuition and skill are required throughout the long, complicated and risky process. Each stage of the heating and annealing (gradual cooling) cycle generates stress within the different layers of glass and must be carefully controlled.
Making a graal glass vessel involves first blowing a small, clear bubble of glass, often no bigger than an egg, and overlaying it with hot coloured crystal glass. This is known as a graal ‘blank’.
After it has been cooled, the blank is cut or engraved through the layers of colour. This creates patterns and images similar to those created in the Cameo technique.
The blank is reheated, attached to the blowpipe and coated with more clear crystal glass to blown to its final shape.Click to buy/make enquiries: http://www.chrisblade.com/enquiries Electronic payments secured through PayPalBack to homepage: http://www.chrisblade.com/glassgallery
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